Our 10th Wedding Anniversary

Wow - 10 years. I remember when we first got married & I thought that people who had been married ten years had been married FOREVER! Oh, how perspective changes when you are as "old" as I am. :o) Now, being married a LONG time is when you've been married nearly 40 years, like my parents. In 2008, my in-laws will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. In 2009, my parents will celebrate their 40th anniversary. Wow!

For our honeymoon, Tommie & I traveled to Galena, Illinois and spent a few days in a condo there. Galena is a small town with a lot of quaint shopping and ski resorts. We didn't do any skiing, but we did window shop, visit the river museum and go see "Titanic" in the theater. It was so nice to getaway from life and relax together for a few days.

For our 10th anniversary, we decided to visit the windy city... Chicago! My parents watched the boys and we traveled by Amtrak to Chicago for 2 nights & 3 days. We stayed in a gorgeous hotel on Michigan Avenue. Our hotel was located right next to the Hancock Building and right along the avenue with LOTS of shopping. Similar to our honeymoon, we simply had a "getaway" and relaxed together for a few days. It was nice, very nice. We did get to see the Blue Man Group, thanks to my brother and sister-in-law. We both rode the Amtrak for the first time ever & we both rode in a taxi for the first time ever. It was so fun! Maybe we'll try something more out of the ordinary and go on a cruise for our 20th! :o)

The view of Lake Shore Drive & Lake Michigan from our room...

The view from our room on the day we left...

The John Hancock Building (right next door)...

A Blue Man...

What Chicago looked like on the day we left (they ended up with 5-6 inches that day)...

No matter what life throws at me, I know that I will always have my husband by my side. Everyone says that the first year of marriage is the hardest, but I would have to disagree. The first year of our marriage was pretty awesome compared to a few that followed. Somehow, having 3 boys in 3 1/2 years challenged our marriage in more ways than we realized at the time. The longer we have been married, the more Tommie & I have learned about each other and what true love is. The first several years were rough and we still have tough times, but I wouldn't choose to share my life with anyone else. I love Tommie more today than I ever have before. True love. Lasting love. I pray that we will have 50+ more years to share life together.