Safe

I love this man! He is my rock. I cannot say enough good things about him. We have been married for 11 years today! I am so blessed to have him as my husband. When life is stressful, I can always depend on him. We were driving in the car the other day when he reached for my hand and this thought crossed my mind, He makes me feel so safe! He is the first one I want to call to share news whether happy or sad, he is who holds me when I am sad or stressed. He knows me better than anyone and he prays for me. He can tell how I am feeling just by looking at me. Our marriage is far from perfect and yes, we may argue. But I know we are both love God, are committed to this relationship and have each other's backs. I so wish his mom and dad could see the man he has become-they would be so proud. And there are days I wish I could tell them how awesome he is and how thankful I am that they raised such an amazing man. He is a great leader of our little family. We have known each other for 13 years and have been married for 11 years. We may not have been able to celebrate our anniversary in any extravagant way, but that isn't important. I love you more that ever, Todd!

A Decade of Wedded Bliss

Today, we celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss! Here is my Facebook post and Todd's Twitter post from today:

I can honestly say I fall more in love with Todd each year we are married. It just keeps getting better and better. Our love is deeper and stronger than I could have ever imagined possible. Each event we go through together, whether it is good or bad, just brings us closer. I love sharing life with him! 

Celebrating in Grafton

This weekend, we headed back up to our my favorite winery in Grafton with the Bates'. The weather was a little chilly when we first arrived, but it warmed up nicely for the afternoon. The funny thing about going with the Bates to Grafton is that Renee and I like the Grafton Winery and the boys like Piasa Winery which is conveniently right across the street. But it works out well for us.
Todd has always been curious to try the Piasa Challenge (which is to eat their Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger times three in less than an hour) and decided this was the weekend! If you eat the burger in less than an hour, you get your name on the wall. If you eat the burger in less than 30 minutes, you get a free t-shirt and if you can eat it in less than 15 minutes, it's free. Well, he got all three! Matt was his official time keeper and he did it in 12 minutes and 40 seconds. I think I am supposed to be proud? Personally, I feel it's kinda gross-maybe it's a guy thing. But hey, the burger was free and he got his name on the wall and a free tshirt. So, he was happy and here are the pictures to prove it. U

After the winery, we ate dinner in St. Charles and had a little fun at Ameristar. Renee was able to get a free room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for the night. It was a fun way to celebrate 9 years of being married with our best friends. (They are celebrating 18 years of wedded bliss this year!) 

Our 9th Anniversary

For as long as I can remember at our house on Tenbrook, there was a wedding memory box on the counter in the kitchen. I loved looking at it and knew I wanted something similar when I got married someday. Here is what I created to hang in our hallway.

I love walking past it each day and thinking back to our wedding day. I thought it would be fun to list 9 memories I have from our wedding day to celebrate 9 years together.

1. Hoping Todd didn't get over zealous in his kiss and mess my lipstick up(yes, I have always been a priss!)
2. Thankful we decided to see each other before walking down the aisle-since I think both of us would have been a blubbering mess 
3. A headache halfway through the day because I had too many bobby pins in my hair
4. Riding in the back of Bates' Buick to the reception and my dress almost not fitting in the backseat
5. Not getting to eat a piece of our wedding cake because I was too busy socializing(shouldn't be much of a surprise...)
6. Our DJ saying, "Let's hear it for Todd and Amy at our reception!" Seriously? 
7. Father/Daughter dance with my dad-realizing that this would probably be the one and only time he danced
8. Mom almost swiping some icing off the wedding cake for the next reception after ours
9. Sleeping in Todd's white t-shirt because I forgot to pack any pj's or lingerie in our small bag for the hotel

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary. Sometimes, it is hard to remember my life without Todd in it. He is such an incredible husband and I love him more with each year we are together. Everything we go through together, good and bad, makes us a stronger couple. God truly blessed us when he gave us each other. He is my best friend!



This is one of my favorite pictures of us lately. It was taken at Mickie and Adrians' wedding last August.