A tad bit late, but worth mentioning--our anniversary (updated)

July 29th was our 8th anniversary.

We revisited a favorite spot of ours, a restaurant we've been going to since before we were married---since before it had been "discovered"---The Vineyards in Garden Ridge. They now hold so many weddings there that it's hard to get a reservation on the night of your choosing. But we were able to secure a spot, and once you're out there, it somehow still has the same secluded feel it's always had.

The actual restaurant is so picturesque. It's a quaint converted farmhouse, complete with squeaky hardwood floors and a cellar down below (that's Garfield's favorite place to be seated, but it's too chilly for the likes of me). My favorite seating is on the enclosed patio with a view out on the vineyards and flower gardens. No matter which floor you dine on, there are no more than a handful of other tables within sight, so you almost feel like you have the place to yourself. (What am I doing...trying to sell the place?! Nevermind all these descriptions...you don't want to go there. Really. It's ugly, the food is repulsive, and you don't want to hog one of the few spots. Don't tell your friends, either.)


Anyway, while we wait for our food, we like to head down to the vineyard and walk around, picking and tasting a few of the grapes that are hanging on the trellises just above our heads. There are cows and goats meandering about, peacefully grazing right beyond the grape vines.

(No, the picture below is of neither a meandering cow nor a goat. But these are some of the flowers I spoke of.)


These last few months haven't been the easiest, but a marriage built upon the unshakable foundation of Christ is worth celebrating. It may not have been our liveliest date conversation, and our hearts were a bit heavy that evening, but there was comfort in sitting across the table from the person we'd been married to for eight years.

Being in that patio room with my husband took me back to times that were sweet. Times when our wedding was yet ahead of us. Times when our future was a rosy, picture-perfect scene from a fairytale. Times like our first anniversary, celebrated in that same room over the same food. Times when the realities of life were still naively tucked away somewhere, waiting to be unfolded bit by bit.

It reminded me that we've been through better, and we've been through worse. (Hmmm...rings awefully familiar to certain vows I recall making.) It reminded me that while I may not always deal gracefully with the circumstances of life, I am still blessed beyond measure by the man God choose for me to experience this life with.

And for that, I am so grateful.

(Update: Just to clarify, Hubby pointed out that the above post could possibly imply that we are experiencing marital strife, but that wasn't what I was referring to when I mentioned difficulties.)


Just for fun, here's a picture of us at the Vineyards on our eighth anniversary a few weeks ago. Below that, if you can see my tiny scanned-in picture, is us in the same exact spot on our FIRST anniversary! If I click on it, it gets bigger. Does that work for you, too? How do you get a scanned in picture to be bigger, by the way?