Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary. About this time thirteen years ago I was getting my nails done at a walk-in salon at Lamar Square. Lamar Square is currently a giant hole in the ground. Most of Lamar Blvd from Barton Springs is a construction zone, I drive up and down that street almost daily and except for this one shopping center, I don't remember what they tore down. The gentrification has it's positive and negatives. Hopefully, more store fronts will make the ones we already have less crowded. More apartments without more grocery stores will compound the crazy-busy grocery store problem we already have. Since I have lived in South Austin, two grocery stores have closed and one has expanded. I can not even guess how many new homes and apartments/condos have been built in our part of town. Our HEB is always busy. I shop late at night because any other time of day is unbearable for my busy bee brain.
Thirteen years have moved along at a fully indescribable pace. Our Number One Son is middle-school aged, how did this happen so quickly? Number Four Daughter is sitting, crawling and cruising, simply unbelievable! I started blogging as a way to catalog our food allergy recipes, so family and friends would have some idea of what the kids can eat. Hubby uses it, but we are still pretty much on our own at family gatherings, even after 11 years of dealing with multiple food allergies. I also wanted an outlet for frustrations. Most of the time when I would sit down to blow off steam, something else would happen. I would see the bright side of things. The time moving slowly part of our lives mostly has to do with money. Disability, job loss, healthcare regulation changes, underemployment and increasing expenses weigh heavily on me. There are so many things I can let go, but when you don't have money to go anywhere besides work and the grocery store (we can walk to church if we are running low on gas money) it makes the days, weeks, months feel so much longer.
I had the conversation with a friend last week that I have had with others, including our Priest: how do we know if this is earthly suffering, bad choices or depression? Today I count my blessings: Hubby, my sweet honey bear who knows how to love me everyday; Number One Son, who gives me daily joy with his resilient attitude; Number One Daughter who challenges me to see things in different ways; Number Two Son with his bright eyes, loving, helpful heart and big hugs; Number Two and Three Daughters praying for us while in the arms of Jesus and Number Three Daughter who reminds me every day that miracles are real and God doesn't give you what you can't handle.
I won't be getting my nails done today. We will all go out for ice cream to celebrate the birthday of our family.
"Happy Anniversary to us, happy anniversary to us, happy anniversary to our family! Happy anniversary to us!"