7 Months & Counting!

As of today, Jake and I have been married for 7 months! We didn't really celebrate because its not a "big" anniversary or anything. Actually we did go out to dinner so I didn't have to cook, but because of our "budget restraints" our luxurious dinner was held at Taco Bell (HA!).

It's wierd to me to think of how much has changed in the past 7 months. I mean, everything has changed with us...where we live, what we do, our relationship with eachother, and on and on. To be honest, 7 months ago I had this fairytale idea of what being married would be like. I knew it would be SO happy and SO much better than anything I could imagine. It's funny because I was definitely right but not in the way I was expecting. In our short marriage, Jake and I have pushed eachother and grown eachother in so many ways. Marriage hasn't been easy though at all and definitely not what I had imagined. It changes your whole life when there is someone else that you make all of your decisions with and has an impact on even the most private areas of your life. You don't have the ability to make some of the selfish decisions that you would have done before marriage. Everything about you becomes linked to another person. It's strange and I feel like no one could have prepared me for it. When we were dating I felt like we could never be any closer but marriage brought something totally different into our relationship.

But really, wow! This marriage has been wonderful! We've both grown up so much. I really believe that we've helped eachother become better people because we have allowed eachother to see the bad things in our lives that no one else ever sees. And when we do see those areas that maybe need some refining we have the safety of marriage to work through those things and be real. And through all of it, we are best friends. We've moved to a new and different place and don't even feel lonely because we have eachother and have so much fun with eachother. There have been so many times these past months where we have laughed so hard that we cried. Jake never fails to make me laugh.

Since our wedding, God has challenged me with bringing about one of the most stressful times in my life. With a heavy work load at school and a new marriage, I was really challenged these past months. I don't know if I could have done it without Jake. It's so wonderful to have a husband that supports me in every way and empathizes with me when I need it most. He brought home flowers after my important days at school and cleaned the house when he knew I had no time or energy. He took care of me and constantly told me that he loved me and was proud of me.

I cannot imagine being blessed with a better husband. God has taught me so much these past 7 months through our marriage and I know this is only the beginning of an amazing journey!