Love in our own backyard // 5.5 years of marriage

Our adventure started a little over 6 years ago. 

From almost the moment I met you, I knew that you were part of God's plan for my life. I met you at a time when I had settled into being "single". I had settled into progressing through the years knowing that maybe marriage wasn't in the plan for me. You came along and completely shook me and my "settled" life to pieces. 

Our adventure has taken us to all around the Seattle area to the Mojave desert of California living in the middle of nowhere to Northern New Jersey an hour away from New York City. We have experienced heartache, unimaginable stress, cross country drives and some of the best belly laughs I have ever had in my life. 

As we round out this last year of your military service, I am so excited to see where our next adventure takes us. But for now, I am so glad we have captured this time in our lives. In our own backyard...a commemoration of the time we have shared together as husband and wife, best friends and adventure buddies.

I love being "unsettled" with you. 

Thank you to Jennifer from Jennifer Larson Photography for these beautiful images that captured "us" so beautifully right in our own backyard. Literally. 

A birthday letter to Paul

6 years, 4 months and 26 days you came into my life. That amount of time seems so incredibly small when you look at the entirety of our lives, but I honestly can not really remember life without you. As you celebrate your 41st year today, I am overjoyed and giddy with the fact that we have way more years ahead of us together than we will have had in our past without each other. Marriage is a complicated union between two imperfect people, but what I have discovered over these past 6 years, 4 months and 26 days is that no matter how hard it may be, there is no one more imperfectly perfect for me. 

To celebrate today, here are 41 reasons why I love you:

1 // You fill my air tank on the daily

2 // Your ability to fix literally anything that breaks

3 // Your unwavering support of all my crazy dreams

4 // You sing and whistle show tunes

5 // You are taller than me 

6 // You are older than me ;-) 

7 // The way you smell 

8 // Your love of going to the movies together

9 // The fact that you are a waaaayyy better cook than me, but you refuse to admit it. 

10 // The way you love your kids 

11 // The way you interact with Guinness and Toby 

12 // The fact that you make me coffee every morning and sometimes leave me little notes if you have to leave before I get up. 

13 // You love podcasts as much as I do

14 // Your spontaneity 

15 // Your sense of adventure 

16 // Our inside jokes that make us belly laugh

17 // Your love of nerd games and how long it takes you to make every single move 

18 // The fact that we always want to watch the same shows on Netflix

19 // You put up with my constant requests for fountain sodas

20 // Your OBSESSION with making sure all of our plants grow 

21 // The fact that you take care of my car and make sure I'm safe

22 // Your dedication to the Army and serving your country well

23 // ICE CREAM

24 // The fact that you make the best popcorn ever

25 // Your amazing and brilliant ideas

26 // The fact that you will not give up until we have a hot tub one day

27 // How you are patient with me when I'm being hard on myself

28 // You always want me to have the best of everything

29 // You always tell me I'm pretty even when I am a serious hot mess

30 // Your endless quest to help me stop crunching chips so loudly

31 // You are an amazing Instagram husband

32 // Your love of Panera Bread green tea

33 // Your Amazon Prime ordering skillz

34 // Your interest in traveling and seeing new places and experiencing new things

35 // You can pack up anything (car, suitcase, camera bag) perfectly

36 // When you wag your tail when we hug

37 // The fact that you tell me I'm adorable all the time

38 // You are a total coffee snob

39 // You are a whiz with the sewing machine

40 // Your heart for Jesus and your desire to lead our family according to God's purpose

41 // The fact that through your actions and words, I continually feel loved and cherished by you. 

I am so honored to be your wife and partner through all of life's ups and downs. Happy Birthday honey! I love you!