Happy Anniversary to My Beautiful Bride of 9 Years!

Today I celebrate 9 years of marriage with my best friend and beautiful bride. On our 9th anniversary, looking back, Jennifer and I were so young when we got married, and God has taken us on quite the journey so far! We have lived in 7 different homes in 5 different cities and 3 different states. We have 3 amazing kids together. We have made mistakes, grown, learned and changed, doing all of this together. We have gotten ourselves under a mountain of debt and worked our butts off for years to become debt free. We have had plenty of job changes, including each of us being the stay-at-home parent at different times. We are the same people we were 9 years ago, but at the same time we are completely different than we were then. Looking back at our wedding pics I see many loved ones who are no longer with us, but looking at our family pics from the beach this month, I see many loved ones who have joined us in the last 9 years. We have had joy and sadness, laughter and tears, fights and make-ups, successes and failures, but we have done it all with love, so much love in our hearts for each other. Most importantly we have relied on God every step of the way, and God has been so incredibly good to us.

To show how real love evolves with ever-changing life, let me quote one of our favorite songs from when we were dating a decade ago, “Passenger Seat” by Stephen Speaks:

I look at her and have to smile
As we go driving for awhile.
Her hair blowing in the open window of my car,
And as we go the traffic lights
I watch them glimmer in her eyes,
In the darkness of the evening.

And I’ve got all that I need
Right here in the passenger seat.
Oh, and I can’t keep my eyes on the road
Knowing that she’s inches from me.

Oh, and I know this love grows.

While my love for Jennifer has grown, and I do still look at her with the same eyes, it is no longer just me in the driver seat and her in the passenger seat. With 3 kids crammed together in the backseat, we have a whole car full of love that I cannot imagine living without. So to you Jennifer, I say thank you for being my best friend, bride, soulmate, the mother of my kids and the person I want to wake up next to every day for the rest of my life. I love you with all that I have, and I know that this love will only continue to grow.

Enjoy these throwback pictures and re-live our wedding day 9 years ago.