This first part is from Feyma.

Wow, 23 years ago on the 9th of August Bob and I said our “I DO’s”.  Another year to create precious memories together. I just can’t believe it that it has been that long ago already since we became husband and wife. We were both in our 20′s then. Him in his late 20′s and me being in my early 20′s.

Can’t believe it that we’ve been together for over 2 decades now. It’s been a good ride for us. We are blessed with our 3 good looking boys, and 2 beautiful daughters (have to brag. LOL).

It’s been a roller coaster ride for us. We totally handled it good with the grace of God the almighty.

Of course we had our moments, just like the typical and normal couple. Our marriage is far from perfect, especially with the two different cultures together. Bob would say something and I take it differently. Sometimes we argue and fight, thank God not physically. Raising voices yes we do that, who would not. Being married for 23 years and together almost everyday (24/7 for a lot of years, since Bob has been working at home for more than 20 years) what can you expect? LOL. I’m so glad Bob put up with some of my shenanigans. I think he’s the only guy that can put up with it. Ha ha ha… Really he’s an amazing husband and a father to our kids. He is really good to our girls too. He’s also good to my family especially when my parents were alive. He was so thoughtful to them. That’s why I love him more for that. I know he will do anything for me. I do the same for him.

Bob works hard to support me, our kids and some members of my family. He never complained that. We’ve been burned out on helping other members of the family especially nieces that have been so ungrateful. One thing that’s so different on the 2 cultures. Filipino way, after what happened to some of my family members so disrespectful and not appreciating what we’ve done for them. I told Bob I had it, we are not sending anybody to school anymore. Western way: they would still support the other family members because not all members of the family are the same.  In short not judgmental. I really applauded him for that. He totally open my eyes. I think I was just blindsided by my anger and embarrassment. I got over it and moved on.

To Bob: I love you so much honey. You and the kids really are my life. Thank you so much for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for helping me adjusting and teaching me living the life in the States. Thank you for pampering me. You really taught me a lot in life. Love you more for that. Happy 23rd Anniversary Babe. Another year to strengthen our marriage that last a lifetime!!!

A few photos from our years together

Now, this part is from Bob.

Thank you, hon, for your kind words!  You know that I love you very much!  Unlike most couples, this is the first (and only) marriage for each of us, and we will keep it that way, I know that!

We have had a lot of good times together, and a few bad too, of course.  I have so many great memories of my times over the past 23 years!  I know you do too.  When we first got married, and you migrated to the States, I was able to help teach you and help you learn the ropes of how things worked there.  After a few years of that, we both learned from each other (well, I guess we did that all along too, though).  Then, in 2000, we moved to the Philippines and it was your turn to start teaching me how things work here.  I love you for that.

Something that a lot of our readers may not know is about cooking.  When we got married and you moved to the States, I quickly learned that you didn’t know how to cook!  It was not a problem for me, though, because I enjoyed cooking, and I welcomed the opportunity to make meals for you.  I hope you liked the things that I cooked.  I quickly bought some Filipino cookbooks and I started cooking Filipino food for you.  It wasn’t always perfect, but a lot of times it turned out great.  I took great pride in the fact that I always made sure that you had some kind of food from “back home” to keep you feeling comfortable in the States.  You never did learn to cook very much in the States.  However, when we moved to the Philippines, you decided it was your turn to take care of me when it came to the cooking department.  You not only started cooking most of the meals, you also learned how to cook American food, and you always made sure that I had the kinds of foods that made me happy!  I love you a lot for that!

Marrying you was the best thing I ever did, and the thing that made me happiest in life.  A close second was when we grew a family.  We had 3 boys in the States, and they are all good kids, and I know that both of us are very proud of our boys.  Still, as much as I love our boys, and you too, we always wanted to have a girl as well.  Moving here gave us the opportunity to make that addition to our family by taking in two of our nieces and making them our daughters.  It has really made my family life complete, and I love the girls just as much as I do our boys.

Happy Anniversary, honey, I love you from the bottom of my heart!  Thanks for writing this surprise post, and I think you will also be surprised when you see that I added the second half to it!