It has been 7 years since Chad and I stood in front of our family and friends to say "I DO!". Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday, and sometimes it seems like a long time ago. I thought I could think of 7 of our most wonderful memories from the past 7 years (in chronological order):
1. The Wedding Day. 7.13.2002 - A perfectly rainy summer day. I remember standing behind the doors and hearing my music playing to cue me to walk down the aisle, and being completely overwhelmed with every kind of emotion. And standing up with Chad to confess our love and just being totally giddy. And the honeymoon (really none of your business).
(I wish I could post some pictures of this day, but this was before photographers did on-line pictures and I can't even scan any pictures because all of our albums are packed away...sorry)
2. New Zealand. October 2003 - It was probably the most fun we've had in our marriage. 6 months of vacation in the most beautiful place on earth (I haven't been everywhere, but I can't imagine any place more beautiful). We have so many wonderful memories there. One of our favorite things that we did was go to Marlborough Sound. We drove in at night, slept in the car, and woke up to this beautiful scenery:
It was a great day out on the boat looking at waterfalls, dolphins, and seals...out in the wonderful New Zealand sun.
I have 20,000 other memories from NZ, but we'll stop there.
3. Colorado. June 2004 - Our move to Colorado was a hard transition in our married life...we moved to a new town with no jobs and no friends. It didn't take long before we had both of those...and we got our dog, Kansas. I think this was our first attempt at taking a picture for our first Christmas card after living in Colorado. I like this picture because it shows how much fun we have together, and it's obviously NOT the picture we used for the actual Christmas card:
Here's another picture of our times living in Colorado. It's a beautiful place to live.
4. Chad's 26th Birthday. 4.10.2004 - It was a Sunday, so we were anticipating church, but we weren't anticipating 16 inches of snow. Church was cancelled, and the day was ours to play in the snow like little kids:
*Side Note* This is actually turning out to be a harder task then I thought, only because I think my real favorite memories are all the little ones. You know, sitting around the house watching movies on a rainy day or being silly in the car or playing on photo booth for hours...
This was a night where we seriously laughed harder than we've ever laughed before.
5. Going on Mission Trips together. Chad and I have been on 2 mission trips to Mexico since we've been married. The first one was good, but the second one was even better. There is something so wonderful about serving God in a foreign country together. I loved watching Chad interact with the locals, and all his attempts to speak Spanish. It's also a great time for each of us to grow in our walks with God, as we are stretched and challenged. This also happens to be the trip where I got really sick. I was suffering from heat exhaustion or something. It was coming out both ends, and it was not pretty. In Mexico, they just listen to your symptoms and give you something to help you feel better. So, they handed me a prescription for a shot and Chad had to give it to me. That's right - Chad pulled down my pants, counted to 3 and stuck me in the butt with a needle. That is a very found memory. But really, serving God was the highlight of the trip, getting the shot just got the most laughs. These are pictures from our Mission Trip to Piedras Negras, Mexico:
Having some fun on the plane ride.
One of the little girls that came to VBS everyday at the park.
6. South Dakota. December 2007 - "Why South Dakota?" you may ask..why not? It was a close enough drive and we thought we should go while we had the chance. We explored Mount Rushmore and some parks and some wild animals. I threw up some more (I was about 10 weeks prego at the time). We saw some more parks and more wild animals. My favorite memory from this trip was the donkeys. I seriously thought I was going to pee my pants. The donkeys were practically attacking our car. We were completely surrounded. It was a fun trip before baby - just driving in the car and spending time together:
7. Brooks Bryan Hoffman. 6.23.2008 - Nothing better than seeing Chad become a father. That day was a glorious day in our marriage where all of a sudden, it wasn't about us anymore:
This is me, I swear - I just got a little puffy during pregnancy. And if you look closely, you can see that tiny baby in my arms.
Daddy getting a closer look at his son.
After 7 years of marriage, I can truly say that I love my husband more today than ever before. Ask me again tomorrow, and I'll tell you the same.
