10 Years and Still Loving Him!

September 25, 1999. A completely magical day! The day I married my best friend! It was such a fun wedding and I was SO excited to get married. To be married. I couldn't keep still. Literally. I was bouncing, I was so excited. The pastor actually said, "The Lord bless you and keep you . . . still!" Yup, I just married the man I loved and I couldn't contain the excitement!

Fast forward 10 years. 10 magical years. Okay, let's be realistic. Not all of them were magical. In fact, some were hard. Really hard. I remember feeling so angry at Jay, so disconnected, so confused as to why things were so hard. So empty. So ugly. We didn't talk. Life was chaotic. We had 3 kids. He was busy doubling his hog operation. Life was busy and stressful and we grew apart. It was anything but magical. Lots of tears were shed. Lots of hurt feelings. But, we pushed through. We did not give up. We continued to pray and talk and pray and talk and pray and talk. And things got better. Are things less stressful now? Maybe just a little. But is our marriage fun again? Is it full of life? Is it good? I mean really good? ABSOLUTELY!! To celebrate 10 wonderful years of marriage, we went away for 2 nights, without the kids, to a resort located a couple hours away from here called Falcon Trails Resort. Now, when I say the word resort, I get images of shiny windows on huge hotels, shimmering pools, exotic locale, hot summer sun. This was NOT that kind of resort. This was a cabin by the water, rustic, trees, deer, quiet, kind of resort. Absolutely perfect!


Our cabin was called Sunset and it afforded beautiful views of the lake. It was a cozy place - 3 beds (2 in the loft - obviously we only needed one), a small kitchen, livingroom/diningroom with fireplace, TV/VCR/DVD, hot tub in the screened in porch. It was fantastic.

The first night we arrived we stayed around the cabin as it was already dark. We made supper, soaked in the hot tub, watched a movie and went to bed early. Heavenly!
The next day we got busy - we hiked and hiked and hiked, about 4 hours in total.



We kept trying to get a picture of the two of us using the timer on the camera. We finally succeeded. This is us after 10 years of marriage. Older, wiser!



This was us on our honeymoon 10 years ago. Yup, we were at a cabin in the woods then, too. We hiked and we took a picture (one of my favorites - it sits beside my bed!). Boy, do I look young. Innocent. Naive!!


After resting a few minutes back at the cabin, we went canoeing. 2 hours, maybe?

That evening, we watched the sun set on the water (spectacular, isn't it?).

Then, we headed to Kenora, ON for supper at Dino's Restaurant. I had read great reviews online and they were not wrong. It was a wonderfully delicious and filling supper. Once back at the cabin at 10pm, we headed back out in the canoe and into the mist settling over the marsh. Felt like something out of a movie, a little scary. Dark, you cannot see anything, misty. I was expecting an alligator to sneak up on us! Enough of that! Back to the hot tub! The next morning, we packed and away we went. We left the quiet behind to go get our kids. Our noisy kids. We miss the quiet! Ah, but we love having them around, too!

Best part of the whole 2 days? He proposed to me, all over again. He is so romantic when he has time to think through what he wants to say and writes it down. He took us to the end of the dock, read me some amazing words (which I don't have to remember because I have written copy!) then pulled out this unbelievable ring (whose beauty cannot be appreciated in photos!) and asked me to marry him . . . again. Which I didn't hear because I was so taken with the ring. Seriously, the first words out of my mouth were "holy crap!" So, not the words I would have chosen had I thought for a few seconds, but they are what they are. And I laughed. With the same giddy excitement I had the first time he proposed. On a dock. And I said yes! Both times!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life. I am loved, deeply loved by him and he continues to show me. Buying me a ring, a big ring, an expensive ring, is a huge thing for him. He is a saver, not a spender. So when he doesn't look at the price of a piece of jewelry but goes from his heart instead, you gotta know it is important. Really important. So, now I have rings on my hand that remind me of the beginning of our life together and a huge accomplishment along the way. I love you, sweetheart, and I cannot wait to spend another 10 years as your wife! Happy Anniversary!