9 Years of Marital Bliss

Collin and I celebrated our 9th anniversary last week.  We hired a babysitter for Thursday night so we could see the movie, Les Miserables, which was excellent.  Friday my sister watched Caden and we got to see the Dead Sea Scrolls that are only in town for a short while and go to dinner.  We had a wonderful anniversary and overall have had a great marriage.

We both have changed and grown since getting married 9 years ago.  As a couple we have been through a lot together.  We have lived in a foreign country, had a baby, had 4 miscarriages, and ups and downs just like everyone else does.  However, I think what has really helped us stick it out is having a relationship with God.  We both strive to be imitators of Christ.  Neither one of us is perfect, I especially still have a ways to go, but we are trying and growing daily.  We have made it a priority to never go to bed angry and we have had some late nights while talking things over.  We trust but also are not afraid to question the other if we have a bad feeling about something.  We are also each others best friend.  If Collin needs something I hope I'm always the first one he calls.  If I need something, he's always the first one I call.  We also work as a team and as much as possible try and parent together.  We also strive to stay as debt free as possible.

Every year we try and give a gift from the modern or traditional list.  When we celebrated our first anniversary, 9 years ago, the gift was paper.  We didn't have any money so we made each other a card and I made him a coupon book with free date ideas.  Last year we gave each other Polish Pottery and these year the traditional gift is pottery, which we did last year, so we decided to go with the modern gift of leather and give each other a joint gift.  We spent more than we ever did on this year's gift and bought new leather couches.  The last time we gave something leather was for our 3rd anniversary where I gave Collin a leather bookmark.  Once our couches are delivered I'll post some pictures.  We are so excited and have always wanted leather couches.  I pray we have over 50 more anniversaries together.  I love you, Collin!  Thank you for making my life so wonderful.