Anniversary Adventures

Yesterday Brett and I celebrated our 3 year dating anniversary. That means that at this moment, 3 years ago, I was freaking out because Brett and I had held hands the night before while we were watching Star Wars and something in our relationship had changed.

We take turns giving gifts and planning dates. I did our first anniversary, he did last year, and this year it was my turn again. We have been really busy lately, so our celebration wasn't everything that I would have liked it to be, his presents weren't surprises, they were things he asked for, and he got them early instead of yesterday, but all in all, how can a 3 year anniversary not be special?!

I will be honest and admit that this morning I am feeling a little disappointed. I have been working really hard lately on things that I have been excited about, and not everything is going according to plan. I am still waiting for the day when I will finally realize that MY plans are useless. That no matter how much I plan and how many lists I write, that I am never really in control. I am SO thankful that God is in control because his plans are always better than mine. But it is always humbling to work hard and then be reminded, when things don't work out, that I am pathetic and it is only by God's grace and mercy that I am able to get out of bed and function each day.

I worked really hard, and spent too much money I might add, last week trying to find the perfect outfits for Brett and I to wear in our engagement pictures, and then we ended up not coordinating at all. And I spent a couple of weeks trying to think of the perfect place to take Brett for dinner last night and the perfect way to show him how much I love him. But I never came up with the perfect gift so I gave him the new game that he wanted, The ACDC Rockband pack, and the new toy he wanted, the Rockband cymbals. And I really enjoyed dinner, but for Brett it was just so so.

For the past 2 years I have been trying to figure out a bouquet that I could give him. Even if it weren't a little awkward to give a man flowers, flowers would still make Brett sneeze. But I LOVE when he gives me flowers! So I have been trying to think of a manly bouquet of something that I could give him. I have considered gift cards, but that would get too expensive really fast. And I have considered comics, but if I rolled them up, would I hurt them? And I don't think I could pick out 12 comics that I would be confident Brett would want. Not without asking him for a list, and that would ruin the surprise. But with all of the candy in stores lately, Brett has mentioned that he loves chocolate Tootsie Pops. So I thought, aha! Something I can make a bouquet out of! A candy bouquet! I bought 4 bags of Tootsie Pops so that I could get 12 that are chocolate and my plan was to tape them together like flowers. Well have you ever tried to tape suckers together? I think it would have worked if they were flat, but Tootsie Pops are so round, I couldn't get them to stay together! So my attempt at a sweet gift, since I was giving him 2 things that he wanted but weren't surprises at all, didn't turn out all that sweet. Well, literally it was sweet, but as far as being thoughtful goes... I didn't get to hand him the candy like a bouquet, I had to dump them all in a box. Romantic, huh?

I took him to The Melting Pot for dinner last night, and I thought it was AWESOME! I've never been there before and have always wanted to go, so I was really excited. There were parts of the dinner that were insanely good! We both loved our salad, we both loved the fish and the pork, and HELLO! The dessert? You've got to be kidding me! It was unreal! I have had chocolate fondue once before, but it doesn't even come close to comparing with what we ate last night. We chose The Original for our dessert option which is milk chocolate with crunchy peanut butter melted into it. SO GOOD! And the dippers that they brought us were all just amazing. We wish that we had picked a different cheese fondue to start off with, and Brett got frustrated having to time the meat while it was cooking in the broth on the main course, so it wasn’t the perfect meal. But I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was great, our waiter was excellent, and it was something new. After 3 years of dating, we got to try something completely new and different, so I consider that a success, even if it wasn't as grand as I had planned in my mind. 

I am so thankful that God gave me Brett. There is no one else that I would rather share life with, even when life isn’t what I expect it to be. I pray that God will give me patience and that I will remember, each time that I make a list, that I am not really the one in control, and I pray that I will always be THANKFUL for that, and never resentful.