July

I am looking forward to this month. My mom and dad are coming, my sister, her husband, and her kids are coming........ it is the 4th, which is one of my favorite times of year... and then two weeks after they leave, we will be headed out that way to go on vacation in Bend, Oregon... one of my favorite places. Can't wait!!

Perfect Day...

Yesterday was a great day for Joel and I ....... we celebrated our ten years of marriage by getting a sitter (woohoo) and headed into Cincinnati to go eat at Boi Na Braza. It is a Brazilian steak house and is amazing! They have an all you can eat "side" bar.... not just salad stuff but mashed potatoes, rice, mushrooms, vegetables, cheeses, capers, etc. Then, while you are eating, you have a card with one side red and one side green. There are at least ten men walking around at all times with slabs of all kinds of meat on skewers and if your card is green, they will slice some off and put it on your plate..... so, you have to keep flipping your card all night. It was very yummy, and for dessert I had a papaya ice cream/pudding thing... so yummy. Needless to say, we were stuffed when we left. So then we walked around downtown for awhile, saw two drunk men fighting.... (most of you would think that was not really romantic for a date, but Joel and I are the worst at people watching... we love it.) Then I got to go into Tiffany & Co and pick out a bracelet and necklace... so fun and so sweet. ;) It was a great day..... and it started out with our friends who wrote and sang a song at our wedding, redoing it and sending it to us through email so we could transfer it into our itunes and have it always and forever.... so sweet. The picture is of our card... turned over to red because we were STUFFED!!

TEN YEARS!!

Today I sit here on my deck, drinking my morning coffee... thinking back on the last ten years of my life. Today Joel and I are celebrating our ten year anniversary. Let's see.... ten years!! WOW. So many emotions, so many memories! We started off in Longview, headed to Oakland, CA... then back to Longview, then to Eugene, OR... then to Cincinnati, OH and then Columbus, OH and now back to Cincinnati.. (well, northern Kentucky actually).
It has been ten years of learning, tears, hardships, fights, laughter, kissing, growing closer..... and the list could go on. Not every day has been perfect, and some have been extremely hard, but each day has been worth it. Our marriage is stronger and better than it ever has been and just keeps getting better as days go by. We know one another well, we know how to be married and what it takes to make it good and most importantly Godly. It will never be perfect, and we both know we will always disagree about golf, but if that is okay. :)
Marriage has taught me so much about myself, and the love of Jesus. My dad and mom always told me, "don't marry the one you can live with but marry the one you can't live without." Joel is the one I cannot live without.

Almost Ten Years..........

In one week from today, I will have been married to Joel for ten years. I can hardly believe it and am so thankful for those ten years, even though some were great and some have been not so great. When we vowed to stay together through good and bad, I can honestly say we have stuck to that promise. Here are some thoughts as I think back on the last ten years....

* we have lived many places and met many people.
* when first married, we had no clue what being married really meant. Glad we now know.
* I think we are two totally different people now.
* we have learned to communicate, how to fight, when to talk and when to be wise and be quiet.
* we have two amazing girls, and without them added to the mix, life would be dull.
* I am glad we went through the rough times... it saved our marriage actually because now we actually know what it means to be married.
* each day might not be perfect, but our relationship gets stronger and better as days go by.
* we still have our fights, but if golf is the worst thing we have to fight about, we are doing pretty well.
* as I am typing this, Joel is flying the girls up in the air.......... they are laughing and laughing.... and here I sit and realize that although my life may not be perfect or glamorous, I am blessed beyond what I deserve and can't wait to see where the next ten years take us.

Our trip

Here are a few pics.... of the hotel...... Jesslyn watching tv while taking a bath and the girls standing in front of what looked like a painting but was really a tv...... so cool. We also took the Marta in downtown Atlanta... and I am pretty sure that was the first time Nevaeh had ever seen a grown man wearing a dress.

Atlanta....... and my few days of feeling like a queen

We are back from our quick trip to Atlanta.... WOW, what a great time. We stayed in an amazing hotel. The service was outstanding and every time we went to our room, they had picked up after us. The huge bath had a TV... Jesslyn loved that. I am a bit sad to be back to the real world. We were able to see some family and some great friends. Lots of laughing, lots of walking, and lots of swimming. Now back to reality... laundry, cooking, cleaning, and picking up after everyone. I am truly sad that this had to come to an end!