10 year wedding anniversary!

My husband and I just celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. We have been together for 14 years total. I am 29 years old...you can do the math. Many people are shocked, surprised, and im sure pissed that they lost their bets against us. We have been through the mud, through the fire, through the green grassy fields, and through the rose gardens. Life is a journey and marriage is well...life. Your life shared and intertwined with another. We are one. Committed, strong, and well..in love. I have been asked what is the secret? Well, relax...it has been only 14 years. In the grand scheme of things we certainly have a LONG way to go. It is humbling to say the least and I am proud of us but I will be even more proud in 30 years from now when I am holding hands with my love bug. My husband and I had some hard times. Starting out our lives backwards and so young there have been times where we had no idea where our next meal would come, if we would have money for rent, or how we were going to buy a car. I specifically remember eating beans for a week straight! We had bean tostadas, bean enchiladas (yes, those exist), bean burritos, etc. We survived. By Gods grace, we have passed those times. The other trying time was back in January of 2006. It had been four months since we purchased our new home. I was 21 and my husband was 25. We had our 5 year old daughter and newborn son. I had my nice black Acura Mdx, great job, money in the bank...life was well... perfect. The funny thing about life is that you never know what will hit you and when it will hit you. I was literally the happiest and most content person at the time. All of a sudden BAM my husband loses his job. We have a 2100 house payment, $467 car payment, daycare, food, etc. How will we make it?! A few months later my husband finally found a job but it paid half of what he was previously making. We lost our car, our credit cards were maxed out, savings drained. We had nothing. To top it off, my husbands brother dies. Life was so dark in 2006. We eventually had to move out and rent out our home. We moved 80 miles away into my mother in laws "vacation" home. It was horrible. Waking up the kids at 3:30 AM to get them ready for a commute, having your home being lived in by someone else, living out of your suitcase. We stayed there for 6 months then moved in with my husbands aunt for another 6 months... we shared a bed with no box spring, no headboard, nowhere to place our clothes... I never want to relive those days and sometimes the spirit of fear gets me to believe that those experiences will always plague my life. We moved back into our home for about 18 months and then moved out and rented. We had to sell our home. We were upside down well over 200k. We had an adjustable rate interest only loan and could not afford the mortgage. It was hard then again it was easy. To be able to breath...let those materialistic things go and focus on my family, my marriage...life. Real life. My husband got another job making so much money but working for a lousy boss...it threatened our marriage, faith, my husbands relationship with God. That year we made $141,000 combined. Don't ask me where the money went. Your guess is as good as mine. My husband was out of a job again. He found another one but making about 70% of what he was making. We still survive. We make it through. I have 0.33 cents in my checking account but it is okay. I am learning that in order for God to trust us with a lot we must keep his trust with a little. We have a hard time saving but I know we are learning. I am excited for the future. Life is hard, marriage isn't always easy, kids are a lot of work and yet are the biggest blessings. Count your blessings, honor your husband, forgive your husband, spend time together, have date nights, have family nights, make time for YOURSELF! If we are not happy with ourselves, we cant make anyone else happy! Go get a pedicure, have a girls night, go to the movies alone, go to the gym, go shopping kid free! Get a massage. Don't neglect yourself because your family needs you and you need your sanity. Circumstances and situations change constantly but keep your heart open and guard it. Know that if you are in a rough patch of life that it will get better. Keep your faith, stay positive, nothing lasts forever except for love...true love within the spirit. That is the kind of love you need to keep forever. In law problems, financial problems, and lonliness have all threatened my marriage but we keep going, we fight, we love... we are in it together. Marriage is as hard as you make it. Cheers to love!