5 year anniversary

 

5 years ago today I was a bride!  This day might have only been 5 years ago, but it feels like forever ago.  Mostly because we have done SO much in the last 5 years.  We've moved a bunch of times, lived overseas for almost 3 years and for those 3 years Brad was gone for a lot of it, we've taken more amazing vacations than most people take in a lifetime, and we've managed to finally get on the same page about starting a family now that I'm actually pregnant! 

 

"Dedication, love, and joy can grow only when you nourish them together.
Stand fast in that hope and confidence, having faith in your shared destiny
just as strongly as you have faith in yourselves and in one another today.
Only with this spirit can you forge a union that will strengthen and endure all
the days of your lives." -from our ceremony

 

These 5 years have not breezed by easy-peasy.  There have been numerous challenges to overcome and difficult patches to work through. Marriage takes work and 2 people that want to work at it.  If someone told me 5 years ago today all the things that Brad and I have gone through together I wouldn't have believed them!  Life and marriage isn't smooth sailing.  It's about finding that person that can weather the storm with you and even pluck you out of the sea when you're sinking. 

So here we are, right at the end of our wedding ceremony after we said our vows and right before our first kiss as husband and wife.   

"May this day shine eternally in your lives.
May it add brilliance to every achievement and cast a divine light over any misfortune.
May you care for each other in all sadness.
May you give cheer to each other.
May you give vitality to each other in all undertakings.
May all that is virtuous, beautiful and honest, remain with you always." - the blessing at the end of our ceremony.

Happy 5 year anniversary to my wonderful, adoring husband.  This is quite an adventure we're on!