Today has made it two years that I've been a wife.
I don't feel like it's been two years, but at the same time I feel like I can't remember a day with out him. It is amazing how your life changes once you're married and it is even more amazing to me how much more it continues to change! Reed and I thought we knew everything about each other, then we got married and I remember being so surprised by so much about him. And I keep being surprised, some how I just found out this summer Reed doesn't like watermelon. I'm pretty sure if I knew that sooner it may have been a deal breaker ;)
But seriously, there are so many things that make up for him being a weirdo and not liking watermelon that I think we are gonna make it. Other than that shocker we've had so many other lessons over the past year. Like budgeting, man the first year was so fun we didn't think about money we just enjoyed life and spoiled each other as much as we could. This year we've really buckled down and have a set budget with spending amounts and we have learned how to keep each other accountable. (You can check out our budget system here!)
Along with learning how to budget we've also learned the difference between dreams and goals. Obviously, both of these things are important but there is a huge difference. I've had to learn that even though not every one of my dreams are coming true (like owning our very own, completely renovated by me, home) it doesn't mean that I'm not meeting my goals. I've found that my goals are more important things, like the memories being made in the home, and not what the kitchen looks like (thats a dream). Dreaming is great, and Reed is putting up with me and all those dreams; some times on Saturdays he indulges my dreams by letting me make some ridiculous project that we don't really "need". Through this I've learned that with a plan and a goal I can reach dreams that I didn't even think I had!
I've got big dreams for us, and we have goals set but realize that life happens and it's beautiful that way. So this next year we may not know what we are going to do, but I have a feeling we will be continuously surprised by small things like watermelon and also learn how to do life together more fully.
I think that has been my favorite part of our second year of marriage. We've known each other forever, dated and knew we would spend forever together from almost the beginning. But we still had our own lives. Even our first year of marriage, with still being in school our lives were pretty separate. It was an amazing time and I would never go back to change it, but we were basically really awesome roommates. This past year we've found roles that fit our lives TOGETHER. And I'm not just talkin about me finally getting over my dislike of doing dishes. I mean that we've learned that doing the dishes is something we do because it needs to be done and when we can do those things we then have time to do life! Ya know like; camping, fishing, working in the shop/studio, watching dumb shows on TV, sitting and planning trips, and so so much more. That is what life is, not who is going to bring home the bacon and who is gonna clean the skillet.
So this year my prayer is that I'll learn how to follow my husband with a more humble and generous heart. I've learned to trust him with decisions that I wanted to be the one making and it has proven to do nothing but improve so many areas of our marriage.
I also pray that I will be continuously reminded of my vows for the rest of marriage. This past year I've been reminded constantly of the part of my vows that said "where you go I will go". That means I need to be understanding in the fact that York is where he has decided to take our family and despite the struggle of my ability to find a job. I hope I can live up to my vows not just in my actions but also in how my heart because Reed is a good man who deserves to have someone trust him fully.
It blows my mind how much we've both learned. We've moved to a new place, gotten over the struggle of finding friends, and come to peace with the fact that my place is at home and not in the work field for the time being. I'm so grateful that I've had a year to learn to be a wife with out the stress of a job. I've been fully dependent on my husband but learned how to be strong for him regardless. We've learned that sometimes it is better to live with less instead of being miserable with more. We've learned how to linger together whenever we can. It has been amazing how much time we have had just the two of us, and how much we've helped one another grow with out the distractions of other people.
I'm ready for year 3! Bring it on, life just keeps getting better as we figure out the little nuances of being married. I can't wait for all the other watermelon size surprises!
So now I'll address our photos. These are just some simple pictures Reed and I took ourselves one afternoon on the ranch. I think you can see a huge transformation in our physical appearance but also in how we interact with one another. Obviously we have become even more comfortable in our lives together and think these photos reflect that perfectly!
