Thank You All.

It's just past midnight here in Dallas. I got up at 3:30 am to soothe Ammon so that Jenny could rest before she woke up at 5:00 to leave for PA at 6:00. It's been a long day.

But throughout this long day I've thought long and hard about the small milestone our marriage made yesterday (the 14th). I also thought deeply about the influences in our lives that have enabled me to live a fantastic dream this past decade, and helped Jenny cope with the nightmare. The trick? You.

From our earliest days Jenny and I have observed you couples around us so that we could pattern our marriage after the successes we have seen you enjoy. From China where we knew only one American couple (a returned mission president who told us about the comical fights they had been in); to Rexburg where our marriage incubated with other newlyweds nearby and the Chinese professor that forced Jenny to marry me; to Provo where we were surrounded by married couples in almost the exact life situation we were in; to Cleveland--and Akron/Canton--where we interacted with yet more young families; to Dallas--Rowlett and now Little Elm--where we interact with a diverse lineup of families.

At every stop along the way we have seen tremendous marriages. We have seen people successfully handle difficult children, we've seen people handle tragedy, we have seen them handle pain, and we have seen them grow. We've seen how you teach your children, how you split chores, how you court each other, and how you balance your lives.

Our favorite past time is to talk about you (not in the gossipy way), and about how much we can learn. We've learned so much. And those lessons you have taught us have made these past ten years for Jenny and I much more fulfilling and meaningful.

My only regret is that I cannot name names in this post. There are simply too many of you, and I would positively leave someone out.

So, thank you. Seriously. Thank you.