Well, I wanted to do this the week leading up to our anniversary, but it just didn’t happen. Here are some old photos of our courtship, engagement, wedding and honeymoon.
(These were from scans that I did for a book for Chris (an anniversary gift). I cropped most of them when I actually made the book, so these are a little rough, but you will get the idea!)
Wow…these details are a long time coming. I just haven’t found a few minutes to be able to sit down and post. The week has been quite busy…Alec had croup that later turned into bronchitis. Ella cut her first tooth…so as you can imagine, sleep has been hard to come by, which makes my days all the more hectic! (Caleb wants me to add that he LOST another tooth this week! 
)
So…let me fill you in on what my wonderful husband planned for our 10th Anniversary.
Originally we had talked about taking a cruise to celebrate, but since I can’t leave Ella right now, that was out of the picture. (We are planning to do that sometime next year – once she is weaned!) So Chris was creative and planned a VERY special day for us. I only got details when he wanted to tell me! It was fun! And…for those of you that know me and know that I have a tendency to figure out my surprises…I worked VERY hard to NOT figure anything out! He really did surprise me with his plans…it was great!
So, this is what the celebration looked like…
Thursday, September 18, 2008…our acutal anniversary. We had a “normal” day, Chris worked, I had a meeting and errands. But we were home that night. I fixed a really nice dinner that we all enjoyed. Then we sat down and watched our wedding video! I couldn’t tell you the last time Chris sat down and watched it with me! The boys were hilarious as they commented on everything from people looking younger to “you’re going to pray AGAIN?” and “that guy is going to sing AGAIN?!” It was so funny! But it was a great way to celebrate our special day.
Oh, and I must say that my husband has grown in being sentimental…the whole week leading up to our anniversary, he was recounting things that we did during our “wedding week!” I am normally the one doing that, but he initiated the conversations! (Thanks, babe!)
Okay, so here are a few pics from our Anniversary night at home…
I decorated our mantle with wedding items!
Caleb took this one for us! Chris had these flowers delivered to me!
spinach and cheese stuffed steak, cheese risotto, asparagus and bread. Yummy! We had cake for dessert.
So…the next morning, we packed everyone up and met Andy, Emily (& Andrew) for breakfast at Mr. Quick – a family favorite! After breakfast, they took the kids home with them and we were on our way to the Ritz Carlton Spa for the day!
It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day! The highs were in the mid-80′s, barely a cloud in the bright blue sky! Normally it rains on our anniversary week – just like it rained and rained on our wedding! So this was a great change! We spent a couple of hours in the pool and jacuzzi – we had it to ourselves almost the whole time. We spent lots of time talking about the past and the future. Here are a few photos of our time there:
After leaving the spa, we met our families for dinner at Carrabba’s for dinner. We were able to celebrate our anniversary & Angela’s 19th birthday! So much fun! I will post pics from that when Ang sends them to me (hint, hint!)
At dinner, Chris gave me a card with 2 tickets for la Nouba – for THAT night! We saw the 9pm show. What an experience! We had a great time. Afterwards we got ice cream at Ghirardelli’s at Disney’s Marketplace.
Whew…what a day! We slept well that night! No kiddos (or Ella) at home! She did a great job spending the night with Gremmie & Dodo. She even took formula! Yay!
Thank you, Honey, for all the time and thought you put into making our day together SO special! I love you more today than ever before and I would say YES all over again! What a ride the first 10 years have been! I know that the Lord will continue to be faithful to us in the decades ahead! I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am sure that some photos and a more robust recap will soon follow…
-Cj
