(the title gives everyone who knows how much i sing to imagine me singing this, and i do, to stephen) HA.

after writing around 40 gifts on my list of gracias I read over them. and then smiled. one had been repeated unknowingly. a grace giving husband. as we celebrated our 10th anniversary this month, I consider how deeply grateful I am to be with someone so graceful. the way he offers me this grace is like fresh air and a swift kick at the same time. by loving me beyond and through the circumstances and also not allowing somethings to overcome me or gain more weight than they need. i don't know how to teach someone grace but in my life so far I find I am never able to forget the ones who extend it to me so naturally because I want to be more like them.

i raced home from work on our anniversary this week looking forward to showing Hannah our wedding video. until i realized it was a.. umm.. a VIDEO. like a cassette, like DHS not DVD. sad. then i felt a wee old that we were married long ago enough that there were no digital photos to roll through and no DVD to watch.

our dear friend alli gave us the chance to stay at a hyatt in downtown vancouver for a special night to celebrate. we had the best time, it seems it never gets old to date. you have to be more creative on what to talk about (we manage to have a longer list of things to not bring up) but we love to eat drink and be merry together. we loved the interior design of the resturaunt, we loved the views from the hotel, we loved the logo on our menu, we loved tasting a fresh cocktail with egg white in it (weird but yum), we loved running together on the seawall, we loved uninterrupted time together to pray about our future, we totally love visiting a famed espresso house that made latte's to die for with hearts on top. i love walking the streets holding hands.

so after a year that has been had its share of tension and heavy in the home, we celebrated well. we are hoping big and in some ways letting go in order to live more fully together. i feel more sure today than maybe even 10 years ago (am i supposed to say that) that there is no one in the world i'd rather do life with than Stephen. he is my best friend, my grace giving husband, a hopeful man and a loving father. Here's to the next decade!!!!!