Honeymoon...#4

And....
Yes...

4th honeymoon was a success.

Again, for those of you new to the blog, let me share. When Wes and I got married we decided to try our hand at going on a honeymoon every year near or close to our anniversary. No, not an extravagant one like our week in the Bahamas was after our wedding. But at least making an effort to celebrate our life together by doing something. Going away. Making an intentional effort at....us.
I believe the celebration of each other through your wedding anniversary is a ‘lost art’.

Some great advice I have been given in my life is this: when you start to lose track of who you are and why you are doing what you are doing... go back to the beginning and remember. It is a perspective shifter. And, as three years has come and gone in our life... in the midst of stress and broken cars and grumpy moods and dirty clothes on the floor or his clutter on the table... it is sometimes easy to ‘forget’ the whys of why we chose each other in the first place. The beginning. What it felt like falling in love with him for the first time.

So every year, on our anniversary, we take a Selah moment together. We get away no matter what is going on around us...we plan it out....we go....and we do it. No excuses...
When kids come...we will do it. I know you are snickering out there thinking, “yeah right”...but just watch us. Even if we have to toss a tent in the yard and take the babies to the grandparents for one night...our goal is to do it.

And coming through the season we have come through especially, with stress at work and lost babies in the past, we needed to get away...away from our house....away from our life...take some time to rest, play, shop, hang out...get away.

This year we went back to the mountains of TN and rented a cabin in between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Somehow we never seem to tire of the cheesy-ness of the towns, the beauty of the Great Smokey Mountains around us, and the wonderful selection of restaurant’s to choose from.
We went to Gatlinburg on our 1 year anniversary as well...and have a few ‘traditions’ we MUST do while there....from The Smokey mountain Knife store, Logan’s steakhouse, Tanger outlets, The pancake pantry, a little Ben and Jerry’s in there somewhere...just to name a few....we have learned to relax and just go with the ‘redneck’ flow of airbrush T-shirts and fudge samples....and as silly as it all is, time stops, for just a moment...even in the midst of the traffic. We laugh. With no agenda. Or anywhere to be. We eat when we want to. Shop when we want to. Rest when we want to....it is great. So much fun.

Something else we do....on every trip we have been on, we shop extravagantly for one another. Money isn’t questioned. We don’t worry about it. We just....relax.
For me it meant, Wes literally wanting me to find something in every store we went in so he could get it for me...for him, some knives at the knife store and a pair of leather Ariat cowboy boots for $75 we found on sale at a western store.
(Poor Wes was sweating to even tell me the truth that he really really loved them and wanted them, knowing that I would take them up to the register and get them for him. It was such a fun moment)

No we don’t have a zillion dollars to spend and yes, we are still responsible. But blowing a little money on each other is fun...
...and spending $10 on two ice cream cones (that was our dinner by the way!) is fun when you get to sit outside on a bench, while life stops around you, with the love of your life, and enjoy each other’s company. That is a memory I can go back to.

God’s love for us is extravagant like that. And our love for each other should be that way. Whether it is time or money...we need to practice showing one another extravagant love. Unreserved. Unhindered. Reckless love.

Needless to say, we both came back refreshed....renewed....broke...and so in love. I am so blessed to have married a man who values me. Who takes time for me. Who is intentional with our marriage.

Anyways, I know he doesn’t read my blog but I still want to say it. Happy 3 years babe. I love you more today than I ever thought I could.
I will post some pictures of our amazing cabin with an amazing view...tomorrow.