7 Years of Marriage
Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. I realize this is super cliche to say, but in so many ways it feels like we were just married yesterday… and then in other ways, I can’t even begin to imagine my life without John. 2,555 days. 84 months. 365 weeks. 61,320 hours. We have been through a lot during that amount of time.
We’ve moved houses. Changed jobs. Both became fully self-employed. Welcomed two beautiful children here on earth. Had an early miscarriage. Lost two sons during the second trimester. 
Our marriage is far from perfect, but we really are perfect for each other. I realize maybe this sounds crazy and sometimes people don’t believe me when I say this… but we pretty much never fight. Sure, we disagree from time to time, but for us, we are over-communicators… in that, when there’s a potential issue or a disagreement or something that could cause a rift between us… instead of letting it fester, we just talk about it. We don’t let it sit or stew. We address it, figure out how to change whatever needs to be changed or compromise on whatever needs to be compromised on… and we move on.
After following Jesus, our marriage is our number one priority. We do what we can to prioritize time alone, without the kids, without distractions. We don’t always succeed or get this right, but we do our best. 
At the beginning of this year, we went ahead and “planned” date nights for the entire year. Nothing crazy, but put, in writing, ideas for date nights or day dates for each month throughout 2019. We want to be intentional about dating each other. And if we can’t get out of the house for a date night, we try to have at least one “at-home” date night a week or a couple a month. Those are some of our most favorite ways to connect!
2018 was a really difficult year for the both of us, and we could have let it ruin us. We could have let it drive us apart… but we didn’t, and for that, I am so grateful. We both grieved the loss of Elijah and Malachi very differently, but we were really sensitive and careful in dealing with our own individual grief, and grieving together as a couple. Heck, we are still working through that. But in a lot of ways, the loss of our boys brought us closer together. We have been relying on the Lord so much through this time and we’ve come together in prayer and encouraged each other to share… even when it might not make sense to the other person or we don’t even fully understand it.
I am so thankful that God saw fit to bring John into my life. John loved me for me, a broke and broken individual… and yet, he showed me what true love and grace and commitment look like. He has loved me in good and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer.
There’s no one else I’d rather go through this life with.
I love you, J. Happy anniversary.
Wedding photos by the amazing Katelyn James Photography