5 Years!

Today is mine and Arnold's anniversary. We have gotten to a milestone of sorts, 5 years!! One part of me cant believe we've been married that long, and one part of me feeling like we've been married MUCH longer. Probably because all we have bee through in the past 5 years, its a lot more than most people experience in the first years of their marriage :P


I remember that Saturday afternoon, on 1/21/06. It was a cold, dreary day, but I wasnt going to let that ruin my mood! I got to the church with my maid of honor and 2 bridesmaids and we got dressed in the back room of the church, while eating Burger King (well they ate more than me, I was really nervous!) I remember I kept worrying if my dress would be too tight.. if you do the math you can probably figure out that I was in the early stages of pregnancy with Brooke. Not one of my greatest choices at the time, but I dont regret it in the least bit. We were in love before she was conceived though, and we always knew wed get married :) Anyway, I looked out the window and saw Arnold's truck was parked outside and then I REALLY started to get nervous. Just felt like iwas going through the motions at that point, walking around and having the photographer take lots of pictures. Then it was finally time, and my dad walked me up the strairs and down the aisle. I have a rash that I break out in when Im really nervous or mad and it was going full-force down my neck! I hate that it showed up in every one of my wedding pictures, but it will be a funny story to tell the kids one day. And then after the vows and rings we were married. Never have seen Arnold as emotional and beaming as he was on that day, it was very sweet :) And then we had our reception and later that evening we headed up the mtns to Boone to spend a few days for our honeymoon.



So fastfoward a few years and here we are today! We have been through so much. Three wonderful children. One that was born just 7 months after we were married. So needless to say we didnt get a lot of time to just spend together, but I know we will get that alone time back when the kids are grown and gone.. but I dont want to rush that! Then just 3 months after Brooke was born, 2 lines were showing up on another pregnancy test, and the following August Caleb was born. Biggest shock of my life having 2 kids so close together, but it worked out ok.. we found out what we were made of as parents! And then in OCT of 2008 we found out that Rachel was on the way, and unknowing to me at the time, she would be our last baby.



We have learned a lot over the years. Had to learn to live together and function in a household together. We were both still pretty young when we got married (20 and 24) so we were still at the selfish and immature stage in many ways. We had lots of arguments and miscommunication. I think over time I have helped Arnold learn to be more accepting of things, and to calm down when times get tough. He has taught me to be more confident, and not worry so much about what people think. We are almost complete opposites of each other in our likes and tastes, but somehow we make it work.



We have survived 3 kids. A scare where we thought we had miscarried Caleb. the loss of 2 childhood pets, the loss of a very special aunt. a family vacation. a near-death experience where we didnt know if I would make it. several fights where we werent 100% sure that WE would make it. The fear that my moms cancer might have come back. A family fight on Arnold's side. The loss and gain of friendships. Watching some of our best friends go through hard times or divorces, which really hurt us because we care for them so much. Buying our first vehicle together. Naming guardians for our kids if something happened to both of us. Me taking care of him for a week while he had the flu. Him taking care of me after my wisdom teeth surgery. a 6-week marriage class. I could go on and on but i wont bore you ;-)



I guess the point Im trying to make with all this is that its been a LONG road. And we still have a long road ahead of us. But I am glad that Arnold is my husband and I couldnt imagine anyone better alongside of me for this ride in life. I truly believe everything has worked out the way it was supposed to, and God has blessed me, and our marriage so much. I am looking forward to seeing what else he has in store for us. Happy Anniversary honey! :)

Arnold and I on our wedding day

A more recent pic of Us

Had to add this, thought it was funny!