Reflection

1 year....I really can't believe it.  Sometimes I think back to when Jake and I met and really thank God that he can work miracles because as some of you know...that's what it took to get us where we are today.  

You see, for those of you that don't know, as much as I wanted to be married and live the "happily ever after" life when Jake walked into my life I FREAKED!  He would say I am being hard on my self by saying that.  But others of you know...its true.  See Jake was raised in a family that gives lots of affirmations and compliments. While  I always dreamed of being adored and found to be beautiful when Jake started telling me how beautiful he thought I was or how much I meant to him I thought he was...well...I thought he was crazy.  I never received those types of affirmations from any other man in my life, so it was weird and awkward to say the least and quite frankly I almost ran the other direction.  Lucky for me, God is good and Jake is patient.  

So hear we are, our 1 year wedding anniversary.  I'm not sure how to sum this year up.  I know some say that the first year of marriage can be the most difficult, and as much as I may want to conform and agree with that, I have to say for us it wasn't.  I'll stop for a moment so everyone can roll their eyes..done..ok, moving on.  We have had ups and downs, but none that caused me to question my decisions or the person that I make those decisions with.  We have been on a learning curve, but we are learning together.  Sure there are times when I have to take a deep breath and remember that its not just about me and this isn't just my home.  Its ours.  But overall we have had a great first year.  Its not been perfect, but I'm not sure either of us expected it to be.  We just wanted to be with each other, grow and build a life.

 

 Mission accomplished.  

For a long time I had made sure that my life wasn't "dependent" on anyone else.  I ensured that I was self sufficient and could do things for myself.  When I met Jake that was truly the hardest adjustment. While I've grown in this area there are still times when fear grips me and tells me that relying on someone doesn't ever end well, and my independence rears its ugly head and I will do something just to show Jake that I can...to show him that I AM CAPABLE.  He just laughs shakes his head and lets me have my moment.  This response reminds me that I'm being silly and that I need to continue to surrender not only to my sweet husband, but to God and the gift he gave me in Jake.  

We are by no means done learning about each other, nor are we done growing, but I think we have gotten off to a good start.  I'm so excited to see what our future holds, this year and the many years to come.  

So, we celebrated all weekend.  I included a few pictures, one of us from the melting pot...awesome experience by the way and then a couple from this morning.  Taken in the truck waiting at Coffee Bean on the way to church.  Not sure why I wanted to take those, but they are fun. 

We are off on to another years journey.  I will keep everyone updated on the happenings in our little corner of the world.  

Zoo Trip

Well, Jake and I have been trying to get to the zoo for weeks.  We of course picked this weekend to go, the one weekend that it was raining!  But we got sooo blessed and even though it sprinkled for a little bit when we arrived it eventually cleared up and we enjoyed the perfect day.  Here I am petting the stingray's.  It was seriously the coolest thing, they just came right up to you.

Here is Jake petting the stingray's.  He looks so handsome.  We has so much fun. 

Here is another one of me, the only bummer of the day was that we didn't get any pictures of the two of us.  
We seriously had the best day, we have been really trying to get out more and do stuff that isn't just seeing a movie and coming home. This was number one on our list, our next one might be a trip to Sedona or Flagstaff.  There really is so much around us that is beautiful and we need to get out and see it.  Here is Jake with the Giraffe's well, there is only one giraffe in the picture but they were everywhere.  Jake also took a lot of pictures of the spider monkey's.  They were so close, it was a little freaky at first, but it ended up being very cool.  I'll post those pictures later.
After the zoo Jake and I went to Saturday night service at CCV.  It was great.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful day. 

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter!

Celebration

Friday was Jake's birthday.  We have celebrated all weekend.  Friday night we went to Benihana, if you've never been and you like Asian food I would definitely recommend it.  It is an Asian restaurant where they cook the food in front of you.  It was great!  Jake had such a good time and is still talking about it.  I was so glad that it was a good time for him.  One of my big fears is always making big plans and then those plans not living up to the expectations, but this did.  Here a picture of the evening.  They took this at the restaurant and gave it to us for FREE.

It really was a great night.  We went to lunch with Jake's parents on Saturday and continued the celebration.  It really has been a great weekend.

This month actually signifies more celebration for us.  In just 2 weeks we will have been married for 1 year!!  I can't really believe it.  It seems like longer but in the good way, not in the oh my gosh who did I marry way.  I really do feel like I have known Jake my entire life.  In reality we have known each other for a little over 2 years.  I know I've gloated about him over this past year several times, and I'd like to tell you that now that we've been married for a year that will stop, but...it won't.  He continues to be an amazing husband, and a wonderful friend.

  So, brace yourselves for more bragging. 

 

Our first year together has been amazing and I will write more about that as it gets closer.  We continue to be blessed and I'm sure our next year...years will be equally wonderful.  We have faced trials this year, and I'm sure we will continue to, but its nice to know that when those trials come I have Jake by my side.  

Happy Birthday Honey!