In Review, Part 1

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary.

In our first years of marriage, Joe and I created a list together each anniversary of all the things that we could remember that had happened that year.  It was a fun exercise and sweet to revisit the highs and lows of the year together.  At some point, we stopped making the list each anniversary.  I can't say why we didn't keep up.  Maybe the kids, maybe the moves, certainly the busyness of life.  Today, on our 10th anniversary, with a nod to our early list making efforts, here's a little recap of the last ten years:

2004

We tied the knot.

It was a beautiful day.  Joe surprised me and sang during the ceremony.  I bawled like a baby.  On our way down the aisle, he jumped, clicked his heels and then proceeded as though nothing had happened.

After we tied the knot in Colfax, ND, we loaded up Big Blue (Joe's 1989 Crown Victoria) and drove to Connecticut.  We unloaded our belongings and headed off on a 7 day cruise of the Caribbean.

2005

We spent the summer in our nation's capital.  We lived in a high-rise, one bedroom apartment 6/10 of a mile from the capitol building.  There was a pool on the roof and a revolving door on our apartment.  We housed guests constantly that summer and I got to play tour guide, as Joe worked as a summer associate for Ropes & Gray.   Other highlights from the summer were carting groceries from the nearest grocery store in a suitcase on the subway and getting up at 4AM to do training runs on Saturday mornings to try and beat the heat.

In July I took a missions trip to Peru.

In the fall, Joe took a hiking trip to the mountains of New Hampshire and ate a million wild blueberries.  He still raves about those blueberries today.

In October, we both ran our first marathon.  It wasn't pretty, but we did complete it.

2006

I coordinated the youth group at our local church and worked part-time for Newtown Public Schools in Newtown, CT.

Joe finished law school.  

In celebration, Joe's entire family, my parents and our good friend David came for graduation.  

 We housed 11 adults in our two bedroom apartment,

 chased around New York City for a day, 

and showed the crew around Yale University.

Joe spent the summer studying for the BAR exam and working for a Minneapolis law firm.  I spent the summer finishing up school, taking the youth group to the National Conference, 36 weeks pregnant, and then settling into our two bedroom apartment in Minneapolis.  I may have assisted in pushing a deep freeze up the steps to our second floor apartment at 38 weeks pregnant.

Two weeks into Joe's clerkship with the Honorable James B. Loken of the 8th Circuit, Alexandra Ruth joined our family after 42.5 hours of labor.

Joe ran his second marathon when Xandra was six weeks old.

2007

We enjoyed the year living closely to Ryan, Laura and Cousin Cora who was just nine days older than Xandra.

In August of that year, Joe's clerkship ended.

We visited family and then headed cross country, cats, kid and all to Silver Spring, MD.  We spent our first ten days in Maryland painting our newly purchased home.

On November 1, Joe got hit by a car while out for a morning run.  He spent two days in the hospital being observed for a bleed on the brain.   After two days, he was released and told to stay out of the street.

to be continued...