2 years and counting!!

It's hard to believe that we have been married for two year! It's flown by and so much has taken place in that time...
We met on a blind date in August of 2006,
6 months later we were engaged,
4 months after that we were married and purchased a condo,
3 months after that I was hired to teach 1st grade for a year,
4 months later we came home with Ramsey,
in 2 months after that we were pregnant
3 months later we had paid off 15,000 in deb!!
5 months after that Dominic was born (he was a month early),
...and 6 months later here we are at 2 years! It's been an eventful time. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the future. I am more in love with Dom with each passing day and my favorite thing to do is spend time with our little family.

On our Anniversary, Dominic and I went to visit Dom on his lunch hour with a picnic lunch! We went to a nearby nature park and ate and the went on a walk.


Dom and I went also went out on our first date alone together since Dominic was born. We went to PF Changs, where we met on our first date. We a fun time reliving our first date and talking, without interruption...although we missed Dominic the whole time we were gone!
While we were eating there, A girl in her 20's came up to our table and said that she was with a group of girls for a bachelorette party and they were asking all of the married couples in the restaurant to give her marriage advice. Dom and I looked at each other and knew exactly what we were each going to write on the pieces of paper we were given.
I wrote that the bride should read The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I LOVE listening to Dr. Laura and reading her books. This book in particular has been incredible for our marriage. It has taught me the importance of respecting Dom and how important it is in a marriage that the wife respect the husband, and the husband, in turn love the wife. It is so important now more than ever, since in our society today it is not practiced (women respecting men), and the opposite seems to be more acceptable and practiced on tv, in movies, in the media, etc. This book has really shown me many areas and ways that I can respect Dom and that is how I show him that I love. It is an excellent book and every married couple should read it. It has changed our marriage!
Dom wrote on his card "Don't buy a house right away" and that all of your friends will say "You're married, you should buy a house". We did, and we have regretted it ever since. Thank God we are able to make our payments, and we have cut our lifestyle so that I can stay home with Dominic, God is so faithful to provide what we need and show us ways we can live more simply, cutting out things that we don't need. The most important thing a couple should do is make sure their finances are in order and then buy a house they can afford for 1/4 of your monthly take home pay. The book that has also blessed our marriage and brought us closer together as a couple is The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. This has helped us to change our lifestyle, live below our means (so we have money left at the end of the month!), pay off $15,000 of debt in 10 months, have an emergency savings, and a plan for the future and the goal of being financially free with no debt and no credit cards!! It has brought us closer together because we aren't fighting about money and where it is going, instead our goal is to pay off and live within our means. We are so content, and don't feel like we need to "keep up with the Jones'"! Life is so much more about quality time with people and relationships than it is about having the latest thing. I used to be a big shopper and wanting the latest fashion, etc. I still like clothes, but staying home with my son and taking care of the house, cooking and cleaning, and making it a home for Dom who works so hard to provide for us, this is what life is about. Everything else is fleeting, but our relationship with God, marriage, children, family and friends (in that order too!) is what life is about. These two books we would recommend to any couple. It has made a world of difference in our marriage.
We had a great time out on a date and can't wait to go out again! Dominic did great with his grandma and grandpa, and played and laughed the whole 2 hours. At the very end he started getting really tired and was crying, and mom had just gotten him to sleep when Dom and I came home. We walked in and were talking and Dominic heard my voice and started crying so hard! It was like he was mad that I was gone. It broke my heart. I nursed him to sleep and he was fine. :) We were glad we were able to go out and talked about Dominic the majority of the time we were away, and I kept thinking of excuses to call and check up on him, but Dom wouldn't let me. :)
We also opened the bottle of champagne that we were given from the hotel we stayed at on our wedding night. We were going to open it on our 1 year anniversary, but I was pregnant, so we had it this year instead! It was fabulous and went prefectly with the chocolate covered strawberries I made. :) Happy anniversary my love! It just keeps getting better!!!