what I've learned in four years of marriage

Matt and I shared our four-year-anniversary yesterday together.  We enjoyed spending the evening out while my parents watched the girls.  We went out to eat at The Hubbell House in Mantorville, Minnesota and then toured the Mayowood Mansion in Rochester.  We had a wonderful evening talking, reminiscing, dreaming, and just enjoying each other's company.

So, in thinking of what to post about our anniversary... I thought I'd write down a few things I have learned in our four years of marriage.  And even though I think I've learned a lot, I know I still have much more to learn.

~ Married life is better than I thought it could be.
~ Married life can be more challenging than I thought it would be.
~ You learn all of your faults very quickly.
~ It is both a blessing and a joy to serve and be served.
~ You never really stop dating.  {I love that.}
~ Even though you think you know everything about each other before you get married, you don't.
~ It is possible to fall in love with your spouse all over again.
~ Having a constant companion is wonderful.
~ Prayer for and with each other is essential.
~ God is truly the only One that can hold a marriage together.

Happy Anniversary, my wonderful husband!  I am so thankful to share my life with you.

I still do.

Because Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday this year, our pastor took the opportunity to preach a message on marriage. The message was a great reminder of how we should show our spouse how much we love and appreciate them on a daily basis. Then, at the end of the service, he invited all of the married couples to renew their vows -right then and there. Since I was on nursery duty that weekend, I usually need to leave the service early to get ready for when the parents come pick up their kids. But, I felt it was important for Matt and I to say our vows to each other again. Even though we first said them just over three years ago, it was wonderful to hold hands, look into each others' eyes, and repeat them to each other yet again. I still mean what I said then and I will always mean it for as many years as the Lord gives us together.

I still do.

Three years!

It's hard to believe that three years ago today... we were getting all dressed up, taking tons of pictures, saying our vows in front of friends and family, eating dinner and heading to Lake Tahoe -as husband and wife! We have already been through so much in three years and I'm thankful for every part of it. Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!

Anniversary getaway!

Matt and I are blessed to be celebrating our 3rd anniversary this week. We decided that to celebrate this year, we'd take a short trip up to the north shore. We are staying in Lutsen and went north up to Grand Marais, Grand Portage and the Canadian border today. Here are a few pictures from our day:

A view from just outside of Grand Portage...

Down by the lake next to the main lodge of where we are staying

Inside the lodge where we ate a delicious and massive breakfast

It has been a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable trip so far. We love not having an agenda and just taking time to drive wherever we want and even just spend time watching movies and reading back at our room. We are planning to drive down to Duluth tomorrow to visit a few places before heading back again on Wednesday. We'll put up more pictures tomorrow (hopefully!).

Happy Valentine's Day!

I really enjoy Valentine's Day... I always have, even before I could share it with my wonderful husband. There was just always something lovely about receiving cards and candy in a hand decorated bag in elementary school. That later transformed to writing on cards to college friends and eagerly awaiting a mailbox full of Valentine's from them as well. And although I didn't get any little cards with candy this year, I did have a great Valentine's Day. Well, actually, my Valentine's Day was on Wednesday of this week. Let me explain: Matt has to work Saturday nights, so I kind of assumed I wouldn't be doing much to celebrate this year. We've had a "tradition" for the past two years to get pizza on Valentine's Day (which actually was an accident that turned into a tradition... a story for another day). Therefore, I figured we'd just share a pizza together after Matt got home from work Saturday night. But... my beloved husband was far more creative than that this year :) On Wednesday, I had two students to tutor and was gone for the afternoon. When I pulled home into our driveway, I noticed Matt's parents' car there. I assumed they had just stopped by for a few minutes on their way to run errands or something. However, when I walked in the door... there Matt was waiting for me and asked if I was ready to go. I was extremely shocked and not sure what to think at first... it took me a few minutes to realize what was going on. I stepped in a little farther and saw flowers and a card on the counter (which he went out to get with Miriam while I was gone) and Matt's parents playing with Miriam. Matt had arranged for them to come and watch her while we went out for dinner. (And, as a side note, Miriam learned the word "date" that night!). It was wonderful. We went to the Olive Garden because that was our first Valentine's date a few years ago before we were even engaged. It didn't quite follow our pizza tradition... so maybe we'll just have to stick with Italian from now on.

So, all in all, I enjoyed a lovely early Valentine's Day with the one I want to spend them with for the rest of my life. Thank you, honey!

Funny Photo Tag

I was tagged by Jamie from Joel, Jamie and Caleb for this photo tag. I had to find the 6th picture from the 6th folder in my photo library. So, here goes:

It's the top of our wedding cake :) And yes, we did actually freeze this after our wedding and attempted to eat it last year on our first anniversary. It tasted almost as good as the first time... haha.

So now, I tag Katie from Los Jacques, Megan from Life and Wife of a Med Student, Erika from Nelson Family of 4 in Michigan, Jackie from By HIS Wounds, I am Healed and Kim from The Vettrus Adventures. Here are the rules:

Go to your sixth picture folder and find your sixth picture.

Pray that you remember the details.

Post it on your blog.

Tag 5 others, and leave a comment letting them know they've been tagged.

Have fun!

Hopefully I'll get a real post up here sometime soon... it's taken me a bit to get back in the swing of things after Thanksgiving. We had a very busy week!

Anniversary!

Today Matt and I celebrate our 2nd anniversary... and what a wonderful two years it has been! We are thankful for God's continuous blessings and provisions as we continue to grow as a couple.

Road Trip!

Next week, Matt and I will be traveling across the country (well, maybe just traveling a few states away), to go to a worship conference in Indianapolis. We're REALLY excited to go! We are also leaving Miriam with my parents for the week while we are gone. This will be the first time she's been away from us for that long. So, we are a little torn... we'll miss her a LOT, but are also really looking forward to having some "just us" time. Even though most of the trip will be traveling and going to the conference, we'll have part of one day to go to Brown County in Indiana. We heard it's a beautiful place to go -also sometimes called the "Yellowstone of the East." It should be very lovely at this time of year. We will also get to hook up briefly with some college friends for lunch in Indianapolis (Erik & Anna) and on our way back home through Waterloo (Mike & Amy and maybe baby L). It should be a great time. At the conference, we'll also get to hear artists like Lincoln Brewster and Jared Anderson and some more. Pray for us as we travel and throughout the week. We hope and pray this will be a refreshing week for both of us.