I was reflecting the other day that I have two big ten year anniversaries coming up. The first will be July 20th this year and that is the anniversary of dh and I getting married. This year will be our 18th together but only 10th married, we went through the mills first and made sure our match really was the right one. What the Lord joins together let no man come between and all that!The other anniversary will be early next year and that is my ten year anniversary of knowing that I was a parent. JJ will be 9 this October but I count being a parent as since knowing I was pregnant with him, that is when my eternal love for him started and that heart-wrenching bond was formed.
Around the same time as thinking about these anniversaries I was tagged by a new blogger All-In-One Mum and she asked me to share 8 memoires from the last 8 years. I am going to cheat a little and share some special memories from the last 10 years. Why don't you join in and do the same?
January 2002
I started the Alpha course at a local Anglician Church as we wished to get married there. I was dreading the course and thought it would be awful with lots of old people quoting the bible at me, how wrong I was! It was actually amazing and the start of my return to the Christian faith.
May 2002
I prayed a prayer of commitment and asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This was when I gave my life over to Christ and knew that salvation was through faith alone.
20 July 2002
Our wedding day, it really was magical. Everything I had ever dreamed of and it did not even cost the earth, we budgeted sensibly and still managed to have the full sit down do at a golf club.I have just been given a DVD player which includes a video the other day and I am stoked to think that I can watch our wedding video again.
1 September 2002
We moved into our house that we now live in. It is a spacious 3 bed semi with a great garden and and large front drive. There was some serious DIY to do over this next year to get it into a good state of repair. But we got there and now I love it. Much of it is with thanks to my super Dad.
October 2002
We decided to split our wedding and honeymoon so that we still had something to look forward to and I am so glad we did. These 2 weeks in Barbados and St Lucia were just amazing and dh and I made the decision to actively try for our first baby.
Mid January 2003
An ordinary day at work except I felt sick and all of a sudden something inside me knew I should go and buy a pregnancy test at lunch time. I did and it was positive, I did a silent whoop in the toilet at work and headed straight back out to buy two more tests. Even though I knew these tests were pretty reliable, I wanted to just check again...... and again! I still remember doing a silly dance, singing to myself, silenting shouting and punching the air for the 5 minutes I spent in the loo! What I cannot remember is how I told dh and what his reaction was, I must ask him....
4th October 2003
Roll forward 9 months and we arrive at the date I gave birth to JJ, or did not as I believed at the time. His birth experience was pretty traumatic for me and something that took a while to get over. Once I awoke from the general and was able to meet and hold my little man it was wonderful. At first I worried that I did not have the instant feelings I should have had but within a few days I recall telling my Mum that I have fallen in love with him. I don't think that love affair will ever end...
1 May 2004
The day I handed in my notice to my high pressure sales job, the relief flooded through me. I was due to start a 18.5 hours a week admin job with over £40K less pay the next month but this was perfect for me and I am still there now.
1st July 2007
On this day I finished my dissertation for my Master in Human Resource Management. 8 months pregnant with the twins and very uncomfortable I was ecstatic to have finished. I then graduated in November 2008 with an award for outstanding work and a masters with distinction.
18th July 2007
A much better birth experience with the girls. After two weeks in hospital already I was so desperate to meet my little ladies and my planned section went well. Dh and I got to enjoy a few hours alone with out little ladies in the recovery room and it was wonderful to relax and enjoy them and then JJ came to meet his sisters and our family of 5 was complete.
1 September 2008
The day I returned to work after 16 months off on maternity leave. I was dreading my return and actually wanted to just quit and stay home but with hindsight I know it is one of the best things that happened. The combination of being Mich at work and mummy at home is perfect and allows me the freedom I need.
January 2010
I decided to go public with my blog and this was the start of something massive. My blogging journey has felt like a real bumpy journey but I have arrived at the straight and narrow road now and it is a joy rather than a struggle. This little piece of the web takes a fair amount of my time now and a lot of my thoughts too but it is invaluable to have somewhere to get it all out there!
Monday evenings Jan - March 2010
Some might think this is a bit of an odd one but for about 12 weeks dh and I did a marriage course on Monday evenings and it was the most wonderful time. We would enjoy a lovely meal together and then watch a DVD around a particular topic and have a candlelight discussion with homemade dessert about that topic. We grew so close in this time and our relationship moved to another level. I would recommend this course to every couple, whatever stage they are at in their relationship.
Spring Harvest - April 2011
Last Easter we had our annual week at Butlins celebrating with thousands of other Christians at Spring Harvest. As the girls were nearly 4 and JJ was 7 we had so much more freedom to go out and enjoy our time. Day time naps were a thing of the past and the girls were able to stay up a little later and then sleep well throughout the night. I think this year will be even better still as the kids all move up a level in their activity groups and they should have even more fun and we should have some more time for just us as a couple!
The last ten years have been wonderful. I have foudn Jesus, got married, bought a home for life, started a family, changed careers and started my blog. Here is to the next ten brilliant ones....
And as for those I am going to tag, well I think it is going to be -
Mummy Mishaps
The Real Super Mum
A party of Seven
Lakes Single Mum
Come on ladies, share some beautiful memories from the last 8 - 10 years.