Happy Anniversary (a little early)!

Almost 7 years ago (June 29, 2002), Nathan and I were married in a beautiful ceremony at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Conway, AR.
We met during my sophomore year in college at the Sig Ep house on campus. We were friends for a few months and started dating in January of 2000. Our relationship was pretty calm and loving with no dramatic fights or break-ups along the way. We were so happy to be together and it just felt right. Almost 2 years after we started dating, Nathan proposed to me in front of my whole sorority in what was a very sweet, surprise proposal. It was funny to see all of my friends, in the video my parents insisted he have someone make when he called to ask for their blessing (they lived in Atlanta, GA at the time), with tears streaming down their faces because of the amazing way he proposed. I knew they were so happy for me.
So, that following June, we were married. Neither of us were nervous as we felt so blessed by God to have found each other. Once again, it just felt right.

We ended up moving to Atlanta, GA six months after we got married, where I started my elementary teaching career and Nathan entered the corporate world with Home Depot. We bought our first house and quickly became pregnant with our first child, Madeline. Before she was born, we took a trip to Destin, FL for our 2nd anniversary.

My love for Nathan grew as I watched him become a father. He couldn't wait for Madeline to be born and I will never forget the look on his face when he finally got to meet her in September of 2004.

After she was born, we enjoyed adjusting to our life as new parents although it was definitely hard, at times. We missed our family back in Arkansas and Nathan was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with corporate life. He did not like the long hours working and commuting and wanted to find a career that had more meaning. So, in late November of 2005, we moved to Helena, AR to run a group home for teen girls. It was a challenging job but one that we felt was important. Unfortunately, the company we worked for made some decisions that we could not support and we felt our family life was being compromised. We had visited my parents in their new town in South Arkansas and decided to move there when Nathan found the ideal graduate program that would allow him to get his Masters and become a certified teacher. So, we settled into our 2nd home and in July 2007, we welcomed our 2nd child, William.Shortly after Will was born, Nathan started his 1st teaching job and proved that he had found his ideal career. I stayed at home for Will's first 6 months and then returned back to the classroom in January 2008. We have been enjoying being the parents of 2 while both being teachers and have learned a lot along the way.

So, for those who stuck it out, that is the short version of our last 7 years together. It has been an amazing ride full of joy, laughter, excitement, fear, frustration, and lots of love. I know that God truly blessed me when Nathan came into my life. I look forward to many wonderful years with him and all of the blessings that will come into the next years our lives together.

(Hey, before you know it, we will have a child who is old enough to take a picture of us without having to look up:)