Our 5th Anniversary

I wanted to take a few photos and remember back on our Wedding Day, FIVE whole years ago. It was a beautiful day. Although beautiful it was a day that we walked into not knowing how hard it would actually be. We had no way of knowing how long it would take us to get pregnant and didn't really care, it was easy for everyone and it certainly would be for us? Right? No!

We did not know how much weight we might actually put on. (let's not even discuss how MUCH WE DID NOT KNOW THAT)

It was a day a 19 year old girl married a 27 year old man.

A day so innocent that we thought that we would never face separation/divorce a simple 8 months later. A day that we walked into blind.

The year after this was filled with dark moments of yelling, pushing, manipulation, screaming, cursing, CHEATING, and…. well, you name it. Our wedding day was just about the brightest day we had that whole year.

BUT GOD……………………………………..

   

But God is GREATER. GOD IS HOLY. 

We decided to get married on October 1, 2005 just hours after Dennis learned that I was emotionally involved and "in love" with his best friend. He was jealous. He asked me to marry him (for the second time). I said yes, but with a stipulation. I wanted to get married in the fall, and I wanted it to be THAT fall. So, 21 days later, I walked down the aisle to Dennis.

As you have already read, it was an impossible hard year.

We struggled the whole time, going to church and living that  life on Sunday morning. I mean, it seriously only lasted the morning. I cannot even say that we made a WHOLE day of pretending to be good. We were lost. We were depraved. Sinful. VILE.

The story of our love seems so grim and depressing, doesn't it?

Well, as I mentioned. God is greater. He loved us from the foundation of the world. He predestined us to be his children. Dennis and I were not participants in this plan. We did not seek God. We went to church, but because it was the "right" thing to do.

Some time right before our first year of marriage, a couple of months earlier, we walked into the doors of our current church, West Salem Baptist Church. We heard the gospel of Jesus Christ CLEARLY preached and taught week after week.

……….. and week after week……….. God worked in our crummy marriage… but MORE THAN THAT………. he transformed, changed, made new, redeemed ………………our crummy hearts. He made dead, alive. He made chains, disappear. He made Dennis and Shannon NEW.

So, together, we are living out a life that longs to be conformed to the image of Jesus. He saved us from much. He saved us from hell. He saved us from Himself. He saved us from His very wrath that we would have had to endure had he not done so. Together we are grateful.

Together we still sin against one another. We still lack in much, but once we meet HIM face to face, we will lack in nothing!

Praise you LORD, for working in us and changing us. Thank you for our years of marriage. Trials and all. Thank You.

Now………………………..

we celebrated this weekend, which was the initial reason for this post. :) How silly of me to get off track.

Dennis surprised me with:

1. Chris Tomlin concert tickets (for last Thursday night)

2. Virginia Tech tickets (for last Saturday)

3. DIAMOND EARRINGS. I told Dennis that I wanted a a pair of nice diamond earrings BEFORE our wedding day for our FIFTH anniversary. (I wanted him to have PLENTY of time to save!)

I was so surprised. I just did not think that this was going to happen since we have a baby on the way, a new addition on our house, etc. But, he saved change, and bought them with that.

THANK YOU honey!

 

We didn't take a picture of the earrings……… sorry! (by the way: this VT photo is NOT a picture that I took! I totally grabbed this off of google images.)

I surprised Dennis with a night at Hotel Roanoke! (again, I did NOT take this photo)

I made a ton of clues on peices of heart paper as you see below… there were like 5 or 6 clues.

We went to Chick Fil A for dinner. (I know, sort of redneck)

Then I blindfolded him and took him to Hotel Roanoke- - walked him all the way up to the Hotel before I took it off. He was fairly surprised even though he could guess that we were downtown.

Our room was decorated in rose petals and CANDLES GALORE….. We had a BEAUTIFUL spotless room.. and UPGRADED at no extra cost to the "Miss Virginia Suite." It was perfect. That night we left the windows open and out of our bedroom we could see the city and the Roanoke Star in perfect visibility.

the last surprise was an AWESOME hot breakfast buffet that next morning. What a perfect anniversary.

Thank YOU for listening all about it.

 

(and yes, Kristen, if you are reading, I REUSED your gift that you gave me at Ashley's shower to wrap his brownies in. (I surprised him at work with them!))

And………….. about the Tech game……………. it was fun… but I don't think that we will make a habit out of it! :)

Anyway- thanks for listening!