One Year of Marriage

One year ago today, Christopher and I were married.

And what a year it has been!
In August:

• we got married
• we went on our honeymoon to Disneyland
• we bought a house
• I started a new job

In September:

• We moved to our new house

In October:

• Chris and I went to Nebraska (my first time!)
• We bought a horse

In November:

• Chris was admitted into the hospital
• We celebrated our first Thanksgiving and Black Friday together

In December:

• We celebrated our first Christmas together (I was with my family the previous year)

In January:

• We discussed our goals and what we wanted out of life in the near future
• Chris’s parents came to visit
• We took out the floating kitchen cabinets that divided the dining room/kitchen
• We painted our living room, dining room and kitchen
• We added crown molding to the living room

In February:

• We started an Etsy shop
• We bought our first laying hens
• We did our first fiscal fast
• We took out the window “treatments” in the kitchen

In March:

• We bought our first broiler chickens
• We stayed home for spring break and worked on the house

In April:

• I went to my first live baseball game (Go SkySox!)
• Chris’s grandfather passed away
• Chris bought me and {extremely} early birthday present (my porch swing) and I use it almost everyday

In May:

• I butchered my first chicken
• We celebrated Chris turning 26
• I ended out my first school year in Brush (and it was a GREAT year!)

In June:

• I broke my arm
• I bought a jersey heifer
• Chris bought some goats
We planted our very first garden together
• We participated in bountiful baskets for the first time, which led to my first even canning experience (with Chris’s help because of breaking my arm)
• We finished going through all the boxes etc that we have left upstairs since we moved.
• We painted one of the rooms upstairs (my craft room)

In July:

• We celebrated our first fourth of July together, and went to see the fireworks in Otis
• We celebrated my 25th birthday
• We finished (ish) painting the house including: the hallway,stairway, upstairs bedrooms, upstairs reading room, and all trim.
• We took a short, quick road trip with Chris’s family to Indiana

Our first year has been filled with many things.  Many ups, many downs.  It’s been filled with love and heartache.
When in Indiana, so many of Chris’s family members commented on how hard the first year of marriage is.  I have been so relieved in hearing so many couples say this, because before the wedding, all you hear anything about is the wonderful “honeymoon stage” the first year is.  I wish I had heard before the wedding that the first year was going to be hard, so then I could’ve been more prepared.
But we have a good marriage.  We’ve talked about why we have a good marriage.  We love each other unconditionally.  We respect each other.  We laugh with each other. We understand one another.
When I married Chris I loved him more than I ever could have imagined.
Now, I find myself looking into his beautiful blue eyes, and falling deeper in love with him every day.  Some days it feels like we have been married for a LONG time, that we have known each other much longer than we have, and other days it feels as if we were just married yesterday. 

One year down, the rest of forever to go.