Today, Dave and I celebrate 15 years of marriage. How is that even possible?! Over a 1/3 of our lives spent with each other as man and wife. It boggles my mind....in a good way, I promise. :) In honor of the day, humor me as I rehash the past 15 years.....with only the highlights. :)
Highlights are:
15 years married 3 states lived in 6 houses/apartments lived in
2 houses bought, 1 sold 6 pregnancies, 2.75 children :)
1 cross country road trip 6 pets 5 choirs we've sung in together
12+ jobs between the 2 of us 5 international trips (2 together)
11 countries visited (4 together) 5 deaths in our extended family
23 states + D.C. visited (19 together) 1 trip down the Grand Canyon (and back up)
3 weddings we've been in 2 godsons :) Numerous NASCAR races
1 earthquake and 3 major tropical storms
Now, for those who want a little fleshing out of the figures from above.....continue to humor me. :)
We got married on a glorious day in Flagstaff, AZ and honeymooned in the mountains of eastern Arizona and down in Phoenix.
We then moved into our 550 sq ft. apartment while Dave finished graduate school. 2 months before he graduated, he was offered a job in Boise, ID which would start soon after his graduation.
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| A great first year of marriage in Flagstaff! |
We said goodbye to Arizona and celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary by hiking down to he bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out over the course of 5 days. To this day, it ranks as one of my greatest accomplishments.
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| We survived the Canyon |
We moved to Boise where over the next 3 years, we bought a house, acquired 2 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 rabbits, traveled to Colorado several times to meet my family, sang in multiple choirs together, toured Seattle and most of southern Idaho, had success at our jobs, visited countless wineries, and vacationed with my family at Red Fish Lake Lodge in the Sawtooth Mountains of ID (still one of my favorite trips ever).
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| Christmas in Colorado with my family |
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| Red Fish Lake, Idaho |
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| Christmas Concert with Opera Idaho |
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| Hello from Des Moines, Iowa |
As a last hoorah with Dave's high school students from Idaho, we spent 12 days that summer in Munich, Salzburg, Vienna and Prague as part of the celebrations for Mozart's 250th birthday. Another of my favorite vacations.
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| A chaperone meeting at a famous beer garden run by monks in Salzburg |
We loved our year in Williamsburg....especially since we were only about a mile away from the Colonial section and could/would retreat there at least once a week. Dave also had the privilege to visit Rome, Florence, and Assisi (yes....Italy) while we were living in Williamsburg.
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| Christmas in Williamsburg -- something everyone should do |
2007 brought yet another move...this time to Richmond, VA (only 56 miles to the west). I continued with my job down in Williamsburg (ugh to the commute) for 2.5 more years while Dave started his position at St. Joseph's....where he is still employed and loving it even more than when he first started!
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| 2007 |
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| Christmas/New Years in AZ 2007-2008 |
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| Christmas 2008 |
2008 and 2009 were some of our tougher years given my employment situation (the downturn of the economy) and some joyous events that then turned into painful crosses for us to carry.....that being two pregnancy losses followed by a year and a half of unexplainable infertility. But we weathered....and came out stronger than before. A few bright spots were 1) both of us singing with some great choirs here in Richmond, 2) Dave getting his job at the University of Richmond, and 3) Dave getting to travel to Prague, Budapest, and Slovakia with the choirs at UR.
2009 and 2010 provided some of our most amazing memories like:
1) our 5 day trip to Maine (my 2nd favorite trip of all time)
2) the surprise celebration of my parents' retirement and the Honor Choir Reunion surprise...all in the same weekend. One of the best weekends ever.
3) Our trip to Illinois for a dear friend's wedding and then to visit my Aunt Mary and Uncle Dave and take in Chicago and Milwaukee.
4) a rather spontaneous trip to AZ to see the King Singer's perform LIVE right before Christmas
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| A piece of my heart is still in Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine |
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| Surprise weekend in AZ |
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| Wedding in Dixon, IL and then fun times in Chicago |
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| After the King Singer's Concert in AZ |
2011 was a joyous year as it brought the birth of our Jeffery Thomas!!!!! We celebrated by having him baptized by the priest who married us out in AZ, surrounded by family and friends. And then....we got to participate in our best friends' (and Jeffery's godparents) wedding. 2011 was a grand year!
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| Welcome Jeffery Thomas |
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| Nothing beats an Arizona sunset and the wedding of our best friends |
2012 provided a trip to Colorado where we vacationed with my family (my 4th favorite vacation of all time), the strengthening of friendships in Richmond, the chance for me to become a paid section leader in the choir at St. Benedict's church, and Dave was named the new artistic director for the James River Singers.
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| The Pedersen Family in the Maroon Bell Wilderness, Colorado |
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| Dave's birthday dinner with friends |
2013 and 2014 and 2015 were busy years. We bought a house and moved.....all while I was 32 weeks pregnant. Jakob Becket arrived and helped grow our family to 4. We enjoyed several vacations and lots of family time together!!! I started to homeschool Jeffery. And my sister got married out in AZ (I was the Lady of Honor and Jeffery was the ring bearer).
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| At a friend's wedding when I was 32 weeks pregnant |
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| Welcome Jakob Becket |
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| Christmas in Arizona |
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| Family vacation at Douthat State Park, Virginia |
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| Again, hard to beat Arizona sunsets and the wedding of your only sister!!! |
2016 was jam packed. Dave got to travel with the UR choirs to Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. We experienced another pregnancy loss. We attended yet another NASCAR race in Richmond with my dad. We traveled with my parents to Cass, WV where we all stayed in a cabin for 5 days and rode the historic steam trains (a blissful vacation). Dave surprised me with a trip to Quebec City....just the two of us while my parents came out and watched the boys....for 5 days (that is my favorite vacation of all time!). And we found out that, after much praying and holding of breath, we would be welcoming little "Sven" into the family in 2017.
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| Visiting a local brew house |
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| Cheers from NASCAR |
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| All aboard Shay #2 in West Virginia |
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| I left a huge chunk of my heart in Quebec City |
Here's to us, David! Here is to this wonderful, beautiful, and thinking out of the box life we're creating for ourselves. You strengthen me and challenge me in ways I never thought possible. You tell me that you are in awe of my loyalty and devotion to our family. You motivate me to go.....while I motivate you to slow down a little. We make each other laugh every day....even on the hard days. And we are models of living the Faith to one another (and helping the other back up when we have fallen). We are helping each other get to heaven....and I wouldn't want anyone else on the journey with me.
"May this marriage always be blessed. May it be....like wine and halvah. May this marriage offer fruit and shade....May this marriage be full of laughter.... a sign of compassion, a seal of happiness here and hereafter. May this marriage have a fair face and a good name... I am out of words to describe how spirit mingles in this marriage." May this marriage always be blessed.
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