Today Bryan and I have been married for five years. We flew into Prague last night. The baby and I are sick. So, you can imagine how our day has been. Our anniversary looked different than what it's looked like before, and what I had imagined it would look like. In fact LOVE itself looks different now then it did before. But, it's a really good thing. Here's my tribute to what love looks like five years in with a baby... Love looks like Bryan taking Thaddeus for an entire afternoon so that I can rest while sick. Love looks like having Thad sleep on my lap for 5 hours of our flight so that Bryan could sleep. Love looks like Bryan graciously not minding when I go almost a month without shaving my legs. Love looks like Bryan taking Thaddeus so that I can finally deal with the hairy legs. Love looks like not minding being sneezed on or coughed at. Love looks like taking care of each other when we're sick. Love looks like steeling a kiss in a busy airport. Love looks like doing the dishes so that the other person doesn't have to. Love looks like holding hands. Love looks like looking at our sleeping baby and together praising God that he's ours and that he's FINALLY asleep. Love looks like sharing openly about the mix of emotions we are feeling about being back in Prague. Love looks like holding each other when we cry. Love looks like re-arranging the furniture AGAIN. Love looks like every once in a while being able to read each others mind. Love looks like reaching out for each other in the dark.

Bryan, I love you! I love what our love has looked like over the past five years and I love what it looks like now. You are everything I ever dreamed of and so much more. I love being your friend, lover, and partner for the journey.

Rejoicing in the journey- Bethany Stedman

PS - that picture was taken tonight.