Diving Back In

You don’t have to look far to see that this is my first post in almost 7 months. It would take about 900 words and a lot of excuses to explain my absence in the blog world, and, let’s face it, would be about as exciting to read as CNN is to watch when broadcasting a general session of the House during a break. So, with the acknowledgement of my long absence in the blog world, I will dive back in with a new post that may or not be any more exciting for you than the aforementioned hypothetical post on the “absence explanation.”

One week ago, William and I celebrated our second year as Mr. and Mrs. Spencer. This started off with a little romantic weekend getaway to OKC with 16 of our favorite 11 year olds and their parents. We celebrated by watching these little nuggets play some soccer and then sharing in some amazing “group buffet dining” excursions. I would say this trip was as good, if not better, than the year one cruise celebration.

We returned to Dallas just in time to celebrate our actual anniversary on Monday night with a little dinner in Uptown. Thanks to restaurant.com, we got a pretty good deal on a sweet meal at Palomino in the Crescent building. We indulged in a bottle of wine, cheese platter, salads, scallops, steak, and of course as much bread as they were willing to bring us. After all, it was our anniversary.

It wouldn’t be an anniversary blog post without including a top ten of my favorite things about “Year 2” for the Spencers. Enjoy.

10. The many times he randomly came home with a bouquet of flowers. It always makes my heart “swell” a little.

9. Surprising the hubs by taking a day off from work to finish spreading the 1,000 lbs of mulch he had dumped in our driveway the day before. His surprise and joy when he came home to find me covered in dirt, sweat and blisters verified for me that my husband receives love through my acts of manual labor.

8. On our trip to Orlando last summer for a friend’s wedding, neither one of us had to pretend we were too cool or too old to wait in a 3 hour line to be among the first to experience the new Harry Potter World at Universal Studios.

7. Discovering the magic of the television series “Friday Night Lights” together and analyzing the incredible marriage of Coach Eric and Tami Taylor and all the ways we are just like them. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.

6. William’s first brush with spontaneity, he suggested we meet half-way between Dallas and San Antonio during my month-long work trip. It was super sweet and he told me he just “really wanted to see me.”

5. Celebrating William’s 28th birthday with a back-yard “drive in” movie and some of our closest friends. It was a perfect night complete movie theatre popcorn, candy and Karate Kid.

4. Working together to lay-out our new backyard landscaping and then spending every night for several months watering all our new, vulnerable plants. It seemed pretty laborious at the time but I enjoyed spending time together and the end result of our beautiful backyard perfect for hosting impromptu get-togethers.

3. Relaxing weekends spent together where we had zero plans and no agenda. These sometimes occurred at home, sometimes at the lake or the farm, but always resulted in amazing times of conversations and growth in both of our marriage and our walk with the Lord.

2. Continuing a tradition dating back to long before we were married. Sunday night pizza night!! -Proof that sometimes it’s the little things in life that God uses to bring you the most joy.

1. Waking up every day to my best friend and the love of my life and knowing that God has blessed me with a man who brings me joy and challenges me to grow closer to Him.
In his anniversary card to me, he wrote maybe the sweetest line that’s ever been written and the new prayer for our marriage, “ I look forward to forever, but pray that I never overlook today.”

Here’s to year three- may we continue to look forward to our future without ever overlooking the blessings of today.