The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad In-Between Part of Marriage

The reason I began a new blog, simply put, is because I have started a new life. We have started a new life. When I first started blogging, I did so with the hope that even if I never acquired another reader outside of myself that my children may read this one day and know what their mother was truly like in the time before them. I wanted to record my journey, and all of its many, many lessons, for them. Now, it is not my journey that they need to know, but ours.

After reading my last post, I somewhat worried that I had made our marriage sound perfect. Too me, it is a blessing- a wonderfully, perfect blessing. Still, it is not without mistakes at times. We are not so perfect that we never fail to make a mess, though typically it is a mess of the simplest matters. Funny how the simplest things can upset feelings the most sometimes. It is as funny as it is sad that sometimes others feel the need to interfere and create a mess that need never have been.

In the past five months there have been disappointments and frustration. There have been late nights, long afternoons, and a few tears shed. The rule that states "Never go to bed angry." has been broken once. I guess because neither of us ever heard it stated as fact by those we trust, we instead found out that sometimes you say things you don't mean and you don't listen to the other as you usually would in your exhaustion. I can not even recall anymore what caused the upset that night. I only remember the worst part being that both of us woke up feeling sorry, but neither of us had time to talk it out before work. We always try to settle matters swiftly, but that night we were not so lucky.

When I married my husband, I truly wanted to believe that I knew him so well that we could never argue. I think we both did. To give ourselves a little bit of credit, sure, we did. We knew all that we could possibly know at that time. In the ten months that we had known each other, we had only gone one day without speaking. In our letters and conversations we had opened up and shared with one another a lot more than we had ever told anyone else. Even so, neither of us knew everything about the other.

My husband and I smile now when we consider our first week together. Everyone always speaks of those days as being nothing more than romance, but for us it was a little more than that. In the daytime, we spoke about those in our lives. At night, we spoke about the past and the future. I remember laughing one night as I told him how surprised our children might be one day to know that we were discussing them in our first days of marriage- everything from how wonderful they would be to the scrapes they were sure to get into. No, it may not have been what people say it ought to be, but for us our first week together was the very beginning of what was to come.

I knew that at some point we would disagree. Worse yet, I knew feelings would be hurt. It seems like the world only tells of the two extremes- either you will both always be happy or you will both always be miserable. The reality of the in between is little mentioned except by those who love you most.

I love my husband. I can not imagine my life without him. Becoming his wife has been one of the best decisions I have ever made and I know it. Even so, there are days when my head begins to ache as I try to explain something to him. There are nights when I hop in the shower just to cool down and think before I speak. It is the cooling down that is hard. It is the pinpointing just what upsets me that has been the struggle sometimes. Before, I might have been upset with someone simply because they said something I didn't like, therefore I automatically assumed I had a right to be upset. With him though, I can't just say that. I have to know why. Why am I upset he said this or that? Why am I upset he didn't do or did something? It's not worth it to me to just go running up to him and tell him he was mean. I am not five. I am a wife- a very much loved wife who very much loves her husband. Something I have had to remember each time is that my husband does care for me even when we don't agree. If I don't tell him specifically what is wrong, he can't fix it. He'll apologize, and he will be sincere, but he won't really know why I am upset. Chances are, if he doesn't understand why, it will happen again. It's not to be cruel. It's not to be stubborn. It will happen again because he will do it as unintentionally as he did the first time. That said, my husband remembers what I tell him, especially when it is something about me. If I tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (no drama or exaggeration necessary) he will do all he can to make sure he understands. The same goes for me. I have never meant to argue or upset my husband, but of course times have come when I have failed him, too. Rather than yell or rush out, he knows he has to tell me and he knows to explain it. He knows, thankfully, that at the end of the day I love him. We both know the other loves us, and therefore it makes the difficult, frustrating times a whole lot easier to let pass. Knowing there will be forgiveness, and knowing that the person who has hurt you loves you and did so by sheer accident, makes it all the easier for us to work things out. Yes, the talk is sometimes hard. Feelings are raw. At the end of the day though, we have to remind ourselves that this is marriage. It is the harder part of it that we could not have prevented unless we were perfect. As it is, we are not, so we laugh and we smile, and we disagree and we talk, and we forgive each other and we work things out all because we love the person that we are married to and thankfully they love us, too.

Our Engagement Picture- June 2013

Just Thinking...

Over the years, I have on occasion heard my parents say that marrying each other had changed them. It baffled me because I did not understand. I could not understand how you were supposed to get to know someone and let them know you for the person you really are, fall in love, and get married...only to change afterwards. They never said it with remorse or bitterness. If anything, they made it sound like a good thing. They made it sound like they had changed for the better together.

I can smile now because I understand why they said it. I know what they meant. Now, I will say here, I by no means believe that I have changed as much as I ever will. I simply see that just as my life is growing, so must I.

From the very first morning that I woke up a wife, I felt a change in my heart. My life was no longer my own. I saw the man beside me as someone more than I had before. I saw him, truly saw him, as my protector, my advisor, my most trusted confidant- my husband. I realized how truly valuable my parents advice would be to not only me, but to us. If I wanted, really wanted, to be a good wife, I would recall every ounce of advice they had ever given me and I would put it into practice daily. I can never thank God enough for the man that He intended me for. I have been blessed with a good man. I want nothing more than to live my days in effort of becoming a good woman.

Something my mother taught me long ago is that a wife has many duties. She has many skills, many responsibilities, and an enormous amount of love and trust within her hold. In spite of what some may say, I do not believe that her title calls her to change her husband. For me, I believe that God has placed me in my post not to abuse the man He has intended me for, but to help him. A wife can know more about her husband than most. I know my husband's worries and I know his past fears. I have heard of his wants, and listened to his pains. I have seen him irritated, and I have seen him hurt. I have also seen him happy. I have seen when he is most confidant, and when he is most at ease.

I have no desire to change my husband. (Well, okay, I have gotten him to start wearing long sleeves in the winter, but that falls under "in sickness & in health".) I do not believe it is my job to change him, only to encourage all that is good in him. I believe that is a responsibility we owe to each other. When either of us need a dose of sense, we give it without reprimand. Whenever one of us is nervous, we do not mock, but encourage. Whenever we see a gift that belongs to the other, we know that is our job to encourage the other as often as needed with patience and love. No, my job as a wife is not about changing, but about helping.

Very Fun, Slightly Crazy Saturday

A typical Saturday in our home means sleeping in, brunches, and whatever else we decide. Sometimes we run errands, sometimes we visit our families, and sometimes we simply stay at home. According to the weatherman, it is supposed to be a lovely rainy weekend. (Yes, I like the occasional wet weekend.) Seeing as I've not seen a drop of rain yet, I have a feeling it is holding out until we are fast asleep tonight.

This Saturday has been a little different than most. My husband wanted to take his truck in to be looked at this week, and Saturday sounded good to us. Thinking that we could drop it off with their "Before Hours" policy, we were willing to get up early in the hopes of dealing with little to no traffic and pick it up by noon. All I can say is- haha!

 

Look at that sweet smile! You would never think he could be too peppy a morning person, but let me tell you....

We decided to wake up by 5:30. My husband (being a regular Flash when it comes to the morning routine) got up first. Then he came to pester me until I finally got out of bed. We had thought promising ourselves a trip to the donut shop would be a good incentive for such an early trip...but I can honestly say that I hardly cared about that this morning as I was being shaken awake. Having been woken up just enough to think, I decided to skip the makeup routine so we could hurry and get back. I mean, I put on mascara and the one lip gloss I own that actually darkens my lips, but that was it for the morning.

Husband took the picture- and insisted on my pose. He loves when I wear my glasses, too.

I guess we had both considered donuts not being enough this morning because we had also decided that after breakfast we would try to catch a nap. We dropped off my husband's truck right on time, and were happy to see only one other car in the parking lot. We hurried to the donut shop, where my husband went in to explore the selection.


Donut holes for me & a blueberry donut with an old-fashioned donut for Husband!

It was nice to come back home with treats in hand. It took little to convince my husband we should have a breakfast picnic in bed.

After breakfast, we laid back down and hoped to fall back to sleep. The feeling of laying against my husband's chest, with his arm wrapped around my shoulder, is a feeling I can not imagine ever becoming tired of.
We woke up at 10:30 with the phone ringing. It turns out that they had JUST decided to look at his truck. Long story short, his truck will be in the shop until Monday. This is one of those times when we could either be extremely irritated with their timing...or we could be grateful that we are married, have a car, and our life is not put on hold at all by this. (Okay, so I'm still a little irritated with their customer service.)
Either way, our Saturday has still been a good one. We got up and called in lunch. My husband's uncle receives free pizza cards from a friend of his sometimes, and, rather than keeping them all to himself, he shares them with the rest of the family. (Thank you, Uncle Dennis!) We were able to enjoy hot pizza for lunch today, and it's looking as though tomorrow will be a bright lunch with leftovers.
We came home to eat and watch a little tv. We always watch western tv series on the weekends, but our favorites weren't on yet. If you've never seen "Wanted- Dead or Alive" or "Bonanza" or "Big Valley" you are missing out. Oh, and our favorite is "The Rifleman"!

The Rifleman

Like I said though, none of them were on. I picked up the computer to look at our soon-to-be house and soon my husband mentioned the first house he'd lived in. He pulled up directions only to find it is all of 2 blocks from our future home. Well, of course, we just had to go out to see, and while we were out, we had to time the drive to and from his work. It just didn't make sense to skip Happy Hour at Sonic at this point, and after the first sip of strawberry slushie we just had to go for a ride. :)

Needless to say, it has been a very fun, very relaxing, slightly crazy Saturday. I've even had time to post before supper. I hope all of you are enjoying your weekends as well!

*Oh, and before I forget, this is the new artwork for our living room. The canvas was on sale at Hobby Lobby. I coated with color acrylic & then dry brushed with antiquing-medium & copper acrylics. The letters were precut. I stained them with antiquing-medium as well, and then used tacky glue to center them on the canvas. We figure I can add to this as our family grows, too! In the meantime, my husband loved seeing our initials together!

Newlywed Quiz

I found this quiz on Mrs. Rachel's blog! It looked like too much fun to pass up. My husband even helped, so this is our first Husband/Wife post together. :) His answers are in blue.

1. How long were you dating your spouse before getting engaged?

5 months- we met at the first of January and he proposed on May 30th.
We were dating for 5 months.

2. Do you remember your first big fight, what was it about?

It was just after we were engaged. We had never disagreed before then, but our disagreement brought out emotions in both of us. It was a lesson in not taking out your outside frustrations on those who love you.
It was after we were engaged, and we were at her parents house. It was the night we were talking to her parents about us getting married.

3. Who said "I love you" first?

I had surprised him with a cup of cider from Starbucks and written under the cup sleeve "Love, Paige". He actually said it first two days later.
She had it in words first. I spoke it first.

4. What is your spouse most afraid of?

Spiders...although a few plastic roaches strategically placed work pretty well. :)
Usually wasps and bees, but right now she's terrified of the scratching sound coming from the bathroom vent.

5. Who uses more hair-care products?

I do.
She does.

6. Who initiated the first kiss? How was it on a scale from 1-10?

He did. I thought about that kiss for the rest of the night and into the morning. I was so flustered.
I did. A 10 for sure.

7. You are on your way out, and need to turn around because someone forgot something... was it you or your spouse who most likely forgot something?

Him- he once forgot his wallet at work.
It was probably me. It was to go to the bathroom though.:)

8. Who takes longer in front of the mirror? You or your spouse?

I do- it's the makeup's fault!
She does! lol

9. What would your spouse name your children if you had one girl and one boy?

We discussed it before we ever got married- Julie Addison (girl) & Reagan Lee (boy).
Julie Addison and Reagan Lee

10. If you were able to give away one thing that your spouse owned, what would you choose?

Angry Birds on his phone...he has made me addicted to it. I've never been addicted to playing any game!
Her drawer full of 9 or was it 10 plastic roaches.

20 Things I Love...

Here are just a few things that I have come to love about my husband.

1. I love that I can ask my husband to hand me something, anything, and without looking away from his game or thinking anything of it, he will stop and reach for it using those amazingly long arms that God gifted him with.

2. I love that when there are only 5 cookies left that my husband immediately agrees we MUST finish them off. He even suggest we split the 5th cookie...though I always convince him he should have that one.

3. I love that in the last two months Saturday night has become the one night that we stay up until nearly 2 in the morning playing games, running short trips for a midnight snack, and talking until we pass out from exhaustion that we hadn't recognized all evening.

4. I love that my husband is mindful of his video game playing without my ever having to say anything. (If I had ever thought it would be a concern, I would have taken it into account while we were still dating. As it is, we were nearly engaged by the time I even knew he still played.) He hardly ever plays, but when he does I can't help but smile and give him a quick kiss when he pauses to look at me and say "I'm only playing right now because they just updated the game."

5. I love that my "I only drink water" boyfriend has become my "I'm dying for some caffeine. You did this to me!" finger-pointing husband.

6. I love that my only-child husband actually came with the "sharer" gene, but he nevertheless attempts to snatch my cookies when I become side-tracked writing.

7. I love when my husband reaches over  and taps the computer screen to steal control (while my hand is still on the mouse). I also love he thinks I am kidding when I threaten to smack him for doing this. :)

8. I love when my computer locks up and I am just about to suppress an irritated scream my brilliant-tech husband takes it, clicks a few keys, and passes it back to me as if the problem had never occurred.

9. I love that when I come out of my natural position (sitting/curling up on my knees) and I unconsciously moan as my knees favor to remain locked that my husband asks the silly question "Wife, were you sitting on your knees again?" I always reply no, just as a child does when they refuse to admit they have done wrong. (Though with it being a natural, favored position of mine since I was a child, is it really wrong?) *Husband, you may not respond to that question.*

10. I love that my husband says "dadblamit". He got it from me!

11. I love that my husband feels the need to ask me every time he goes to fix us our drinks "Water or sweet tea?". I thought this was truly a laughable question... but I quickly noticed that when I literally laugh in response a glass of water will be set by my meal. It makes it worse that his response to my questioning look at this is an innocent "What?".

12.I love that when I smack my husband playfully on the arm, he looks at me with a face full of concern and ask "Did you hurt yourself, Love?". I can only narrow my eyes, which makes him laugh. :)

13. I love that my husband never questions my love of writing, and even takes it upon himself to occasionally correct the punctuation (without making me feel like a complete bone). I love that he also knows "the look"- the look that comes when I am so far gone in "quickly" typing a sentence or paragraph that I did not hear his last comment. Knowing this look makes for a laughable moment when I ask him what just happened. He just gives a knowing smile and replays the last minute or two to catch me up.

14. I love that my husband likes to eavesdrop on random conversations in public as much as I do. He is just so helpful in filling me in on what I may miss and it brings a couple together so much more when they are in the midst of laughing at the craziness of the strangers on the next aisle...and doing so without being noticed. (This last part is key.)

15. I love when my husband kisses my forehead. In that moment, I feel like I am the most cherished woman on earth.

16. I love that my husband is such an advocate for modest clothing. While walking around in the stores with me he will at least once say "That is too little to be a shirt, but too short to be skirt. Wife what is that?". I have to follow his line of vision because he won't pick up the item. I can't help but smile when I tell him, especially when he studies me for a minute, as if to see if I am telling the truth. *Our daughters will be so well-protected.*

17. I love how every story my husband tells of a time when he ran into a friend that they greeted each other with either "What's up!" or "Hey, Man!".

18. I love how easy it is to get my husband wrapped up in a rousing game of "Why?". It usually isn't until about the 4th time I respond with "why?" that he realizes what I am doing. Oh, the advantages of having grown up with siblings!

19. I love that my husband teases me about my favorite pajama pants. He seriously likes to point out all of the frayed seams and tears in my hot pink gingham pants. (My mother gave them to me in perfect condition years ago, but they have been worn a lot. They are just so happy.) He is also convinced that my white pajama pants are, in fact, gray. I have to point out they are white...just a little well-worn.

20. I love that he considers the canister of chocolate chips I keep in the kitchen, his own private secret stash.

Road Trip!

I grew up going on countless road trips with my family. I grew up in a small town, with only the memories my parents created for us to make it home. Thirty minutes away (or two hours sometimes) were our favorite destinations. Natchitoches, Jefferson, Marshall, Shreveport, Natchez, Vicksburg, Tyler...all exciting in their own special ways. When my husband and I began dating, traveling was mentioned. My husband could only recall a trip or two within his lifetime, which brought me to question where he would like to visit. The only answer he had was Disney World, but seeing as we were not married yet that was just a bit too far. He admitted he thought he would like to travel, but had not ever given it much thought. What better way to find out than a road trip!


Our first day trip- Jefferson, Texas!

Our first road trip took place April 2013. I remember being very impressed with his map skills and coolness in driving. In one day we traveled to Jefferson, Tx and Bossier City, La. To me, these places were home and at the end of the day it meant a great deal to me to share these places with him. I imagined more trips in our future, and I imagined showing him my home town one day. Well, nearly a year later, we did just that. For the first time since we have been married, my husband and I made plans to go to Shreveport. With my hometown just thirty minutes away, I asked if we could visit there first. I'll admit it is hardly anything to look at, but it mattered to me that he see where I grew up. No, it doesn't look like it did when my family and I were there, but my husband and I live in his hometown. I know the places he speaks of, and more than likely our family will call this home as well. For me, it was important that he at least see where my family came from.

Afterwards, we drove to Shreveport. We stopped at World Market, which we had never been to. The idea of shopping for our new home while we were there seemed exciting. I have to say, it was not our "favorite" store, but it did have a few interesting things. We found this lamp, and thankfully I had a lampshade for it at home.

Walking around for a bit, we found this coffee drink. We were too curious to leave it behind...and I loved the bottle!

My husband (a water connoisseur)found a bottle of Iceland water beside it and suggested if we bought the coffee, we buy the water. I had to laugh because as I read the back of the bottle I knew why he cared about Iceland suddenly. "Naturally purified by the volcanic lava" seemed likely to peak my husband's curiosity. :)

After a trip to Pier One and an early dinner at Panda Express, we were off to the boardwalk. I am sorry to say that by this point we were both warming up. We soon found ourselves in one of those dire situations where suddenly you can't find water, and none of the vending machines you come across would like to help you. My husband suggested we go to the Yankee Candle store while we were there, seeing as we just finished burning through my favorite candle at home. I love the Yankee Candle store. It looks pretty. It smells wonderful...but after 15 min. I have to get out. The sweet smell, I am sorry to say, starts to overwhelm and my head and stomach work in unison to get me out. Lucky for me, my husband and I agree coffee offers the most wonderful smell, so our trip was short. Coffee Hazelnut! I can not wait to light it, but we have decided to wait until we are in our new house.

We bought a tea kettle at the kitchen store. Strangely enough, our last one had begun to rust two months after we began using it, so we had to throw it out. I love the red!

We usually spend hours on the Boardwalk, but I'm sorry to say we were just too hot at this point and tiring out by the minute. Even after finding a bottle of cold water, we had finished it within minutes.

We stopped at our customary spot under the bridge to take a picture before leaving, then made one final stop- The Chocolate Crocodile. We love their apples! This one was Cookies n' Crème. Sorry, we had delayed the tasting for too long as it was, so I only have this picture. It was by far the best covered apple I have ever had. My husband even snacked on the center!

It was a great day. The Monday traffic made for a pleasant drive and our timing kept away the typical rush. Though a short visit, it meant a lot to me that my husband finally got to see where I grew up, and our visit to Shreveport was fun. I am just so glad my husband and I can make favorite memories of our own together- road trips being one of them.

My family...I just don't know where to begin. It amazes me everyday how I can hear my parents' advice so clearly in any given moment, or think of my sister's sassy comments during any day, or miss my brother's late night conversation as I wash the dinner dishes.

There are moments when I pause and wait silently to drown out the world around us. There are moments when I curl up against my husband on the couch late at night, or when I grasp his hand and suddenly remember the blessing I live every day now. Somewhere in the back of my mind I hear my parents telling me how special love is. I hear their reminder to be careful of the interference of others. I hear their words as if they were beside me, reminding me that what God brings together no man may take apart. Not only do I hear it, I understand now. What God brings together must stay together. If He blesses you with something, you must know that He trusts you to keep it safe, to protect it, to guard it well with all your heart.

There are mornings when I wake up and set right about our schedule. There are moments when I find my spot on the couch, or my seat in the car, or even at my desk across from him and think nothing of it. Everyday though, at some point, sometimes during the very things I mentioned above, I remember. My breath catches; almost as if I can hold that breath, I can hold that moment. I fall silent and pray that he not ask me anything because I can't find my voice. My thoughts are far too busy drowning out the world, bringing me closer to ours. Our life together thus far comes to mind and I revel in the many memories we have already enjoyed together. I think of the late nights when sleep eludes us both because one, or both of us, is walking down memory lane & the other is walking alongside. I think of the tears shed as past pains are shared- the darkness of our room shielding the tears maybe, and yet still our pain is so clear to the other. I think of the moments when my husband and I are in the middle of our laughter and playing, and suddenly I find his eyes growing tender. In those moments it as though he is remembering something very dear to him, that perhaps he had missed a moment before. His look encourages me to think the very same of him.

Married life is not what the world makes it...unless, of course, you allow it to have a say so. Marriage is so much more than what I thought I knew it would be. It is a blessing to be held and kept close and loved every second of every day. God's mercy and my husband's great heart reminds me of this every day.

Midnight Runs and Kitchen Creations

Two weekends ago, my husband and I decided to make a midnight run to Taco Bell. For the record, it is a mere five minutes from our apartment. It was freezing outside, and I've still not figured out whether or not it was the chilly night air or the excitement that had me giggling all the way out to his truck. We decided on the 99cent grillers. I decided on the Ranch Chipotle Chicken Griller. It was delicious!
The next morning I woke up in one of those moods. You know the one. You have a menu planned for the day, but you are feeling adventurous and want to try a new recipe. Crazy to me that I can feel this way when every recipe is new to me these days. Still, I began to wonder if I could make the griller. Without a way to grill it, I knew the answer was no. I did a mental recap of the ingredients in the kitchen and this is what I came up with. *Please bear with me. I don't use exact measurements unless I am following someone else's recipe.*

Spicy Ranch Chicken

 

Ingredients-

2 chicken breasts

butter

Pillsbury biscuits

Shredded Cheese

Tony Chachere's Original Seasoning

garlic salt

onion salt

chili powder

Seasonings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 





Casserole Ingredients

1. First, I bake our chicken breasts. I cook ours in a small baking dish with butter, a little water (to help prevent dryness), and seasoning. I sprinkle with garlic salt, onion salt, chili powder, and Tony Chachere's seasoning. I bake the chicken at 400 degrees for about 45 min.

 

Before Baking

2. When our chicken has baked, I remove it from the oven. I turn our oven down to 350 degrees at this point (following the biscuit cooking directions).

 

3. I spray our casserole dish with a non-stick spray first. I then lay the biscuit circles along the bottom of the dish, and press the circles firmly together to form one base.

4. I lightly cover the base in ranch dressing. (Too much softens the biscuits even after baking.)

5. I shred our chicken and then lay the pieces over the ranch dressing.

6. I cover the chicken in ranch dressing (again, just enough to cover).

7. I add a layer of shredded cheese, seasoning with Tony Chachere's seasoning & chili powder.

8. I bake the dish in the oven for 15 min. or until the biscuits begin to turn golden.   

 

My husband loves it. *I promise never to makes this for my family though if they come to dinner. They don't like ranch dressing.* :)
It's amazing what you can come up with after one midnight ride for a snack.

Our First Home

It has been a cold, drizzly morning. I started a pot of coffee, but have become so lost in its scent and fighting with the computer that I have forgotten to fix a cup. *I know. I know. I feel the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.* In fact, let me grab a cup now.

I'm back now- coffee in hand. Isn't coffee one of the most wonderful scents in the world? It just puts a smile on my face to hear the word. I think coffee...oops! Husband is calling! Must be lunchtime. :)

Okay, let's try this a third time. This is something that happens on a regular basis. My husband calls at lunch to say he's on his way home. I always keep a glass of water in the fridge (too cold for me, but he loves it). We eat lunch together and talk while Family Feud is on tv. I had never watched the show before we started having lunch together. I've told him if it weren't for all of the clapping and dancing on the show, we could definitely win. :) As it is, I'll keep enjoying the lunch dates.

Just after our engagement, my husband moved into an apartment. It's nice and I was excited by the thought of moving in after the wedding. I could not wait to begin decorating our new home. Let's just say I had outgrown my hope chest by more than a couple of items.

 

We are in the middle of buying a house now- our first house. It is incredibly exciting, and just a little nerve-racking. It is nice being able to learn together though. That is something I love about being married. We are both learning and teaching each other every day. We are both excited about the house and can not seem to stop talking about all that may happen in the time that we live there. It is a life that we are both grateful for, but that each of us had at times been doubtful we would have one day.

I have enjoyed our apartment. In many ways, it seems like I just got here though. There are certain things we won't miss. For instance, my husband is convinced that Hulk lives above us. I disagree. I think it's Big Foot. We won't miss our tv cutting out every time someone vacuums above us- especially as the ball drops on New Years Eve. Oh, and we won't miss the icy air that slips through our windows on the coldest days of winter. (We may not have many such days in the south, but when we do...brrrr!) Still, we have so many memories here already. Coming home for the first time!!! (My mother's touch on the mantle was a nice Welcome Home!)

Our first Christmas!!!

 (Our 1st Christmas Eve- also my husband's birthday!)



Our 1st Valentine's Day!

 I made these shirts for us for Valentines. On the front, I printed our wedding date. On the back, I copied every major date within the last year (since we've met). Thank goodness for calendars!

This is where we have entertained our friends from time to time. It's where we had our first overnight guests (my sister and brother). It's where we've stayed up late and watched movies. It's been my first kitchen. It's been where we've laid awake all night talking, and where my husband has built his first fires. It's where we've met after hard days at work, and it's where we've said goodbye every morning and welcomed each other home every night. There have been so many firsts.

Oh, and my husband would be very upset if I forgot to mention Billy. Billy is our first pet. We actually had several in the beginning- four if I remember correctly. Wait! I should probably clarify here. Our first pets have been Sea Monkeys (in the little kit you buy at ToysRUs). After three weeks, I was convinced we had bought a bad batch, but I guess the threat of me pouring them down the drain was too much. They sprouted up over night. After noting that the lone survivor has made a habit of watching me wash dishes every day now, I insisted my husband name him. "Tech Monkey" was the first suggestion, but I pointed out he needed a name & not a title. Billy it is. Now the question is how he will survive the move in a couple of months. :)