What a Difference a Decade Makes

Ten years ago today, I walked down the aisle a single woman...

...and walked up it a married woman.

After the ceremony, we laughed...

...and relaxed...

...and had cake*...

*Actually, all but the top layer of cake is styrofoam. I didn't like buttercream frosting so we served cheesecake instead. We tried saving the cake and eating it on our first anniversary, but it was disgusting.

 ...and kissed...

...and had fun hamming it up for the camera during our wedding dance (which was, inadvertently, Harry Potter-themed).

But we had no idea how much our lives would change in the span of 10 short years, or that we'd go from this:

to this:

 

 ....plus one:

We've done an incredible amount of growing, changing, and learning since our marriage, and I can't thank God enough for the incredible blessings He has given us during our journey. Without Him in our marriage, I fear it would have crumbled long before we reached this point. Our journey to Catholicism has made us stronger as individuals, but it's also made us infinitely stronger as "one flesh."

Here's to ten great years... and, God willing, many decades more.

Nine years ago today...

September 1, 2001

What an amazing nine years it's been.

We moved three times (twice to a different state). We had five pregnancies, three incredible kids, and two babies we lost before birth. We jointly discovered the Catholic Church and converted, a move that wildly changed our lives for the better. We bought our first house and a new car. One of us finished college, and one of us just went back to school yesterday (he's doing an online program via the University of Phoenix). We visited Las Vegas twice and Disneyland once. We made it through some really rough times, and have had some really good times.

Here's to the next nine years.



I love you, honey.