a special anniversary

I love celebrating special little moments. There's something about taking the time to remember an event that means a lot to you. I especially love forming traditions out of such celebrations, and even more so when they involve food! Three years ago today, Dustin asked me to marry him. I love re-creating that special evening by preparing the same meal we were cooking together when he proposed.

I'll never forget that day. He had just returned from a duck hunting trip and we had plans to prepare some of the meat he brought home. Earlier that afternoon my mom kept encouraging me to go get my nails done. At an early age, she instilled in me a deep appreciation for a good manicure so it was not out of the ordinary for her to suggest such an idea. Although, looking back she was quite adamant!

Once I arrived at Dustin's apartment, we started preparing our feast-- bacon wrapped duck breast, glazed carrots, and mashed potatoes. I remember being indecisive about which recipe I wanted to use for the carrots so I kept leaving the kitchen to go look up other ideas. Dustin kept pulling me back to the kitchen, which I just took as a sign that he was hungry and tired of my delaying the meal! Ha!

After I finally decided on a a recipe, I was standing at the stove stirring melted butter and brown sugar --what's not to love about those two ingredients?!-- for the glaze. I noticed he had left the room but didn't give it another thought. The next thing I know, he's tapping me on the back and as I turn around he's down on one knee. To be honest, the rest is kind of a blur. The excitement and emotions took over! I do remember him saying he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and when he asked if I would marry him my first response was "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" followed by a quick "YES!"

Then he shared more of how he had planned everything and discussed with our families. At that point our meal was ready but I was so excited I could hardly eat a thing! It wasn't until the following year when we re-created the evening for the first time that I truly tasted and enjoyed all we prepared. We started calling family and friends to share the news with them. He also told me that our moms would be coming with dessert to celebrate! What a sweet, special evening it was and I love re-creating it each year!

The first year we celebrated our engagement anniversary, we were in our first home together in Kentucky. We sat in the middle of the kitchen at a little table that belonged to my great grandmother, drank from our wedding goblets that also belonged to her, and reminisced. I loved actually getting to savor the yummy flavors of our special meal for the first time!

The second year, last year, we celebrated in our home in Illinois. We used his great grandmother's china and reflected on the previous two years. 

This year, our third year of celebrating, we are in our sweet friends' home, anticipating an upcoming move and the arrival of our daughter in the next couple months. I went back to the bakery where our moms had ordered a cake for us that night and picked up a few cupcakes for us to enjoy. We celebrated a little early because of our schedules this week. It was still so special.

So much has changed over the past three years-- our addresses, our roles, our ages, our perspectives, and I know things will continue to change in the future. Despite the changes, so much has remained. It reminds me of a verse that has been so special to me over the years and was included in our wedding-- 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Now these three remain: 

faith, hope, and love.

But the greatest of these is love. 

Dustin, your love is one of my greatest blessings because love is from God. I'm so thankful to be spending the my life with you. You add so much laughter, wisdom, and camouflage to my life. I wouldn't want it any other way. Thank you for the past three years of celebrating our special anniversary and love for each other. Here's to many, many more.