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15 YEARS

Today marks 15 years of marriage for Jon and I! I took off work this morning to go on a breakfast date but Anthony is home sick, so our plans are thwarted. I decided to spend some of my time this morning reflecting on our marriage and documenting how I feel today.

The overwhelming feeling I have is....BLESSED! Marriage is definitely hard work and lately we have heard so many stories and seen so many marriages fall apart. Our marriage is not something we take for granted, and we know that if it weren't for the grace of God, we too could be one of those stories. Over the years, Jon and I have tried to invest a lot of time and energy into growing our relationship. From a marriage mentorship in our early years with a couple we admired, to hours of therapy with a professional counselor, to most recently taking a marriage course at our church, these are all things that have helped us get to where we are today. But our work is not done - we will continue to pursue opportunities to become better and healthier as individuals and as a couple. Okay, that's the heavy stuff! Now onto something lighter...

I decided to pull out my wedding dress from the attic and see if I could still fit in it! Wahoo! I did not even have trouble getting the zipper up! Sophia was so cute helping me get in my dress and come down the stairs to surprise Jon. She ran outside and picked me some flowers and found "Here Comes the Bride" on itunes.

It's hard to sum up 15 years, so I thought it would be easier to list 10 things I appreciate about my husband and marriage (not necessarily in order of importance):

10 - It's not a glamorous life, but it's a good life! When we were reflecting on our 15 years together, we were talking about how we've lived in the same house for 10, gone to the same church for 12, worked at the same places for 7 (Jon) and 13 (Dawn) years. We have not had much change and have lived what some would consider a "boring" life, but it's our life and it's good.

9 - We are truly partners. From both working full-time to co-parenting and doing everything it takes to run a household, no one pulls rank. It's one of the things I love the most about our marriage.

8 - We have changed so much, but we have changed together. When we think back to the "kids" we were when we married, we can't believe some of the things we thought were important or absolute. Our values, philosophies and beliefs have really changed over the years, but thankfully they have changed together and we are on the same page about the important stuff.

7 - We have a lot of great friends! I think one of the keys to a happy, successful life is to surround yourself with great friends. We have been blessed beyond measure in this area (you know who you are!!!).

6 - We are part of a great church. We have been at our church since 1999 and have met many of our good friends there. We have grown so much because of the teachings and interactions with others in our community. Our spiritual life has been critical to our marriage and we get so much of our support from this aspect of our life.

5 - We have great family support! We are so thankful for the love and support we get from both of our families. From helping us work on our old house, to watching our kids so we can get away and celebrating all of the important milestones with us, our family is such an important part of our lives.

4 - He is a good man. Jon is a behind-the-scenes kind of guy. You're not going to see him on the stage being the life of the party. But he's the kind of guy you want on your team. He does things for the right reason. These are things I can say about him after living with him day in and day out for 15 years. Here's an example - he was spending 1 morning a week working at a local food pantry for months and I didn't even know about it!!! He was quietly giving of himself to something he believed in because he wanted to, not because he wanted people to know or praise him.

3 - We have 2 fantastic kids! {I know everyone thinks this about their kids, and they should!} We are SO thankful for the gifts of Sophia and Anthony. We can't imagine life without them. They are amazing.

2 - He has become such a thoughtful gift-giver. Okay, so I'm not all about material things, but what woman doesn't love a well-thought out surprise from her man? Remember this one? and this one? seriously!!!

1 - We are more in love today than we were 15 years ago. Maybe it's not always manifested in romantic gestures and words, but our love today is definitely stronger and deeper. I love figuring out life with such a great partner.

Happy Anniversary Jon!

Fall of 1993 when we met

Summer of 2011 (most recent pic I could find of us)

Doors - Before & Afters!

I love before & after pictures - don't you?!

I decided to go with a funky green for the exterior doors to spice up the outside of the house.

FRONT DOOR

BEFORE (in the winter...)

AFTER (in the fall...)

close-up

SIDE DOOR

BEFORE

AFTER

BACK DOOR

BEFORE

AFTER (still need to paint trim around door)

The Bathroom is (mostly) functional!

Toilets and sinks are in and functional! Up next: the bathtub!

I think Jon did an amazing job on the tile...

one of my favorite things in the room:

A visit from Aunt Reebie

Jon's sister, Rebecca, came for a visit this summer - we had not seen her for about 2.5 years, as she is living in South Korea. The kids had a great time bonding with her and it was fun for all of us to reconnect.

Sos and Rebe went on several shopping trips together

and even though he didn't go, Anthony got a couple of treats too :-)

The kids had a lot of good laughs with her - this is a pic of them comparing their very tan arms to her very white arm

While Rebecca was here in the States, we got everyone together to get a family picture.

Updates

we got all of the trim painted on the addition (except the doors which I'm going to change up - I'm thinking of going green instead of brownish-red...any thoughts on that?)

the boy is in his new room! and he is excited about it! we decided to move him in even though the trim isn't done, we just couldn't hold him off any longer! :-)

I have another bed and quilt just like this one that will go on the other side of the dresser once we get another box spring & mattress

the view from his bed, the bathroom will have a pocket door and we still need to get his closet functional

Jon started laying the tile in the bathroom today! I think this is going to be my new favorite room!!!!

Bathroom Progress

Medicine cabinets are in! Next comes the floors and then we get to put the sinks and toilet in!

We got such an amazing deal on these sinks/cabinets! Only $60 each - they are very simple and will really tie everything together w/ the black and white floor.
I cannot wait to decorate this room!

Floors

The addition off the kitchen

3rd and final coat is drying on Anthony's new floors...just need to put up the trim and we can move the boy in!

2nd coat on

Not too much different...I put a little bit of white in it

I think once mirrors are in and I put things up on the wall, it will be just right!

this is the towel that is a couple of posts below...and it looks so much lighter when it's up against the black and white floor - it's hard to capture the true color of the room in pictures - I think it is a little lighter than the picture shows.

Instant Feedback Needed

Too bright? Just right? I only have the 1st coat on so I could have them drop some white paint in to lighten it. What do you think?