13 Year Anniversary: A Timeline

Year 1: 2006

After dating through college for about three and a half years, we got married 8 days after we graduated on May 20, 2006. Our first year of marriage was fun and challenging, like most people. It was super important to us that we didn’t live together before we got married, so moving in with my best friend was so much FUN in our tiny apartment in Plano, TX! I started my first year teaching 2nd grade and Bry was a part-time computer tech and part-time children/youth assistant at our church.

Year 2: 2007

We moved into our second apartment in Dallas, TX in 2007 and got our first pet(s) - two guinea pigs! Trixie died after about a week, but Candy lived for several years! Bry started his new job as the elementary music teacher at the school where I was teaching. It was so fun driving to work together and seeing each other everyday! I traveled to Wisconsin to visit family that summer and we took several trips to New Braunfels to see my parents and extended family that year.

Year 3: 2008

We moved into our third apartment in Richardson, TX in 2008. This was the first year we visited my aunt and uncle in Washington, D.C. and it was so much fun! Brian went skydiving in August to show his students how to overcome their fears of singing in public (since he had an extreme fear of heights!)

Year 4: 2009

You guessed it…we moved AGAIN (we moved every summer for five years!) We moved to Irving, TX in May of 2009. We took our second trip to D.C. to see my aunt and uncle that spring. Bry and his brother both bought motorcycles that year (Ninjas.) We visited Bry’s family in Wyoming for Grandma and Grandpa Force’s 50th wedding anniversary! This was such a sweet time in our marriage - teaching together, traveling together…just so much sweetness!

year 5: 2010

My best friend Anie got married in 2010. I traveled to New York City/D.C./Philly with my friend Amy while Bry and his brother went on a motorcycle touring trip through Wyoming that summer. We celebrated my Grandmother Trimble’s 90th birthday in New Braunfels in October.

year 6: 2011

2011 was a big year for us. We bought our first home in August, Bry got into grad school at SMU, and I won Teacher of the Year (one year after Bry had won the same title!) In early February, we had a snowstorm that closed schools and businesses down for about a week. It was that week that we decided we’d like to begin building our family. We thought it might take six months to a year to get pregnant. Ha! This was also the year I met the girl who would become my sister-in-law! I’d always wanted a sister, so I was beyond excited for Bry’s brother to meet someone!! That summer I also ran a math and science summer camp for a couple hundred students in our district. It was a significant growing period in my career. I also traveled to St. Louis to attend IB Academy to become a certified Site Visitor and PD facilitator in the IB Americas.

Year 7: 2012

We welcomed our first pup, Lucy Lou, into our home in year 7 after our guinea pig passed away. Bry really started pushing the “camping bug” on me that year. He was super patient and accommodating - not forcing me to even stay the night at the campsite until I was ready! We spent most of the year navigating puppy life. Bry’s brother and my new “sis” got married in June. Bry and I both left the classroom to pursue new careers. I became the curriculum coordinator for our district and he became an elementary school principal. We celebrated my baby brother’s college graduation that summer, we went on our first camping trip as a family of three at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas in November, and we spent Christmas with Bry’s family in Wyoming.

Year 8: 2013

Year 8 brought us some of the best gifts - my first nephew (in gestation) and a few trips to Colorado. Snowmobiling with my best friend Anie and my hubby was one of the best days of my life. After trying for babies for a few years, we began the process to become licensed foster parents. Bry graduated with his Masters degree from SMU, we saw a few Broadway musicals, and Lucy continued to steal our hearts (she was and is the best dog!)

Year 9: 2014

We met the child the Father had named so many years before in year 9. We were given the greatest gift of being able to take her to Colorado with us that summer on our family vacation and it was just the sweetest time. I went back to my campus that fall as one of the assistant principals and closed the season of wearing a “district hat.” I also journeyed into the small business world and opened my family portrait business that year! My first nephew entered the world and I can honestly say that aunt life IS the best life!

Year 10: 2015

After C left our home, we invested in more time together - trips in our canoe and our first cruise to Cozumel, Belize, and Honduras (where we learned that we are not cruise people.) We also began our monthly visits with C - something I hoped we could do when she left, but didn’t think could actually happen. 2015 also brought another snowstorm - the first in several years, and the last one since. We spent a few days at the beach in South Padre, TX at my family reunion that fall and went on our second Thanksgiving trip to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas.

Year 11: 2016

We went on our first #bearfood trip in May of 2016. Bry transitioned from his job as a principal and we left Texas in the dust as we traveled to Grand Canyon NP, Zion NP, King’s Canyon/Sequoia NP, and Yosemite NP in our little teardrop trailer! We celebrated 10 years of marriage with matching ring tattoos. We went through more (failed) rounds of infertility treatments that year. We lost six family members that year and it felt like we were going to another funeral every time we returned home from one. We welcomed a second puppy into our home - sweet Dakota, an English Cream Golden Retriever. Click HERE to read our 2016 #hillsinreview post.

Year 12: 2017

We went on our second #bearfood trip to Canada in year 12! We caravanned with Bry’s parents through Yellowstone NP, Grand Tetons NP, Glacier NP, and Banff NP in Canada. Bry got more into mountain biking and cooking delicious food that year while I fell back in love with the acoustic guitar (a hobby I’d laid down in my 20’s). We continued monthly visits with C. Click HERE to read our 2017 #hillsinreview post.

Year 13: 2018

Our third #bearfood trip took us to Maryland and back to see Great Smoky Mountain NP, Shenandoah NP, and our sweet friends in the northeast. The last year of our marriage has been the most beautiful, filled with the most growth in every sense of the word. The Father is doing amazing things in our home and through us. I wish this could’ve happened years ago, but I honestly don’t think I would’ve appreciated or noticed it if He’d done it in year 2. We’re just in awe of how He’s using our marriage to draw us nearer to Him, nearer to each other, and then blessing others through our marriage. Thank you, Father! Click HERE to read our 2018 #hillsinreview post.