The Best Five Years of My Life

Friday, May 20th marked David and I's fifth wedding anniversary. Five years?!? Really?? Sometimes it seems like we got married just yesterday (am I really old enough to have been married for 5 years??) and other times I can hardly remember what life was like before I married David.

We have been through alot together in our five years of marriage: living in two states and two different cities/towns, living in 3 different houses/apartments, one child, a bachelors degree and Registered Dietitian license for Jamey, and a masters degree for David, two jobs for Jamey, three jobs for David, learning how to live together (for example: David makes a huge mess while he cooks before cleaning/Jamey likes to clean as she cooks; Jamey tends to be organized and schedule oriented and not very flexible/ David likes to fly by the seat of his pants while accomplishing tasks- we have both rubbed off on each other which is a good thing; David likes to leave the drain open and water running if taking a bath/Jamey likes to fill the tub with water before getting in), falling more in love with each other, learning selflessness and unconditional love, trusting God's providence for our family (even when we don't like it at the time or don't understand), watching God continually provide for us financially (even when our budget says we cannot make ends meet), and the list could continue. Needless to say, God has grown us together so much in these five years.

So 5 years is a big milestone and you want to do something special. On our honeymoon we planned that we would go back to Hawaii for our five year anniversary. It sounded like a good plan at the time... maybe we thought married people just get real jobs and make alot of money right away. I don't know. Maybe if we had gotten married in our 30's instead of at 20 and 23. Anyway, we are saving that for our 10 year now!

Instead, we celebrated in Dallas. Friday night we took Brieleigh to stay at our friends Jane and Andrew's house for about 2 hours while we went out to eat at a nice restaurant. This was the first time we had left Brieleigh to go on a date since well before she was born. Sad, but true. 1) We just really like little Brieleigh being with us, and 2) I don't feel like paying a babysitter is justifiable at this point (nor do I know any babysitters). Unfortunately, we do not have family around, but thankfully we have good friends who are willing to help out!

We ate at Suze's Restaurant. I worked here for a month during my dietetic internship. It is a very quaint, friendly, small place. It is locally owned. Most people who go there are regulars. The chef makes alot of special orders not on the menu, and has daily specials using alot of fresh, local ingredients. We shared two appetizers and a entree. We had Fried Pork Belly on top of blue corn grits with brussel sprouts, a sesame lavash pizza with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, and Cowboy Rubbed Steak with Truffle mashed potatoes and asparagus. Chef Jeffery came out to talk to us (since it has been 2 years since I did my rotations there!) and sent us a dessert on the house- chocolate gob with vanilla bean ice cream and a hazelnut crisp. It was all delicious!! We then went and picked up Brieleigh who appeared to be having a blast exploring the Edson's house. We all three stayed the night at Embassy Suites. We stayed at one of these on our wedding night so though it would be fun to stay at one again and just to get "away" and relax a bit.



Here we are at Embassy Suites right after dinner. Brieleigh was just about to grab the camera right when the camera snapped the picture! I realized the other day that I have no pictures of just David and I since around when Brieleigh was born (excpet for those take yourself while holding the camera pictures).

We had a free cooked-to-order hot breakfast the next morning them went for a family swim in their new pool. It was a nice treat! David had to work all afternoon, but that night we went to Richardson's Wildflower Music Festival. And yes, we stayed there with our daughter until nearly midnight. It was so fun to be together though! We walked around, visited the petting zoo, got free iced coffee and slurpees and other free items, bought some fresh kettle corn (my favorite), listened to music, and got a bite to eat around 10:30. We heard Cracker, the Little River Band, Sister Hazel, and Better Than Ezra. I have always loved Better than Erza. We set our blanket up on a little hill of ivy  (it was crowded!) not too close to the stage so that it was not too loud for Brieleigh and so she had room to run around.

Better than Ezra singing "A Lifetime"- for Madeline my sister

I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such a sweet, loving, godly man to be my husband. He truly is a great picture to me of Christ's love for the Church and time with him is the highlight of everyday!