Happy 10 years to us !! (I would choose you over and over)

An oldie, but a goodie.  As are all of the photos in this post! 

Tomorrow is our 10th wedding anniversary!! 

I feel like this deserves about a million exclamation points. 

I'm just so darn proud and happy and excited to be celebrating 10 years! 

I mean, can you even handle this? 

The girls and I went on a little walk down memory lane, looking through old memories and photographs.  Each time a photo flitted across the screen a thousand memories, lessons, heart aches, joys, and tears caught in my throat.  I'm not being dramatic here, this has just been such a ride with Brett by my side.  

We've traveled to Italy, St. John, Eureka Springs, Florida, camping, and many other places in-between together.  We've honeymooned at Big Cedar Lodge and taken too many boat rides to count.  In fact, we were even engaged out on the lake. 

We first met at church, then started emailing, transitioned to phone calls at night, went on our first date, and the rest they say, is history.  A month after our first date I told my twin I was going to marry Brett.  He likes to tease and say once we went on our first date he couldn't get away from me! (lol) ;)

We've had two babies of our own, seventeen months apart. 

We've been an open home for adoption, as well as foster care. 

We've held Brett's dad's hand night after night, as he was in hospice care.

We've tended the farm, remembering his dad each day.

We've had sleepless days and weeks and months. 

We've dated each other well, having fun at concerts, nights out, bowling, riding the Ranger on the farm, dinners on the back deck, cooking and canning together, and sharing music tastes.

Our first date was at Hugo's, a place we've frequented often since.

(our first, awkward, nervous picture taken together at the Tulsa Zoo)

We've seen Brett graduate with his Master's while we were newlyweds, seen me choose to stay at home with our babies, and now are watching as I go back to work, an old season closed and a new season opening. 

We've been through old jobs, new jobs, and a bit of growing up together.

We've lived in a tiny, one-bedroom condo and then built our house on the farm.  

We've communicated well and communicated horribly, sometimes all in the same day. 

We've learned to love each other really, really well and ease past the in-between moments when we're not our best selves.  We haven't been perfect or really even anything NEAR perfect.  But we're still here, still choosing one another happily. 

We've had home repairs, an emergency c-section, things we saw coming and things we didn't. We've bravely faced heavy, awful, postpartum depression and "then came the morning", as one of our favorite bands sing about. (The Lone Bellow)

We've survived the ice storm that took out our power for days and created months of clean-up afterwards.

Still, we've always had each other.

I was telling my mom-in-law this week that I remember sitting in our boat on Table Rock Lake on our honeymoon, watching Brett from a distance carrying the ice chest.

For a quick minute I remember thinking how strange it felt that me and him, we were together for good.  Day in and out.  All day in and out.  For better or worse.  Of course, I loved him deeply and dearly and wanted to be married so badly to him.  It just felt foreign that I couldn't hide at my own place anymore on a bad day, or cover my insecurities.  They were all there, for Brett to help hold now too.

 It doesn't feel strange now.  In fact, I miss Brett when he's at work and usually have a list of things to talk to him about when he gets home.  He's my favorite person, ever. He's my shelter from life's storms, knows every insecurity I have, and still gladly chooses me and loves me day in and out. He makes me laugh more than anyone, makes our girls squeal with joy more than anyone, is ever so faithful, and loves Jesus better each year.

We're still stupidly stubborn sometimes (ok, well I am at least), say things we shouldn't, and have plenty of room to grow in our love.  I guess it's a good thing we'd choose each other over and over and over.  That's just what we'll do, for years to come.  Plenty to learn still, plenty of belly laughs to share, plenty of adventure to go.

Our story has been beautiful to me.  It's not a story that often makes it to social media because it's ours and sacred.  But today, thanks for letting me share.