February 6th, 1999

Today we celebrate fourteen years since we were married. Fourteen!

This is one of our favourite photos. We were just so happy (and so very, very young)! We were so in love and we kept hugging and laughing and kissing. We were so excited.

Anniversaries give us time to reflect on the past and dream for the future, don’t they. A lot has happened since we married. For us: three houses and three babies and nearly three trips overseas together. And other stuff, like Monte’s business really growing and my career evolving. Plus we are working towards a dream that we both share: to live a sustainable life on our little farm in the straw house we dreamed, planned and built together.

There is a great deal of good in our life but there are challenges that we have had to face together, like living in the cabin with no electricity; building a business; building a house; renovating houses; and high risk pregnancies. These things have put extra pressure on us but we have always come through stronger.

I think if somebody had told me in 1999 that in 2013 I would be living on a farm in Tasmania in a straw house we built ourselves, with good jobs and three awesome children, I would have been pretty happy.

Happy anniversary, Monsta.