Saturday, October 31, 2009

I DO

5 years ago, today, Jon and I were saying our "I do's"......in fact it was just about this exact time!! From the days that followed our engagement we both agreed that we did not want an elaborate wedding.....eloping was even a thought. My mom convinced me (possibly threatened!!) that we could easily do a small wedding with little stress! The entire weekend was JUST that.....at least for me and could not have happened without my family and some friends!! Once we got rolling with the plans we knew that we wanted a fall wedding and for it to be outside if possible. Reason behind a Halloween wedding.....it was the only weekend day left in October!! It started out a rainy day which became a small stressor for me. I literally begged God in the shower that morning that he would allow me to accept whatever the weather was to be that day! I did and before I knew it the sun was shining down and it turned out to be the PERFECT day in soooo many ways! Jon and I were able to be surrounded by family and friends the ENTIRE weekend.....it was wonderful! Such good memories for me today as I scrolled thru hundreds of pictures this morning! I am blessed beyond measure!!

pre-wedding
Jon's family
my beautiful sisters
Jon and his brother
Jon's family......his grandmother passed away earlier this year (blessed to have had her there)
my beautiful grandmother who also passed away earlier this year......i miss her beyond measure and I really am grateful she was beside me the entire weekend!!
4 generations
my beautiful mother
this picture radiates happiness to me!!!
ceremony
my mother walked me down the isle.....she's forever been my rock!
i do realize this picture is sideways but i couldn't turn it and had to add it! this is my niece and she had tripped prior to making her way down and so with ALL the attitude she could muster up she threw those leaves high up into the air!!
mr and mrs
my mother had a "toast at dusk".....it was perfect!
reception
had sooooo much fun laughing, talking, eating, and dancing the night away with friends and family

i could not have asked for a more perfect day!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE!! I LOVE YOU MORE AND MORE EVERYDAY!!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

5 years and 3 fish....

Jon and I are about to celebrate 5 years of marriage!! Yeah a milestone of sorts! It's been exciting. It's gone by soooo very fast. It's rewarding. Always a learning experience. Forever a balancing act. Accepting things we may not like but are not the end of the world (I think Jon gets a daily phone call about his socks NOT turned right side out!!!) differences. Not every day, minute, or waking moment spent together is perfect but it doesn't change the way we ultimately feel about each other (and yes they are GOOD feelings). Daily attempting with ALL our beings to keep GOD our 1st priority. Encouraging each other as parents and individuals. Making ALONE time a priority so that when these babes of ours are grown we still remember each other. I wouldn't trade this man for ANY OTHER PERSON IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I'm comfortable with him and I feel SOOOOO very safe with him and sooo very LOVED by him and accepted by him.....even on my "crazy days"!!! I LOVE THIS MAN WITH ALL MY BEING and I pray that we are blessed with many many more years of marriage celebrations!


So this last weekend we packed up a camper and a truck to spend time in the woods here:
and we're completely blanketed in this beauty:
and took a nap together *a rarity* and stayed cozy in the cold evenings here:
brought some fall reminders inside the camper like this:
and ever the busy wood chopper here:
to be able to enjoy blazing fires at night like this:
and eat to fill your belly up and warm your body up meals like this:
and ran into things like this: (but THANK GOD we never ran into the actual bear)
and enjoyed some quiet time like this:
part of our trip involved hiring a guide on our 1st day there to teach me how to fly fish and allow Jon to get some pointers to improve his technique. i thoroughly enjoyed myself and so we have now found a hobby we can, together, go to for years and years.....even when we're old and lonely (aka our kids have found cooler people to hang with)
our surroundings while driving from one fishing site to the next
"flies"
so we fished 2 out of our 3 1/2 days there and while i was more determined to learn the sport than catch a fish i was elated that in the last 10 minutes of our 2nd day fishing i caught a fish (i thought i had caught my 51st leaf but NO it was a trout)!!!
friday was a rainy day so along with scoping out the little quaint town of blue ridge, ga we took an afternoon nap and then headed to a swinging bridge waaayyyy out in the country. it was kinda tricky to find but once we started out on the trail the beauty of the colors, peacefulness, and breath taking views, that only nature can bring, encompassed us! we had the best little hike and once again reminded of how present GOD is in the out of doors.
we had a beautiful weekend......not only being outside
but having quality time ALONE with no distractions
from this crazy busy life we can sometimes lead....something
that, in my opinion, is important for every marriage!