10th Anniversary

Ten years ago today two kids were married. Look at them!

The last tens years have been incredible...filled with laughter and tears!

I'd do each and every year over again because it brought us to where we are today. I love my husband and I thank God for him every day!

1 day...to 10 years!

Ten years ago today we were working through all the final details at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding rehearsal. We really had no idea what the next ten years would bring, but how quickly the time passed!

The next "item" I picked that's been around for the 10 years of our marriage is us. Jason and Janna, Janna and Jason, Mr. and Mrs. (well, I can't say that I felt like a "Mrs." for all ten years, but I guess I technically was!)


My darling husband has been by my side for the last ten years...or maybe I've been by his side...or maybe just a nice mixture of both! :)


He very rarely will take picture with me, but since I had this post in mind for a while I made sure we snapped some photos together over the past few months. I love the above picture because Jason's smile is so genuine and I'm laughing. A great combo in my opinion!

The picture below is not what many would choose as their favorite, simply because you can tell that Jason's talking. But, I love this picture the most because it is a reflection of so many times in our life--Jason's saying something out of the side of his mouth that makes me smile.

I love this man. I can't think of anyone I'd rather hang around with for 10 years.

Stick around for tomorrow's post. I'm going to try and post a wedding picture of the two kids that got married that day. Well, only if Jason helps me. It's sure handy to be married to him!

2 days...to 10 years!

Two more days until our anniversary! It's still hard to believe that 10 years ago we were in the final stages of wedding prep!

Today's "been around for 10 years" item is my wedding ring:


I wear this ring 24 hours a day and I love what it symbolizes. It's my favorite piece of jewelry and the only thing you can count on me wearing all the time. I mean it, I don't even take it off to sleep! About two years ago I had to stop wearing it for a while because a prong was loose. I was so glad to be wearing it again once it was fixed. It was kind of like when we were first engaged, I'd just look at my hand and grin! I love that Jason gave me this ring, but even more, I love the promises that we made when we exchanged our rings!

3 days...to 10 years!

Down to number three!

The next item that's been around for all 10 years of our marriage is this Bible:


We actually have a number of translations of the Bible around our house, but this is the one we've recently been using the most. This past September we set a goal to read through the Bible in a year. I've never done that before and I wanted to have a way to keep myself accountable. This is a great way to read the Bible together and we can hold each other accountable to keeping up! We've missed a few days here and there, but we should be able to finish pretty close to September! I'm to the point where I'm enjoying the consistency of reading the Bible on a regular basis more than the goal of reading through it in a year's time.

4 days...to 10 years!

Four days until our anniversary! Scroll down through the last few days if you're behind!

The next item I found that has been around for all ten years of our marriage is this ornament:

We bought this ornament on our honeymoon in Toronto (awwwww). I loved it then and I still love it today! I think it's adorable! I love getting it out each year to put it on our Christmas tree. Now I can tell the boys about this and other ornaments and where they came from and what they mean to me. I think that's my favorite part about decorating the Christmas tree. Maybe we should seek out a sled with four people on it...I know they made one like that ten years ago!

5 days...to 10 years

Out of all "ten things" in my countdown, this item is the one that makes me laugh the most. I can't believe it's still around after 10 years of marriage (as I type this, I'm thinking it will probably stop working before Thursday just to mess things up). Anyway, the item is our TV:


Jason purchased this TV secondhand just before we got married. He paid $20 for it. It's really a nice size TV and it fits our entertainment center well. When he bought it, he figured it would be a cheap TV that would last us a few years until we could afford to buy another one. Much to our surprise, it's still working today! The picture is a little grainy sometimes (no HD here!) and the bass is downright comical, but it fits our needs and our pocketbooks! It will be interesting to see how much longer it lasts!

6 days...to 10 years!

The countdown continues! Today I have this champagne flute--we used a set of these at our wedding reception for the toasts. Not for champagne...I was too young to be served!

Unfortunately, a few years ago one flute in this pair broke. I believe I knocked it over on the counter. I didn't want to get rid of this one though, so it stays in the cupboard with another set of flutes that I have (I know, I said I like sets, but I must be getting over that!).

This flute has been used on many occasions to toasts New Years, new babies, new jobs, and on previous anniversaries to toast each other! I enjoy getting it out and remembering the day we first used it!

Slip and Slide

It was a beautiful day today so Ethan was looking for some water to play with! Thankfully he remembered the slip and slide that had been stashed in the closet since his birthday. We hooked it all up and he set off on his first slip and slide experience.


It took him a little bit to get used to it. For quite a while he would only get about halfway down it. Eventually, everything clicked and he started sailing all the way to the end.


He celebrated when he made it to the end by turning the surf board into an air guitar...I managed to sort of catch it on camera once. He's so goofy!


Micah was taking a nap, but we started it up again when he woke up. He took one look at it and announced he was not doing it. Then, he watched Ethan go sailing down it and promptly stripped to his underwear so he could give it a try. I ran inside and quickly grabbed a bathing suit for him (which explains how I grabbed one that's way too big so I just folded the waist over a few times to try and keep it from falling down!).




Micah only wanted to try a few times--I think because the water was cold and he really didn't like being totally out of control as he slid down. He hung out by me for a bit and sat and laughed at Ethan's antics. As you'll see in the video he gave it one last try, but was not happy about the ending!



I have a feeling the slip and slide will be out quite often this summer. We'll see if Micah decides to give it another try!

7 days...to 10 years!

For the eighth day until our 10-year, I pulled this pan out of the cupboard:



While it may look like a normal pan to you, it's special to us not only because we use it more often than any other pan, but because Jason's grandmother gave it to us as a shower gift. Actually, today is her 95th birthday! Grandma H. is a wonderful woman--a prayer warrior for our family and we love her!

This pan is also notable because it's the only pan we own that is this style. I'm kind of a "set" girl, so I didn't really want to register for this particular pan. It didn't go with the set that we picked out! Oh the horror! Jason convinced me that we needed THIS pan because it would be perfect for omelets and that was the best reason to get it. 10 years later, I use this pan all the time...but rarely for omelets!

8 days...to 10 years!

Eight days to our tenth anniversary!

These are my favorite mugs at our house. We purchased them soon after we were married and I use them all the time! When we bought them, they had a bag of M&M's in each mug. The M&M's obviously have not lasted as long as the mugs!

The boys often tell me to use the green one--because it's a girl M&M! Ethan likes the blue one and Micah likes red, so Jason is left with the yellow one!

Off to the races!

This past weekend we were off to the races! Well, the duck races anyway. Ethan's school had a fundraiser where they sold rubber ducks for the race. Then, on Saturday, the race took place at a local park with a creek full of twists and turns.



First, they counted down and released the bags full of ducks. If you look in the above picture you can see them with the bags on the bridge. I'm not sure how many they sold, but one of the ducks we saw was numbered 731. I'm hoping that means they sold over 700 ducks!



It was fun to see all of the ducks together at the beginning of the race. Some of the ducks quickly caught the current and took off down the creek. Others were stuck along the way. Thankfully, there were volunteers who walked the length of the course and knocked the ducks loose. No duck left behind!


We wandered down to the finish line to see the first place finisher...first prize was a kayak! We didn't win. Oh well, we have cute ducks at home now!


After we watched a bunch of the ducks finish, we wandered back to see a few of the stragglers. There were a lot of ducks still coming! We also enjoyed seeing how deep the creek was in some areas. The poor guy in waders was up to his chest in a few areas! I think I heard him say they had a leak--now that's support and dedication to stay in the creek!


It was a great fundraiser and a fun way to spend the morning. The boys had fun hanging out by the creek and cheering on their ducks. We now have a flock of ducks in the bathtub!

9 days...to 10 years!

If you're totally confused about the title to this post, check here to catch up!

Nine more days to our anniversary! The next item that's been part of our ten years of marriage is this clock:


We received this clock as a wedding present. Can't say I remember who gave it to us! This clock was above our sink in our first house and now resides in the same place at our current house. The batteries have been replaced many times, but it keeps on ticking! We've checked the time on this clock MANY times in ten years...and many times it showed us that we were late!

10 days...to 10 years

Next week is our ten year anniversary. Some days I can hardly believe it! In honor of the past ten years, I looked around our house to find items that have been a part of all 10 years of our marriage. It was kind of fun!

The first item is my recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I've been making these cookies since before we were married, but we've continued to love the cookies. Many times, when I ask Jason what kind of cookie I should make, he votes for chocolate chip. I've had to slap his hand away from the bowl of dough many, many times over the past ten years.


I actually just made this batch yesterday. They beat out peanut butter cookies in the voting! I love to bake, so I imagine this recipe will stick around for many years to come. Check back tomorrow to see what else I found!

Couponing

Those of you who know me well know that I love to "coupon". That's a verb in case you were wondering. :) I don't post often about my deals, but this one I couldn't resist. Apparently Kraft is doing some sort of marketing blitz because they have flooded the market with coupons recently. Today, I took full advantage of it! I love it when all my coupons work together...I had a coupon for almost every item in this picture. I didn't have coupons for the Mac & Cheese, but I bought them because they printed off savings for my next shopping order.


You know this post isn't complete without telling you how much I spent. Before coupon cost of the groceries: $76.11. Post coupons? $19.96...which then came down to $14.96 after bottle returns. I also have coupons for $4.00 off my next shopping order! Thank you, Kraft!

**I should note that I'll never eat that much Mayo. But it was free after coupons, so I'm giving it away!

Mother's Day

My boys and I had a wonderful Mother's Day! After church and lunch Jason and I decided we would like to take the boys to walk on the pier by the lake. I was all for it because you have to get ice cream when you walk along the pier. Really, I think it's a rule posted somewhere. The boys loved watching the boats coming and going--though there were not too many big ones yet! It was a little chilly for boating.


Micah enjoyed a new-found seat. He barely stopped talking the entire time we were walking! He loved looking at the water and the boats and jumping from rock to rock.


I think both of the boys would have happily spent the entire time on the rocks. Seriously, what could be better than jumping around on rocks?

I used the scenic area as an opportunity to get an updated photo of my boys. I think I'll keep them. Really, all three of them are keepers!

These guys are the reason I get to celebrate this holiday as a mom! I have two wonderful boys and have loved watching them grow up so far. They're already so big!