We celebrated our anniversary this weekend. Five years (a jam packed five years!). Our actual anniversary is April 30^th, but generally speaking, I am about a week behind in my life so this is actually on schedule. So, in honor of this very special day, and because I did promise a little background, the following is a (sort of) brief synopsis of the beginning of the beginning.

April 27^th, 1978, P. is born . . . just kidding. Not going back that far. Here is the slightly more relevant sequence of events. 1996-Boy goes to college on ROTC scholarship, but mostly to play football. 1997-Girl joins the TN Army National Guard, becomes helicopter mechanic, falls in love with helicopters. Also goes to (different) college. 2000-Boy graduates, decides to do his time and get out, moves to Fort Hood. 2001-Girl graduates college and starts Officer Candidate school on the express grounds that she goes to flight school upon completion. 2004-Boy realizes that flying is possible, applies to flight school, gets in, changes his mind about doing his time, moves to Fort Rucker, AL. 2004-Girl gets a flight school slot, is overjoyed, moves to Fort Rucker, AL. April 4^th, 2004, first day of class, their eyes meet across the room, girl goes weak in the knees . . . well, not really. What actually happened . . . girl talks too much because she is nervous about meeting new people, boy doesn’t talk at all because he is assessing the situation. Girl thinks boy thinks she is an idiot . . . oh well.

Days go by, they discover they rented apartments in side-by-side buildings, girl and boy and original J. (our dear friend who our J. is named after), become fast friends. Labeled “Three’s Company,” the little group spends all their waking time together and all of the sudden, boy is in love with girl. Girl freaks out, tries to ignore her own growing attraction to said boy, but can’t deny it. Egged on by original J. (eventually a bridesmaid) and her hubs, boy professes feelings to girl. Girl (still freaking out) says “No, but thanks, ” then in a display of classic womanhood, does a complete 180 a week later and then has to figure out how to get boy, already rejected once, to profess feelings again. Boy has mercy on girl, and on a morally appropriate grown-up camping trip, boy tries again, and girl says Finally! (Because she is in fact crazy, and conveniently forgot that it could have happened a month ago had she not been freaking out.) So-July 17^th, 2004, dating, Dec 30^{th in} the Spokane Airport, engaged, April 30^th, 2005 married. Voila! The Huggins Middle Element is established. (There is an Elder and a Younger for those of you who don’t know.)

In five years: we moved to North Carolina and Alaska, got pregnant with baby H, said goodbye to Baby H (at 12 weeks pregnant), said goodbye to original J., had our girlie on July 30^th, 2007, spent approximately three years of the five apart, collectively went on three deployments, the last of which was simultaneous, and even started a coffee business, the Original Java. (Our J. was a Wheeler for a year, and picking her up post-deployment was the subject of the inaugural post.) Busy, busy, busy. But INCREDIBLEY grateful.

The Lord has blessed us so richly in five years; I am humbled by how undeserving we really are. And let me tell you-I don’t kid when I say I got the better end of the deal in my wonderful hubs. I thank the Lord every day that I get him to be my husband, protector, and father to our little one. (And on a semi-related note – he is batting a .1000 in the gift departmentJ). So, all is right in the Huggins world – we are together (which isn’t always a guarantee) and we are celebrating.

P.S. For our celebration we were able to spend the night at an amazing bed and breakfast in downtown Fairbanks, which means J. went on her very first sleepover with her little friend. (Besides the whole go live with my family for a year bit). Anyways, I shed a little tear. My baby isn’t a baby anymore!