Happy 5 Year (Dating) Anniversary!

So yesterday while I was working, I happened to look down at my watch only to realize that the date was August 10th. It took me looking at the calendar a few more times to realize that it was sort of a milestone in Grayson and my relationship. Five years ago yesterday, we had our first date! The first time for us to sit down and really get to know the other person. It was the date that changed everything for the two of us and so I felt it should be celebrated appropriately.

I got a little cheezy, I will admit, but when you realize it's an important day around 3pm and only have about 30 minutes to throw something special together, you end up with a little cheese.I decided to re-create our first date to the best of my ability. I decided a pic-nic dinner in the living room would work best (mostly b/c the other tables are currently covered with laundry). We had our first date at the Potbelly on the corner of the University and Berry St. intersection in Fort Worth (which is a highly important landmark for numerous reasons that maybe I'll share with you on our anniversary). I knew I wanted to do something similar in the way of food, but unfortunately the closest Potbelly to us is located in Houston, Tx.
So I got a little creative (for me) and doctored up some local subs. I tried to order the closest sandwiches to what we got that day. I can't believe I still remember all that, but what can I say? It was a special day for me!!!

I had so much fun creating these labels. I also printed out the first emails we sent back and forth to each other (yes, I still have them saved). One thing I found out a few weeks after Grayson and I started dating was that in the first email I sent him I chose to write in a cool font that was pink with lots of little emoticons in it. He said that he was immediately attracted to me because I used a pink font. We are soooo dorky, I realize this! But in his (then) accounting world where all the emails he received were in boring, black type with nothing but numbers, he said it made his day to receive such a girly email from me. Yay me!

You'll also see that I included a little black book. It's the book that I made for Grayson and gave to him as his wedding gift the morning of our wedding day. Basically, from the first moment Grayson contacted me, I started journaling things about our relationship and how my feelings were unfolding for him. I wrote down the first couple of dates we went on, what we wore, where we went etc ... I have letters that I wrote to him throughout our relationship and also prayers that I wrote to the Lord, hoping that one day I could let Grayson read them. I compiled all of these treasures together and had them bound in a book which I gave to him. I decided to read a few portions of it to Grayson last night, just to remind us both of how I felt after he took me out to our first lunch together.

I leave this book on our living room coffee table as a reminder of how our love first began and as a testimony to the Lord's goodness and grace bestowed on us through the other. I leave it there for anyone to read so that they may learn how faithful our God truly is! The date concluded with us watching the pets devour their dinner and then watching the TO show on VH1 and going to bed early. My how five years can change things!