The Celebration Continues: 126 Months of Love

 

Friday was our 126^th monthiversary, and it felt nearly perfect. I spent part of the day thinking through some of the things I love most about Ryan and our life together, and I wanted to highlight five things I wrote down:

1. Ryan’s giant laugh that is contagious. There is little more in this world that pushes me straight into joy than hearing him give a proper belly laugh. Knowing he is fully living in joy in that moment and seeing it written all over his face is one of the best moments ever. (If you’ve never heard him laugh, you’re missing out.)

2. Praying together. I really love it when we crawl into bed at night and pray together. It’s quiet, it’s uninterrupted, and I love listening to him lead and then joining him in prayer.

3. Coffee at sunset beside the lake. We have had a wildly busy start to summer. We took advantage of the winter and rainy spring months to work on the inside of the house, but there was much to do outside once the weather got warm. There are the regular chores, of course, like mowing and weeding, but we’re also tending to flowers and coaxing a garden and trying to smooth out projects the previous owner started and wasn’t able to complete. Then there was the whole garage organization project that took some time. Add in our walks and workouts and work itself…and if we’re not careful, we’re always on the go. I appreciate that we have taken time to put aside work on the nice evenings so we can enjoy our coffee outside while watching the sunset.

4. Holding hands in a parking lot. I had a boyfriend once upon a time who did not like holding hands in public. It wasn’t his thing, and while I respect it, it was ABSOLUTELY my thing, so it was disappointing that he didn’t love it. I adore it that Ryan likes holding hands in parking lots – or anywhere for that matter. Church, the car, whatever. It makes my heart happy.

5. Dreaming out loud. We’ve done a lot of it lately – vacation plans, yard plans, life plans. It’s been so good. I love the conversations born out of it.

            So those were the things I journaled about – but I also wanted to share a couple of the fun things we did on Friday! The first part of the evening was just normal. We had dinner here at home and worked on necessary chores. It was gorgeous out, so we went for a walk with Lexi and then we had a date right in our own backyard.

            We played cornhole for the first time with the set I gave Ryan for his birthday, and though I started strong, Ryan had a solid win. (I did great until I really, really didn’t.) Then we enjoyed our coffee by the water and had s’mores.

            We stayed out until long past dark, thoroughly enjoying conversation and quiet. It was perfect. And the best part of it all was – we were home. Didn’t have to pack up to return there at the end of the night!

            Happy 126 months, Ryan!