One idea we had was to make Ten Top Ten lists at the 10 year mark. It sounded like a simple task but we were surprised with the length of conversation our little game provoked. What a gift it was to laugh as we revisited our time together & recorded lists of silly things along with more serious moments. Without further adieu, here we go!
I have a feeling it is going to be long ; )
Our Top Ten....
Dates
- Cagles Steakhouse- Lubbock, TX - Our first date. Shortly thereafter we began to contemplate marriage.
- Maxey Park- Lubbock, TX - We spent many an afternoon eating a picnic lunch & studying or goofing off....probably more goofing off.
- Mingalones & Aida the broadway show- Houston, TX- My gift from Rob for my 20th birthday & within that trip was the first time for him to meet my family. We returned to Mingalones for our Rehearsal Dinner in 2004.
- A steakhouse in Sydney, AU- We celebrated getting engaged & my 21st birthday in the same night. I wore heels & my feet were blistered by the end of the night so my knight in shining armor carried me from the train station back to the home we were staying.
- Gaylord Texan - Old Hickory Steakhouse-Grapevine, TX- We spent Rob's birthday at the hotel & enjoyed the most delicious meal in what seemed like a Wine Cellar. We tried to recreate this date at the Gaylord Palms Old Hickory & decided to never attempt to recreate again ; )
- Epcot- Oralndo, FL -pre kids & specifically Food & Wine Festival in the fall. We spent many a night wandering around after dark people watching or riding rides with no lines ( a Disney favorite).
- Hotel Avia- Savannah, GA- We took a trip here for our 5th anniversary with a sweet baby Charlotte in tow. We ate fish tacos for room service about 4 times in our weekend away & I told Robby for the next five years that I would pay him the big bucks if he would drive me there on a whim to get another plate full of that delicious meal!
- Bonefish Grill- Orlando, FL- the place where we opened an envelope to find out we were having a second baby girl.
- Cantina Laredo- Orlando, FL- We found this place when I was pregnant with the buckaroos & went after many an appointment. We shared many meaningful conversations here regarding struggles in pregnancy & about Bennett the day before he died.
- Sushi Sake- Richardson, TX- Too many dates to count at this diamond around the corner from our home here! We wish is were cheaper ; )
Things I swore would never be a part of my life but thanks to Rob, I have ventured out
- Pitbulls + letting them sleep in my bed
- Kayaks
- Firearms
- a sip of Whiskey here & there
- Riding a motorcycle
- Broadening seasoning horizons & using anything but Lemon Pepper
- Indian Food & Sushi
- Coffee
- Eating the side sauces that come with dishes
- Homeschooling
Baby Names that didn't make the cut
- Benjamin
- Samuel
- Brennan
- Arthur
- Banjo (totally Rob)
- Madelyn
- Nora
- Eleanor
- Lillian
- Ruthie
Ways we have seen God work
- Always providing what we need to serve others in our lives- having Jenny + our friend Elizabeth, her two kids & a dog live with us in Richardson or the ability to support friends who are serving the Lord outside of our immediate circle
- Quick selling of our home when we were Florida bound & God's provision in Rob's company allowing him to work from the Land of the Mouse.
- Perseverance in Orlando when we had few friends & were far away from family & through the addition of little ones to our life.
- The growth in number of people & more so life change in individuals through the care of the Celebration Community Church family.
- Our marriage deepening when things feel tough instead of us growing apart.
- For all ten years (& prior)- Singles, couples & families who have displayed a life devoted to Christ, and provided encouragement & joy as we have "grown up."
- The gift of four children in a short period of time & God's care for them as we have transitioned to living in Texas. A few specifics for each- Charlotte- seeing her giftings & sensitivity to God & others. Eloise- beginnings of feeling sadness for her sin & seeking repentance & forgiveness. Owen & Anson- saying "God" when asked "who made you?" & overall seeing them "healthy & strong" at nearly two years old which is what so many prayed for. God answered.
- Parents who gave endlessly to help us in our journey back to Texas including flying back & forth to help, transport kids, drive a vehicle or preparing for us to be roomies for the first couple months here.
- Last December Rob felt the Lord telling him that 2014 would be a lean year. This was prior to having any knowledge of his company slowing down & eventually ending. God provided patience through months of indefinite income, exactly what we needed when we needed it, ability for me to work & pitch in on the cash flow followed by me being out of work for a few months due to my recent diagnosis & even in that, now we are thankful to be recovering through unexpected means.
- Again, family & friends who have served endlessly through all of our unexpected medical issues that have required many doctor visits.
Trips
- Australia- 2004 when we got engaged & again in 2007 to visit friends
- Honeymoon to Pagosa Springs, Colorado -2004
- Garner State Park with my family soon after we married- 2005
- Minneapolis, Minnesota for multiple Desiring God Conferences
- Visiting Orlando as we considered moving -2007
- Savannah, Georgia for our 5th anniversary- 2009
- Blue Ridge Mountains & Big Canoe, Georgia - 2010
- Crested Butte with the Ellis family- 2010
- Michigan & Smoky Mountains, part of the trip with the Valentines & where that egg was split on the zipline ; ) -2012
- Wimberley, Texas- 2014
Homecooked Meals
- Chicken Tacos
- Smoked Brisket & Pork
- Turkey Taco Pasta Skillet
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Steak, baked potato, mushrooms & spinach
- Jalapeno poppers
- Stuffed Flounder
- Pazole Soup & all the other soup we make & freeze after Turkey day
- Chimmichuri Steak with sauce & black beans
- Lamb Burgers
"The Office" quotes that are often heard -SO hard to only pick 10
- Michael to Jan -"Good luck paying me back on your zero a month salary plus benefits babe!" We have laughed about this one a lot lately when I spend money & am not working ; )
- Jan "Remember it isn't just a pattern, it's a pattern of disrespect & inappropriate behavior." Michael "Disray .My friend Disray got news specs. Disray spect."
- Michael "How dare you! You know I have soft teeth!"
- Jim "Question. What kind of bear is best?" Dwight "That's a ridiculous question." Jim "False, Black Bear." Dwight "That's debatable. There are basically two schools of thought.." Jim "Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica."
- Pam "What was the food like in prison?" Michael "Gruel sandwiches, gruel omelettes, nothing but gruel." Sometimes when the kids are relentless in the morning we say "alright kids, we are eating gruel, nothing but gruel today."
- Michael "Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."
- Pam "Oh, I can help starting dinner if you need it." Jan "Oh no, it's just the Osso Bucco needs to braise for about three hours. Everything else is done!" Pam "Three hours from now or three hours from earlier like 4 o'clock?" Jan "You know Pam, in Spain, they often don't even start eating until midnight." - We say this when dinner prep is taking way longer than expected.
- Michael "Presents are the best way to show someone how much you care. It is like this tangible thing that you can point to and say 'Hey man, I love you this many dollars worth.'"
- Dwight "I never smile if I can help it. Showing one's teeth is a submission signal in primates. When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life."
- Stanley "Boy, have you lost your mind? Cause I'll help you find it!" We could say this about every 10 minutes in our house ; )
Meaningful Moments
- When Rob proposed
- Walking into the first home & me crying
- Chris's phone call to ask if we would consider moving & the entire process of moving
- Finding out about pregnancies & welcoming babies into our family
- Charlotte singing "Peace, you give me peace" to me in the car when I was completely bawling following one of our earlier visits of finding out about concerns with the boys growth
- Holding Owen & Anson in the NICU for the first time
- Reconciling after fights
- Robby's years of working from home & the times each of us got to interrupt his day with snuggles or spinning in his chair
- How Eloise tells Rob EVERY morning when he is about to walk out the door "Daddy, you look soooo handsome!"
- The moment we smile at each other in the middle of complete chaos which means two things... One- we are experiencing the reality of life with four sweet children that offer lots of excitement. Two- we look at each other like "We are in this together buddy! Don't leave me!"
Family Traditions
- Annual squirrel hunt & never firing off a gun...at a squirrel
- Donut Day- used to be every Saturday until we got tired of the crash after the sugar high...we are down to twice a month
- Dance parties in the kitchen after dinner
- Thankful Tree
- Putting up Christmas decor the day after Thanksgiving
- Snackies with just about every family celebration
- Resurrection Eggs
- Pierogi Day
- Valentine cards instead of Christmas cards
- Giving imaginary gifts to each other. For our fifth anniversary I wrote Robby a note telling him he could buy the gun he had his eye on without realizing it cost $1500. Ha! He still tells me how much he likes his imaginary gun ; ) For my 30th birthday Robby said he was working on getting my entire blog printed into books...until it crashed his computer & he realized that we had a 3 year old, a one year old & 2 month old twins that required every millisecond of his free time.
Ways we have upheld our vows
- "Our home will be a place of laughter, joy & peace" - it is definitely full of laughter & joy but is far from peaceful these days ; ) We still make each other laugh really hard & I always tell the girls when I am crying because I am laughing so hard "It is sooo important to marry someone who makes you laugh! Your daddy is the funniest man in the world!"
- "I will love you without reservation" - One reason we believe we have a healthy marriage is our willingness to be transparent with each other. That has been difficult at times but always worth the risk of sharing.
- "When you are discouraged I will not walk away" - we laughed when we talked about this one adding on "except for when you are being a jerk, then I will walk away & come back later" haha! Discouragement has come in many forms & we have been so thankful for how the Lord orchestrates our life to where we are rarely completely discouraged at the same time. This has allowed us to truly care for & encourage one another through these times.
- "I receive you as a gift from God"- We have found that we are each a gift to one another that is continually being unwrapped through different stages in life. There is only so much you can know about each other prior to moving in & building a life together. We have loved seeing one another change over ten years together. One specific way has been in seeing each other as parents. We also joke that we are good at receiving gifts...even imaginary ones ; )
- "I will seek, serve & love God with all my heart"- Through the Lord's leading, we have been able to do this at times & experienced much joy in life. When we have failed to seek, serve & love God with all our hearts we have experienced pain & hurt.
- "I will lead you/follow you"- This has been easy for us minus when there was some role reversal & I went to Florida & bought a house that Robby didn't see until we pulled up with a moving a truck ; ) On a serious note, leading encompasses much more than just making decisions & Robby has blessed our family immensely with spiritual leading & the way he helps our home run. Both leading & following has required much selflessness & turning our backs to our own pride. Always a work in progress but we pray that our children would see the Lord helping us fulfill what he has called us to in our marriage.
- "Serve you with all of my strength" I mainly think of Robby in this although we both said it. From the time I was pregnant with Charlotte & spent every evening lounging on the couch, he has been up & down to get anything I could possibly need. We went through two more 9 month segments of time but we laugh because it seems that my lounging & his serving never stopped. We are almost two years out now & every night he makes sure I have everything I could need or want....including a late night pizza or a dozen warm cookies delivered to my doorstep ; )
- "Provide & protect" Much like leading, providing encompasses much more than the first thought of financial means for a family. He has done a good job purchasing appropriate items to protect me. I feel very safe : )
- "Uphold you" This is something I said to Robby & he commented that he saw me majorly fulfill this commitment following his surgery in June. He was happy to have a wife that was a nurse who could provide the care he needed. I loved the opportunity to serve him following his care through pregnancies & recoveries.
- "By God's grace & power I will be true & faithful to you for the rest of my life" That's it, it is only by God's grace & power that we are able to celebrate anniversary after anniversary staying true to one another. We pray that God will continue to bind us together as we believe that obeying Him is the best & happiest way to live.
Robby was a little concerned about my brain function when I said "Can you believe that on our 20th anniversary (in 10 years) we will have a 25, 23 & two 21 year olds?" Ha! I was worried too & felt much better when he reminded me that the kids will be 15, 13, & 11....which still sounds ridiculously old compared to where we are now! We look forward to making another list at the 20 year mark recording all that another decade will bring.
We do wonder sometimes why we got married a week before Christmas since it is such a busy time of year but it just adds to the excitement & reflection. For those of you who are married & have displayed relationships that are faithful to God & one another, thank you. Thank you for helping us through your transparency & encouragement. The Lord has used you to help us make it to ten years & we are grateful for that.
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