340 days

We started our marriage with prayer and then a holler of relief escaped me as we exited the sanctuary.  We had our favorite foods as part of our reception dinner, an after party at our home with our closest friends. Our first day as a married couple started with opening our gifts, making a list and writing thank you cards to send out.  We had breakfast at a local diner with Gina at our side. Since our wedding day together we have experienced lots of laughter, struggle, driving, stress and are still learning to compromise- putting our marriage first. If you know me/us, you will know the importance of marriage in our lives. The commitment that we made and continue to make everyday to put our relationship first.  It can at times feel very refreshing to know that through all the years, the growth and different experiences we each have been through we have the same values and mostly same belief standards.  Even with the age gap we both still believe in family and what it means to us.  I definitely do not believe we have the perfect marriage or believe in perfection even but our desire to put our differences aside, accept each other, love unconditionally and root it all in the belief that God has brought us together for a purpose and it is him we should lean to for guidance.  We both stated that divorce is not an option before we talked about marriage and shortly after we conquered all the other important subjects and how we each felt.  Letting our limits become crossed but knowing that is all for the greatness of a blessed and openly communicating marriage and relationship, sometimes it was even coming to different profound realizations that have helped me through some of the harder topics.  Even with the rocky start to our year I know we can open up and re-evaluate our needs, allowing ourselves to reach out to each other so that we can continue to move forward.   Marriage, a beautiful thing even when we have to: drive 15+ hours for spring break, struggle with differences in habits, walk miles just to sit in the sun to watch the races, learn to become more patient, ask for what you need, find a stress reliever in weight lifting, running, singing, do laundry for the millionth time, pray for patience and understanding on an almost daily basis.  I am looking forward to the fun, ups, downs, surprises, to continue to be the constant encourager and supporter of my husband.  This is part of what marriage is to me, I know some parts will evolve and I will have my moments but I know we are both in it for the rest of our lives.   Also I am feeling pretty awesome about my anniversary gifts that I am coming up with- this excites me.  The thrill and anticipation of the surprise in store.

Reunion?

10 years have passed since I left high school, and there I was ready to take on the future loving every mile that got me away from the town of not enough. I had dreams and aspirations of becoming more but then I had experiences, loved and let go, went to 3 colleges and figured out who I was and how I fit into the plan laid out for me. College was the greatest experience for me, like some this time is where we find who we are, learn to stand firm in our beliefs and test the boundaries we were given. Now high school, it was the right of passage, everyone has to go thru it and we make the most of it, there are a few things that stand out that made it worth the while, teachers that made an impact and coaches that made each day better. Do I go back? My close girlfriends I still see, do I join them or just let it be? A lot has happend since I walked across the stage and out the doors. I don't want to regret this one time opportunity but also know how much I have grown up and see how little others have.

On a search

We are just over a month away from our first wedding anniversary, and as fast as this last year has gone it cannot be summed up very easily. We faced adventure, long drives, flights, shopping trips, a tough start to a new year, and lots of laughs. Now I think of myself as a decent gift giver and with our first anniversary I have to come up with something memorable. I put this stress on myself because Darren is so hard to shop for, he is the man that buys what he wants and needs, does not give many hints making it that much harder. Trying to use some parts of the classic anniversary gifts, keeping my ears open to what Darren might say. I think I have a few ideas but want to make sure my streak of great ideas does not hit the fan on this special occassion. I looked up some ideas from other people online, mixed with some of his hobbies and hopefully I can come up with something great. I will let you know how it goes.