love deeply

I had an ah ha! moment this morning.  I didn't discover anything new or invent something that will improve your life.  Matter of fact, I simply realized something that some eloquent speaking, deep thinking, smarty pants has probably already published.  But it was eye opening for me.

Have you ever opened your heart and soul to someone?  Really let her into those dark, fragile places?  Have you ever loved someone so deeply that if your love was the ocean it would be a dark, rich blue?

I realized this morning that the more deeply you love someone and the more you invest in a relationship, the greater the stakes.  The more you have to lose.  But the the payoff on your investment is so much greater and the reward so much richer.  I guess that makes love a calculated risk.  I've seen my fair share of harsh heartache.  But I've also experienced such incredible dividends on some of my investments.  It's important to count the cost but, without some risk, you will never experience such rich rewards.

My new favorite photo...

There are years and years of investment and rewards behind those smiles.  Laughter and tears.  Lots of hard work and huge payoffs.  God planted us in the same neighborhood 35 years ago and the rest is history.  Lifetime BFFs.

And just because we have so much fun together...

I know the composition (blah, blah, blah) of this photo isn't perfect.  One of my kiddos snapped it.  But I love the playful silliness.  or is it silly playfulness?  Oh well, it's just fun!

I just wanted to include this ah ha! moment and these fun snapshots in my blog book.  Thanks for reading along :)