Sacrificing, Blessings and 10 years!

It felt like the night before our wedding, only this time I needed to get three boys ready for the next days celebration. I sat down at midnight looking over my to do list, to ensure that every detail had been covered.

It was the night before our wedding times two! Yup ten years later to the day before family and close friends we were to witness us take new vows before the Lord and each other. Lets back up a second, actually Feburary 7th to be exact:

This conversation happened on a blog. When Bianca challenged us to do more, and asked us what we were giving up for Jesus. You see it was always my desire to renew our vows for our 10 year along with a short expensive laundry list of to do's on our tenth! As you can see. And so there on that day I left the desires of my heart there before the Lord, and gave it up. Sacraficing my will to the Fathers using our time and finances, so be it!

And here eight months later. I sat in awe of a God who not only allowed us to serve him in service but ALSO granted me the desires of my heart. As I read Bianca's comment I cant help but cry. I look back at a year of abundances of blessings, forgetting and wondering where was the sacrafice? I forgot because it was so minimal to what God has blessed us with. We put our finances in the Lord and he tripled them back down to us. Now I didnt get that upgraded diamond, oh and I am not that holy because it was not for lack of trying! I did get earring though.. woot woot! On saturday before a group of about 50 we gathered and glorified the Lord.

We stood as a represetation of how Christ can take jacked up people like us and make a family that love and works! I said my vows in true fashion, giving refrence to the Kardasians and lady gaga, and of course my husband in true fashion loved me the way Christ loves the church. He got down on his knees and surprised me by washing my feet. I cried, he cried and I think 80 percent of our guest cried. He said I cried because he choose a red bucket that clashed with my color scheme. Yup interenet a RED bucket, bless his heart that he also took a towel that we use to dry the cars with after a car wash :/  I think he was half right!

It was an amazing afternoon and many tears shed of gratitude, remembering and love. Laughter bounced off the walls as we caught up with friends and family. The un-newlywed game we played with a few couples just put a stamp on this love letter! We ended the night in Laguna Beach the place we got engaged and married. We had a wonderful dinner and finally for the first time since having the boys stayed the night away!

As we laid there flipping between dumb and dumber and the baseball game, yup I know totally romantic right... we were in awe. I could not have asked for such a better day and night. That day on February 7th,  I laid my desire and it was the very day that the Lord granted it. We put the Lord before all things and He?  well He just blew us away. It was our prayer that we would glorify Him with our celebration and He would be in every detail. Before we left the mining company, the head waiter wanted to talk to my husband.

He said in the 20 years he has been working there, he has never seen such a beautiful display of love and celebration. He said that it made him take a look at his life and re-evaluate many things, he didnt finish because he was starting to breakdown but Lord knows. To God be the Glory always.. In our marriage and in everything we do... !

I dont have all the pictures for the day yet but here are a few to share...

Ten tables for each year, each table had a willow tree to correspond with the significance of that year this was table #2 and it was 2003 which was "Growing in Love"

Our colors were silver and blue the tradiational ten year colors. Our scripture was Song of Solomon 6:3 "I am my beloved and my beloved is mine, he feeds his flock among the lilies." The flock reminded us of our little family and so we used the sheep to represent that. It was a cookie from the double tree hotel. The two bibles there were our first bibles, as a married couple and the ones that got us through a first tough year of marriage.

 Ten year tradition is tin, so we used a tin that the cookies came in. The pliability of tin and aluminum  is a symbol of how a successful marriage needs to be flexible & durable and how it can be bent without being broken. This has signifinace for us because our wedding night we stayed at the Double tree hotel, and fell in love with their cookies. Every year on our anniversary we buy a tin, ok sometimes we go more often :)

I want to thank Carmen of Expressionary Events who did my flowers. They were amazing! She is a one stop shop for weddings and parties, you can find her on Fb here!

Aganist my will, a friend paid to have my make up done.. I gotta say, although I am more the natural type, I fell in love with what she did! Thank you Britney of Rock Me Up Sudio & Spa!  Check her out here!

I wish I had a picture, but also want to thank Shannon Quintana for her amazing voice in leading us in worship that day. Look her up on Fb here!

Also want to thank Bianca for challenging your blog readers to do more and be more! You can check out her blog and keep up with her and all she is doing to change the world here on her blog. I promise you will not regret the reads!

I want to thank everyone that help make our day special and joining us.. For those that couldn't make it you were missed! I want to thank my Lord for loving so much that He gave me a man that I could love a little less than Him!