Pancho has a really hard time keeping a secret.
If you know him at all, you know I am not joking.
For this reason he normally buys birthday and Christmas presents the day before, or better yet, the day he needs to present them.
He simply cannot keep a secret.
It is one of his many endearing qualities because he is just like a little boy!
About 1 and 1/2 weeks ago he started to tell me that he had a super good idea for our ninth anniversary.
Knowing how hard it is for him to keep a secret and knowing how much I enjoy surprises I didn't say too much.
He was debating whether or not to "do" the idea on our actual anniversary date, 8-11, or to wait until Saturday.
My parents volunteered to babysit for either date and I left it up to him to decide.
On Tuesday he told me that we would celebrate with his "big idea" on Saturday.
So, I resigned myself to the fact that I would not find out the surprise until Saturday.
Then, suddenly on Tuesday night he said that he changed his mind and we would be celebrating tomorrow, on our actual anniversary.
I was thrilled, but again not saying too much because I did not want him to get overly anxious and spill the beans.
Wednesday, August 11th, in the morning during our traditional coffee-drinking time, Pancho was reading the Bible like he usually does.
He read to me Isaiah 64:8.
I told him I really liked that verse about God being the potter and us being the clay.
He paused...
"Do you know what the traditional 9th anniversary gift is?"
I replied, "No."
He paused for a long time...
"What is it?" I asked.
"Clay."
He went on, "The traditional 9th anniversary gift is clay."
Then I figured it out.
He had been telling me I was going to love the idea for our anniversary. He was absolutely right!
We were going to be going to Clay Corner Studio.
Not only did it fit perfectly with the traditional anniversary gift, but we have history with places like Clay Corner.
We went to Door County for our honeymoon and went to a paint-your-own pottery place there.
We went back to that same studio when we were pregnant with Katrina and painted her a piggy-bank.
I absolutely love experiences over gifts.
I think they are so much richer in nature.
They are also a lot harder to come up with.
I was so touched that he thought of this idea and then when he tied in Isaiah 64:8...
I cried.
(no surprise to my most kindred spirits out there!)
We had an incredible day together, even though we were apart, reminiscing about the wedding and the nine years that God has blessed us with.
The kids and I picked up Pancho at work and dropped the kids off at my parents. We headed to Clay Corner.
We walked in, hand-in-hand, of course, feeling like newlyweds all over again.
It must have been obvious because we just began to look around for what we wanted to paint and one of the gals working said,
"Oh, I think that table there, yes, the one with the flowers. I think that table is for you."
I was shocked.
Flowers?
Wow!
But then I looked at Pancho's face and he was just as shocked!
Then she got up from her chair and said,
"Oh, there is something else. I almost forgot."
And proceeded to bring us a bottle of sparkling grape juice, two disposable glasses and a box of adorable cupcakes from Sweet Nothings Bakery.
"Who is this from?" we both asked.
"I don't know. You'll have to look at the card."
I had not seen the card but the moment I laid eyes on it I knew it was from our matron of honor, our closest and dearest friend:
Suzanne.
I tore open the card and cried as I read her words.
Even Pancho teared up.
It could not be considered the icing on the cake because the cake had already been decorated to the nines (ha! no pun intended there, but it was our 9th anniversary!). It was the cherry on top, maybe.
No, it was even better than the cherry on top.
We dried our eyes and chose a plate and selected the colors.
We already had an idea of what we were going to paint.
If you know him at all, you know I am not joking.
For this reason he normally buys birthday and Christmas presents the day before, or better yet, the day he needs to present them.
He simply cannot keep a secret.
It is one of his many endearing qualities because he is just like a little boy!
About 1 and 1/2 weeks ago he started to tell me that he had a super good idea for our ninth anniversary.
Knowing how hard it is for him to keep a secret and knowing how much I enjoy surprises I didn't say too much.
He was debating whether or not to "do" the idea on our actual anniversary date, 8-11, or to wait until Saturday.
My parents volunteered to babysit for either date and I left it up to him to decide.
On Tuesday he told me that we would celebrate with his "big idea" on Saturday.
So, I resigned myself to the fact that I would not find out the surprise until Saturday.
Then, suddenly on Tuesday night he said that he changed his mind and we would be celebrating tomorrow, on our actual anniversary.
I was thrilled, but again not saying too much because I did not want him to get overly anxious and spill the beans.
Wednesday, August 11th, in the morning during our traditional coffee-drinking time, Pancho was reading the Bible like he usually does.
He read to me Isaiah 64:8.
I told him I really liked that verse about God being the potter and us being the clay.
He paused...
"Do you know what the traditional 9th anniversary gift is?"
I replied, "No."
He paused for a long time...
"What is it?" I asked.
"Clay."
He went on, "The traditional 9th anniversary gift is clay."
Then I figured it out.
He had been telling me I was going to love the idea for our anniversary. He was absolutely right!
We were going to be going to Clay Corner Studio.
Not only did it fit perfectly with the traditional anniversary gift, but we have history with places like Clay Corner.
We went to Door County for our honeymoon and went to a paint-your-own pottery place there.
We went back to that same studio when we were pregnant with Katrina and painted her a piggy-bank.
I absolutely love experiences over gifts.
I think they are so much richer in nature.
They are also a lot harder to come up with.
I was so touched that he thought of this idea and then when he tied in Isaiah 64:8...
I cried.
(no surprise to my most kindred spirits out there!)
We had an incredible day together, even though we were apart, reminiscing about the wedding and the nine years that God has blessed us with.
The kids and I picked up Pancho at work and dropped the kids off at my parents. We headed to Clay Corner.
We walked in, hand-in-hand, of course, feeling like newlyweds all over again.
It must have been obvious because we just began to look around for what we wanted to paint and one of the gals working said,
"Oh, I think that table there, yes, the one with the flowers. I think that table is for you."
I was shocked.
Flowers?
Wow!
But then I looked at Pancho's face and he was just as shocked!
Then she got up from her chair and said,
"Oh, there is something else. I almost forgot."
And proceeded to bring us a bottle of sparkling grape juice, two disposable glasses and a box of adorable cupcakes from Sweet Nothings Bakery.
"Who is this from?" we both asked.
"I don't know. You'll have to look at the card."
I had not seen the card but the moment I laid eyes on it I knew it was from our matron of honor, our closest and dearest friend:
Suzanne.
I tore open the card and cried as I read her words.
Even Pancho teared up.
It could not be considered the icing on the cake because the cake had already been decorated to the nines (ha! no pun intended there, but it was our 9th anniversary!). It was the cherry on top, maybe.
No, it was even better than the cherry on top.
We dried our eyes and chose a plate and selected the colors.
We already had an idea of what we were going to paint.
Isaiah 64:8
We are the clay,
You are the Potter,
We are all the work of Your hand.
We had the very bestest (I know that is not a word but I want you to grasp how good) time in the world.
We laughed.
I cried.
We shared the highlights and lowlights of the year.
It was an incredibly intimate time together that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
We finished the painting and headed out for dinner.
We decided together to eat at Burrachos, one of our favorite places that we never go.
Upon sitting down I surprised Pancho with our wedding vows printed up on paper.
He read his vows to me.
I read my vows to him.
We prayed.
It was perfect.
Again, we laughed.
I cried.
The entire day, but especially the evening, was awesome.
I never use that word because I think it is over-used.
Not for this occasion.
It was AWESOME!
Pancho, te amo mas que nunca y le doy gracias a Dios por la vida que tenemos.
Ayer fue el mejor dia de mi vida y estoy tan enamorada de ti, otra vez!
We had the very bestest (I know that is not a word but I want you to grasp how good) time in the world.
We laughed.
I cried.
We shared the highlights and lowlights of the year.
It was an incredibly intimate time together that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
We finished the painting and headed out for dinner.
We decided together to eat at Burrachos, one of our favorite places that we never go.
Upon sitting down I surprised Pancho with our wedding vows printed up on paper.
He read his vows to me.
I read my vows to him.
We prayed.
It was perfect.
Again, we laughed.
I cried.
The entire day, but especially the evening, was awesome.
I never use that word because I think it is over-used.
Not for this occasion.
It was AWESOME!
Pancho, te amo mas que nunca y le doy gracias a Dios por la vida que tenemos.
Ayer fue el mejor dia de mi vida y estoy tan enamorada de ti, otra vez!
Enjoy some pictures from the best anniversary date to date...
Sounds wonderful! What a special time together!
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Leanne