Our Tenth Anniversary

On Friday, June 14, we celebrated our tenth anniversary in Glen Rose!  

We are really looking forward to a week away this fall to celebrate ten years; but, my parents also offered to keep Isaac and Emma this past weekend so we could celebrate on our actual date.  I came home on Friday afternoon to this beautiful bouquet.  Dave tried to find the exact shade of roses that I carried in my bridal bouquet!

I had been thinking about wearing my dress for our anniversary, but my mom preserved it for me while we were on our honeymoon.  I couldn't decide whether or not to break the seal and open it.  I asked several friends, and the comment "nothing lasts forever--you should do it" convinced me to go ahead and open my dress! 

I lugged (literally--the box was huge!) my dress up to our room where we were staying.  Dave said he figured out what I was doing because I was so loud trying to unpack it.  (Yes, the box fell over several times.)  :) Once I opened the box & broke the seal, I found that it was zip-tied into place in several places!  I thought my train would still be bustled, as it had been at our wedding reception, but it was let out.  I couldn't figure out how to re-bustle it, so I just wore my long train behind me for dinner. 

We stayed at the Inn on the River in Glen Rose.  They had a restaurant in the inn itself, so we walked downstairs for dinner and received many comments.  People started saying, "There must be a wedding tonight!"  :)  Once we sat down to dinner, the couple at the table next to us asked us if it was our first anniversary.  (I'm glad to know they thought we still look like newlyweds!)  The gentleman, Ron, offered to take our picture on our camera.  While we were finishing our dessert and drinking coffee, his wife, Sue, leaned over and said, "My husband is down by the river checking the light.  He's a retired photographer and would love to do your portraits, if you'd like.  He has some new equipment he is having a lot of fun playing with."  Dave started laughing out loud and told Sue that no one loves pictures more than I do!  

It was already such a wonderful weekend celebrating & reminiscing on our ten years together.  And then....to receive these portraits on top of all that was just an extra-sweet blessing from God!  It was as if He perfectly orchestrated a beautiful anniversary gift for us in having Ron take our pictures.  It wasn't chance that a retired Star-Telegram photographer and AP editor sat next to us at dinner and happened to have all their photography equipment with them!  So, we walked down toward the riverbank and had these pictures taken.  Both Ron & Sue were so kind and asked us all about our wedding day and our life together now.  

The first time I wore this dress, I didn't think I could be more in love with David.  God has allowed the heartache of infertility and our adoptions of Isaac and Emma to grow and strengthen our love into something deeper and richer than I ever could have imagined.  Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that I love this man far more now than I did on our wedding day.  I am so thankful for David--for his godly leadership in our home, for the incredible father he is to our children, for how he continually points me to Jesus, for how he makes me laugh, and for how he selflessly he serves Isaac, Emma, and me.  I am blessed.