Our 7th Anniversary

Sunday made 7 years of wedded bliss for Brian and me.  We tossed around a few ideas of what we wanted to do for our special day, and finally came up with an idea that we loved. 

Sunday morning, Brian woke up around 7:30 and found our wedding video.  By the time Addie and I woke up, he had made a pot of coffee and we were ready to enjoy some banana bread, coffee, and watch our own personal piece of history.  Although Addie had seen our video before, she was much to young to understand what it meant, but this time she was thrilled to see all of the people she knew as the stars of this movie.  I explained to her that today was the birthday of when Mommy and Daddy got married (remember, I speak to her in terms she understands). 

"You got married!?!"

Yes, my dear. And without that day you and Ian would not be here.

Both Brian and I still get teary eyed while watching our video.  What a day that was!  Full of great memories, so much to look forward to, and yet there is still so much to come!

We began getting ready for our day- getting Addie dressed to go to church with Grandma and Pops ( her bags had been packed the night before), getting ourselves dressed and ready, and making sure we had addresses and correct times to where we were going.

We had asked Mom and Pops to keep Addie for the entire day (the longest we had ever left her with anyone).  We took her to their house at 10:00 a.m. with everything she might need while we were gone. Brian moved her car seat to his parent's vehicle, and we said our goodbyes (I cried a bit in the car knowing how long we would be away from her).

And then we were off!

We headed into Tampa- specifically Ybor City- for lunch at the Columbia Restaurant courtesy of a gift card that Faye and Jim had given us for Christmas.  We arrived a bit too early, so we headed to IKEA which neither of us had ever been to before.  Can I even begin to describe it!  Huge, amazing, overwhelming, a dream builder, idea inspiring.  Brian went for my sake, but a few minutes into it, even he said that he really liked it (major step taken right there!).

About 12:00 we headed back to the Columbia and ate some of the best Cuban food I have ever had.  I took pictures of our appetizer (tapas) and coffee and completely forgot to take one of the meal itself!  We couldn't wait to enjoy it!

We then headed to the Citrus Park Mall where we planned on taking in a movie, having our rings cleaned and my ring inspected, walking around, and then stopping at another restaurant for dessert.  Diets and figure watching were completely thrown to the wind that day, and we enjoyed every aspect of our time together.  We talked to our hearts content about anything and everything.  We talked about our children and our dreams for their future (poor Ian isn't even here yet, and we were already dreaming of what he would become!  No pressure, Baby!). At one point, Brian stopped talking and said, "Do you realize, we have not been interrupted once?"  And with that our conversation continued.

Around 6:00, we had done everything we had wanted to do, seen everything we wanted to see, ate everything we wanted to eat, and headed back to our Addie Girl.  Again, the conversation never stopped, there was never a lull, and at no time did anyone not have something to say.  I made me think back to something my Dad had said to my mother when Brian and I were dating and taking the million and one compatibility tests in my dad's arsenal.  "I have never seen a more compatible couple than these two."  Yes, Dad, you were right!

We arrived a little after 7:00 to a wonderfully happy little girl who was excited to see us and tell us all about her time with Grandma, Pops, and Corky (their dog).  We stayed for about 30-45 more minutes and then headed home.

When Monday morning came and Brian headed off to work, I missed him more than usual.  The time we spent together was so strengthening and wonderful.  It was like another layer of mortar being added to our already great marriage, helping to fortify it that much more. 

And we so appreciate the parts that Mom, Pops, Faye and Jim played in making that day so memorable for us. 

Here's to another 70 x 7 years!