Fourteen Years

On Tuesday, James and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. We got a sitter on Saturday evening, and we went out to dinner. We had hoped to go to the Shakespeare Festival, which was about to wrap up for the year. The play this year was Anthony and Cleopatra, which I was kind of familiar with. The Festival takes place every year in the late spring. We've lived here for 7 years, and we still haven't been because it was raining when the show was scheduled to begin. Oh well.

Photos by Kevin Beasley

We went out to eat at The Shaved Duck. The restaurant has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, so there's a bit of hype surrounding the place.

We got there a little before 6 pm. I don't think they have a parking lot, but we were able to find a free spot on the street close by. The place was insanely packed. You couldn't open the front door without banging the doorknob into someone's rear end.There was an hour wait for a table indoors, so we opted to sit outside in the sun. If that option hadn't been available, we would have left. After we sat, I wanted to wash my hands. That meant having to go inside through the crazy cram-packed-maze of people to get to the restroom. I spent five minutes digging in my purse for hand sanitizer before giving up and making the trek to the restroom. Back at our table, it was hot. Thankfully, another guest showed us how to tilt the umbrella at our table to provide some shade. James ordered a combo plate with three different types of BBQ meat. I ordered the duck breast, which was delicious. James was not wowed with his food. He said it was good, but he prefers the burnt ends at Super Smokers.  The service was slow, so this wouldn't be a good place to take the kids. They do have an extensive menu of local beers and whiskeys, so if you're into that, it might be worth a visit for you. I'm glad we tried the place, but I don't think it is worth a second visit unless some things change - like they start accepting reservations.

We drove to Ted Drew's for dessert. They are where Dairy Queen got their inspiration for their Blizzards. We still have never eaten there because there were about a hundred people in line when we drove by. It might be good, but I'm not going to wait in a line that long for ice cream. We had dessert at Bissinger's Chocolate instead, which was amazing. The had a large seating area, inside and out. This place is certainly worth repeat visits.

 On Tuesday, our actual anniversary, James had flowers waiting for me when I got home from work. He cooked scallops for dinner - and even the kids liked them.

Celebrating our anniversary made me reflect on our wedding vows. Our vows came from a seminary's website. We tweaked them a bit. Here's a link to them if you want to read them: Wedding Vows
I think the most weighty line in them is the promise to serve Christ together. Satan finds way to deter us, sometimes using the most benign means possible.

James, I am so thankful for you. You have been Jesus to me when I was too heartbroken to worship Him. There is a sacredness to my love for you that grew in hospital rooms, doctors offices, and on our knees in Ethiopia. After our first Ethiopian baby girl went to be with Jesus, you were by my side week after week at church, quietly hoping for the Sunday when I could make it through the service without weeping. In the midst of that despair, had I known that three more Ethiopian babes would slip through our fingers, I would have been utterly hopeless. It is a good thing that God doesn't let us see into the future. I had no idea when I said "I do" at age 21, what God would ask of us. You have stirred my affections for my First Love, and I pray that our children will say the same of you. May they be able to say that their Daddy showed them the love of Jesus.

13 Years

Thirteen years ago today, I married my dearest friend. James, I'm so thankful for your steadfast, sacrificial love. You are the very best earthly gift God has ever given me.

 I'm thankful for your commitment to me and to Our Father.

photo credit Kevin Beasley

photo credit Kevin Beasley

I'm thankful for the way you've cared me through happy times, hard times, and times of illness. Little did we know that we were in for a time of "illness" in the above photo. The next two nights would be spent in the hospital. I'm so done with horses.

 I'm thankful that you love this sweet boy in Ethiopia just as much as I do.

Photo credit Kevin Beasley

 I'm thankful for all of the time that your give our children, and I'm thankful that you stuck it out with me on the long, awful road that we had to walk down to get to them.

 I'm thankful that you are a sucker for doggies.

 I'm thankful that you go all out for Halloween. I hope our kids have many fun memories of their Daddy dressing up!

I'm thankful for your love travel and for the memories that we've made exploring God's creation.

10 years ago today

Photo by Kevin Beasley

Ten years ago today, I married my dearest friend.  James, I am thankful that you're my husband.  You have loved me well.  You have loved me when God's love seemed elusive to me. You have stood by me on some very dark days. You have served me and cared for me when I was sick.  You have shared in my joy, suffering, laughter, and grief.  You have prayed for me when I was so spent spiritually that I could not pray myself. You have guided me, encouraged me, lovingly rebuked me, and you've had a hand in my sanctification. You are my husband and my brother in Christ.  You have stirred my affections for my First Love, Love Himself. You have been Christ to me.  May God help me remember that before you were mine, you were Christ's, and one day, we will be united with the rest of the body of Christ to our Bridegroom.

Our Wedding Vows

Photo by Kevin Beasley

Our Marriage Vows

James: I, James, take you Stephanie, to be my wedded wife. With deepest joy I receive you into my life that together we may be one.  As is Christ to his body, the church, so I will be to you a loving and faithful husband. Always will I perform my headship over you even as Christ does over me, knowing that his lordship is one of the holiest desires of my life.  Stephanie, I promise you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, my tenderest care.  I promise I will live first unto God rather than others, or even you.  I promise that I will lead our lives into a life of faith and hope in Jesus Christ, ever honoring God's guidance by his Spirit through His word and so throughout life no matter what may lie ahead I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful husband.

Stephanie:  I Stephanie, take you James to be my wedded husband.  With deepest joy I come into my new life with you.  As you have pledged to me your life and love, so I too happily give you my life and in confidence submit myself to your headship as to the Lord.  As is the church in her relationship with Christ, so I will be with you.  James, I will live first unto our God, and then unto you, loving you, obeying you, caring for you, so that we might serve Christ together.  God has prepared me for you so I will ever strengthen, help, comfort, and encourage you.  Therefore, throughout life, no matter what may be ahead of us, I pledge to you my life as a faithful and obedient wife.

Ring Vows

James: Stephanie, I give you this ring, wear it with love and joy.  I choose you to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live.  And I pledge to you my faithfulness to show you the same kind of love Christ showed the church when He died for her, and to love you as a part of myself, because in his sight, we shall become one.

Stephanie: James, I give you this ring, wear it with love and joy.  I choose you to be my husband to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live.  And I pledge to you my faithfulness to love you with a Christ-like love, and to love you as a part of myself, because in his sight we shall become one.

Our vows came from samples that used to be available for free on Dallas Theological Seminary's website.  I tried to look for them today, and it seems that they are now charging $15 for a Wedding Planning Kit that you have to purchase if you want to see their sample vows.

Crawfish Boil & Vow Renewal

It's hard to believe it, but our tenth wedding anniversary is this week!  This past Saturday, we had a crawfish boil for our community group from church, and we decided that since it was going to be so close to our anniversary that it would be a nice time to renew our vows.  A friend of ours Jason Polk, who is the worship pastor at Grace PCA Church led us through our vows.  Jason and his wife, Liz, were some of the people that we met after moving to St. Louis, and they are dear friends.  We were so glad that they could be with us to celebrate our anniversary! They are in the process of moving to Ethiopia as missionaries, which thrills my heart. You can read about their work here: On the Ground.

 My friend Jamie made these fabulous cupcakes that were reminiscent of my wedding cake.  The butterflies were made out of chocolate, and they were edible!  She is so talented.

 The little boys were intrigued by the crawfish, and I don't think they were convinced that they were food and not bugs.

 Daisy found a place to hang out, but Lily had to stay in the house.  Lily, our little Sheltie, is not fond of crowds.  We should have kept  her in the house in to begin with, but I wanted to see if she could cope with the company.  She could not.  She almost caught herself on fire.  She got freaked out by something harmless and ran to James just after he had gotten the gas lit on the burner for the crawfish.  She got too close to the burner, and her fur got singed.  I'm just glad she was not hurt.  James put her in the basement after that.

 James wanted to see how boiled shrimp would be with the crawfish.  He put them in with the crawfish after they had finished cooking.  The shrimp were really good!

We asked Jason to read Ephesians 5 and he talked about what a covenant means and he and some of our friends prayed with us. He also gave us some words of wisdom regarding parenting as we prepare to bring our daughter home.

It was a great evening!  We both meant our vows the first time we said them, but it was sweeter this time because of the history that James and I had together.  James has been with me in the good times and bad times, in sickness and in health.  As we said our vows on Saturday, I had memories of James staying by my side in a hospital and caring for me and encouraging me going through my mind.  I'm delighted to be his wife.  It was wonderful to share the evening with friends who have prayed with us, grieved with us, and rejoiced with us.  Thank you to everyone who was able to be there!  I'll post our vows later this week.

Our 9th Anniversary

This post is a little late, but better late than never.  Our anniversary was in the middle of the week this year, which meant that we both had to work.  We exchanged gifts and went out for dinner at Lorenzo's Trattoria.  The past three years for our anniversary we've had dinner at one the the restaurants in St.Louis' Italian district.  There are so many good restaurants there!

I gave James a new leather briefcase to carry to and from work.  He received a black canvas bag from Ameren when he started working there, and it was starting to look worn.  I found this one at Overstock.  The white that you see in the photo is just paper that was wrapped around the buckles to protect them during shipment. 

After traveling to Haiti and having to leave my wedding ring at home for fear of losing it, I wanted a wedding band that was not costly that I could wear places I didn't want to wear my original ring.  James gave me this band.  It is made out of tungsten.  I really like it.  James also gave me a bouquet of flowers.

Nine Years Ago

(The photo is one of our wedding pics.  Kevin Beasley was our photographer, and he was awesome!)

Nine years ago today my life became meshed with another.  James, I wouldn't trade these nine years for anything.  I'm thankful you are my husband, and I thought I'd share some memories that we've made together.

• Remember when we brought Daisy home for the first time?  What a trip that was.  I'd been living in Memphis all summer, then we went to Florida for a week - then back to Louisiana for a friend's wedding. . .while in LA we got Daisy from your parents. . .then finally back to Little Rock.  The car was so full that the only place for Daisy was either under my feet or in my lap.  It is a wonder that she enjoys car rides after that trip from Louisiana to Little Rock.
• Remember going out to Brave New Restaurant to celebrate my first job offer?  I had gotten a call after class that day from Albertson's and accepted.
• Remember our first day with Lily?  I had driven to Evening Shade to pick her up.  You didn't have any vacation to spare.  You asked for her as soon as you walked in from work.  She was so tiny that you didn't see on the sofa at first.
• Remember our first visit to Busch?  That was about a year before we got married, and it was my first major league game.  The Cards were playing the Marlins, I think. . .or was it the Mariners?
• Remember when we both ordered beer for the first time at a restaurant?  It was at Bosco's in Memphis.  Neither of us like it much then, and I still don't.  You developed a taste for it during our years in Baton Rouge.
• Remember when I drove home from work while Hurricane Rita was raging?  I had no umbrella to use, and even I'd had one it would not have made much difference.  Umbrellas are not meant for hurricanes.  I got totally soaked walking from the pharmacy to the car, and I asked you to meet me in the garage with a clean set of clothes - everything, undies, socks, and all.  You got quite a laugh out of that.  Everything was so wet I left it in the garage to dry out before I brought it inside to wash it.
• Remember sleeping in the closet on an air mattress our first right in our house in Baton Rouge?  We didn't have any furniture or curtains there yet, and there was no window in the closet, so it was dark in there.  Daisy was with us too.
• Remember when you played that song "New York City" for me?  We were in NYC, and had just gotten back to our hotel after a fun, but exhausting day.   That made me smile. Here's a bit of the song:

Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, Co-op City, Katz's and Tiffany's 

Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, The Empire State where Dylan lived 

Coney Island and Times Square, Rockefeller Center
Wish I was there

'Cause everyone's my friend in New York City
And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see
But the best thing about New York City is you and me

• Remember the day I got home from Haiti?  Yeah.  So do I.

I love you.  Here's to rest of our life.