5,259,000 MINUTES. 315,600,000 SECONDS.
2 BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS.
COUNTLESS MEMORIES. MANY VACATIONS.
HUGS & KISSES. GRIEF & JOY. GRUMPINESS & FUN.
A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE.
24 more days, and all of those numbers are official. I am so incredibly thankful for the life that God has favored us with. 10 years. I truly am overjoyed to make it to this milestone. In a society that puts little value on a lasting marriage, we choose to celebrate marriage! We celebrated by recreating some of our wedding photos at Annie Wright School, where we tied the knot 10 years ago. And can I just tell you, it was incredibly fun, brought back so many memories, and gave me some warm fuzzies for my hubby all over again! Our original wedding photos are credited to the artistic work of Christy Pelland, and our recreated photos, plus bonus family photos, are credited to Miss Abby of Abby Joy Photography.
Whenever I get asked marriage advice, I always say something to the tune of, "Out serve each other daily. Communication is key. And, count to ten before responding to something that has irritated you." I agree with all of this advice, but I wouldn't say I started there as a newly wed.
A better question is, what has made our marriage work?
One reason our marriage works is because we have God as the foundation. Whenever we waiver in how to respond to life, not only do we have this great life manual that has been around for thousands of years (the Bible), we have an awesome support system through our church community. We have people that genuinely love us, and love our children incredibly well. We weren't always here. We didn't go about life the "biblical" way prior to being married. To be honest, our society throws out so many wacky ideas about relationships and marriage that we bought into. It's hard. Bad advice is everywhere. Social media makes it worse. I am SO glad that social media wasn't a thing when I was trying to navigate young adulthood. And, I am SO glad that we found our way to where we are now.
Another reason our marriage works is because of my husband. He is so patient, kind, and supportive to me. He had this partnership thing down way before I did. He always scoops my ice cream (even if he's not eating any), asks if I want "XYZ" too, and aims to achieve goals we've set. He's a super hard worker, but us three girls are his number one priority. He listens when I tell him that I need more quality time, and tells me to go pamper myself when I need a break. He truly knows the way to my heart, and I am so incredibly grateful that God gave me him.
The most important reason our marriage works, is because we make it a priority. We make it a priority to communicate with one another. Whether it's happy thoughts, sad thoughts, or goals, we share them with one another. It's not always easy to share, and it's definitely not always easy to hear, but we are committed to having a lasting marriage. When we have concerns, we discuss them with one another. This is key. We are far from perfect, and we definitely don't have everything figured out, but we both come from families of divorce, and we don't want that for our children. We love all of our bonus parents, but as kids, it was definitely tough to process and work through. So, we champion our marriage. As a matter of fact, if you're our friend, we champion your marriage too.
As we embark on our next 10 years of marriage, our goal is to continue to live a life of celebration with one another. We want our girls to see love in action. Not just our love for one another, but our love for Jesus as well. We want to encourage one another to be our best selves, which will roll into our marriage and family being at its best. We want to explore. We want to know each other deeply. We want to be a family that spreads joy. We want to encourage. We want you to come alongside of us and help us to continue on this amazing journey.
Cheers to another 10 years of faith, family, friends, & fun!
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