Year One

Author: Emily

The month of May was wrapped up with the celebration of our one year anniversary!  Get ready for a long post with a lot of pictures.  :)  So, what did we do to celebrate?  We went to San Antonio, of course!  We had to stop at the famous Buc-ee’s on the way for some beef jerky per the husband’s request (I tried some, too – it was de-lish).  When we arrived in San Antonio, we went straight to Sea World and while waiting in line to buy tickets, we ran into Michael’s close friend from high school, James.  He’s stationed in Texas for the Air Force and was able to get us in for free since it was Memorial Day weekend and Sea World had a special for soldiers and their friends and families!  Thank you, James, for bravely serving our country (and for getting us into Sea World for free!).  :)  I enjoyed seeing Shamu in all his glory – but only from a distance.  Many already know this but my biggest fear is being in a pool with “Free Willy.”  Other experiences from the weekend included: lunch and dinner on the River Walk, learning all about Texas history at the Alamo (and not just that we need to remember it), going to Market Square and watching a live concert, continuing our tradition of eating at the Melting Pot, and my favorite experience of the trip… exchanging gifts and reflecting over this past year. 

Buc-ee's rest stop - a big deal in Texas :)

Michael, me, and James at Sea World San Antonio

Outside our hotel by the River Walk

Lunch on the River Walk

The Alamo

The Melting Pot

Michael on the River Walk

Gifts

Michael blessed me by writing/recording a song and putting it to a slideshow of pictures from our relationship and wedding day.  I cried, of course.  :)  In fact, he’s playing the song for me right now as I type.  ;)  My gifts for Michael had a traditional paper theme (since that's what you're supposed to give for the one year anniversary :-P).  The first gift he opened was a journal with a letter from me.  In the anniversaries to come, we can write each other letters in this journal so that we can have a compilation of our years together.  Next, he opened a book entitled, The History of Redemption.  This book was compiled by a pastor from Austin Stone Church in Austin, TX.  It has incredible illustrations and discusses the redemption of God’s people from Genesis to Revelation.  It’s awesome, and I suggest it to anyone.  We read this together and then he opened his final gift.  I made him a book about our story of how God brought us together, and at the back of the book are pictures from our wedding day.  I think Michael liked it ;) and I think it’s really cool that we sort of had the same idea for each other for our one year anniversary gift.  After gift giving, we read through our vows and also read the speeches from our wedding written by my dad, sisters, and Michael’s best friend.  It was really special to reflect on our wedding day, and also to reflect on this past year and all that we’ve gotten to experience together by God’s grace.  We also recorded these things in the journal I gave Michael.  Some of our favorite memories (and pictures) are listed below:

·         Wedding day :)

·         Honeymoon

·         Driving into Houston for the first time, seeing downtown, and knowing it was right

·         Setting up Michael’s classroom

·         Finding a home church at Kaleo

·         Emily getting to nanny

·         Thanksgiving and Christmas in Indiana

·         Colts games and IU football games at local restaurants (since we don’t have cable) :-P

·         Emily getting a nursing job

·         Creative dates – especially the 007 date night extravaganza

·         Astros games

·         The Houston Rodeo

·         Trying out new recipes

·         Hosting community group at our home

·         Starbucks and Dunn Brother coffee dates with Scrabble games

·         Walks around Rice University and Hermann Park

·         Yogurtland/Swirll and Half Price Books

·         Visiting so many new places together: Charleston, Chattanooga, Nashville, the Mississippi Delta, Austin, Las Vegas, Dallas, Tulsa, Galveston, San Antonio

·         Parents’ visits to Houston

·         Early morning breakfasts and devotional times

·         Planting our first garden together

·         Dreaming about being parents and pet owners one day ;)

May 29, 2010 <3

Wizard of Oz at Discovery Green in Houston

Visiting Nick and Alicia in Austin

With friends from community group

With the Lees during our fall visit to Indiana

Nanny Emily celebrating Paxton's first birthday :)

Wicked with the Thompsons in Indianapolis

Ninfa's in Houston during my parents' visit

Houston Arboretum during Michael's parents' visit

Michael with friends on an Indiana visit

Thanksgiving with my sissies in Indiana

River Walk in San Antonio

It’s probably hard to believe, but there are even more memories listed in the journal; these are just some of the highlights.  In our first year of marriage, I have learned many things about myself.  The biggest being that I am an incredibly selfish person.  There was often a battle in my heart to first take care of myself before taking care of Michael.  Before moving to Houston, we heard a sermon about marriage being a covenant relationship that is not 50-50, but rather, marriage is meant to be 100-100 (each spouse is continually serving the other).  Unfortunately, no one ever meets this standard, but praise God that this is where Christ comes in.  Because of His unconditional love, grace, and mercy for us, we are free to love each other in the same way.  Marriage has been an incredible reflection of the Gospel.  No matter how ugly my heart is at times, my God will never leave me, and the same is true of my husband.  Despite my failures, he continues to point me to Christ by loving and forgiving me in my many times of weakness.

Our first year of marriage has been such a blessing.  As mentioned in previous posts, finding my worth in things other than God has been a struggle for me since becoming a Christian, but God continues to shower His grace upon me and reveal to me truth - that I am promised eternal life and a living encounter with Him through Christ.  This is the true prize!  Everything else is just a bonus.  :)  I am not promised a steady job.  I am not promised the American dream.  I am not promised motherhood.  I am not promised a husband.  Realizing this has made me appreciate my and Michael’s first year of marriage that much more.  Our time together is truly precious and a gift from God, and through it we have had so much fun.  I have had the joy and honor of living with my husband, learning him, and sharing his last name – I love you, Michael!  

  

P.S.  This month was our first experience eating from our own garden!  We’ve had fresh basil, oregano, and cherry tomatoes.  So delicious!  Now, we’re just waiting on those peppers to finish up.  Update:  I went outside today and our green pepper finally turned orange!  However, half of it was missing. :(  Stupid birds.