*~15th Anniversary~*

August, 17th, 2011 ~ Our 15th Wedding Anniversary

Due to it being the night before our older three kids' 1st Night of School, we opted to save our Date Night for the Weekend. So, to celebrate ~ we had a special dinner of salmon, salad, and of course...

Greg's favorite dessert...Boston Cream Pie!

That the kiddo's helped me make while Daddy was at work - the artwork is by Will :-)

Abby takes a few shots of the Happy Couple

Our kids new favorite thing ~ asking us to "French" Kiss! lol!!

(They think anything longer than a peck is French...)

Loving the sign our girls made us

"Crossing the threshold" into our 16th year of marriage!

Not sure what I was doing here...I think I was trying to show the kids how strong I was by picking up their Daddy! :-)

All the cards from our kids and Greg's mom 

(not sure why the pic rotated funny, sorry)

Saturday, August 20th - our 36 Hour Anniversary Date began!

Off to Drysdales to pick out Greg's loooong awaited new Boots!

Next up - checking in at our downtown hotel and opening up a bottle of *Sparkly!

Our wedding was many years ago.  The celebration continues to this day.  ~Gene Perret

Love me some Champagne! :-)

"I can jump on the bed if I wanna!"

Off to my surprise dinner destination...the famous Delasandro's!

I had heard about this family owned Italian joint for yeeears, but neither of us had ever been! When my Honey asked around for dinner suggestions, this one came up numerous times.

And let me tell you...I now know why!

Oh my goodness gracious...it was one of the Top 5 Best meals I've ever had in my life! Marinated asparagus for appetizer and swordfish pasta for entree...ummmmm....truly AMAZING!

(the pics obviously don't do them justice - but, trust me!)

My love had set a reservation for dessert at another surprise restaurant, but then before we were leaving said..."Well, let's stay and have just a little dessert here first." This girl never turns down "just a little dessert" so I was on board of course. Next thing I know, he hands me a fortune cookie with this message:

Loooong story short, 15 1/2 years ago, on February 1st, 1996, he proposed with a fortune cookie. And, to this day, I've given him a hard time that he was pretty much speechless. Thank goodness the cookie asked me to marry him, because he couldn't. :-)

Thus - "How about a redo?"

He wanted a chance to verbally share all the things he wanted to say back then along with all the things he'd say to me today...but, guess what? He was speechless again. Tears started streaming down his cheeks as he attempted to share from his heart. So, then, I started crying and we both laughed and cried together. (I have to add - that my boy writes me the most INCREDIBLE love notes and letters in the world, and had for 21 years. He just has trouble when it comes proposals and "re-do's" :-) )

So - we went for our Card Exchange. This was probably my FAVORITE part of the whole evening. We both wrote the EXACT same thing on the outside of our cards! Greg "MDFMW" and me "MDFMH" - these stand for My Dearest Friend, My Wife & My Dearest Friend, My Husband - the inscriptions we have on our wedding rings. Then we BOTH wrote the # "15".

As my dear friend S told me, "that proves that you all have truly become ONE...just like scripture asks husbands and wives to do." I couldn't agree more.

To celebrate this most special Anniversary, we gifted one another with new rings.

and then proceeded to devour this...

It was truly one of those "Moments" in life that I will never forget. I was glowing just like I did 15 1/2 years ago!

Time for our Night on the Town!

We began at the Mayo Hotel Roof Top ~ definitely the "hip" place to be these days...it was packed!!

We felt a teensy bit old...but did our best to fit in. :-)

Next stop...CIAO. An Italian Restaurant & Bar famous for: Cucina, Vino, Liquore, Musica!

Live Jazz 

(sorry 'bout the bad phone pic)

After one incredible night, it was time to say hello to our downfilled hotel pillows.

What a happy and holy fashion it is that those who love one another should rest on the same pillow.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

My hope to sleep in for the first time in years didn't quite come to fruition...my body is just to robotic. Up at 6:45 a.m.! Off to the River for a long walk with my beloved. This was a meaningful part of our weekend as our 1st year of marriage was spent in a condo on Riverside. We used to run, walk and bike all the time. This brought back so many happy memories. :-) And so did the Whataburger & McDonald breakfast we picked up...haha! Seriously. :-)

We spent the next few moments taking time to thank God for the gift of our marriage. We prayed over our new rings and said a Blessing over them...that they would represent the Love that God has given us ~ both through His Son, and through one another. That He would receive all glory, honor and praise. They represent Him in Us and Us in Him. AGAPE.

The highest happiness on earth is marriage.  ~William Lyon Phelps