Last week, my husband and I celebrated seven years of marriage.

When I say celebrated I don’t mean we halfheartedly acknowledged the passing of our anniversary like celebrating it meant the past few years. No, this year we actually celebrated it, as in got out of the house together and went on a date celebrated it.

And we had a really good time!

A  year ago we moved but hadn’t gotten around to really exploring the fun stuff in our town.  Trip to the local Children’s Hospital and driving by Champion’s new place of therapy, that was done prior to us even signing our lease.  Fun places, not so much, they were mere mentions on our “Oh we should go there one day” list.

Well finally one day came!

With Champion happy and safe in the care of Grandma and Grandpa, we headed off to the local mall that we heard had a lot to offer. We were not disappointed.

We had a delicious, healthy lunch at a veggie grill place. It was surprisingly filling. I enjoyed my selection a little more than my husband. We’re trying to switch how we eat and are sort of still learning by trial and error what we like that’s healthy.

This time I scored and Hubby had an error.  He didn’t like his so much but mine was pretty good.

 My delicious and surprisingly very flavorful Portobello mushroom sandwich. Oh yeah, I did have a bit of an error, the Quinoa Pasta Mac n’ Cheese didn’t really hit the spot.

 Our Next Stop.  Healthy Eating: We’re trying, we really are.

After getting somewhat filled up, and making a pit stop for Hubby into the candy store right next to the veggie grill place, we set out walking through the mall.

Exciting huh? It actually was.

It’s a beautiful outdoor mall with various offshoots complete with decorative fountains and cushioned chairs placed strategically outside the stores.  Perfect for one to relax while the other one shops.  Except we both just relaxed.

Isn’t this fountain beautiful…sigh…and yes that is my finger in the corner.  

 We didn’t even go into any stores, except Target. Oh yeah and one clothing store chain I had been wanting to go in for the past several years, there was a really cute dress I had seen in the window a couple of years ago.

I don’t know what made me think the dress would still be there, but I walked out quickly when I realized that apparently the eighties styles are back in?  Somehow in my preoccupation with therapies, doctors appointments, and most of my interaction being with people dressed in scrubs, I completely missed that one.  Yikes.

Anyway, we spent the afternoon walking around, sitting occasionally, getting Hubby’s finger sized to replace his lost wedding ring and just enjoying being out and about.  It had been awhile since we’d had a whole afternoon out together.

 We rode the Ferris wheel and finished off the night having a delicious dinner at Cheesecake Factory complete with rich filling cheesecakes and conversation, going back and forth between light and easy topics and deeper more meaningful things that needed to be said.

It was a very happy anniversary. Our seven years of marriage has been a bit bumpy. Not bumps necessarily in our relationship, but some of the things we have faced.

We’ve held each others hands as we handed our four-month old son over for open heart surgery. We sat side by side as we were told we shouldn’t expect our son to ever walk, talk, or live very long.

Together we fought off doctors dismal and hopeless predictions for our son’s life. Together we went to God for hope and miracles for our son. Together we’ve seen quite a few miracles and expect to see even more.

We shared together the excitement of two more pregnancies and dreams of our family growing.  We wept together when we lost both of those babies to miscarriage.

We’ve had lots of happy moments too.

But it’s been the more difficult moments that have defined our marriage and shaped it to be what it is today; strong, healthy, and happy.

That’s what conclusion we came to this year. We’re still happy we married each other and despite some of the challenges we have faced, life together is good.

And I know it’s cliché but we’ve also learned that when life hands you lemons, the best thing to do with them is make some lemonade.  And that is what we have been doing.

Here’s to many more years together!