Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Happy 20th Anniversary!

 Today, Pat and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary!  I thought I would start out by sharing his card and a mini album I made for him.  The album pictures are terrible, but that is more than okay :)  I was in a hurry to get this long post done to share with you before we left on vacation without him knowing what I was up too.  I'll let you know if it was a surprise! 
It truly is an amazing feeling to celebrate twenty years of marriage.  It almost feels unreal, but I have to say that I feel so tremendously blessed.  If you would have asked me 20 years ago (at the age of 21 :)), if I would have been this happy living a life filled with love with my very best friend, I'm sure I would have said yes, but I really would not have known what it meant. To live each day with the love of your life and very best friend is a blessing beyond belief.  Doesn't mean that every day is perfect, but life certainly is wonderful.  We are so lucky to have four healthy boys and not just our immediately family to grow with but our parents and siblings too.  Happy anniversary to my Patrick!

And here's a quick view of his mini album and our 20 years together (with lots of laughter and some tears in between).
This front page was meant to be. I have five large boxes filled with extra pictures from scrapbooks I have done over the years.  How in the world I found this one in the first box, I'll never know.  But isn't it the perfect picture.  We'll see if Pat can remember when he did this (may have been our honeymoon in Bermuda, but I can't remember.)  My journaling says:  "Who would have known that after our first date to Putt Putt (golf) in 1986, that our love would grow into our wonderful family." 
And a picture of our wedding day.  We got married at our church where we first really got to know each other in our church youth group. Journaling, "Back at the scene where it all began, Good Shepherd Church.  On an unusally cool August day, I married my best friend."

Heading to the reception in our white limousine :)  "My dad said, "You do it once, you do it right."  We did it right, surrounded by our family and friends, we celebrated the start of our family together."  And let's just say we had an awesome reception!  We danced and sang the night away with our families. 

After five years, we had our first little man.  And could he be any cuter.  Look at those big eyes.  Seriously, Ryan was the happiest paby and we loved his big eyes and his hair that tended to stick up just a bit.  

Three and a half years later, we welcomed Jonathon. Opposite of Ryan in looks our brown eyed, toe headed little man.  We still had man on man coverage at that point...but man oh man did life change when we added number three!

We had this picture taken when Jonathon turned two.  Seriously I think my boys are the cutest things ever...must take after their dad :)  And yes, I did like to dress them in matching clothes...look at the next page.


And three years later, our first strawberry blond little guy.  Oh how I love the bottom right picture of Jonathon kissing him.  Going from man on man coverage to zone coverage in the number of children was a big adjustment. But oh how we have laughed over the years as the boys grow.  From not knowing how to breast feed, teaching them to ride bikes, not making a team, making a team, not getting your black belt, getting in trouble for running across the street without looking.  We've had lots of little lessons learned ourselves and with our boys.  And bigger, hard life lessons, losing my dad unexpectedly.  But we have figured it out together...talking, arguing a bit, but most importantly, doing it together.
We weren't quite sure we were done, so we had one more try (Pat says trying is the best part :)!) and Marcel arrived.  "And last but certainly not least, our Marcel Paul.  Our sweet angel whispering in our ear that God truly does welcome new little ones when he creates new angels."  Marcel was born nine months after my dad passed away and is named after him.



And one year later, look at all those handsome boys...yes matching again.


Our boys grow before our eyes and as they grow, we continue to growth together too.  These are pictures from Easter this year.

Sorry for the really fuzzy pic!

And the back cover, "After 20 years, life simply could not be better.  Thank you for being the love of my life and best friend.  May our lives continue to grow each and every year.  I love you, Patrick,"

And if you've made it this far...you deserve an award!!

PS Putting this together was super fun.  Like normal, I kept it very simple.  Here's my quick process:
- sorted through pictures to represent our 20 years together.
- picked out coordinating 12x12 paper for the pages that faced each other.
- picked out stamps (all from Verve) that went with the page and punched them out on circles and stamped an image behind them.
- type my journaling in a typewriter font and printered them out.

30 comments:

The Paper Parade said...

Happy Anniversary, Lynn!! I hope you two are going on a fun vacation to celebrate that wonderful accomplishment :) I loved looking through the pics, your hubby is going to love this present :)

Jay Gee said...

Happy Anniversary and congratulations to both you and Pat. 20 years together is quite an achievement. Your album is amazing and I hope you have a wonderful vacation :)

Loly Borda said...

Happy anniversary to you both! You have a beautiful family, may God keep blessing you and yours. Thanks for sharing such precious moments with us, it warms my heart going through the pics and journaling. Hugs and have a super fun vacation.

Emily (stampingout on SCS) said...

Happy Anniversary, Lynn! Pat will just love this album you have made to celebrate 20 years. I hope you have a wonderful day full of love and reminiscing about your life and your 4 beautiful boys!
HUGS!

Erin (Homemade Cards by Erin) said...

Well done, toasting you to 20 years! Love the typewriter font... one day I'll make a mini book, want to come over and help?

Holly Saveur said...

Happy 20th Anniversary!

Tracey McNeely said...

Happy Anniversary Lynn, 20 years is just awesome!! Thank you sharing your photos, I love the personal touch. I wish you and your husband many many more years of happiness. I adore the card you made for him. :)

Kara said...

Happy Anniversary! Loved looking at all of your photos!!

Marisa said...

Happy Anniversary!!! LOVED all the pictures and bow in your general direction for having to live with so much testosterone!! Wishing you another wonderful 20 years :)

Unknown said...

Congratulations on 20 years together!!! Such beautiful memories!! Thanks for sharing!

Maureen said...

oh, I'm all teary eyed! Happy happy anniversary to one of my favourite couples! Those pictures are fabulous...love all the heartfelt thought that went into this...a creative work of heart :) All your boys are gorgeous...not to mention the mom! Hugs to you and Pat :)

Cindy C. said...

Happy Anniversary Lynn! What an awesome gift you made for your DH!

Tigriswillreign said...

See Lynn Scrapbook!! You go!!

Barb said...

First of all, Happy Anniversary to the two of you! Your card for Pat is so beautiful, Lynn! Love the softness and that wonderful sentiment! What a neat gift to give to him too - bet he LOVES IT!! All those fun photos through the years are so precious! I'm glad you shared them with us! :)

Julee (Vervegirl) said...

Happy anniversary! So sweet and beautiful!

krcmasterpiece said...

I hope it stayed a surprise! Happy Anniversary to you both.

Hope you have a fabulous time!

Thanks for sharing those pics & memories with us.

Anonymous said...

This is beautiful! I loved reading your story and where you are now with all those Mango boys! (Got me a bit faklempt :) not sure how to spell that). Thanks for sharing!

Ginny said...

Such a great post, and I'm so happy for you and Pat. Congratulations to both of you!! The album is fantastic, and so is your card! Your children are very lucky to have such loving parents to help them grow. May you always feel this blessed!

Melisa Waldorf said...

AWESOME layouts!!!! I love how you scrapped the sand message! And the burlap heart is great! Your background on the card is so soft and just perfect! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving an encouraging comment! Have a blessed day, Melisa

Ryann said...

What an awesome tribute to your life, love and family! Wishing you many more years of wedded bliss!! :)

Lisa Kind said...

Oh Lynn, Patrick is going to love this! I love it and this isn't my family! :-) What a wonderful family you have! Kevin and I were married 20 years this past April and I too couldn't have asked for a better partner! We both are very blessed to find such great guys to share our lives with! Congratulations and Happy Anniversary!

Chunyuan said...

Congratulations on 20 years anniversary. Such happy memories. love the beautiful pictures. keep us posted about the surprise.

Dana F. said...

Congratulations on your 20 years together and may there be many, many more to come! I loved seeing all the pictures of your beautiful family as well as your loving notes. This mini is definitively something to treasure for ever :)

Jinny Newlin said...

Happy, happy anniversary, Lynn and Pat! LOVE what you've done with these pictures! A true treasure and a precious gift! Thanks so much for sharing them with us! I love my hubby so very much, and I'm not going anywhere, but we've had more trying times than any couple should ever endure. I know that we could learn so much from you and Pat. Hugs!

Anita Rex said...

Happy 20th Anniversary! :> Love your card for him and what an alubm! I loved reading what you wrote and looking at the pictures of the past 20 years! :> I am sure he loved this! :>

~amy~ said...

Oh Lynn...how wonderful...what a fabulous keepsake! I bet you had so much fun putting together that album. Happy 20th anniversary...that's super! You are such a sweet gal, you deserve all the happiness in the world.

Aimes said...

Belated anniversary wishes, Lynn!
Your mini album is amazing! So many memories all captured beautifully! I bet Pat adored this gift! Lemme know if it was a surprise! ;D
Hugs!
x

Karen B. said...

First, your card is so gorgeous! And second, congratulations to you and Pat! What a sweet life together, thank you so much for sharing your journey. Your boys are so cute!

Jen W. said...

Happy anniversary to you and Pat!! Thanks for sharing your gorgeous scrapbook and glimpses into your years together. You are such a beautiful family. Hope you have a fabulous holiday!

Vicki Dutcher said...

Happy Anniversary -- what a thoughtful, beautiful little album. I am sure DH loved it! May you have 20 more~