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| 14 Years Married |
Day #1 of "Love your Spouse Challenge"
Well, I guess it is my turn. I usually try to avoid these things at all costs, but I will take advantage of the opportunity to Celebrate the love God gave me and the marriage we share as I count down the days to our anniversary. 7 days to sum up an amazing 14 years of marriage...
Our first two years of marriage can best be summed up by getting used to marriage and getting used to graduate school. Eric and I met in 2000 as architectural undergraduates and through much prodding from Eric, some divine intervention, a night at Chuck E. Cheese with friends and Spring Break with no real plans we began to date 7 months later. 9 months after that we were engaged and 8 months after that we were married. It was a whirlwind two years that were then followed by our first two years of marriage, full of memories, relationship firsts, a honeymoon and other vacations, getting my name on the "family tree" in Maine, studying for and taking the GRE, applying for graduate schools and then embarking on the journey of architectural education together...again. There were good times and bad, but Eric was by my side through it all...When I wanted nothing more than to storm out (alone) from our apartment he stopped me, and when I was overwhelmed and exhausted by the pressures of school he would put his own work aside to help me. Even though there were a couple of moments in those first two years that I wanted nothing more than to be alone, I am so thankful that Eric never let that happen and never left my side. I wouldn't have made it without him.
If you're willing, post a picture of you and your spouse for 7 days and tag 2 people each day to keep the Celebration of Love and the Promotion of Marriage going...otherwise just know that I love you and appreciate the marriage that you have built with your special guy. Today I tag Erika Klingenmaier and Valerie Helinski (my SIL and the closest non-blood or marriage relation to family I've ever had).
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| 2000-2004 |
Day #2 of "Love your Spouse Challenge"
Today I will not only celebrate my marriage and love for Eric, but I will also celebrate our families which make us stronger...
In 2005 and 2006 we celebrated our third and fourth anniversaries. Those same years we also had some major life changes. In 2005 Eric and I both graduated from graduate school and then had to figure out what the next step was. Being that we were living 8 hours from my family and 1/2 hour from his, we decided to look for jobs that were more in-between both of our families. In the fall of 2005 we set out on a "vacation" touring the east coast of Wisconsin in search of new jobs. It was a long week full of driving and interviews, which did not immediately result in anything of interest. However, in the Spring of 2006 I was offered a position at a residential firm in Racine, WI, and Eric sacrificed his own proximity to his family to give me a closer proximity to mine. Within the next month or so we packed up all of our belongings, selected a new apartment in Kenosha, WI, found Eric a new job and then moved with no idea of what our future would bring. 10 years later we are still in the same jobs and while there have been many things that have been in flux in the world of architecture during that time, Eric was/is not one of them. His love is strong and steadfast, and although it is different not being close to his family like before, we have made plenty of memories with both families in the time since!
Today I tag Debbie Klingenmaier and Vicki Migrin (our moms). In a world where commitments and vows mean little any more, you and your husbands (our dads) have shown us the importance of family and the importance of being steadfast with your spouse even when everything is in flux. Thank you! *If you're willing, post a picture of you and your spouse for 7 days and tag 2 people each day to keep the Celebration of Love and the Promotion of Marriage going...otherwise just know that I love you and appreciate the marriage that you have built.
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| 2005-2006 |
Day #3 of "Love your Spouse Challenge"
2007 and 2008 were the fifth and sixth years of our marriage. They were also years of big adventures. Eric and I worked to get settled in Kenosha, bought our first house, found a church 'home', worked on our first major remodel together, enjoyed some vacation adventures together and with family and expanded our family with our fur baby, Emma. Eight years later, there is still no one I would prefer to enjoy my adventures of life with!
Today I tag Judy Dryer and Christina Rodriguez Ort, two women that are great examples of supportive, loving wives and also great friends. These women are the first real friends that I made in Kenosha and two people that made it start to feel more like home. *If you're willing, post a picture of you and your spouse for 7 days and tag 2 people each day to keep the Celebration of Love and the Promotion of Marriage going...otherwise just know that I love you and appreciate the marriage that you have built.
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| 2007-2008 |
Day #4 of "Love your Spouse Challenge"
Years seven and eight of our marriage took place in 2009 and 2010. Those years can best be summarized by the end of our twenties and the beginning of our thirties. Together we embarked on an entirely new decade of our lives as we became ten years older than when we had first met and all I could think of then and can think of now is that there is no one else I'd rather grow old with.
Today I tag two good friends that were there to celebrate the beginning of our thirties with us: Britni Kenyon Laillet and Chendy Frankel...two great friends that are devoted wives and growing old gracefully along side of me! *If you're willing, post a picture of you and your spouse for 7 days and tag 2 people each day to keep the Celebration of Love and the Promotion of Marriage going...otherwise just know that I love you and appreciate the marriage that you have built.
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| 2009-2010 |
Day #5 of "Love your Spouse Challenge"
2011 & 2012 held the most painful and joyful moments of our marriage (& lives) to date. From the moment that we decided we wanted to grow our family several years prior to the moment that we first laid eyes on Asher and held him in our arms it was a long and often excruciating journey. Through it all though we held on to each other, our faith and the hopes that we had for our future. From the very first time I saw Eric interact with his much younger cousins (who later were our flower girls and ring bear) I knew he would make a great father some day, and I was most definitely right. I married a great man who, although often a child (at heart) himself, will teach our boys to be great men someday as well. I am forever grateful to walk through this journey of parenthood with him and know that I could never do this job on my own.
Today I tag two friends that I not only look up to for their mad momma skills, but also for the faith driven, devoted wives that they are: Ruth Hryshkanych, thank you for being a loving momma to the thousands you have ministered to through the years...& Laura Strietzel thank you for being one of my best friends (who was there to hug me and pray with me during some of those dark times) and also part of a husband/wife, mom/dad team that Eric and I often strive to model. *If you're willing, post a picture of you and your spouse for 7 days and tag 2 people each day to keep the Celebration of Love and the Promotion of Marriage going...otherwise just know that I love you and appreciate the marriage that you have built.
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| 2011-2012 |
Day #6 of "Love your Spouse Challenge"
Seasons Change...WAY.TOO.FAST!! In 2013 and 2014 the 11th and 12th years of our marriage flew by as did the first two years working as a team to parent our little man. They were years full of laughter, tears, snuggles, sleepless nights and more love than I could have ever imagined. Everything we went through we went through together and while it was (& is) the most demanding thing we'd ever done, it was and continues to be the most rewarding. Watching my man be the Daddy, friend, enforcer, goofball and pseudo-pro wrestler for our little guy is a blessing beyond belief...so much so that it didn't take long for us to decide to do it all over again, and unlike the struggle we had prior, it also didn't take long to turn that decision into a reality.
Today I tag a two church friends that were right along side of me for both pregnancies: Heidi Bailie & Alexandra Dryer. It has been such a joy to watch our littles grow up together. *If you're willing, post a picture of you and your spouse for 7 days and tag 2 people each day to keep the Celebration of Love and the Promotion of Marriage going...otherwise just know that even though I am WAY older you are my sisters in Christ and I love you and appreciate the marriage that you have built.
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| 2013-2014 |
Day #7 of "Love your Spouse Challenge"
...one day late, but that is just how things go these days in our crazy, awesome, exhausting, hilarious, love filled life that we share!
2015 and 2016 equate to our 13th and 14th years of marriage. That's right, as of yesterday I have been a married women for a whopping 14 years! Where has the time gone? Literally, it seems like just a blink of an eye, and yet I have tens of thousands of pictures to tell me otherwise. Being married to Eric has had its ups and downs but I wouldn't trade it or change any of it for anything you could give me. There was a moment in my life, just days after our relationship status changed from friends to more, that I knew if I didn't follow through to see where this relationship would take me, I would regret it for the rest of my life. 15 years and a few months after that day, I have no regrets. Eric is my best friend, my support, my clown and my comforter. Every day is easier knowing that he is by my side! Happy (belated) Anniversary Eric!! I love you and the amazing/crazy family we have built together! (PS: with all of our pictures can you imagine the slide show at our 50th Anniversary party!!!??)
Today I tag my last two friends for this "challenge": 1: Heidi Lemmerhirt: My college roommate and friend that got a front row seat to those early days of my last relationship (sorry) and then told me about her last relationship that had just began the night I packed up my room to move out and get married. 2: Jennifer Wohlers: A beautiful friend, wife and mom. Even though you've lived way too far away for the last two years, you have become one of my closest friends. Thank you for giving me a female to talk to when this house full of boys becomes too much for me! *If you're willing, post a picture of you and your spouse for 7 days and tag 2 people each day to keep the Celebration of Love and the Promotion of Marriage going...otherwise just know that I love you and appreciate the marriage that you have built.
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| 2015-2016 |
Eric also surprised me on our anniversary with a bit of the love your spouse challenge as well!
Day #5,114 of the "Love Your Spouse Challenge" Today as we celebrate our 5,114th day of marriage (14 years) I reflect on what an amazing day our wedding day was. My true love, in the most beautiful dress ever, reciting our vows in front of our loved ones and sharing our first kiss as husband and wife. 5,114 days, 50,000+ photo memories, 1 dog, 2 kids, two homes, and countless adventures later and I still love you with the same giddiness as I did during our first kiss on the beach and every day since then. Happy Anniversary to my true love. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together.
Eric's Words...
In closing (well sort of), anyone that reads this blog often would know that about 99.9% of it is about our little guys. That said, here is the rest of what happened this week...
Monday: As I mentioned in my last post, we went to the cottage the weekend before this and returned on Monday. The drive home was a long one with lots of stops, so by the time we got to Gurnee we were ready to stretch our legs. Since we had Potbelly on the brain as we awaited the opening of our own Kenosha location, we found the restaurant in Gurnee and stopped for dinner. When dinner was done, we made it the rest of the way home and shortly after went to bed. Before saying goodnight though, I finally got around to taking Avery's 22 month photos. I had already been about a week late to take them when he got HFMD so I figure I would wait a little longer so we didn't have to look back at all of the sores. :(
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| Avery outside Potbelly. |
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| 22 Months and What.A.Ham! |
Tuesday: A typical day of work, daycare and a little time together at home.
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| A picture of Dr. Avery from daycare. |
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| Asher & I finally got around to building his Lego Space Shuttle that he got for his birthday. |
Wednesday: As I said, it was our anniversary. Eric had tried to get a babysitter for us so that we could enjoy a nice dinner without kids but it did not work out. So...we spent our 14th anniversary eating at Olive Garden with the boys and then watching Sharknado 3 together after they'd gone to bed!
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| Opening my card and gift (the theme was animals this year. We got a new lens for our camera as our gift, but I also couldn't help getting Eric a "wolverine" shirt - Go Blue). |
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| Eric & Asher at the Olive Garden |
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| On the night of our anniversary a package showed up in the mail for Asher & Avery. It was Michigan T-Shirts from Grandma & Papa and they were so excited by them that they insisted on putting them on before going out to dinner. Thanks Grandma & Papa! |
Friday: Avery closes out the work week multitasking with some 3-way calling.
The Boys also had a short day at daycare, so Eric picked them up early and they had a boy afternoon together complete with Wendy's Frosties.
Video: Sluuuuurrrrrrrpppppp
Saturday: Asher invited a game. The conversation that followed went something like this:
Asher (with a bunch of strips of paper): Mommy do you want to play this game with me?
Me: Sure buddy what do I have to do?
Asher: You have to do this Mommy (Moving all of the strips around on the table in some random arrangement).
Asher: Are you ready to play with me now?
Me: I'm still not really sure how to play the game Buddy. This game is too advanced for me.
Asher: Then I will make you some restructions.
Asher: Then I will make you some restructions.
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| The "Game" |
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| The "restructions" |
Chef Asher also invited a new recipe: Banana Sandwich Pancakes. From the looks of it, you take a banana, slice it up and then smash the slices on top of a pancake. Then you put another pancake on top to make a sandwich and voila! Banana Sandwich Pancake.
Much to my surprise, Asher also let his little brother play with his new Lego space shuttle. Avery was thrilled!
Video: 3, 2, 1, Blast Off!
We closed out a long day on Saturday with a campfire and pizza pudgie pies.
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| Avery was pretty sure I was his plate. |
Sunday: The week drew to a close with church and some relaxing family time at home, Panera and at the park.
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| Lunch with my guys. |
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| Too Hot. |
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