19 Years . . .

Saturday, May 25, 1991. Thunderstorms rolled over Columbia that morning but by 2:00 the clouds broke and we had the most amazing day. I clearly remember our drive South to a Bed n Breakfast near the Gascanade River. The sky was pink and purple, the clouds fluffy like giant cotton balls. You can see the most beautiful sky in Missouri and for us that day, God had painted the most amazing sky for the start of our new lives together.

I'm not sure how 19 years have passed by so quickly but here we are. Todd and I went out to dinner Sunday evening. We tried to remember how we have celebrated our different anniversaries over the years. We talked about God's faithfulness to us, what strengths we saw in our marriage over the past year and where we need to grow. Yes, after 19 years, we are still learning and growing. Our marriage has certainly had ups and downs but God has been faithful and I'm grateful for the incredible journey that we are having.

Here are a few years that we had fun remembering:

#1 We took an overnight trip to St. Louis and stayed in a hotel downtown overlooking Bush Stadium. We ate a delicious meal at an Italian Restaurant and went to a Cardinals game.

#5 Todd surprised me with a weekend trip to San Fransisco. Somehow he found round trip tickets for $89. We stayed in Half-Moon Bay and spent most of our time on the beach. We ate a delicious meal at a little restaurant on the beach--I can still remember my meal--the presentation was beautiful and the meal was amazing. I ate slow so that I could enjoy every bite. Linguini with clam sauce and fresh clams piled on top! Yum.

#8 We had dinner at the Pasta Factory in Columbia. I only remember this because it was only a few months after we had Zach! We were new parents!

#10 Friends gave us their frequent flier miles and we went to New York City. We sat in Central Park a lot, walked around the city and went to see our favorite play, Les Miserables. We also had dinner at a small Italian restaurant near Times Square.

#15 We had a picnic lunch at Shelter Gardens. Later in the evening we had dinner at Bangkok Gardens in Downtown Columbia. I ate the most amazing prawns! Yum! The prawns were a gift from the manager for our anniversary. Sadly, for Todd, he could not eat them but I enjoyed every single bite.

#16 Todd and friends were loading a moving truck for our move to Kansas City. It was raining. After we got the truck loaded Todd and I looked at each other and said, "Oh, Happy Anniversary!" He drove off in the moving truck and I stood teary, in the rain, waving goodbye.

#17 We had brunch at a cafe on the Plaza and then walked around the Nelson Art Gallery. A few days later, Todd lost his job for the second time that year.

#18 We were in Wilmington, North Carolina. Todd had just lost his job for the third time in the last two years. We had dinner at a little seafood restaurant with the kids. We were grateful for the time away, that we were all together and that God had made every provision for us.

#19. We live in Korea! What the heck. We didn't see that coming on our anniversary last year. But here we are. Sunday evening we went to a little restaurant called, Da Vini near Jukejeon. We shared a delicious meal and then went for dessert at a cafe near our apartment.

19 years! Grateful and our hearts are GLAD!