Today's the 3 year anniversary of my wedding day to my beautiful wife, Susana. We all know that this industry isn't the most conducive to growing a strong marriage. There are long hours away from home and plenty of people who feel what's going on in their lives at this moment is more important than what's going on in ours. I wanted to take this time to thank my wife for her support of my career change and my struggles early on to make this a successful venture. I can't express to all of you how much I love this wonderful woman. I try to express it to her every day. She says that she knows very well how much I love her, so it must be working. LOL

Many of our friends didn't give our marriage much of a chance of survival. I have been married twice before, which is a bad enough indicator in itself, and I have 3 children from my other two marriages. As you can imagine, this kind of life experience has a lot of baggage attached to it. My wife is from Uruguay, so her native language is one I had to learn so we could actually date each other and we kept our year-long relationship secret from most everyone until just a few months before we decided to marry. Add to that the fact that we are from two different religions and most would say that we had a recipe for disaster. If I looked at the situation from their point of view, I would have agreed, but I love this woman. That has made the difference in our lives. Love conquers all.

Our wedding was a crazy time. We had planned to be married in a gazebo at a meeting hall not far from where I lived in Pittston, PA. At the last minute, the gentleman who was going to do the ceremony backed out and we had to scramble to find someone to marry us. I finally got in touch with a judge in Wilkes-Barre who said that he'd be happy to do us the favor, but we had to do it in the courthouse. I wasn't too thrilled with the thought of being married in a courtroom (a place where many marriages end in our country), but we had everything else planned, so we went to the courthouse to be married.

I remember that the judge and I were waiting for my very nervous bride to enter the courtroom and when she finally did, he gasped audibly and remarked, "Wow, she is so beautiful!" He wasn't saying anything that I didn't already know. I know that many say that real marriage is when the flames die down and the only thing left is the warm glow of the embers. Well, I can tell you that this woman has lit my fire and it's still burning strong today!!

After we left the courthouse, we went back to the gazebo, where a good friend of mine had decorated the gazebo so beautifully. Another friend read some words that, I believe, were truly inspired by my loving God and Savior. Then it was time for some more photos. I remember thinking that this place was just a dull shadow of the beauty that shone from my bride and I hope she never stops holding me like she held me that day. She hasn't.

Every year for our anniversary we go on a trip. On our honeymoon we stayed in PA and visited an area that's very beautiful this time of the year, Jim Thorpe. It's a nice area that reminds me of some of the small German towns, with shops lining the streets and people out walking everywhere. We visited Bushkill Falls as well (marketed as the Niagara Falls of PA), where we walked the trails up and down until we had completed the whole circuit. It's over 5 miles, I believe, so Susana was just worn out by the time we were done. She asked me to stop at the end of the trail so she could take a break, then quickly fell asleep. It took some time, but I finally persuaded a passer-by to take this photo for me.                      

Our first anniversary was Niagara Falls. We had a great time there and actually climbed down to the bottom so we could put our feet in the water.  This wasn't the easiest shot to take, but we managed. Niagara was a great time for us to unwind a bit. It was very touristy, but I expected as much. I did manage to get some excellent shots of the area. This is truly a beautiful place.

Our second anniversary was a bit rough, as Susana's father went into the hospital very suddenly and passed away shortly after Susana arrived. Our anniversary was a much more somber event last year, but that's to be expected. We went to Dorney Park, which is a water park. It was a bit chilly, but we went on a few rides, got cold and wet, then went back to the car to change into some more comfortable clothes and went to the dry side of the park. We went on a roller coaster ride that almost ended the trip for us, we were so sick. All in all, it was a fun time and helped to take our minds off of the recent events.

This year, Susana really wanted to go to Florida, so we are going to head down next weekend. I look forward to some time away from the hectic life we have here for some R&R with my beautiful bride. We're going to Disney Land and Sea World, so it should be a fun time as well. I'll make sure to take plenty of photos.

There are some things that I have learned from our short time together:

1. Nobody's perfect. Even though I attest to this quality on a regular basis, it's just not true. We have to accept the faults in one another and learn to love around them.

2. Sometimes it's easier to give in than to give up. I would rather my wife have her way than stick to my guns on a point that will eventually drive us apart. This isn;t to say that we don't have our disagreements or that she wins every argument, but is anything that important?

3. No matter how upset we get at each other, I know that the underlying truth and foundation of our relationship is that we love each other. There's no stronger house than one built on love.

4. Money isn't that important. I know, to some it's all important, but that's just not a good basis for life. Money comes and goes, but family and friends are forever.

5. Finally, marriage requires work, sometimes hard work. I have found it to be the most rewarding work, though.

So, in closing, I want to thank my beautiful bride for putting up with my quirkiness through these last few years. I look forward to so many more years to come, each one better than the last, I hope.

Until next time...