10 Years

Well nearly 11 years ago on a holiday in the Tongan islands I met a handsome, dark stranger. Just a few weeks later I returned home to New Zealand...but after a couple of months he followed me. No this isn't something creepy! This was the start of my relationship with the man who is now my husband.
And today is the day that we celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. 10 years! Wow that's a long time.
It was a difficult start for us as we fought with the immigration to allow Paula to be in this country and in the end we decided that the best way to beat them was to get married. So that's the reason we actually got married in the first place but of course we also wanted to commit to each other for life.
We have been through and achieved so much in these ten years-my teaching degree, Paula's masonry certificate, setting up our own company, buying a house, returning to the islands around 6 times, supporting each other through illness, death in the family, our own three unsuccessful pregnancies and our biggest and most precious achievement of all are these two beautiful girls...

We really compliment each other, we work well together, we are understanding of each other, we appreciate each other and we love each other. Well that's my side of the story anyway!

And yes that picture at the top is us on our wedding day! I was a poor student. Paula arrived in NZ with about $5 in his pocket. We married at the Registry Office in front of my parents and 3 friends then had a picnic afternoon tea in the botanic gardens, dinner at The Dux and a couple of nights in a camping ground in Hanmer. Might sound pretty average but it was all we could manage at the time and looking bcak I don't think I'd have it any other way.