The beginning: revisited.

Let's stroll down Memory Lane. 
Shall we?
After all, it is my favorite street.
The date:
June 3, 2000.
The place:
Saint Louis, Missouri.
The scene:
2 youngins (22 & 23), promise before God & their families to love & honor one another.
For better or worse.
Forever.

Simple.
No, really...it is.
{We complicate way too much these days.}

Officially hitched.

Why is it I look ecstatic, yet Jake looks like he might pass out?

This photo puts it all in a time perspective.

These two littles are going to be seniors in high school!

Apparently, star sunglasses were the cool equivalent of

wearing Chucks on your wedding day today.

Not.

I don't even remember who brought these.

But, we thought they were the bees knees.

{I blotted out my one maid's face because we haven't spoken in years,

and I don't know if she'd like having her face all over the web.

Do any of you have that one girl or guy from your wedding

that you grew apart from?

Sad, isn't it?

I look at these photos and remember exactly why we were friends.

Everything else just seems stupid, now.

Grudges are dumb.

Especially when you don't even know why you or someone else has one.

Forgiveness & letting go, now that's what I'm talkin' about.

In the end, most of it's small stuff anyway.

Really.}

My sister and I.

For the record, I despise her blond hair.

Not blonds, just HER blond hair.

She's still stunning, but not meant to be a blond.

Love ya, Jill.

This cake caused  the biggest stink of the whole wedding planning process.

Simply put: my mom hated it.

She called it the poop cake.

"Whoever heard of a chocolate iced wedding cake?"

I heard that a lot from her.

Incidentally, it was a sensation.

It tasted great, too.

Ganache, chocolate cake, strawberries...

enough said.

My pops.

Always the jokster.

This is possibly the cheesiest photo ever.

Besides the cheddar quotient,

doesn't my mom look great?

Also, I love the red blotches all over my neck.

I guess they didn't have photo editing back then.

Or gasoline engines, or TV.

In the end, this is what it's all about.

Kiss and make-up, people.

It takes work.

Jake and I have been through a LOT in 10 short years.

Things I never thought we'd encounter in 50+ years of marriage,

let alone 10.

Stronger, better.

A deeper understanding of how we both tick.

And, here we still are.

Solid.

So, that's it. 

Our little $5,000 wedding. 

A day I'll never forget. 

We should've listened to my mom, taken the money, and gone to the courthouse.

Oh, the things I've learned in 10 years.

Happy Anniversary, Jake!

Here's to another 60...