7 Years!!!

Today is Brandon and I's seventh anniversary! Every year I am so proud to add another number. Another year of good times, challenges, and lots of lessons. I continue to say every year how much Brandon has changed, not only since I met him but even from the previous year....and how I feel like I just stay the same. :^) I'm sure I change some, but the comment quite reflects our personality differences. Isn't it just awesome to see how God can put you with the perfect person even when they seem so different from you?

Brandon is for sure the perfect one for me. I know this not because of all the ways he complements me or the way he makes me feel, but because I know I have been made more holy and have been sanctified through our marriage in ways that are hard to imagine could happen apart from our marital union. I know Christ more because every day I know Brandon more - as he effects me and I effect him and we effect the world...things in life become more clear and purpose driven than they were the day before. Thanks my love for leading us in the right direction!

So, every year Brandon and I usually go out to eat on our anniversary. We might have another event to attend, but we always have to have one good meal. This year we chose a French restaurant in London, since neither of us have ever really experienced French cuisine. We were successful in sharing a lovely meal and I'm sure we'll seek out more French places again in the future.


I thought for fun I'd make a list of the number of things we have had in our marriage. We were discussing them over our dinner, and it was fun to reminisce. Here they are in no particular order:

IN SEVEN YEARS...

*Number of Cars: 5 (a Chevy, two Buick's, a Toyota, and a Honda)
*Number of car accidents: 1 (not caused by Brandon, and not including the numerous dings I put into my car)
*Number of places we've lived: 5 (3 in Omaha, 2 in England)
*Number of children: 2 technically but 1 still in utero (although I have till midnight tonight to change that)
*Number of overseas travels: 3 (I to Guatemala, Nicaragua, and us both to England)
*Number of US States visited (not just traveled through): 22 (Iowa, Kansas, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and South Dakota)
*Number of jobs: 8 (3 for me and 5 for Brandon)
*Number of schools attended: 4 (Brandon: Bellevue, SES, Cambrdige. Philly: UNMC)
*Number of degrees: 2 (B finished his Bachelor's and I a Master's. B has 4 classes left on his MA)
*Maximum number of pounds gained: 36 (We've both gained as much as 18 pounds...although this doesn't include the 30 or so pounds I've gained in both my pregnancies.)
*Number of surgeries: 1 (a cyst on Brandon's tongue)
*Number of dollars owed in student loans: we won't mention that one, but I'm proud to say that it's the only dept we currently have!)

Of course there are numerous things you could choose to count, but in addition to the above I'd like to mention that we couldn't easily count the in numerous...friends we've made, laughs we've shared, times I've sent Brandon back to the store to get something I forgot, hairs lost from Brandon's head, glasses of coffee/beer/diet coke consumed, books (Brandon) read, number of tests taken or words written in essays, pizzas consumed at the PAC house, movies watched at the PAC house, gallons of water mopped up from the leaking ceiling at the PAC house, pictures I have taken, and ways we have been blessed!

Thanks to all of you who have shown us so much love and support for the last 7 years!
To God be all the glory!