Ten years, it's crazy, I know. All we can say is we are so unbelievably blessed and grateful to get to do life with each other. We so enjoyed our recent extended family (Lindsay's) trip to Michigan, that we couldn't help but end it with a special moment, so we're sharing some of the key photo moments during the trip and the final moment before we got in the van to head back home to MN. Ten years ago, we had said we would read out personal vows together on our wedding day in addition to the traditional, "Mark, do you take Lindsay as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold,..." Mark wrote them down and felt like he had them memorized, but in the excitement of the moment, his mind went blank and he scrambled to form the words that he wanted to say. We've joked about this for years and so this year, I (Lindsay) said that for my anniversary gift, I wanted him to rewrite his vows on paper all over again.

I still remember the first moment Travis called to tell me about her. I was outside pushing my kids on the swings in the late August sun, and he randomly called - something he hadn’t done in a little while. He began to excitedly share all about Crown College’s welcome weekend, and finally he got to talking about her (the girl Josiah had hinted at in our family group text with a photo earlier that week). Emma was her name, and Travis was pretty smitten. We talked for the next few weeks about how things were going, what she was like, and what he could/should do with liking her. Flash forward to the day of our family photos – yes, on top of everything else in capturing a proposal we thought we’d try to throw Emma off by taking our family photos (pretty sure she was too smart still but we tried!) It’s not every shoot that you get to capture a proposal, and it’s even less likely for it to be your brother the one proposing. In fact, for me, that chance is two in a lifetime, as I had previously taken photos for my sister’s surprise engagement (no pressure to make it three, J ;D)! Anyways, when Travis shared he was getting ready to propose and that he wanted us there to capture it the answer was, “OF COURSE.” Josiah joining in on the fun again to capture the day? Yes, please! Who wouldn’t want three photographers in order to make sure we would get at least one solid angle! The tricky part was when he shared he wanted to take them in our area at Vermillion Falls. We LOVE Vermillion Falls, but if you’ve been there, you know there really aren’t that many angles you can take from with all the trees, bushes, and, well, falls. But we were up for the challenge, which meant that I went weeks in advance to take photos and videos while I walked the area to get an idea of what we would do.

Mark, Mark, Mark… you’re turning thirty today – where has the time gone? I remember that high school boy that I first caught watching me in the tent at Beulah Beach like it was yesterday. He was cute and funny, able to talk but didn’t talk too much, and a complete mystery to me. You’re still mostly a mystery to me even though we’ve liked each other for 13 years, have officially dated for 11 years, and have been married for 8 years. I don’t get how you’re so content to be a servant leader. I don’t get how you love interruptions in your day. I don’t get how you can be so present with a person when you have so much to do. I don’t get how you stay so calm and so loving when I start to spin out of control and allow anxiety to gain ground.

As I sit here on the carpet next to Chloe's crib while she sleeps, there is a wave of emotions that are rushing through me. Part of it is probably still from pregnancy hormones regulating out,and the other part is because I can't believe it's already been a month since this little lady entered our world! As I work to pick the photos and upload the ones to share, I smile at the different memories and feel sad that these first few days are already gone. Then,there's the feeling of fear and guilt. Fear that people will look at these photos and think, "they didn't do this or that" and guilt that I didn't do "more" photos during her first few weeks. Silly? Absolutely! Will people actually think this? I highly doubt it, but isn't it interesting how instead of just joy there is a regret to do more? If you're a fellow mama, I bet you totally get this,and if I can say anything to you it's to be present over perfect. So move aside guilt and fear because we chose not to take so many photos.

​I’ll never forget the moment we decided to have another child. We were on a family vacation, sitting on the couch in a friend’s beautiful family cabin in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We were talking about our future as we listened to the rain ting off the tin roof above our heads. I had brought up the subject and Mark was as gracious as ever about timing for the third child as he knew my hesitation of wanting to have my “own body” for a while.