10 Years and A Big Surprise!

Wes and I have been married 10 years as of September 10th. Whew, what a difference a decade makes. A difference of about 3 kids, a mortgage, gray hair and a vasectomy. ;) Wes had planned us a family portrait session- on the beach of Gulf Shores. I was so excited- family beach pictures by a professional who maybe could get all 3 of the girls plus us in a decent pose while we were somewhat looking at the camera with possibly even a smile! Thrilling! So, off I went in search of the perfect matching white dresses for the girls. Easy said in the spring- not so much in August. Fast forward a month, I did find dresses for the girls and thanks to Jill and Kendra, I too, had a beach picture white dress. The plan was for Josh, Jill, Kendra and David to all go to the beach that weekend too. We were going to use part of our picture session and get a few shots with all the siblings- Jen, Jill, Kendra, me and Jay- including the spouses and kids. No small fete seeing how between the 5 of us we successfully live in 5 different cities from far south Alabama to as far north as Ashville. Well, as we were finishing up with the family shots Wes briefly disappeared. I noticed my dad and stepmom had gotten to the beach as well as Jen and Haven. Well, here walks Wes towards me with a bouquet of flowers with some guy who looked like he could possibly be a preacher. Then it hit me- we weren't just here for pictures. He had planned a vow renewal ceremony for us with all of our closest family. Pretty great, huh? So, we renewed our vows right there at sunset on the beach with our daughters standing with us and our family. It was wonderful. We'd always said it was something we would like to do- I just didn't realize Wes was making it happen. We got married in Jamaica- just the 2 of us and have never regretted it. We truly just wanted a marriage. And that is what we have- a wonderful and solid, although no where near perfect, marriage. Here are some pictures taken with our camera- I can't wait to see the ones the photographer took!

Me and my sweetheart!

Jay, David, Wes and Josh. Great guys!

The girls!


Ayden Claire

Kendra and David

Jill and Josh

Jill, Jay and Kendra

Ayden Claire and Aunt Kendra

Wes and the preacher

So shocked!



Me with my girls and Jen with Haven