Sweet Ten

Hello, friends! We just returned last night from our west coast vacation/anniversary trip. Mackenzie stayed with her Grandma Linda and Grandpa while Chris and I traveled to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Big Sur, Carmel, and Monterrey in celebration of our ten year wedding anniversary.

It was a big trip. Big doesn’t even describe it, really. Ten years of marriage. A week away from Mackenzie. Five flights, a Bolt bus, cab fare, and metro transit.

There were so many highlights, too many to just recap with a few pictures. We had such a great time. I’ll share more highlights about each bit of the trip as soon as I can unload all of the pictures from my phone and our camera, but before any of that, I want to take a minute and just celebrate these ten years of marriage. It’s a big milestone, for me especially. So, without further ado, here are ten things I love about our marriage.

1. We are best friends. The core of our relationship has always been our friendship, and to this day, Chris is my person.
2. We go all in. There are no half-ways with us. We’re either going to do something, or we’re not. We’re all in in our marriage, as parents, and with every goal and dream we set out to achieve.
3. We honor the creative spirit in each of us. We are driven to make things, create things, build things, each in our own unique way, and we give each other space and resources for that.
4. We pray for one another. We believe that we each have a God-given purpose and calling, and we have seen the difference that prayer makes in our marriage. We don’t have a set prayer time, but it usually happens while we’re driving, or even at night when we pray with Mackenzie. I can tell a difference in my day when Chris is praying for me, and I hope that he can tell a difference in his.
5. We step out on the water. We’re not afraid to try things, even when we’re not sure what will happen or how things will turn out. We pray and ask for direction, and eventually, we just step out and decide to see what happens. It takes courage and faith. It’s how we landed at New Life in Arkansas, and how we came to live in Nashville. I’m not sure what our next faith step is yet, but I know that whatever is around the corner, adventure awaits.
6. We fight hard. Okay, sometimes I love this, and sometimes I hate it. We’re both strong-willed, but we’re learning to fight with grace, to say what we mean, but not to cause harm. When we fight well (we’re still learning!), it makes us stronger. And I do love that.
7. We are a team. This especially comes into play in our roles as parents, but it’s also true in our work life and in our social life. We don’t play on opposite sides. We have each other’s back.
8. We don’t give up. We’ve had our share of setbacks — personally, financially, in our careers, even spiritually. We’ve disappointed ourselves and each other. But we don’t give up. We don’t quit. We show grace to each other, and we pick ourselves up and keep going. Morning brings a fresh start and a new perspective.
9. We care for one another. We respect that we both have needs and boundaries, and honor the principle that we are not our own. There is no place for “I, me, and mine” in marriage. We are constantly giving that up, and in the giving, growing stronger together.
10. We grow together. It seems that in marriage, you either grow together, or you grow apart. We are all changing, all the time. When that happens, or we see it happening, we work to keep our bond close, to honor the change that is happening, to talk about it, and to grow on that path together, rather than apart. We have both changed a lot in our married life — everything from politics to cooking to our faith and what we perceived as our callings. By keeping our relationship first and communication lines open, we are closer now than we have ever been before.

To my sweet, sweet husband — happy anniversary! I love you.