Happy Anniversary!

This year Tyler and I celebrated our 5 year Anniversary. Sometimes it's hard to believe that we are already into five years of marriage.... weren't we just newlyweds? However, at times I feel that we have accomplished SO much in 5 years time!

We have both graduated college, we have lived in 3 houses (5 if you count the transitional move into and out of our parents' homes), Tyler has had 2 jobs, and we now have 2 children.

YES.

A lot has happened over the course of our 5 years of marriage.

Some of it has been challenging at times.... I recall very vividly before we moved to Portland Tyler quitting his job and the following week I found out I was pregnant with Braxton. It was one of those experiences we will never forget. It was a time that seemed stressful and bleak because we couldn't see the plan that God had outlined for us. I remember thinking 'I should be SO happy that we're having a second child', but instead I felt overwhelmed and hopeless. It was through that extremely difficult situation that we learned to have unwavering faith and relied heavily on our Father in Heaven. Through His guidance we were able to see that something great was going to come of our seemingly bad situation.

Almost 2 years later we are STILL learning this lesson.... This year we had a wonderful anniversary vacation planned on the Oregon Coast in a beautiful 1 bedroom luxury town home in Newport, OR.

Approximately 4 weeks prior to our planned vacation Tyler received a phone call which informed us that our beach rental was no longer available due to a change in ownership. Talk about a major bummer. With two active boys and Tyler's stressful days at the bank we TRULY had been looking forward to this getaway.

So once again... we were forced into having faith that God had a greater plan. I'll admit that I was a little doubtful at first. Immediately after finding out that our rental was gone I began searching for an alternative. It was SO frustrating! Everything that matched the quality of our original getaway plans was either unavailable or out of our price range.


After a week or two of getting the bad news and spending every day searching for SOMETHING... I came to the conclusion that we might have to settle for staying local in a hotel or something.


Then one day... it happened. I just by chance was looking on Craigslist when I came across a cabin rental on Mayfield Lake in Mossyrock, WA. The home sounded like everything we were hoping for and what was even more promising was the price.

After making sure it was a legitimate advertisement for an actual vacation rental we found that the dates we wanted were available. And lucky for us the lady was running a special 'stay 2 nights get the 3rd for free'.


We discovered that about a 90 minute drive from our place lead us to little Mossyrock,WA . The cabin was beautiful and accurately advertised to everything we were expecting: a 2 bedroom + loft, private hot tub, full kitchen, BBQ, wifi access, cable and best of all a quiet retreat. All in all we ended up paying less than our original plans called for and an left with an experience that was most relaxing and memorable.

When you have 2 active noisy boys and live in the heart of the city with lots of hustle and bustle you forget how quiet it is out in the woods. I can honestly say that I haven't been anywhere that quiet. When we laid down in bed to sleep there wasn't a SINGLE sound. SOOOO nice!

Most of our time we spent relaxing indoors... but we did venture down to the Lake, which was beautiful-- and COLD. But what can you expect from a huge lake in the mountains. The weather was gorgeous for the first 2 days and mild our last 2... we couldn't have asked for better.

I think about our last anniversary vacation to Las Vegas (which was SO much fun) where we went out to eat for almost every meal -- mostly because we were staying in the amazing Mandalay Bay Hotel *in which the hotel rooms don't have full kitchens*. For our getaway this year I did ALL the cooking. I actually told Tyler I don't mind cooking, in fact it's much easier to do without two screaming kids fighting around my ankles. :) Even though we stayed in to eat we didn't skimp in the food department. We had yummy breakfasts of scrambled eggs, cinnamon toast, strawberries and grapes. Delicious lunches consisting of one of Tyler's favorite, grilled sausages. And scrumptious dinners of fresh salad, scalloped potatoes and grilled salmon.

Wednesday we decided to golfing... and of course when I saw 'we' I mean Tyler wanted to golfing and I agreed to go with him. After all, it's a "tradition"....... since we went golfing during our honeymoon. And besides, with all the beautiful weather we were having we didn't want to be indoors. We found a great golf course in Chehalis and Tyler golfed his heart out. Although there were a few frustrating shots in there I'd like to think that I made it more bearable. I was like his little chauffeur/personal cheerleader... which I'm sure all the other guys were jealous of. :) I am NOT a golfer... nor do I think that I have the patience to START golfing, but I DO make a great golf cart driver! Perhaps when I'm old and having nothing better to do and am full of patience then I will start.... :)

After all that golfing we headed a little further North and stopped in the Centralia Outlet Malls... we found a few things, but the best deal were some Nike polos that Tyler got for $4.99!

I don't think it really matters where we go, Tyler and I can always manage to have fun.

I feel blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

He has always worked so hard to provide for our family. He has comforted me in times of sorrow. He has made me laugh when I'm fuming mad. He has challenged me to become better. He has protected me from harm. He has reminded me of the importance of my role as a mother when I'm having a rough day. He has made feel special by winking at me from across the room. He has showered me with love.

What a blessing it is to have the knowledge that Tyler and I are sealed together for eternity. I take extreme comfort in that. I can't wait to celebrate another 5 years of marriage together.

I love you Tyler!

Happy Anniversary.