7 Year Itch

This past Monday was our seventh anniversary. Wow!!! We've been married 7 years. That's crazy!!!!!

Matthew planned a surprise trip to Solvang, a precious little Danish community north of Santa Barbara.

We just hung out around town, looked in all the CUTE little shops, had some yummy Danish food, and enjoyed being together. Matthew is adorable and found this website called www.dogfriendly.com to find out all the things we can do with Sunnie so we didn't have to leave her behind. Here are some pictures of the trip...

While I realize this is more Dutch than Danish, I just couldn't resist!

The dog-friendly horse-and-trolley tour of Solvang was definitely a highlight!Sunnie in her pink camo polo shirt. I think it's so not right that our sweet little girl has chest hair poking out...

Every year, our anniversary tradition is to not get one another gifts. We feel that it's one less thing to stress us out. Instead, we go shopping for a gift together in that year's traditional gift. Here are our 7 anniv gifts thus far and something exciting that happened that year.....

2003; 1st anniversary: Paper: Matt wrote a poem for us and set it to music. So I guess, he actually wrote a song. Our first year of marriage we survived the first year of our Master's Degrees and we got our precious puppy, Sunnie Bernice Barnes.

2004; 2nd anniversary: Cotton: Comforter and sheets. We had moved into the 3-bedroom house in Speegleville and were using Matt's old college sheets in the guest room. We decided to buy a cotton comforter and sheet set that looked a little more grown-up. We actually use it on our bed now since we don't have a guest room and the cotton is easier to launder than the fancy comforter we got for the wedding. With no A/C, that makes a big difference! Our second year of marriage, I graduated with my Master's Degree and entered the workforce!

2005; 3rd anniversary: Leather: Photo album. We bought a red leather photo album which I used to put our pictures of our dating life in, kind of our little love story. Our third year of marriage, we went to London and Matt graduated with his Master's Degree and was ordained into the ministry.

2006; 4th anniversary: Flowers: Green flower pot with faux flowers. We can't keep real plants alive to save our lives (although, we've gotten better lately), so we went faux. Our fourth year of marriage, God sent us packing to live in Pasadena, CA so Matt could work on his PhD. This was also the year Matt officiated his first wedding.

2007; 5th anniversary: Wood: Wooden salad bowl and serving spoons. This was the year we went to Hawaii for our anniversary. While there we found the salad bowl and thought it would work nicely for us. Our fifth year of marriage was also the year we went on a mission trip to Cambodia, which changed so much of our outlook and our relationships with the Lord.

2008; 6th anniversary: Iron: Cast iron griddle. Matt has really gotten into cooking, so he discovered that he could definitely use a cast iron griddle. It's come in quite handy! Our sixth year of marriage, I received a promotion at work and became the head of the speech department as well as experienced several other career firsts. Matt also stuck with me and encouraged me as I trained for and completed my first half-marathon!

2009; 7th anniversary: Copper: Brass cross with copper bells. Matt and I started collecting crosses when we got engaged. It just kind of happened, we didn't plan it. Now we look for unique crosses that really speak to us about some aspect of our relationship with the Lord. We saw this cross at a store manned by a gentleman who was wheelchair-bound. He was so nice and great to converse with. As someone who works with people with special needs, I felt that this would remind me of the success that can be found despite internal or external limitations. Our seventh year of marriage has been one of change, challenge, and education. Matt has completed his proposal and has turned 30. This has been a great year! I can't imagine my life without Matthew. He is the man who compliments every part of me. He is loving, thoughtful, encouraging, and comforting. He makes me laugh, holds me when I cry, and allows me to write random songs when I'm stressed. He understands the parts of me that don't even make sense to me. God absolutely created us for one another and I'm so thankful!