Happy Anniversary to Us!

Our fourth anniversary was on June 10. To celebrate, we made a nice dinner from the Mario Batali cookbook that Taylor got me for Christmas.

Prosciutto and figs
Arugula salad
Homemade tagliatelle with sausage and fennel tomato sauce
Thresher Shark (on sale at Sunflower Market! Never heard of it before) baked en cartoccio (in a package)
Chocolate Hazelnut Fritters (yes, they were fried. Deep fried. Ugh. They were good, but the whole process grosses me out. Taylor really wanted to try them.)
Pinot Grigio

I have to say that for everything we made, the prosciutto and figs were my favorite part of the meal. We owe big thanks to Roma Imports, an amazing Italian grocery store in Tucson, for supplying ingredients that other stores didn't have. I'm not in Youngstown any more...

We watched our wedding video, and I am very thankful to Uncle Dave for recording it for us. At the time, I didn't think I cared about having a videographer, but now I wish I had made that a priority. The trouble with weddings is that there are too many priorities!

We have our vows posted in our bedroom, and especially around our anniversary I like to think about what they truly mean:

"I promise to love you wholeheartedly, to trust you fully, and to be faithful to you in all things. I vow to put you first, to always seek what is best for you, and to serve you, even when I don't feel like it. I promise to challenge you to grow in times of ease and to walk with you in times of suffering. I will never leave you."
(*side note: not too bad for having written them the day before the wedding, right?!)

When we wrote these vows, I thought they were pretty realistic, but over time I've realized that they are actually goals. What I mean is, I don't think wedding vows are about being able, in your own strength, to do everything promised. Rather, I think they should be a reminder of all the things that you want your marriage to be, and you should regularly remind yourself of them. They aren't supposed to be something you always want to do or do easily. They remind you of the calling you have as a married person in Christ.

Lucky for me, Taylor has made fulfilling my wedding vows very easy. He is the most patient person I know (and I can be trying sometimes, as most of you know!). He is kind, humble, gentle, sensitive, and loves me deeply. Sometimes, when I'm a real pain in the neck, I wonder how he can treat me so lovingly. I think it's because he takes very seriously the biblical command to "consider others better than yourself." He is a godly man, and I could not be more grateful for him.