8 Years!

 8 years ago Larry and I drove to the Oakland temple to get married. Looking back I hated almost everything about my wedding there was a lot of tension between my parents and I, and it sadly will always be associated with that time. But here we are 8 years later still married and still working towards goals we set so many years ago. We have earned 3 college degrees between the 2 of us and have had 3 kids. We have had a lot of great times and a lot of not so great times. Single life was so easy compared to married life, and married life without kids was SO much easier then life with kids but it is my life and I love the good of it all and I hate the challenges and trials that have come are way because we've had a doozy of them, BUT also certain things have made me a stronger person and I am sure Larry could say the same. If I could give my 20 year old self some advice it would be to remember that everyone changes it is inevitable the key is to not change so much that you don't recognize who you are or who your spouse is. Also your love with change. I am not that super excited 20 year old dying to get married anyone...in fact I am a very tired 28 year old who would much rather take a nap then go on a date at times but I am also 100% comfortable with who I am when I am with my husband. He loves me no matter what I do or say or look like. He has seen me have 3 children which can not be so pretty sometimes, he has seen me hit rock bottom as a mom and wife, he has seen me cry a lot or be scared or stressed and he takes it all in stride and in a loving way. It is sometimes hard to explain that level of commitment to people as well as the easy that comes with sitting in a room together and not feeling the need to talk..does that make sense? Before we got married he probably hadn't seen me in many other circumstances except for being happy and wearing makeup but that is the great thing about being married it all evolves and you accept each other for who you are because you made a commitment and you know that new love isn't the same as mature love. We still have a lot of things ahead of us but getting out of the college phase was a big check off our list. In some ways I hope our life looks a lot different in 8 years and in some ways I hope it stays the same! 

Happy 8th anniversary Larry!