why we said i do.

We were madly in love.
I was nineteen. He was twenty-two.
Some said we were too young. Too immature. Too naive.
They told us to see the world. Travel. Experience life a little more.
To wait until we got a degree. A job. A home. Then maybe we'd be ready.
I never understood why those, of all things, were the qualifications for marriage. 

I wanted to see the world, travel, experience life, start a family, and grow old. 

Except, I didn't want to do it alone... I wanted to do it with him.
If I needed anyone during this life here on earth, it was him. 

To me, marriage was not sacrificing the ability to live life;
it was the blessing that allowed me to live it to its fullest.

 Because I've had him through all the ups and downs, successes and failures, and during all the phases in between, by life has been richly blessed. I don't know why I would want to experience all of this without him. 

Marrying young has been one of the best decisions, and greatest blessings of my life.

August 16, 2013 was the day we made a commitment to each other. An eternal commitment bound by God. We promised to love unconditionally, forgive fully, and prepare our lives for eternity. We were in this together, and that's exactly what we wanted. 

Today, there are marriages that end in distrust, dishonesty and divorce. We were fully aware of the odds, but chose to fight against them. Not every marriage works out, but we made an everlasting promise to each other that ours would be one that did. There is comfort knowing that no matter what comes our way, he will be there for me. He will comfort me. Protect me. And love me. 

Marriage has been a beautiful journey, filled with love, kindness and compassion. We promised to forgive each other, to grow together, and change together. There have been many times that I have sought for his forgiveness, and understanding, in which he has gracefully given me his love. 

We both grew up with amazing examples in our lives that gave us the hope that we could accomplish this journey. Our parents have done it, we can do it, and we are. My parents have taught me many things, but most of all they taught me how to love. Even after all the stinky diapers, terrible twos, and the dreaded teens, my parents are still in love. Life has not been easy, but they have accomplished it all together. My dad will still come home from work and spin my mother around, only to dip her while giving her a kiss. My mom still makes sure that dinner is ready when he gets home, and they both make sure that they have time for each other among all of their other responsibilities. My parents have always put each other first. Always. And when it comes to love, time is most important.

He and I chose to live this life together, and we are loving every minute of it. I will never regret the un-bought plane ticket to Africa, the other men I could have dated, the degree I have not yet completed, and certainly not the the choice I made to spend my life with him.

Instead, we get to experience this crazy little thing called life, together.
And that's what this blog is all about.

our lives--from the very beginning.

one knee and a diamond.

Long distant relationships are hard.

During the summer, he lived in Arizona and I was in Utah.

There were many nights where I found myself on our nightly skype sessions, crying because I missed him. However, this night was particularly hard. It was a Tuesday in May, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed to see him. Being the caring, compassionate man he was, he comforted me as best he could. After settling my nerves, I was able to fall asleep in anticipation for my flight out to his home in only three short weeks... I could at least make it until then. 

The next night, he said he had great news for me. He bought a plane ticket. But not just any plane ticket, it was a ticket for this coming Friday, which was only two days away! I was shocked. Two days? What on earth was he thinking? I know I was crying the night before, but it wasn't the end of the world. He didn't have to spend all the extra money for a flight only two days away, I could wait just three weeks...

Regardless, I was very grateful and more than excited to say the least. 

how it all began.

Let me begin with a disclaimer: I love what I consider to be a little bit of background. With that being said, this is my little bit of background. And it's long. Because there is something that tugs my heart strings every time I share it and all the butterflies that come rushing back.

so sit back, relax, pop some popcorn, and enjoy.

the first encounter. 

November 4, 2012

I first saw him at a friend's apartment.

Who is he?? How come I have never seen him before??
He was tall, with blue eyes, brown hair, and the cutest freckles that ran across his nose.
I don't know what it was about him, but I was immediately captivated.
He sat down on the edge of the couch and I couldn't help myself from wondering who he was, where he came from, and what I could do to start a conversation with him...

So I did what every girl would have.

I scooched down to his side of the couch and asked him everything I could imagine. Who are you? What's your name? Where are you from? Where are you living at? What do you want to do with your life? Do you have any pets? What are their names? How fast can you run the mile? What are your deepest darkest secrets? Worst fears?

Ya know, all the important stuff.

I promise I wasn't that crazy, but I'm sure that's what he felt like; I might as well have proposed to him then and there...which is probably why after only a few minutes of chatting, he was gone. 

I knew I wanted to see him again, but refused to be set up on a date. If it was going to happen, fate would play it's role. My friend, certain to not let me forget about him, showed me this little video: 

If I wasn't swoon by him then, after watching this video I was head over heels.
Don't ask me why.

Certain I would never see him again, I figured it wouldn't hurt make him my new golden standard. He became my Mr. Right and dream boy. Whenever I was asked who it was that I liked, it was answered with his name--except no one knew who he was. In fact, many began to think he was imaginary. 

the phone call.
December 4, 2012

It was nearing the end of the semester, and I was becoming frustrated with social life and studies. So frustrated, that I decided to turn off my phone so I could focus. At this point it had been off for three days. Best three days ever. 

The time came when I decided I should probably come back to the real world and turn it back on. My parents had probably tried calling their daughter, and I knew classmates were doing the same. 

Only seven minutes later I received a phone call. I was peeved. Seriously? It's only been seven minutes. I looked at my phone to see a foreign number.
It's probably sales--stupid salesmen.

It felt like it just kept ringing.

 I don't know what it was, but I decided to answer it.
And I would have regretted it, had I not.

It was him.

I hadn't expected a boy to call me, especially not him. What was I supposed to say to him? Why was he calling me? How did he get my number?  My mind was running rampant. I was completely unprepared for this. Feeling so flustered, I was certain I sounded like an idiot. I was such a mess--such a mess that I told him I saw his video! That's right. How stupid could one girl be! Why did I tell him that. I was lucky he even called me considering the conversation we had when we first met... now he thinks I'm a stalker too. 

Great.

Well little did I know that on the other side of the phone call was a just-as-flustered boy. How did she see the video? Who showed that to her? Great. Now she thinks I'm a weirdo.

As we chatted back and forth, trying not to sound completely stupid, he told me he had gotten my number from a friend so he could ask me on a date for this coming Friday.
Why? I have no clue. But of course I said yes! 
My dream was actually coming true. 

I hung up the phone and honestly, quite honestly, allowed my heart to start beating again;
then let out a huge scream and fell to the floor. 

Friday couldn't come soon enough. 

the date. 
December 7, 2012

So the day finally came, ya know just three days later. And here I was sitting in the sink with my roommates surrounding me, and I was throwing myself a pitty party. Seriously? Yes, yes I was. I was about to go on the best date of my life, with the man of my dreams, and I was upset. 

Why do I have to go?

Knowing me, and what I do, I tend to freak out. This was me freaking out. 

What if he's not what I thought he'd be? What if it's the worst date ever? 

I would much rather save my dream from being crushed, and my expectations from not being met, than I would to go on a date with a one-of-a-kind gentleman. 

So what did I do?

I did what every idiot would do. I didn't get ready.
Didn't put on makeup, and didn't do my hair. 

Mind you, without both of those things I look like a beast. 

We were going to a trampoline park. 

So I dressed in a t-shirt and running pants. Can't go wrong with that. We'll be jumping around and have having a fun time--not like we're eating at a five star restaurant, right? 

I finally heard a knock at the door. It was him. 

At about this time I regretted a number of things: not doing my hair, not putting on makeup, wearing a t-shirt and running pants, and of course not being excited. Because honestly, he was one hundred times more attractive than I remembered. 

Let me tell you ladies. I went on a date with a gentleman--and it was one hundred percent worth the chance of crushing all my dreams. He was kind, polite, interested, a great listener, and had an amazing smile. What I would have done to see that smile everyday. 

On our way to the trampoline park, I noticed he had the most adorable hand-drawn map for directions. Mind you, this was still the era of the smart phone and GPS. With that as our first topic of conversation, we started out with innocent teasing and laughter. Conversation grew into dreams of the future. We had so much in common--mainly he had done everything I had always wanted to, like Zion's National Park. We talked about Angel's Landing and The Narrows and how much I dreamed about going, along with a huge list of other adventures. Thirty minutes into the drive, I noticed we had missed our stop... We were so captivated by each other and the conversation that we got lost. We found our way, don't worry. But I remember then, and I still remember now, that he had shown me he was really listening to me, and he cared about what I had to say. 

And it made me feel special.  

Once at the park, we began jumping; and man, did we have a blast. Many more instances did he impress me with how attentive he was and much he heard everything I said. Even after an extremely awkward and pointless story where I coined the phrase ...and then I found five dollars.
 Despite all the embarrassing moments and crash landings that night, it was still absolutely perfect,
and definitely worth it.

Especially because of what came next.

And so it goes...

To spare you the nitty-gritty details, which I adore, I'll just add this:

From that night on, we saw each other everyday. Every. Day.

I would make excuses to see him on campus.

He would make excuses to come see me at eleven o'clock at night.
So despite the lack of makeup and ruly hair, everything just seemed to click.

Every free moment we had, we spent it with together. 

And nothing has changed.