Last week Mike and I traveled to Washington, Illinois to make an investment in what’s most important to us- each other. Our relationship as husband and wife and our relationship with God comes (or at least it should!) before anything else. When you are with each other all the time, it’s easy to  lose sight of that. “Busy” gets in the way. Life gets on automatic and doesn’t come off. We got off automatic, at least for a few days

The ONE Conference started last year, and I REALLY wanted to go, but I had the just-had-a-baby-and-a-c-section problem. I seriously said to Mike “We can go! I’ll take Brooks (3 weeks old) and just sit there and nurse. No one will notice or care!” I was obviously on serious pain meds and extremely sleep deprived. They had some last minute slots and I really wanted to go. Oh, but there’s the C-section I was recovering from too. Oh well! We finally made it this year and it was amazing. It is put on by Jeff and Julia Woods who are just insanely fabulous. They are so open and giving and caring and not perfect! And, they struggle, just like the rest of us. They shared in a way rarely seen anywhere. Real. Raw. Genuine. Authentic. Life changing. That is them and that was a few days for us.

There were several presenters that were all husband and wife teams at the top of their game in the photography industry. These couples are industry icons, and they’re not perfect. And they’ll be the first to tell you. It was so amazing seeing these couples share themselves and their struggles completely. They share because they care. We are so grateful for all of them.

I laughed, I cried, I listened, I talked (probably too much as usual) and had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Gosh, I could really go on and on and on about our time there. What it really did was remind me of what an amazing husband, best friend, lover, father, and business partner I have in Mike. He is truly amazing in every way. I wake up some mornings and just stare at him, then I pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. I’m not saying that our life is perfect and it’s a “walk in the park”, because it’s not. We have our own struggles, which are actually pretty small in the big scheme of things. But our love is perfect. I think all love is perfect because it’s love- it just is!! I don’t think there’s really  a wrong way to truly love someone. I love Mike with all I have (which is not much on some days).  He, in return, loves me unconditionally, which is all I could ever ask for. I am so blessed in so many ways.

Thanks, Jeff and Julia, for your selflessness. Who you are and what you do has transformed so many relationships, and we are all grateful.   See you next year in Cabo!!

~Ann