5 Years and Counting

I can hardly believe that Matt and I have been married for 5 years!  I feel like Matt has been a part of my life for so long, that I can barely remember life before he was in it... really we've known each other for a little over 10 years now!  But at the same time, these 5 years of marriage have just flown by.  Time flies when you're having fun, right?  I think we definitely look 5 years older.  Were we really that young when we got married?

I always love our anniversary, because I get to think about the best day of my life all day.  It was fun to wake up and think, 5 years ago, I was at the temple getting ready to get married...  I was so happy that day.  Nothing in the world could upset me.  It was the most perfect day I could have ever imagined, because I was lucky enough to be marrying a great man, who I loved more than anything.  Don't get me wrong, from the outside, not everything was perfect.  It rained.  And was freezing.  I forgot my jewelry and the back insert to my dress for the reception.  Matt's car was disgustingly trashed.  But, it was a perfect day in my eyes.  5 years later, I got to experience another perfect day.

Matt has had work off all week (he put in the request a whole year ago).  It has been so nice to spend the week together.  We slept in as long as the kids would let us on our anniversary.  Then Matt went out to the kitchen to feed the kids, but sent Sydney back into the room with a "present for mommy."  This is what Sydney brought to me...

A band to go on my wedding ring!  I was so surprised, and really could not believe it!  At least then I knew that we really weren't wasting all our money on food... I really haven't been able figure out how we could be spending so much money for a few months now!

It's so pretty, and big... going to take some getting used to!  Then we spent a few hours lounging around the house.  Watching movies and doing a few chores.  For lunch we had a picnic in our back yard as a family.  The weather was beautiful, and we had so much fun enjoying it together.

 Matt and I joked, what do you think our lives would be like if we didn't have our kids... Matt would probably be done with school.  We'd have our own house by now.  We'd both be working, and have plenty of money, and would probably be going to Hawaii, or even Europe for our anniversary.  But none of those things would be worth it.  Those two kids mean the world to us!  I'm so glad we got to enjoy spending time with them on our anniversary too.  They really are the light of our lives.  After the kids' naps, we took them over to Matt's aunt Jana's house.  Jana's family babysat them overnight for us, which was so nice of them!  Sydney and Cooper had a blast with them.  Sydney even cried when Matt picked her up because she didn't want to leave.  After we dropped them off, we did a little birthday shopping for Sydney, and then we started driving downtown for dinner.  Matt surprised me with reservations to...

Ruth's Chris!  It was quite the dining experience.  The food and service were both absolutely fantastic!  The table was lined with rose petals and we received a free dessert because it was our anniversary.  Seriously, it was something I will always remember.  After dinner we went home where we planned to watch movies, and just have a fun night without having to worry about taking care of the kids.  We rented the movie Karate Kid and took our mattress out into the family room.  We don't have a tv in our room, so we thought it would be fun to watch a movie "in bed" and this was our solution.

It was a lot of fun actually.  Putting the mattress in the family room made it feel more like a special night, because it was something out of the ordinary.  We actually left it out there for a few days, because the kids came home and loved having it there.  We would read books together and watch movies all as a family in bed, in the family room.  So fun!

I really am so grateful to have Matt in my life.  He has given me anything I could have ever dreamed.  Because of him, I have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom with my two beautiful children.  He works so hard at work in order to provide for us.  You know how many people tease that their husbands forget their anniversary?  Well not this man.  He has been working overtime, and saving money, for months so that he could make our anniversary special for me.  Having a new band on my ring, and a nice dinner were definitely wonderful gifts that made me feel very special.  But he makes me feel special every day.  He understands me when I get frustrated and helps me with the kids.  He is patient and kind.  He is a great father and an amazing husband.  I am never worried that our family won't be taken care of, because Matt does all he can to provide for us, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  I am grateful that he is a worthy priesthood holder.  I am grateful beyond words that I married him in the temple 5 years ago, because I am so excited to spend eternity with him!  Thank you Matt for all that you do.  I love you.  The past 5 years have been amazing!