365 days later...

**Note: I have been trying to add pictures to this post for several weeks and every time I do Blogger freezes up. So, I'll go ahead with the post and work on the pictures for a later date.**

A year has passed since that long awaited day when Will and I joined our hands and hearts in holy matrimony before beloved friends and family. Memories of our wedding day are still fresh on my mind; even more so since I just recently received our wedding album from the photographer. The big white dress that I almost tripped over coming down the aisle, the yellow flowers and blue bridesmaid dresses, the handsome groom, the sound of the beautifully played violin, piano, guitar, organ and trumpet, the delicious food that we barely tasted, the presence of so many special people, and the kind words spoken and written to us all made that day memorable and special. But the beauty of that day lasted only for a moment. What remains is something so much more precious and sacred. What remains is a marriage, a union, ordained by our heavenly Father. Our marriage hasn't been all roses for the past year, but each day we grow in our love for one another and I know that today we love each other more than we did on May 30, 2009 when we said "I do" and entered this forever relationship.



I am amazed at how quickly the year has passed and where life has led us in such a brief time. Despite the unexpected changes that have occured already in our marriage, I would not change a thing.



We have learned as individuals and as a couple how to deal, how to adapt, how to wait, how to love, how to forgive, how to depend, how to trust, how to make-up, how to let go, and that you never have it all figured out.



We have a lot still to learn in the coming years, but I would not want to learn it with anyone other than Will. He gets me, I get him, and we have fun while we're doing it. What else could you want?



Speaking of fun...let's move on from all this sappiness. I've had about all I can handle.



So, to celebrate our 1st anniversary we went off to Fort Worth for a couple days. Not having a lot of money or time, a three hour drive and two nights at the conference center at SWBTS fit the bill. We left town Thursday afternoon. After stops at the outlet mall in Terrell, Half Price Books in Arlington, and Rosa's Mexican Cafe in Fort Worth, we finally made it to Southwestern about 10pm that night. Friday morning we slept late before driving to the mall in Grapevine to do some shopping. We also made a stop at a 2nd Half Price Books and ate dinner at Pei Wei. When you live in a small town you make the most of your trips to the big city. Friday evening we spent some time in downtown Fort Worth and in the Stockyards doing some photography.

While on our honeymoon we started taking pictures of letters. Letters on signs, letters in nature, letters in architecture, etc. From the pictures we took in Charleston we were able to spell our last name. We had the pictures printed in B&W and they now hang in our entry way.

Since our honeymoon we have made it somewhat of a tradition to continue taking pictures of letters on our travels here and there.
Fort Worth had a great selection of neon signs to add to our collection.

Saturday morning we went back to the Stockyards to finish getting a few pictures in the daylight. From there it was our plan to head into Dallas for lunch and a little fun before heading home. I don't remember exactly how and why, but halfway to Dallas we turned around set our GPS for Chef Point Cafe in Watauga. We had seen this gas station turned gourmet cafe on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri on the Food Network. They are famous for their fried chicken, crab cake pasta, and other gourmet fare. We arrived at the very non-discript, full service gas station after driving about 45 minutes out of our way.

Little did we know the fun had just begun. Immediately upon being seated and ordering our drinks the power went out. With no clouds in sight we continued making our selections from the menu thinking the power would soon be restored. Unfortunately we would later be informed that the food delivery truck had run into the power line feeding to the building, causing a small fire, and resulting in the restaurant having to shutdown. Disappointed, salivating, and beyond hungry we returned to the car to figure out what else there is to eat in Watauga. The answer is...not much. Thankfully, however, Watauga is not far from Roanoake. Roanoake has Babe's (fried chicken) and Twisted Root Burger Co.

With much haste we went to the Burger Co, having previously eaten at Babe's. Let me tell you Roanoake is not a big town but everyone in town must have decided to eat burgers at 2pm that Saturday. It was busy! Even after ordering our food I about had a melt down right then and there. I was so hungry and I was not in the mood to wait.
After my blood sugar was stabilized with a big burger, sweet potato chips, and fried pickles, I returned to being a much more pleasant wife.
Thankfully Will is incredibly patient and he has learned to bear with me when I have my moments, and feed me when I get fussy.

To reward him for his patience we made a stop at one more Half Price Books before getting on I-20 to head home. We also stopped at the outlet mall and got him two new suits (gray and navy) at Haggar. We couldn't pass up the 70% off sale.

We enjoyed our weekend away and were back to business as usual on Sunday, our actual anniversary day. This year our anniversary also fell on Memorial Day so we celebrated at a cookout with our small group.

Our gifts to each other came later. Will gave me a plant stand and two plants for our patio. They really brighten up the space and I enjoy seeing them from inside our living room every day. I got Will a copy of the newly published Grace Hymnal and a new blank sheet music journal for his music writing.

And that's a wrap on our first year anniversary.
We'll see where this next year leads us.


~Jamie