13 Years Ago ....

Thirteen years ago ..... I said "I Do!" I had no idea what kind of wild ride we would go on in life. I will say it has been full of ups and downs. There have been joys and sorrows. There have been days that loving each other is easy and others when it is a choice. There have been hard circumstances that we have walked through and yet we have grown and are stronger because of it. We have experienced an abundance of God's blessings in our marriage and our family. We have grown closer as a couple and have continued to work to build a firm foundation on Christ. We have been blessed with 4 little blessings and are waiting to bring our 5th home from China. Thirteen years of life lived with my best friend. I have a lot to celebrate today!

 

There is no one I would rather be on this journey of life with than him! Happy Thirteenth Anniversary Eric! I can't wait to see what the next year holds on this wild ride!

11 Years Ago ...

11 years ago today I married my best friend. The last 11 years have been a journey but there is no one I would rather be on the journey with!

Eric had been out of town for the week and got home the morning of our anniversary! I decided to surprise him with massages in the afternoon. It was a perfect treat for him after traveling and for me after being home with the kids alone all week. We then headed to dinner at Restaurant K. It was the restaurant in a past post that Shane had gone on a field trip to. It is a quaint restaurant that is only open in the evenings on the weekend. They only have about 8-10 things on the menu but the menu changes every week depending on what they have in that is fresh and what the chef comes up with. This was our first time at the restaurant and the food was wonderful but the atmosphere was perfect for our evening. We had made reservations at 5 and basically had the restaurant to ourselves. While Eric was gone he had taken the last 11 years of our marriage and gone year by year recording all the highs and lows. One minute we had tears in our eyes and the next we would be laughing. It was so thoughtful of him to take the time to take a journey down memory lane. My favorite part was recognizing God's hand in our life over the last 11 years. We were able to see the joy and celebration in the highs of life but the trials and tough times were the times that strengthened us as individuals, strengthened our faith and drew us together as one. I am so thankful for God's providence in our life and in our marriage over the past 11 years.

Fun Filled Weekend

We had a fun filled weekend at the McDonald house.  June is a month of celebrations and it so happened that a lot of those special days fell on this weekend.  Friday was our anniversary, Saturday was Alexa's birthday and Sunday was Father's Day!! Our real anniversary get away was our 8 days this spring in Mexico. We decided since the kids were going to be going to Bible School with some of their friends this week we would have a 5 night date anniversary marathon.  So when we were invited to some friends house on Friday night that we haven't seen forever we took them up on their offer.  The weather was picture perfect and we enjoyed a wonderful evening sitting outside watching the kids play and catching up with friends.  

Eric took up golfing in the last couple years. He enjoys it but doesn't get out on the course too often with the business of life.  I love it that he has found something

 that he enjoys and is a good stress releiver but he often chooses to spend time with us rather than time on the course.  He has a couple friends in the same boat.  The wives decided to surprise the guys with a round of golf on Saturday morning for Father's Day! We were hoping we could pull off the surprise with out them finding out.  The kids and I came up with a scavenger hunt of gifts like golf balls, tees and a new shirt to open with the Round of Golf at the end. 

The kids decided they wanted to hide clues all over house where they do special things with their daddy.  Eric got a kick out of some of our clues.  He was surprised and excited for the Saturday morning golf game with friends. 

Saturday was Alexa's birthday so after Eric's golf game we spent time as a family at Wild Water West, the local water park that we have a season pass at.  The weather was perfect and we had so much fun with the kids.  They are at such a great age this summer.  They have fun together and enjoy doing the same things.  They all love playing in the water! 

Alexa chose noodles as her special meal so daddy cooked up some yummy pasta for the birthday girl.  She opened a couple gifts from Emma and Shane and from us.  

We finished celebrating Father's Day on Sunday.  I had fun taking pictures of the kids in Eric's clothes.  We made a frame for him for his office.

We also found this cute Daddy Book.  It is a book about what Daddy's do.  It is super cute! 

The kids had fun making their own Daddy Book for Eric with all the special things their daddy does with them.


Sunday was rainy so after church we had a relaxing day and all got a nap in.  The kids started Bible School on Sunday night and we started our 5 Date Night Marathon.  Our first night we spent a couple hours at Barnes & Noble looking at magazines and books and chatting over a cup of Starbucks coffee.   

Ten Years of Blessings

Ten years ago today Eric and I stood in front of each other and made vows to each other.  We didn't know what life would look like or what it would bring but we promised to love each other and stick by each others side no matter what.  It is hard to believe it has been 10 years.  Sometimes it feels like just yesterday and other days it seems like I can't remember what life was like before we were together.  As I  start to look back over the things that have stretched and molded us as a couple it seems like we have more than 10 years experience together in life.  I am so thankful that God brought us together 10 years ago to be husband and wife.  I am so thankful that we get to walk through the ups and downs of life together.  I am so thankful that God chose us too be the parents of our three blessings.  I am so thankful for the wonderful daddy that Eric is!  I am so thankful for the love that Eric and I share that continues to grown.  I am so thankful that we still enjoy spending time together and make it a priority to do that.  I am so thankful that Eric is a spiritual leader in our house and encourages me to grow in my faith.  I pray that God will bless us on our journey in the year to come and that we will grow closer to each other and to Him! 

Happy Anniversary my love!

I love you!

Julie

Nine Years Ago Today

Nine years ago today I married my best friend. In many ways it seems like we have been married forever (in a good way) and others it feels like just yesterday. I'm so grateful for the man of God, the husband and the daddy that Eric is. I'm thankful God chose Eric to be my partner to walk through life with me.

Happy Anniversary!
I love you!
Julie