7th Year-Ocean Shores

I love writing about our anniversary. Every year that goes by only gets better - and I realize more every year how very blessed we are to have each other.
Qualities that I love about Zach:
He loves the Lord - Zach is a great leader of our household.
He is a hard worker - whether in his job or at home he is not idle very often.
He is patient - he is not easily riled (a very good thing for me).
He is kind - Zach sees the best in everyone.
He is loyal - he sticks by you no matter what.

These are just a few qualities, I could write so much more, but I wanted to give you a small taste of the man I married 7 years ago. Did I know all this when I said I do? Definitely not to this extent, but God did and He gave me exactly what I needed.
One of my friends recently wrote about her relationship with her husband and I wanted to include some of her thoughts in this post. You can read her entire post here.

"...love each other! Love each other like you have never loved before! Show each other that love by putting aside your own needs and take care of the one you love. Wives, respect your husbands...don't pull them down or shoot down their character. Husbands, love your wives. Not just in the "love" kind of way but in a way that shows you adore her and her alone! Love best motivates a woman and respect most powerfully motivates a man. Hold each other tight and thank the Lord for all He has blessed you with!"

This is a wonderful challenge that I want to extend to others as well.

For our anniversary trip (it was Zach's turn to plan the surprise) we drove to the coast and visited the small town of Ocean Shores. We had never been here together and it was fun to experience this beautiful place.

Sunday was actually sunny, so I had Zach take pictures of "our" beach as we took a nice long walk. So cool. We didn't know it, but that night they had fireworks planned on the beach. We were able to get right underneath the fireworks and enjoy the night - despite the cold ocean air.

Monday (our anniversary) was rainy and foggy so we decided to get in the car, get a coffee of course, and explore the small towns along the coast. We drove north as far as the road would take us. One of the coolest towns we found was a brand new development called Seabrook. It felt like we were on the east coast with the style of homes and we had lunch in a cool cafe that was on the main street. I wish I could have taken pictures of all the houses, but I did get one street so you could get the idea. If I were to stay near Ocean Shores again, this is the town I would stay in - it was amazingly beautiful even in the rain.

We realized once we got home that we didn't take any pictures of us. Bummer. But I'm not too upset - not a fan of my chubby cheeks in pics. right now anyway :)

Zach did a great job planning this trip.
Where will we go next?