One Year Reflections

My husband, Drew, and I celebrated our first anniversary last month. Yeah! I got to thinking about how we often heard that the first year of marriage was the toughest. I wonder about that.
 

Celebrating our first anniversary. Photobomb courtesy of Kramer.

For me, the first year was just a joy so deep, I never could have imagined or even hoped for anything like it. I can't even count the number of times we laughed so hard at something silly that I had tears in my eyes. I kept thinking, how blessed am I to be married to THE one person I most want to be with? Do other people have this much fun making dinner/doing yard work/walking the dog/traveling the world with their spouse?

That's not to say we didn't have our wrinkles and hiccups, but they weren't anything big. Many times they involved one or both of us not communicating well. Like the time I thought taking a quick(ish) trip to the mall to look at some sales on a Friday night after dinner sounded good when all Drew wanted to do was go home and relax after a hard week of work.

Some of the things I've learned during this first year, and I will probably continue to learn these as the years go by:

• It's not about me.
• There are some fights that are just not worth it.
• I am incredibly selfish. Horribly so. My own selfishness embarrasses and humbles me.
• Spending time together is more important than folding laundry.
• Forgiveness is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
• My tone and word choice is always better when I wait 15 seconds before responding to something that has made me angry.
• It's absolutely worth spending extra money on a flight across the Atlantic to get your 6'5" husband extra leg room.
• I don't know what I did to deserve Drew, but I'm not letting go of him for anything.

An old college friend who had a tough first year of marriage once said he thought the reason people thought the first year was so difficult was that you were starting something new and beautiful while in the midst of everything old and that this something new was so important that balancing the two was the challenge. And it was and continues to be a challenge, but it's worth it. It's so worth it.

So, if at some point in the future I look back and agree with people that the first year of marriage is the most difficult, the years to come are going to be absolutely amazing!

This picture just makes me smile. These two make everyday so very, very wonderful.

May Fun

Here's what happened in May at our house.

Roses brightened up our kitchen table.

Kramer and Matt's dog, Itty, investigated the backyard together.

Thai Red Beef Curry

We took a weekend trip to Kansas City.

Kramer became extremely possessive of her ball and took it with her when she napped.

We roofed our house one weekend. It was a long weekend...

We celebrated our first anniversary and our cake tasted pretty good for being a year old!

Year One

One year ago today I married my best friend. This past year has been an absolute joy and so much more fun than I ever thought possible. I can't help but think of Brad Paisley's "I Thought I Loved You Then" when I see this picture. Love you like crazy, Drew!

Roofing 101

Back in February we had a big old Nebraska snow. It was heavy and plentiful. The kind of snow that invites you to curl up on the couch in front of a window and snuggle under a blanket.

February Snow.

Unfortunately for us, this snow caused a branch to fall onto our roof and wreak some havoc. Thankfully it wasn't anything serious, but it damaged some shingles, dented the gutter, cracked some facia, and did some other not nice things that I can't remember. Fast forward a few months and you find us reroofing the house. Did you like how I phrased that - like it's no big thing? Ug. What a weekend!
 

The guys working hard at pulling up the old shingles.

 Drew had a big crew of guys to come help us out, starting with his dad and two of his brothers. Toss in a few friends, one of whom happens to be part of a roofing company family, and we had a fantastic group of guys helping. Because there were so many of them, I got to be in charge of food for the day. They started Saturday morning at 8:30 and worked crazy hard to get the old shingles off the roof. I should also point out that the temperatures reached the upper 80's Saturday. When Drew scheduled this project, we thought May 19 sounded like a beautiful time of year to roof a house. Not so much. However, by the time 6:00 pm rolled around, they had started laying the new shingels and worked to get the water and ice paper as well as the felt paper covering the entire roof. Good thing they did too because it rained 0.75 inches Saturday night.

Drew's Dad, brother Reid, and Drew working up a sweat.

We got up Sunday morning and called my dad to see if he'd be able to help us out. Being the rock star that he is, he gamely agreed, dispite having officiated the state high school track meet all day both Friday and Saturday. Due to smaller numbers on Sunday, I was promoted from food to actually roofing duties. We got started around 10:30 and worked hard all day so that we could finish the entire thing at 8:00 pm.

Shingles and Ridge Caps.

Holy stinking cow! Not to get all whiny, but my feet hurt, my calves hurt, my quads hurt, my hamstrings hurt, my back hurt, and my hands hurt. Talk about a workout! My legs were literally shaking when I climbed down the ladder. My poor husband was limping and gimping around. Turns out asphalt bits had gotten in his shoes and he was getting an exfoliation through his socks with every step he took. He was up there for two solid days and I think he's awesome.

The "Before" Picture.

While I don't forsee a future in roofing for him or me, I do have a sense of pride and accomplishment when I look at the house. The roof turned out amazing and I helped! A huge thanks to Larry (Drew's dad), Reid (Drew's brother), Kyle (Drew's brother), John, Josh, Jeremy, Jake, Frank (my dad), and Luke for all their hard work.

The "After" Picture.

36

My parents celebrated 36 years of wedded bliss this week. How awesome is that?

I'm so thankful to have their love for each other as an example for my own marriage. They still rib each other and have fun together. And, as my mom says, they're still in their honeymoon phase.

Way back when their daughter was just a spunky gal.

Enjoying festive desserts in Freiburg, Germany.

At Hohenschwangau outside Munich, Germany.

At my brother's wedding.

Mom and Dad on Mother's Day. Let me just say it: I have awesome parents.

My parents with my maternal grandparents at my brother's wedding. My folks have been married 36 years and Oma and Opa have been married 60 years. That's over 96 years of love in this picture. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

Mi Madre

In honor of Mother's Day, I thought I'd share some great shots of my favorite mom in the whole wide world. In case you think that sounds silly, she does refer to me as her favorite daughter and my brother is her favorite son...

I just love this picture. Mom is not a huge fan, but I think it's great.

Mom and me in front of a post-it note covered car in Lucerne, Switzerland.



Hanging at the Hohenschwangau castle outside Munich, Germany.



Just outside the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany.



Touring around Freiburg, Germany.

At the train station in Zurich, Switzerland.



 Mom cutting loose with a crazy face. Love it.



Mom and my friend, Gillian, helping me get all prettied up before my wedding.



Dancing at my wedding reception. The song: Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. How awesome is this woman?!

At my brother's wedding last month. Love you, Mom!

April Fun

Here are some highlights from April.

Kramer got a new toy. She crushed the squeaker and I accidentally beheaded the thing while we were playing. It lasted approximately 36 hours.

Cajun Chicken Salad.

The snowball bush started to look beautiful.



And then they REALLY looked amazing.

And then they looked not so amazing.



Lilacs looked and smelled amazing both in the backyard and in the house.

Meat Loaf in the Slow Cooker. Not the best, but now I can adapt other recipes for the slow cooker and save oven time and not heat up the house in the summer.

 

The roses started to bloom!

My little brother got hitched.

We primed the basement. And grafiftied.