O, Happy Day!

Today is a very special day...today is my 5 year anniversary!!! Wow, time just FLIES! Looking back, there are certain aspects of the day I can barely recall...but other memories seem like just yesterday! Amazing...the day you marry the love of your life. I can remember being a little girl, or even in high school for that matter, and wondering how I would know who was going to be "the one". What would it feel like, how would it all play out? Back then, I could never have imagined the order in which the Lord would take Ryan & I. If you have a little time, I'll tell you...

It was July 2003 and my roomie Sarah & I decided to throw a going away party for our friend Hollie who was moving to TN to go to Lee U. I knew Hollie from work, but we invited her friends from church too! Ryan just happened to be one of them. Well, for anyone who knows my friend Sarah, you know that she is 1) a HUGE supporter of people's talents...and 2) she enjoys embarrassing people a bit. So Sarah decides to tell everyone at Hollie's party that I'm going to be singing the National Anthem at the Evergreen St. Fair...and why don't I practice singing it for everyone?!? Umm...as you can imagine, I wanted to run as far away as possible and never see these people again...I was mortified! Everyone was very kind and egged me on until I really had no other choice but to do it--so I did. I think I probably closed my eyes and turned my back to everyone. What else would I do? To make a long story short, Ryan was smitten! Ha! He decided he would come see me sing at the fair and sure enough, he showed up! I was shocked (and frankly, I wasn't quite sure I even remembered him). He called me a few days later and asked me out...and the rest is history!

At the beginning of our marriage, one of our first fights was about how long we wanted to wait to start a family. If it were up to Ryan, we would have had a kid per year and by now, we'd practically be the Duggars. But back then, I thought it would be best to wait at least 5 years--let's just enjoy each other! Well, for the time being, I won. Until my friends started having kids. And what did I want? You guessed it...I desperately wanted to be pregnant! The next 2 years brought the toughest battle I would fight thus far in my Christian walk. Everywhere I turned there were pregnant people...it seemed that all my friends, even ones who weren't trying, were getting pregnant. Why not me? The feelings I felt and the sorrow is somewhat indescribable...yet God was faithful. About a month before finding out I was pregnant, I received a letter in the mail (no one ever sends letters anymore-so I knew it had to be important!). The letter read something like this:

"Emily, the Lord wants you to be ready...ready for a miracle."

I can't tell you how hard I cried that day. I didn't want to assume the word I had received was about a baby. So after asking the Lord to help me not get too far ahead of myself, I tucked the letter away and pressed on. I will never, ever forget the day we found out we were expecting. And I will certainly NEVER forget the day we found out it was TWINS!

So today, I look back over the past 5 years...the happiest times and the times where you wonder where to turn...and I'm so thankful!

Dreaming of the Cape...

I don't know exactly where my love for the East Coast came from. Maybe it was those J.CREW catalogs I started to get in the mail when I was in 5th grade? I used to spend hours "shopping" the catalog, tabbing the pages, circling every item I thought I couldn't live without & even writing down the desired size and color...ok, so I still do that...! I would see the models in their perfectly feminine oversized men's shirts and white tenni's or cashmere cable sweaters and just die. I wanted to look just like them! Through middle & high school I was probably the most stylish nerd around-I looked at least 30! Now, instead of "shopping" the catalog, I dream shop online. It's like a game. I fill my cart with items I love, and then I see the $ total and I quickly click close! J.CREW has definitely influenced my love of East Coast style.

Another contender for most influential would be the magazine, Coastal Living. Enough said.

In November of 2007, Ryan & I decided to use our time share and stay on Cape Cod. It was such a dream to be going there in the fall. As we drove from Boston down the coast to "The Cape", the reds, yellows and oranges of the changing leaves were stunning! Breathtaking, really. We vowed to make a yearly trip--we had that wonderful of a time! Fall of 2008 brought the beautiful Evie & Ella into the world. Fall of 2009...well, with the economy and babies, a trip just wasn't gonna happen. Fall of 2010...my fingers are crossed! We've banked our time share now for the past 2 years and I think it might actually get to happen this year! I'm am SOOO excited. Beachcoming, leisurely drives through neighborhood older than my grandparent's parents, lobster cooked to perfection (and eaten in the same fashion), antiquing, eating more seafood, attending time share tours and dreaming...

So today, I'm dreaming of the Cape!