Eight Years, EIGHT Years!...

...Today we are celebrating our 8 year anniversary! The hubs and I have officially spent the last 10 years together, 8 of them as husband and wife. It certainly doesn't feel that long, and yet, I also cannot remember life before him. He completes me in so many ways and I am so thankful for the man he is. I am amazed by all the ways the Lord has worked in our lives, to grow us as individuals, as a couple, and now, as parents. God is good. There are tough times, there are things that we do that bug one another, there are frustrating moments, but overall, marriage is pretty easy. We are in love. I think we love each other more every day. So cliche. And so true. It's an absolute honor that God chose me to be a Jared's wife. I consider my role as a wife to be of utmost importance, it's a precious, precious job that I hope I do justice to each day. I am so thankful for the vows we said eight years ago. I look forward to the next eighty. I know the Lord has great plans for our marriage and family...The best is yet to come.

Lots of kissy wedding pics...

And one from rehearsal dinner. We were babies!

A Little Gift Giving to the Hubs...

...We don't really celebrate Valentine's at our house. I love, love, love the decor & taking time to tell those around me how much I love them (especially when I had a class full of sweet kiddos)...but as far as the flowers, chocolate, and expensive dinners- we can both do without those. I much prefer a special date night or roses on a day I'm least expecting it, for no special reason.

This year, once again, we didn't really celebrate, but I had been planning a little gift for Jared that I decided to give him on Valentine's Eve. I had seen some "Daddy Survival" kits on Pinterest and decided I would do a little version of that for Jared. My mom had wanted to buy us our diaper bags, so we picked out an Eddie Bauer backpack diaper bag for Jared from Target. Jared loves backpacks, he even uses one for work, so I knew that would be perfect for him. I added a couple books, some energy drinks, an OU burp cloth, and Date Night in a Jar.

Date Night in a Jar is another Pinterest idea. I absolutely loved this and thought it would be a great thing to add to the "kit" to remind us both to put each other first and take time to be together. There are 3 categories for the date ideas...1. Stay at home, little planning, little $. 2. Night out, some planning, some $. 3. Big date, lots of planning, lots of $. I then wrote down date plans and color coded them with a ribbon & made a key based on the categories. See this blog for my inspiration.

I was very excited to give this to Jared and I am happy to report he was excited to receive it. He's already doing some reading and sharing his discoveries with me. I cannot wait to see him become a daddy! : )

Anyway, that's all I got for today! : )

Baseball in Chi-town...

...I was home from Florida for one day (which was filled with meetings from 8-4) before heading on my next summer trip to Chicago. My sister called me back in March and asked if I wanted to come to Chicago in July and go the Rangers game. I asked Jared and it ended up turning into a 30th birthday trip for him. He not only wanted to go to the one Rangers game, but all 3, and the Cubs game. So, we headed out Saturday morning and after missing our flight (no fault of mine- the hubs decided to start packing at the time exact time we were supposed to leave), we eventually made it to Chi-town and enjoyed a great 5 days in the city.

Some pictures to share...

 Cubs Game- being dorks after the win.

 Heading to Dinner

 At Harry Carey's. We ate here on our Honeymoon and it's one of our Chi-town favorites.

 I went non-Paleo a lot in Chi-town...how can you NOT eat deep dish pizza!? At Gino's East.

 With the sis.

 Cliche "Bean" pictures at Millennium Park.

 

More fun with art.

And some iPhone pictures...

 Wrigley. So. Much. Fun. And, the Cubs won.

 

Rangers game 1: Losing.

Rangers game 2: Also losing. We didn't win a single game there. Just. Our. Luck.

Our hotel had this amazing vanilla orange water. Yum! I drank lots of coffee on this vacation (not-Paleo, but well worth it). Storms followed me here too!

The one thing I had to do while in Chicago was try Glazed and Infused donuts (SO NOT PALEO). I read about them on Daily Candy & was dying to try them! We picked up the Maple Bacon Long John, Chocolate Ganache, S'mores, Creme Brulee, and PBJ. Now, I am not really a donut person, and I am so thankful there are no gourmet donut shops in Dallas or I would be addicted. These were amazing. We plopped down at the John Hancock courtyard with a Jamba Juice and indulged. SOOOOO good.

Now, it's back to reality. Back to Paleo (and boy am I craving my fresh/clean Paleo diet...minus the coffee, I miss my coffee still). Back to getting my summer to-do's checked off.

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

...

1. I'm Loving...grading writing assignments about time travel. Fourth graders make me smile.

2. I'm Loving...that we are in the process of getting things done around the house. Jared recently inherited a desk and couch that belonged to his Grandpa, so we are redecorating the study to be his office. Apparently my decor style wasn't manly enough, so I am moving our old furniture upstairs and creating a craft room for me.

3. I'm Loving...that we get to celebrate the future arrival of one of my best friend's twins this weekend. Kelly is such a beautiful person inside and out, and she will be the best mother to these two blessings! Here is a sneak peak of the super cute shower to come.

4. I'm Loving...The sovereignty of God. It never ceases to amaze me how he has perfectly planned every moment, of every day, of every life. Including mine. Each interaction, every person we come in contact with, every little small thing we do, has meaning and purpose. It absolutely blows me away to open my bible on a specific day and read a verse that I KNOW God wanted me to see at that moment. I love my Lord.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name." ~Psalm 103:1