SEVEN!

Our seventh wedding anniversary was yesterday and we celebrated all weekend long, hooray! We booked our favorite babysitter on Saturday and hopped around to a couple different restaurants, then spent Sunday together as a family. Something I very much appreciate about Zack is how selfless he is, which in turn makes it easier for me to be more selfless. It’s easy to get into the habit of “keeping score” of the kind/good/better things one does over another, but Zack’s always good at resetting the score (and reminding me we shouldn’t be keeping track, anyway). We are like springboards for one another, always wanting to spur the other one on.

We spent yesterday morning at Playa Del Ray, introducing Natalie to the ocean and reuniting Maxwell with his sand box. Zack and I exhaled as the kids went down for naps and we welcomed a quiet afternoon; a rare sound most of the time ;) All day I was reminded just how rich our lives are. The evening wrapped with a walk and dinner at home, with baths drawn and bedsheets changed. And just like that, our anniversary was nearing its end.

Time goes so fast, especially when it’s enjoyed time, and we have the past seven years as proof.

Here’s a fun recap of the anniversaries we’ve celebrated together:

SEVEN years of marriage, check! June 7th, 2008 was a happy day for us (and our families).

Since our wedding we’ve moved SIX times. The longest home we’ve lived in is two years (Minneapolis, MN) and the shortest is two months (Lansing, MI). We’ve had quick moves, long-distance moves, and even a within-the-city move that included a lot of brown paper bags. (Who needs moving boxes?)

I worked on Gussy Sews for FIVE years before slowing down to focus on our family. Right now I am knee-deep in motherhood, which is exactly where I want to be. It’s been hard (a lot of the time) to continue pursuing creative projects, but it’s been a good exercise for me. My entrepreneurial self has evolved over the past five years, ultimately preparing me for what I’m doing today: enjoying a slow ride on handmade motherhood. Life is really good!

We’ve found adventure in FOUR cities so far: Lansing and Detroit, MI; Minneapolis, MN; and Los Angeles, CA. Each city has given our family something of great remembrance. Lansing was our first address as a married couple. Detroit was Zack’s first industry job, also the city that unemployed both of us for a total of seven months. Minneapolis is where Gussy Sews began, and Los Angeles is where both our babies were born.

We have lived in THREE different states: Michigan, Minnesota, and California. Guess which is my favorite state? All of them :)

We’ve welcomed TWO beautiful children into our family: Maxwell (26 months old) and Natalie (7 months old). And, we pray we’ll be blessed with a few more :)

And we have ONE spunky dog, Bauer. We adopted him in Minneapolis when he was just 12 weeks old. He’ll be 5 years next month. Oh, the memories we’ve had together so far…

Seven years! We’re proud, we’re happy, we feel like our marriage and friendship is pretty darn special. Thanks for celebrating with us!