10th Anniversary

I'm pretty big on decades - my 20th birthday brought much difficulty as I was no longer a teenager, but officially moving into adulthood.  Turning 30 caused me to request that my husband to throw a party to celebrate (yes, I ask for my own birthday parties). :)  This year brings the 10th anniversary of our marriage, so we started planning last year to celebrate with a big trip.  We settled on the Couples San Souci resort in Jamaica for a week of glorious white sand, clear water, no kids, rest and relaxation, delicious food, no kids, fun activities, a great room with a view,...and did I mention, no kids?? :)  We love our children and are so thankful to parent them, but a week to ourselves was priceless!  We loved this time together, and are so thankful to Nana and Papaw for giving the kids a great time while we were away!

While we were away, Corrie caught her first big fish - a 14 in. large mouth bass!  She said, "Mom, I'm going to get him mounted and put him in the garage!" I'm glad she knows where that fish would go....not in the house. :)

 Our room was on the second floor to the right of the elevator tower behind those palm trees

 These little crabs were like the spiders of Jamaica - they were everywhere!  None in our room, thankfully, but all around the walkways.

 Matt and I, Friday night at a dinner Gala on the lawn between the beach and the pool.  The food was DELICIOUS!  Lots of Jamaican cuisine - jerk chicken, chicken patties, callaloo (like spinach), pineapple watermelon (yes, you read that correctly, texture like watermelon, but it's yellow and tastes like pineapple and watermelon put together). They also served some American and Italian food.  So good!

 Where we sat most days on the beach.  So relaxing!  One of the staff would come by each morning and give you a flag to put in the ground if you wanted something to drink. So nice to lay out, read my book, and do NOTHING!

 Glass bottom boat and boat to take out snorkelers and scuba divers.  Matt and I both snorkeled and saw a shipwreck (sunk on purpose by the British in the 90's), a stingray, and lots of colorful fish and coral. I went scuba diving with a group while Matt sat on the beach one morning and saw some beautiful fish, crabs, tiny lobsters, and lots of coral.  A little fire coral brushed against my leg and stung a bit, but I wore the sting with pride as a battle scar of scuba diving...and then put some ammonia on it. :)

 The walk to our room - beautiful plants, flowers, and trees everywhere.  Lots of banana trees around.

 Sweet kiss after dinner in one of the restaurants

 Couple from Alabama we were so blessed to meet the first day, and spent a good bit of time with the rest of the week

 Yes, this really exists.  You know you want to be there right now. :)

 View from our room

 Drinking coconut water FROM A COCONUT!

 View from our lounge chairs most days

My husband is a gift from God and a blessing to my life.  His strength, wisdom, determination, purpose, integrity, and character have made my life sweeter.  I am so thankful that God has worked in Matt's heart to cause him to love me as Christ loves the church, to sacrifice for me and put my needs above his own, and to nourish and cherish me as Christ does the church.  He paints a beautiful picture of God's great love for His people in his love and care for me.  I love you, Babe!  Happy 10 years!! :)

If you're interested in seeing the rest of our pictures, you can click here!