two years

June 30, 2007. It was a magical day. The "beginning of the rest of my life", if you will. It started early-- those hair extensions didn't just magically appear, friends. They required work. The wedding was at 11:30 a.m., and that meant my morning started at about 4:00. Didn't matter-- I hadn't been sleeping anyway.

In a way, the whole day was a blur. I remember getting dressed, I remember my sister CONSTANTLY re-curling and spraying my hair. I remember sweating to death as we took the pictures outside (pre-ceremony). I remember hanging out with our families and friends, all dressed up, as we waited in the chapel while taking pictures. I was so glad we did all that before the ceremony...I couldn't have waited to see Matt. Walking down the aisle was magical anyway. The ceremony was a blur, but I remember how much my hands were sweating and I was praying Matt would be able to get the ring onto my swollen fingers. He did. I cried, but not enough to look a hot mess. We walked back out to "Glory, Glory to Ol' Georgia" and that was so much fun. I felt like a princess. The reception seemed to go really fast, but the cake was wonderful. So was the rest of the food. I do remember eating it! My face hurt from smiling so much. I was so ready to stop being the center of attention. My sister caught the bouquet-- my dad joked that I should run, take off the dress, give it to her, and let's just get her wedding over with while we were at it. Save us the trouble of planning another wedding. We didn't do that, but before I could leave we did have to go spend another half hour in the dressing room taking the extensions out. I complain, but having long princess hair was so worth the pain of putting in and removing the extensions!!! We changed clothes to leave, and people blew bubbles and laughed as Matt forgot to open the door for me. I'll never forget that, and neither will he. We left, and I remember thinking that I was so glad I didn't have to stick around and clean up-- possibly the only party I'll ever host that I don't have to suffer the clean-up of!!

We left, and it was only the beginning. The past two years have been amazing. I think our second year of marriage was even better than the first. We've learned how to live together, how to love better, and how to communicate. We're learning to love each other the way God calls us to-- to love each other the way Jesus loves His church. It's not always easy, but it's always worth it.

Year 2 was amazing. It wasn't always easy, although in a way lots of things got easier. We both had jobs with salaries and paid sick days and vacations-- that actually makes life much less stressful! However we needed those sick days-- we were sick a lot this year. So we prayed a lot this year. We bought a house. That definitely wasn't everything it's cracked up to be, but it taught us how to bear each other's burdens...how to live in a constant state of stress, and how to be business partners as well as best friends. We could run a mean business. ;) We struggled with planning when to start trying to make a family. We had a peace about starting "trying" in January, and so we did. Six months later, we've been disappointed seven times, but I know that these months are bringing us closer to one another and deepening the desire God has given us to have a family. When we finally do get pregnant, the joy will redeem the tears of these last months. We did expand our family in one way, though-- our beloved baby Lola! She is probably the highlight of our year. Her first birthday is next week-- we told her we bought her a new house for her birthday. She's pretty pumped.

So far we've not been apart a single night of our two year marriage-- that's GOT to be a record!! That means about 731 nights, since 2008 was a leap year. :) Maybe we'll keep the trend going for year 3!

I just realized that now we've been married for longer than we dated/were engaged. That seems funny, since it felt like we dated forever, but it feels like we just got married last week! Funny how time does that.

I don't know what Year 3 will bring us...I hope for more of the "for better". That would be nice. But it's comforting, somehow, to know that no matter what happens, we will be okay. We will be together. Matt and I will continue to find contentment, joy, peace, and love, and we'll have more than our share of hilarious laughter over incredibly stupid things. I look forward to a thousand more years of life to the fullest. Just the way it's supposed to be.

Happy Anniversary, Mattie (if you read this)! I love you more than you could know.