Three years

Fall has officially arrived! This season marks the beginning of a whole slew of celebrations! One of the first on the calendar is our wedding anniversary. We celebrated our third anniversary this year, which doesn't sound like very much, but feels like much longer because of everything that we've gone through in these three years. We relocated to a new state shortly before marrying, we bought a house, I started and quit a job, Ben experienced a bank takeover, and a new position, we got pregnant and had a baby, whew. A lot in these past 3 years!

We had a full day of celebrations. Our day started with ammaaaaaaaaaaazing red velvet crepes. I can act like everything is perfect in our house and tell you they turned out exactly like the pictures on this blog,

but in reality, they were a mess.. an amazing mess.

For dinner, I cooked up some tasty cilantro tacos and guac, and we watched all of our past wedding videos that Ben puts together every year. Man we have done a lot over these past 3 years! Ben also brought him the most amazing bouquet of flowers I have ever seen.

2 weekends ago we went to a chocolate shop by greenlake and had some great conversations over peppermint patty hot chocolate. This past Friday we went to an amazing Italian restaurant down in Magnolia where we had the most incredible gnocchi with sage/butter sauce, 5 kinds of bruschetta, and a spicy tomato pasta dish. Afterwards, we walked around the downtown area of Magnolia and happened upon a Fall festival that was going on complete with live music and an art walk. too fun!

When I reflect back on this year with Ben, I am brought to tears by how much grace God has poured out on our marriage. This has by far been the most challenging, as we have faced the reality of what it is like to be parents and have our time split a million different ways. We have had to put way more effort into having quality conversations, date nights, and making sure we still feel connected to each other. We have learned that from here on out, we will have to fight for our marriage so that when our kiddos are all grown and gone, we wont look at each other across the dinner table wondering who the stranger is. I constantly have to check myself to make sure I am serving Ben before friends, Colter, and other family, man is that a challenge.

I'll tell you one thing about this year though, I have fallen more in love with this man than I could have imagined. His sensitivity to the emotional roller coaster I went through when transitioning to motherhood, his relentless support of me in whatever I am passionate about, his constant encouragement and reminders of what is true, and his ability to make me laugh in my most despairing moments, have been more evident than in this last year. He works hard and then harder to provide for our family. He is constantly trying to be a better husband whether it's helping more around the house, planning more date nights, thinking of more questions to ask me to get to know me better, keeping a detailed book about things that I like, and giving me many needed breaks for more sleep when I am on the brink of exhaustion.

This man is amazing, he is mine, and I couldn't be happier. He is an absolutely fabulous father, loyal friend, and the best hubby around. I am so blubbery writing this post, i don't even know if it makes sense.

I love you Benjamin. I want to grow old with you.