24 years...2 Dozen...

2 dozen eggs in a carton, 24 hours in a day. I am celebrating the number 24 today! 24 years of marriage to my dear Shane. 24 years of walking in faith together, even when we weren't sure what that looked lik. 24 years of loving each other through thick and thin. (poundage and life!) 24 years of romantic juxtaposed with mundane... 24 years of getting to know each others' families. 24 years of dreaming about our own little family that will, quite possibly never happen...24 years of deaths, weddings, and births for people we dearly love...24 years of cooking together, sleeping together, working together, praying together...as I have watched so many marriages fall apart, it makes me value even more the blessings we have and the life we have created together...yes, there have been truly rough spots...places where I didn't know if this marriage would survive. We don't often use the D word, but it has crossed my mind on more than one occasion. You don't go through this crazy life together without there being some very real, very serious issues. But we have stood by each other even when one or the other of us was being incredibly selfish, even when we lost our temper, even when one of us hurt the other one so badly there are no words. We have loved each other through 3 miscarriages, remodeling an old house, a bi-polar bio dad, money struggles, 2 masters' programs, 2national board certifications, working together, living apart, moving over and over and over. We have struggled...more than some couples, less than others...the fact is...our love is as strong as we choose to make it! And we choose to make ours strong. It's not an exciting anniversary. We are hanging out at home. I'm writing songs and blogs, and Shane is writing for his doctoral program. We have our regular workouts scheduled for later, but we are together...today, and every day in this life we live. Today I celebrate 24 with two dozen eggs-cell lent reasons I love him and a gift of 24 hours...curious? I'll tell you more tomorrow...don't want to ruin the surprise! We are getting ready to eat crock pot lasagna I made earlier in the week, so I thought I'd share the recipe today. Crock Pot Lasagna I made sauce from scratch, but you can use your favorite jar. Sauce About 10 large tomatoes 2good handfuls of fresh basil 2-3 garlic cloves, pressed A palmful of dried oregano, rubbed 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary 1 onion, chopped 1lb ground beef, browned Sauté garlic and onion. Add tomatoes and cook down to a sauce. Add herbs, salt and pepper. Add ground beef Cheese mixture 1pkg Italian shredded cheese 1small container ricotta cheese Mix together In crock pot, layer sauce first, Then lasagna noodles, broken to fit crock pot(ready bake) Then, layer some of the cheese mixture. Repeat until you are out of room. Cook on low 4 hours. (I used gluten free noodles. If you use traditional, it might take a bit longer. Make sure your sauce is juicy, as much of the liquid will be absorbed by the noodles!) Happy eating, and happy anniversary to my hubby!