ten years of marriage

I can’t believe that ten years ago today i was waking up at my parents house on the day of our wedding. sometimes it feels like ten years ago and sometimes it feels like just yesterday. the day was an absolute blur and really one of the only memories i have from the day is just sitting in the church waiting for my dad to come get me to walk me down the aisle looking at the clock and going holy moly i’m getting married in five minutes.

and here we are ten years later. i feel like i don’t have the words or the time to capture everything that has happened over the past ten years. (luckily for me this blog was started shortly before our wedding in 2009). we have moved to this farm from a subdivision, made career changes to both work at my families company, had a baby, acquired animals, opened a store, bought a cottage… the list goes on and on. rather than share our ten year history I thought I would share some of my most memorable moments in our marriage from the past ten years.

i will never forget our first year of marriage when i agreed to have a budget talk with joe. i came home from work, we ate dinner and then joe had me sit on the couch by the tv where he had hooked up his computer to the screen and gave me a full powerpoint presentation of our budget. the spreadsheet was broken all the way down to how much i spent on make up based upon credit card receipts. i was in disbelief then but now i look back and laugh and thank God for his analytical brain and pressure to save up.

i will never forget when we were going to buy a farm next to my grandmas house and the deal fell through. we went for a drive and found our allegan farm and called the realtor. i walked through it with a poker face because i knew that if i showed how head over heels i was for it he would think i wasn’t thinking logically. when he came around the corner and said we should put an offer in, i about fainted. i remember the countless trips moving into this farmhouse and making it ours. it has truly become our home.

i will never forget those sad days over the past ten years as we lost friends and loved ones. joe has always been the strong reliable one in our relationship. even in the darkest moments he has always been able to think clearly and logically. he has always been the guiding hand in our marriage. even if i’m the one who changes the course.

i will never forget my favorite trip of all time together was when we went to napa california for a 4 day trip. we had no plans and just a rental VW bug convertible. we drove and drove and drove all weekend talking and hanging out and relaxing. I can’t wait to recreate that trip again next week.

i will never forget when i shared with you that i was pregnant again with otto. the excitement, the fear and anticipation. even though the pregnancy wasn’t picture perfect and our journey in parenthood has been a bit tumultuous,  i again am so grateful for joe’s steady level head.

marriage can be so hard sometimes and we’ve had highs and lows. no marriage is perfect but we always try. i am so grateful for the years we have had together and the laughs and tears. i am blessed to have a man that encourages me to pursue my crazy ideas (the good ones at least), knows how to reign me in when i have bad ideas, and is an incredible father to our son. i truly truly could not ask for more.

happy anniversary joey.