10 Year Anniversary

June 4th, 1999

Today is my ten year anniversary. I can't believe that ten years ago I married my best friend. Ten years has flown by, and here we are nearly three kids later! Looking back we can see the twists and turns in the road we've been going down. God has provided at every part of the journey, and it makes me excited for what's coming up ahead.

In honor of this being our ten year anniversary, here are ten favorite things/memories about being married to Mike.

1. Traveling: I can't pick just one trip! We love to explore new places, and some of our favorite vacations together have been: St. Thomas, Spain, France, Italy, New York, Kansas City and Austin.

2. Buying our first home: I remember how excited we were to buy our first "fixer upper". It was such a cute house, and we put a lot of work into it. We lived there for six years and had so many happy memories there.

3. The birth of our daughters: This is quite a big one! What a joy it has been these last four years raising Hannah and Leah. It has brought us together in such a deeper way, and I'm looking forward to the birth of our son in just a few more weeks!

4. Family: We both love our parents, siblings and extended family so much and we both enjoy spending time with them.

5. Music: Mike and I share similar tastes in music, and we've had a lot of fun over the years going to shows together and discovering new artists. Some of my favorite shows we've been to have included: The Appleseed Cast, Death Cab for Cutie, Taking Back Sunday, Relient K, The Anniversary, and this October we're going to see U2 when they come to Oklahoma! Fun!

6. Friends: Over the years we have made some great friends together which has been a lot of fun for us. From doing things like camping, movies, game nights, practical jokes, mission trips, and volleyball to being there when we've moved into parenthood, we have made some good friends along the way!

7. Food: We both love to try new things and eat at "off the beaten path" places. We've had a lot of fun checking out these "hidden gems" together.

8. Building our current home: Some people say the true test of a marriage is building a home together. There are so many little decisions to be made, but in our case, we loved it! I so enjoyed the process with Mike. From paint colors to picking out tile-- I think it brought us closer together.

9. Support: I think we've always supported each other's individual passions. I love watching Mike grow as an artist. He's always got a creative project going, or he's reading a book about art, or he's taking a risk and trying a new medium. And he supports the things I love as well: namely writing and books. I think it's healthy that we have seperate interests, but that we encourage each other's interests!

10. Love: Ok, as cheesy as this sounds, I am thankful for the love that we have. It is so sincere and unconditional, yet it has continued to grow and deepen over the years. It's like a well that just doesn't run dry.

Mike, I'm looking forward to many more anniversaries to come!

Anniversary flowers from my sweet husband

I pulled out this old box 'o love notes and cards.

It is filled with so many fun memories!