boy we were young!

Yesterday was Peter and my 10th wedding anniversary.

TEN. YEARS.

A full decade.

We've been married for a third of our lives.

AND DIDN'T WE LOOK YOUNG?!!

(Sorry for the poor quality pictures. They're pictures of pictures, actually. Picture that I clearly didn't 

even take the time to dust off before taking pictures of them. These aren't even my favourites. Those ones are in

 frames... somewhere. Framed pictures that -after living in our home for two years- we 

still haven't hung up. Or even taken out of the boxes they were packed in.)

The night before our anniversary, I was up late putting a coat of primer on a shelf and dresser (this dresser), and was still sound asleep when Peter slipped out of bed. When Andrew woke up, Peter quickly came and got him and took him out, giving me a few more blessed moments of sleep. Although breakfast in bed features prominently in all our special days, I was genuinely surprised when he and the boys came in with a tray loaded with food. 

Weeks ago, we had decided to celebrate our anniversary on Friday (today). So the tray loaded -with bacon and eggs and cheese, a bagel, yogurt, fresh berries, orange juice and green smoothie- and decorated with a cute little cactus (not sure if that is a euphemism for something in our marriage??), some of my favourite chocolate and some cards (two made by my favourite little hands and one carefully picked out by my favourite big hands) was an amazing surprise. Part of the surprise was that Peter had gone out an bought an actual breakfast tray! A really nice dark wood one! So we can quit using the slightly warped and dingy cookie sheet we've used up til now.

Then last night we had a special anniversary meal. My mom had offered to take us all out, but we decided against pouring over a menu and asking a million questions in an attempt to find food safe for Simon and Andrew, then waiting impatiently for the food to come while telling Liam not-to-drink-his-juice-so-fast and threatening bodily harm to Simon if-he-doesn't-sit-down-and-be-quiet and being thwarted in our vain attempts to keep Andrew occupied with a full suitcase of toys, then hardly tasting our food because we're so desperate to get out of there. Instead we opted to eat in the almost-peace and mostly-quiet of our own home, complete with an actual table cloth on the table (*gasp* you mean some of you do this every day??), drinks sipped from long-stem glasses (OJ with a little -little!- Sprite for the boys and some of our latest batch of wine for the adults), lots of yummy food and two kinds of dessert (but no one really liked the store bought gluten-free apple pie).

And then tonight, I'll be picking Peter up from work and we'll go... somewhere. It's a surprise! We don't do this kind of thing often ever, so I'm really excited. All I know is I'm supposed to dress up and bring a bottle of wine. Fun, right? Liam will be at an event at the church (chauffeured by friends), and the two littlest will be at home here with my mom. So that will leave Peter and I alone to enjoy each other's company, have a (hopefully) great night, and celebrate the fact that we've been married for ten years.

After all we've been through, it really is a miracle.

I was blessed to find a best friend thirteen years ago in high school. I was blessed to marry that same person three years later. In the last ten years, we've faced things that most couples never will. Of those who do, most don't come through it all still married. But I can very honestly say that I'd do it all again to end up where I am today -go through all the pain, all the struggles, all the grief, all the loss- to have the life I have today. I have a wonderful family, amazing kids who I adore, and a husband who works hard, is a great dad, and who loves me unconditionally. 

I can be stubborn and scatterbrained, unorganized and impetuous. I leave much to be desired as a housekeeper. I have a million and one half-finished projects on the go (and in the way). I'm constantly having to call him to ask where I put something that I now can't find. I force him to eat/drink/do things just "because they're good for you". I'm far, far from being a perfect wife.

And yet he loves me.

Happy Anniversary, Peter. 

I'm blessed to have you in my life. I'm lucky to be your wife. I'm excited to see where this next ten years will take us.

I love you.

(And because it sort of fits, I'm going to link this up to my favourite Flashback Friday parties over at Tia's and Alicia's.)