Our Anniversary
Published by Thomas under on 9:30 AM
Today marks 9 years since I was lucky enough to be able to marry my best friend. In some ways it is hard to believe that we have already been married for 9 years, and in other ways it feels as if we have been together for an eternity. We have experienced so much of these past 9 years that it is hard to comprehend just how much our lives have changed, the sites we have seen, and the moments have shared.
Here is a short list of what comes to mind as I reflect on the past nine years:
- Our wedding. Our wedding was wonderful... even though it was early. The love I felt for Julie as we looked across the wedding alter at each other was eternal in nature... and I felt so lucky to have this angel as my best friend, and wife. Our reception was wonderful (even though we did not get any ice cream) and our Utes beat BYU that day 20-17. That day was the beginning of an incredible life together.
- The birth of our three children (QuynhAnh 2002, Coltrane 2004, Keenan 2006) who we love more than I would have ever thought possible. We have struggled to learn how to be parents, but overall we have tried to rely on love first and foremost... and they are turning out to be strong willed, creative, independent individuals, and we could not be more proud of all three of them.
- The purchase of our first home in Provo. Our "little house" in Provo will always hold a special place in our hearts. QuynhAnh and Coltrane were both born in this home, and we have many memories of first steps, first Christmas's, roller blading along the river trail, QuynhAnh running away to get cereal from her Grandma's, and lots of of other family memories. We were so nervous when we bought the house... it was such a big expenditure at the time... but it was a great place for our family... although we have NOT missed the mosquitos that were very present there.
- The building of our new home. The fact that our marriage survived the building process is a miracle in and of itself. If you ever want to realize just how different your tastes are as compared to your spouse... build a house. The building ended up being a great blessing for us, as it helped us improve our communication skills, and taught us how to work with each other efficiently (we have VERY different working styles). During the build we spent countless hours supervising the build, installing wiring, tiling, burying pipe, etc. It was a HUGE project, but it has created a place that truly feels like home to us... and we feel very blessed to be in our home.
- Shortly after we got married, we decided to find something that we could both do together... and we chose Karate. While I found that I stink at karate... we found that Julie is absolutely amazing, and has a lot of inate talent for martial arts. Julie quickly advanced through the various levels and eventually gained her black belt. I really enjoy watching her do the various forms and maneuvars (although it is hard to get her to do them) and am amazed at her control over her movement and body. Although she can now totally kick my trash if she ever wants to... I am glad that she found something that she is so good at.
- After I failed at karate, I decided to go back to clogging... something that I had done in the past and had been longing to do again. I proceeded to join a group up in Salt Lake (Clog America) and after a lot of hard work learning their style, I spent two years performing and traveling with the group. The first year I went to Zacatecas, Mexico... and while I had an absolute blast performing with the group, and experiencing Mexico... I found that I can not be away from my family for that long (3 weeks). I became more homesick than I had ever been, and found myself missing my wife and kids more than words can say. The second trip was to Italy and Poland, and I took Julie with me this time. Although it was VERY hard to be away from our children, this trip was a magical experience for Julie and I. It was wonderful to share an experience I had from my life with Julie... and the time we had together was incredible. My fondest memories are of the two of us exploring the Colliseum, or wandering through various small towns in Poland.
- Road Trips. We love road trips, and have gone on quite a few since we have been married. We try to take a road trip at least once a year, and find different places to experience and enjoy. Sometimes we go by ourselves, sometimes we invite family or friends, but these are always an incredible experience.
- Julie's brother Jeff. After we got married, we began to spend a lot of time with Julie's younger brother Jeff. Over the past nine years, this relationship has grown to be a vital one in our lives... and he has become a huge part of our family. It is hard to imagine our lives without him, as almost everything we did included him. Most, if not all, of my memories over the past nine years include him.
I could add many things to this list... but for the sake of the length of this entry, I will leave it there.
We have so many memories together, and I am excited to experience all those that we still have in front of us. We have had our challenges... our highlights and lowlights... our disagreements... but above all we have loved each other... and that has somehow always been enough. We have tried to live the principle found in one of our favorite family songs... "all you need is love".
I want to end by proclaiming how grateful I am for Julie... a day does not go by that I am not amazed that I was lucky enough to find her... and convince her to go on that first date with me. She is one of the strongest women that I know, and I have learned so much from her. I would not be who I am today without her love, support, and sacrifices. She is an incredible Mom and teaches our children to love life, enjoy the important things, and to make the most of their talents and relationships. She tackles projects with an intensity that is hard to match at times... but our home (and our lives) are better off for it. She loves to be active, have fun, and to laugh. She says what she thinks, and stands up for what she believes. I have loved her with all my heart for the past nine years... and am looking forward to continuing to do so for the eternity that lies ahead.
oh... and by the way... Go Utes.
Tidbit of knowledge: More Utah BYU games have been played on November 20th than any other day.
Here is a short list of what comes to mind as I reflect on the past nine years:
- Our wedding. Our wedding was wonderful... even though it was early. The love I felt for Julie as we looked across the wedding alter at each other was eternal in nature... and I felt so lucky to have this angel as my best friend, and wife. Our reception was wonderful (even though we did not get any ice cream) and our Utes beat BYU that day 20-17. That day was the beginning of an incredible life together.
- The birth of our three children (QuynhAnh 2002, Coltrane 2004, Keenan 2006) who we love more than I would have ever thought possible. We have struggled to learn how to be parents, but overall we have tried to rely on love first and foremost... and they are turning out to be strong willed, creative, independent individuals, and we could not be more proud of all three of them.
- The purchase of our first home in Provo. Our "little house" in Provo will always hold a special place in our hearts. QuynhAnh and Coltrane were both born in this home, and we have many memories of first steps, first Christmas's, roller blading along the river trail, QuynhAnh running away to get cereal from her Grandma's, and lots of of other family memories. We were so nervous when we bought the house... it was such a big expenditure at the time... but it was a great place for our family... although we have NOT missed the mosquitos that were very present there.
- The building of our new home. The fact that our marriage survived the building process is a miracle in and of itself. If you ever want to realize just how different your tastes are as compared to your spouse... build a house. The building ended up being a great blessing for us, as it helped us improve our communication skills, and taught us how to work with each other efficiently (we have VERY different working styles). During the build we spent countless hours supervising the build, installing wiring, tiling, burying pipe, etc. It was a HUGE project, but it has created a place that truly feels like home to us... and we feel very blessed to be in our home.
- Shortly after we got married, we decided to find something that we could both do together... and we chose Karate. While I found that I stink at karate... we found that Julie is absolutely amazing, and has a lot of inate talent for martial arts. Julie quickly advanced through the various levels and eventually gained her black belt. I really enjoy watching her do the various forms and maneuvars (although it is hard to get her to do them) and am amazed at her control over her movement and body. Although she can now totally kick my trash if she ever wants to... I am glad that she found something that she is so good at.
- After I failed at karate, I decided to go back to clogging... something that I had done in the past and had been longing to do again. I proceeded to join a group up in Salt Lake (Clog America) and after a lot of hard work learning their style, I spent two years performing and traveling with the group. The first year I went to Zacatecas, Mexico... and while I had an absolute blast performing with the group, and experiencing Mexico... I found that I can not be away from my family for that long (3 weeks). I became more homesick than I had ever been, and found myself missing my wife and kids more than words can say. The second trip was to Italy and Poland, and I took Julie with me this time. Although it was VERY hard to be away from our children, this trip was a magical experience for Julie and I. It was wonderful to share an experience I had from my life with Julie... and the time we had together was incredible. My fondest memories are of the two of us exploring the Colliseum, or wandering through various small towns in Poland.
- Road Trips. We love road trips, and have gone on quite a few since we have been married. We try to take a road trip at least once a year, and find different places to experience and enjoy. Sometimes we go by ourselves, sometimes we invite family or friends, but these are always an incredible experience.
- Julie's brother Jeff. After we got married, we began to spend a lot of time with Julie's younger brother Jeff. Over the past nine years, this relationship has grown to be a vital one in our lives... and he has become a huge part of our family. It is hard to imagine our lives without him, as almost everything we did included him. Most, if not all, of my memories over the past nine years include him.
I could add many things to this list... but for the sake of the length of this entry, I will leave it there.
We have so many memories together, and I am excited to experience all those that we still have in front of us. We have had our challenges... our highlights and lowlights... our disagreements... but above all we have loved each other... and that has somehow always been enough. We have tried to live the principle found in one of our favorite family songs... "all you need is love".
I want to end by proclaiming how grateful I am for Julie... a day does not go by that I am not amazed that I was lucky enough to find her... and convince her to go on that first date with me. She is one of the strongest women that I know, and I have learned so much from her. I would not be who I am today without her love, support, and sacrifices. She is an incredible Mom and teaches our children to love life, enjoy the important things, and to make the most of their talents and relationships. She tackles projects with an intensity that is hard to match at times... but our home (and our lives) are better off for it. She loves to be active, have fun, and to laugh. She says what she thinks, and stands up for what she believes. I have loved her with all my heart for the past nine years... and am looking forward to continuing to do so for the eternity that lies ahead.
oh... and by the way... Go Utes.
Tidbit of knowledge: More Utah BYU games have been played on November 20th than any other day.
3 comments:
That was a very nice blog, I wish I could get wayne to post every now and then! Happy Anniversary!
thank you, love. You are so important to me, I love you so much
Tom,
Thanks for the awesome blog about my sis! She is so amazing and you guys are amazing together! Thanks for taking care of her and not being a scary "Rico Suave"!
love,
Becky (0:
Smile
Post a Comment