11 Reasons I'm Thankful to Be Married to Daniel

11. He gets me.

10. He works hard to provide for our family.

9. He lets me vent and doesn't always try to fix everything for me 

(this has taken some learning on both of our parts).

8. He's a great dad.

7. We can laugh together when life gets crazy.

6. We are a good team – whether remodeling a house, collaborating on a project 

or being supportive of each other when life is hard.

5. He lets me sleep in at least one day on the weekend.

4. He's willing to compromise with me.

3. He will follow me up mountains, even if I don't do my research 

and we end up almost stranded or not dressed appropriately...

2. He doesn't mind that I rarely cook the same thing twice.

1. He's my best friend.

Happy 11th Anniversary to the man that is perfect for me!

Previous anniversary posts: 10 years | 9 years | 8 years | 7 years | 6 years | 5 years

10 Years and Counting

12-16-02

Ten years ago today, Daniel and I said our "I do's." Each anniversary that passes always feels like a blink of an eye. At 22 we were very young and very much in love. Today we are still young and still in love.

 Anthony Creek Trail, Great Smoky Mountain National Park 2003

Ten years ago I didn't really have a clue about what to expect for the future. I just knew that I wanted to be with Daniel. I had no idea that we would move to two new states. Or that Daniel would be laid off from a job and be jobless for a full year. Or that we would decide to wait so long to have our first child. I had no idea how much I could love a baby or how much more that baby would make me love Daniel. I also had no clue how hard being parents would be or how living on such little sleep could make it so difficult to do simple, every day things. I didn't know that we would spend 5 years renovating a house or choose to live in a camper for 3 months.

 The long drive from Tennessee to Durango, Durango Mexico 2004

If I could go back and give advice to the newly-wed me, I would be sure to say the following:

 Mt Mitchell, North Carolina 2004

Make sure you find older couples who have been married longer than you to watch and learn from. Having role models will have a huge impact on your life. Sometimes observing both the good and bad will help you to learn and adapt in your own marriage. We are tremendously blessed in the fact that my grandparents were married for almost 60 years and my parents have been married for 36 years. Watching this kind of longevity in a marriage has had a tremendous impact on our own marriage.

 Koko Crater, Oahu Hawaii 2005

Along these lines, watch how couples around you are raising their kids. What works? What doesn't? Observation is a powerful tool and will help you tremendously when you do decide to have kids.

 Scuba Diving, Madang, Papua New Guinea 2005

Develop a hobby (or hobbies) that you love to do together. Friendship is the glue that will keep you going when things get tough.

 Move to Charlotte, North Carolina 2005

Choose everyday to stay married. 

Mt. Rogers, Virginia 2005

Choose love. Some days it will be harder than others.

 Grayson Highlands, Virginia 2006

It's okay to fight. But fight fair. Sometimes you will both think you are right and the other person is dead wrong. Let it go. Agree to disagree.

Crater Lake, Oregon 2006

You don't have to be right all of the time. Let it go.

Gabes Mountain Trail, Great Smoky Mountain National Park 2007

Kiss each other goodbye in the morning. Kiss when you get home from work. Kiss when you go to sleep at night. Do it, even if you don't feel like it.

Hilton Head, South Carolina 2007

Hold hands. At the movies. When you pray. In church. Touch is important.

 Charleston, South Carolina 2008

Finally have fun together. Laughter will cure the biggest hurt. Laugh at the craziness of life. Laugh to be silly. Laugh to have fun together. See the ridiculous around you. Laughter will keep you grounded and will help you to get past the things that don't feel so funny. 

Roan Mountains, North Carolina 2009

God blessed me so much when he brought Daniel into my life. It was a Saturday in February in Searcy, Arkansas in 2000. A group of my friends were assembling to go on a caving trip with me. Daniel got invited to tag along. 

Max Patch, North Carolina 2009

My life has never been the same since that day that we met.

Great Smoky Mountains, 2010

Since that day we have crawled through caves; climbed mountains; paddled rivers; walked countless miles through the woods and to waterfalls and over hills. We have swam in the ocean and watched shooting stars. 

Flint River, Alabama 2011

Daniel is my mate for life and I am so thankful that God brought us together 12 years ago.

 Mt. Washington, New Hampshire 2011

Ten years is just the tip of the iceburg, Daniel Moore. I expect to take adventures together for as long as we both live.

 Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada 2012

We Choose Love...

Be each other's best friend. 

Be your mate's confidant. Their safe haven. 

Do fun things together. 

Have hobbies that you mutually like.

Let your mate do things they like. Without you. 

Do stuff you like. Without them. It's ok. It will give you things to talk about later. 

Share experiences together. 

Try new things. 

Travel.

If you need something in the relationship, tell the other person. 

Chances are, they are not a mind reader. 

Pray together at dinner time – it will remind you to be thankful at least once a day. 

Try things your partner likes, even if you aren't crazy about them 

{I learned how to shoot a gun and ride a motorcycle}.

Learn something new together {we have learned how to rock climb and scuba dive}.

Dance together in the kitchen.

Always kiss each other goodbye in the morning {even if it's before daylight and one of you is still in bed, asleep}.

Always say "I love you" when you hang up the phone.

Listen when your loved one complains about their job. Or their family. Or whatever. Don't try to fix it {unless they ask}, just let them vent.

If you like kids, have a baby. Or two. Or more. But only when you are both ready. They will make you fall in love all over again. They may also drive you a little crazy at times.

If you aren't into having kids, get a pet.

If you don't like pets, that's okay too.

Email or txt or chat throughout the day.

Get away from technology. 

Stare at the stars.

Lay in a hammock together. 

Learn how to argue.

Sometimes agree to disagree – especially if you both absolutely think you are RIGHT and don't want to give in.

Forgive and forget. I'm serious. Don't bring up the past.

Never bring up the D word.

Let your partner have the remote control.

I Love You Moore, even when our sense of normal isn't normal

So what do you do when you are young and don’t have a clue about renovating? You just dig right in and you don’t look back. This early in the game, you believe it will only take a year or so to finish (even with all of your big plans).

You rip out carpet with a vengeance. You paint walls like you always had mad skills to use a spray gun with oil-based KILZ. You wind up with your eyelashes fused together and scratch your head wondering what got you into this predicament. You tear out walls and tell yourself it will be back to normal soon.

A year later, you thank God that you finally have a working kitchen and wonder when you will have floors installed on every surface (verses exposed plywood sub floor).

Another year passes and you learn to ignore the unfinished things. You start trying to reclaim your life and stop sweating the small stuff. By now you have learned what to waste your time arguing about and what to let go. And your sense of normal has changed significantly.

Another year passes and you complete your master bathroom. Did it really take almost four years to get here? 

Your friends bug you continually about when you will finally throw a big party and let them see all of the progress. You say “soon” and then realize you have been saying “soon” for months (maybe years).

The employees at the local Lowes Home Improvement store think you are contractors. You don’t have the heart to tell them that you are just a husband and wife who are on a journey and that you just finished painting the walls and staining the concrete floors in your basement.

You come away with battle scars (including a scarred leg from a chainsaw, bruises from falling (1) off of a ladder that collapsed under you and (2) through an uncovered vent), but at the end, it is all worth it.