Tin or aluminum

"The thought of our past years in me doth breed perpetual benedictions." - William Wordsworth.
Tin or aluminum is the 10 year anniversary gift. I guess that's what 10 years of marriage is worth! My husband and I have been married for 3,650 days today! Wow - doesn't seem very long when I look at it in days... Yep, this year is the big 10! Why is 10 years such a huge occasion? Why is it more important than other years? Not sure about that - but I've been convincing myself it IS important because I want to DO something special this year. Reality check - My husband just started back to school (for his executive MBA) AND he's still working full time, AND he was just called as Young Mens president, AND I'm Relief Society president, AND my photography has been super busy, AND we have a family to raise. I think I'm kidding myself to think that we're going to have the time to do ANYTHING spectacular this year. But you know what?? Doesn't change a thing - not ONE.SINGLE.THING. about how I feel about my husband and our life together. It's very literally been the best 10 years of my life... so far :)

We were married on this day in August (it was a Saturday 10 years ago) in the Cardston Alberta temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. From the world's perspective we would be considered young. I was 19 (and a half) and my husband was 21 - freshly home from serving a 2 year mission for the Church in northern California - Lao speaking. For all my life I knew I wanted to be a wife and a mother. There was no question. Even during school when my thoughts would drift to different career choices, like being a teacher or Veterinarian (my two careers of choice then) deep down I wasn't really committed to having a career because I KNEW how much being a wife and mother meant to me. While attending my youth activities I remember thinking about how THIS activity would prepare me for when I was a wife and mother. I remember the guys I'd hang out with - basically evaluating them, their behavior, their goals - knowing that out there somewhere my future husband was making choices, behaving a certain way, living a certain life. It was the bulk of what I thought about, especially as I got older (if you can call being 19 older - LOL!).

I remember writing a list of exactly what I wanted in a husband and father to my future children. Little did I know that my future husband was out there right then developing those exact qualities. It was funny because I was reading through my old journals and on February 11, 1995 - my VERY FIRST DATE EVER was actually at my hubby's house. I wasn't on the date with him, it was with another great guy I went to school with, but it was at my hubby's house. LOL! Fate? Hmm... not sure :) I do feel that the Lord orchestrates things so that we could find each other. In a journal entry dated March 16, 1998 I had been considering moving from my city of Calgary to Lethbridge - a city about 2 1/2 hours away. I was feeling very confused at what to do, and even while praying, I could receive no clear answer. I wrote
"There must be something out there waiting for me. I can feel it every day. I don't know if I'll find it in Lethbridge, but I know it's no where around right now. Through prayer and constant vigil over my thoughts and actions, I have faith that I'll end up where I'm supposed to be."

Okay, folks, this is where I get the goosebumps. My future husband was leaving his mission in Calfornia that day, and arrived back in Calgary on the next day March 17, 1998! Interesting, isn't it? A couple of journal entries later, I first mention hubby's name! In the same entry I wrote about how I had been praying for specific things, My exact words were

"Please help me find someone who I like, who will like me in return. I'm interested in someone who is strong in the gospel, someone who can encourage me in righteousness. I know I'll eventually find someone, I just have to try to live the way I know I should and trust in the Lord to take care of the rest. It's easier said than done, though. I'm not a patient person, to say the least!"

LOL! Little did I know, the Lord was working out a perfect solution to my problem - Lyndon! My very next journal entry starts out like this:

"I had the BEST time today. If you can believe it, I was out with Lyndon Grunewald!...Lyndon is very, very good looking, so needless to say he quickly became a celebrity with the other girls at work. (which was oh, so true!) In fact, when he first started working at the mall, the girls were telling me about this new security guard who was absolutely gorgeous! At the time this was going on I had no idea that Lyndon was working at the mall, so I didn't show much interest in what they were saying. At church last Sunday, Lyndon asked me if I worked at the Bookstore in Sunridge mall. I said, "Yes, I sure do! How did you know that?" (He had JUST gotten home from his mission) He told me that he'd been working at the mall as a security guard. Of course I was able to put two and two together and realize that HE was the one the girls at work were talking about..... We've had some really awesome conversations..... he asked me if I wanted to do something with him tomorrow, seeing as we both had the day off. Of course I said yes!"

That was the start of a beautiful relationship. You can see how smitten I was with him right from the start. He captured my heart immediately. Later, in my journal after I wrote about our first date, I wrote:

"I had been praying to Heavenly Father for a friend. A friend I could be comfortable with, and I could hang out with. Someone I liked. Preferably a GUY! My prayers were answered far more accurately that I had ever hoped they would be. I don't deserve such blessings, but I am grateful for them. Who knows? Perhaps Lyndon and I will become far closer than I'd hoped. "

10 years and four beautiful children later and I'm still as smitten as ever. He is someone who gets better and better as each year passes. I'm not sure my heart is big enough to contain the love I feel for him. He truly helps me be the kind of person I want to be - encouraging me, laughing with me, loving me. I think of him as my blessing sent from above - very literally. Yes - 10 years is something to celebrate, and I can't wait for the next ten!

I made this little fold out 8X8 folder thingy for my husband for our anniverary. I was inspired by the August KOTM and got creative to make my own out of chipboard, cardstock, black duct tape, and scrapbooking embellishments. He loved it (and so do I). It was so fun going through old photos to decide what to include.