To the man I love more each year!

You always hear people saying I love you more than the day I married you or similar phrases expressing such sentiments. I feel that this is true for us as well and I wanted to take a moment to look back on the events that have led to this undeniable love. I'm not one to be very eloquent when writing but I did enjoy reflecting on our past together and recognizing the events and situations that led to growing together as husband and wife. 

In our early years, the ones where we were teenagers and thought we had life figured out, I knew you were someone special I knew that you had this unnatural ability to do good and serve others. I could never imagine you treating someone with disrespect, and you set your standards high and stuck to them. You worked hard and took pride in all your endeavors. Traits that are not typical of most high school students. This is where my love for you began.  

We had a long friendship before deciding to actually Date each other. You took this dating very seriously and even prayed and discussed it with your parents before asking me to be your girlfriend. (oh yeah, and there was the pro/con list we made, haha I'm laughing about that right now!) You told me that after you prayed if I should be your girlfriend, you felt the overwhelming answer that "you would be lucky to date Rebecca! " Yes I swoon a bit when you tell me this story but I also like that it demonstrates that you are serious about your decisions and you work hard to know what you want. I love you for this and that you officially asked me to be your girlfriend.

Our dating didn't even last a full year, we were both confused by that but felt that it would be right to not be dating while you spent the next couple months preparing and leaving for a mission. I was the whiner but you stood by our decision,. In retrospect it's easy to see why this was an important step in our relationship. Thanks for going to play tennis with my an hour or so after we broke up. You remained my best friend and good thing too, you needed all those amazing packages I sent you on your mission. I love you for being so in tune with the spirit and having the Lord guide us in our teenage relationship, no matter how silly it may seem.


As you left for your mission we seemed to have a great letter writing relationship going on. The package you sent me on my 21st birthday changed my life forever, at the very bottom of the letter you wrote "Have you ever thought of serving a mission..." That phrase stuck with me for days as I mulled over every excuse why I wasn't going to serve a mission until I realized...I could serve a mission, every thought I had was just an excuse, I should probably pray and find out if a serving a mission was right for me. Lo and Behold,..I got the answer that I needed to serve a mission. So six months before you came home...off I went. Later you told me that it was on that P-day when you read my e-mail telling you that I had chosen to serve a mission, you knew you wanted to marry me. I love you for your boldness that I have seen time and time again but was so apparent in your letters of encouragement, I know my life and our family's life has been drastically improved by my decision to serve in Armenia.

Coming home from Armenia, neither of us knew what to expect. We kept a great friendship during our time on opposite sides of the world but it had been 3 years since we had seen each other and both of us had gone through a lot of growth and change. I couldn't believe how natural it was for our lives to come together. We had both grown but it was in the same direction and we were ready to continue growing together. It wasn't long before I was confident that I wanted to marry you. I love you for keeping our friendship strong and "waiting" for me. 

Seeing each other for the first time in 3 years, one of the top 4 most exciting moments in my life!

Engagement 

We got to jump into the world of BYU together. Living separately but still bringing our lives together with Family meals (and grocery shopping), date nights, cleaning, and tons of wedding planning. I loved getting to know you as my future spouse and knowing that we didn't have to be apart anymore.  

Year 1 

Most people say the first year of marriage is the hardest. I don't think that's true. There were adjustments but knowing you for so long before our marriage and spending most of our free time doing productive things like cleaning, waxing cars, and homework helped me to know how you lived worked and expressed yourself.  My love grew for you as I tried understanding and meeting your needs and supporting you in your endeavors. I loved learning about your extreme patience and your persistence when it comes to taking care of me and our little family. We lived frugally, worked hard, studied diligently, and loved one another. our first year of marriage was amazing because I got to know my long-time friend on a much more intimate level. This year I learned to Love someone more than myself.

California Beach

Disneyland

1 year anniversary in San Francisco

Year 2

This year brought on new challenges,  a lot of moving, two miscarriages, and insane internship schedules. Through these trials I learned better than before that I had a true partner at my side, someone that would grieve with me when I needed it but also support me and lift me up in those occasions that it was necessary. You have always been patient and able to calmly communicate with me to find how you can better help me. I love you for your ability to be understand me and take the time to really meet and know what my needs are. We survived and I was able to graduate while being pregnant with our firstborn Son.  

Rafting the Rogue River

Year 3

This year I got the beautiful gift of seeing you become a Daddy for the first time. I always knew you would be an excellent parent, your patience, kindness, and energy all clued me in to that. But I never could have imagined the lengths you would go to to express your love to our family. It is not easy transitioning to parenthood, everyone tells you this but you can never really prepare for how challenging it is, and I never expected it to be as hard as it was. I know you didn't either but you were constantly there by my side trying to figure it out, you would be first to get up with the baby as I wondered how we would make it through another day. Because of your example to me, I'm a better parent to our children. I know I've said this before, but I LOVE that I get to have you as my parenting partner. Our kids have a chance at turning out okay.    

 

Year 4

This year, we paid off debt, you graduated College, got a grown up job, and we went on many adventures as family of three, experiencing the wonders of childhood through our baby boy.  I was able to see you work hard remodeling our house. I was able to really see your thirst for knowledge and your excitement to figure out the unknown. It's weird that I noticed this more after you graduated, I love that you desire to gain as much knowledge as possible, and if there is something you want to know or learn, you will figure it out.

4 year anniversary, Lincoln City

Year 5

This year, we filled our time with more family outings, getting healthy, and welcoming our second baby boy into our family. I think, this year we started to feel like adults...like the moment we realized we could take a trip to the East Coast if we wanted. We were also reminded of the challenges of having a newborn. Once again I saw you bend over backwards to make me feel more comfortable as a mom. You always treat us as the priority and work hard to provide an amazing life for us.I love your dedication to our family and I never doubt that you are and always will be an excellent provider. 

 

Year 6

This year I saw you take on more and more responsibilities, we get a grown up car (and paid it completely off), you spent countless hours helping your parents, and many more serving others in your church responsibilities. Also, making sure the property is taken care of. It's hard to see during the busy days but if you step back and look at what you have accomplished, it is quite astounding. You rarely take a moment for yourself even if you completely deserve it. You are always thinking of others before yourself. The boys and I are constantly benefiting from your selflessness and service. You also fully support me in any endeavor I choose. I feel that I've branched out and experimented with many new hobbies this year and you not only fully support me, you get excited for me and do whatever you can to help and aid in my ambitions. 

Now you deserve a break..so let's go on a romantic getaway and start our lucky seventh year right!

We have experienced the love growing each year and with the birth of each child, it's amazing to think that we have eternity together and our love will continue to grow richer and stronger. 

Cabin Fever

We've had a whole lot of sickness going on around here. It started with Miles, then went to Charlie, then me and finally Max. But for some reason, the boys are pretty much better and the sickness has been lingering with Max and Me. It's been kind of miserable, Parents don't have time to be sick, Anyway, On Friday the boys were acting a little wild. After I had already had to dish out multiple timeouts to Charlie I decided that we needed a change in environment. As not to spread any germs, we ruled out the children's museum and opted for our favorite forest. 

This kid just got really big all of a sudden.

I was also super excited that Miles can get out and go down the trails a little better all on his own. 

He's really a toddler now. I truly love this age. It is fun to see him explore everything as if it's brand new to him.

I think he got mad because I was too far away from him. A wild toddler on the loose!

This kid is thirsting for knowledge too. He is constantly observing the world around him. He was just noticing that the plant on his right matched one that is in our yard.

We took a new loop through the forest that we have never done before. I was so glad because we found this excellent jungle gym root!

Before leaving we stopped on a bench for snack time just as the drizzling rain started. We finished our snacks, then went home for naps. And yes, I got both boys to nap at the same time. A rare treat!

I love my little explorers.

Milestones

And here is a third and last installment of my "Miles turning 1 posts" 

So the stats are as follows:

Weight 19.5 pounds (23rd Percentile)

Height 28.5 Inches (9.5 percentile) 

He is little and looks like a little bald baby but he is acting more like a toddler every day. He really caught onto walking 3 days after his first birthday. And now walks quite a bit. He likes that he can hold toys while moving. 

Remember this little guy? Wasn't that just yesterday?

It seems that Miles has been part of our family for much longer than 1 year. Charlie doesn't seem to remember his "only child" life.

One Month

Miles is a jokester. He likes to make us laugh, especially Charlie. He usually does this by bonking or shaking his head or making funny noises. 

2 Months

He is trying hard to communicate. His words include mama, dada, ball, and balloon. And he has a whole bunch of other words that he will say if prompted including all done, fishy, Jesus, Hi, and Bye, And then there are all the other sounds he makes where we are sure he's trying to say something.  

3 Months

He loves his mommy and is much more clingy than his big brother was. I think I'm going to blame this on the nursing. We're working on weaning but I think that kid would nurse for every meal for years to come. I guess that's what we get when we worked so hard and tirelessly to get him to be able to nurse. I'm just hoping he's done in the next couple of weeks.

4 Months

He smothers me in kisses, usually on the lips.He then gets aggressive and I have to be careful we don't chip teeth. He also thinks it's hilarious to head butt me. Which also reminds me that he likes to sit under the piano and hit it with his head and laugh at the echo it makes. 

5 Months

Miles gets excited about eating and says "MMMM" when it's a food he likes. He has recently really been enjoying throwing food too. 

6 Months

Miles loves his big brother and likes to be in the same space as him. I often see Miles being a bit of a bully by hitting Charlie with books or there was the time Miles continuously ripped of Charlie's band aid from his knee. Oh, and the daily grabbing of Charlie's glasses or pulling his hair. I guess I'm glad they have each other to practice being nice. 

7 Months

Miles still wakes up about once a night, but then sleeps until 9ish. If he sleeps through the night, he wakes up at 7. I'm not sure which one is better. 

8 Months

His favorite foods include blueberries, bread, raisins, crackers. There are a lot of other foods he likes too but as with most children, he only likes them on certain days. Last time I went grocery shopping I walked down the baby food aisle and realized I didn't need to get anything for him because he eats like a big kid now.

9 Months

I think that's all I can think about so you can continue to enjoy these photos that you all have already seen if you look at my blog.

10 Months

11 Months

1 Year

Thank you Miles for being part of our family and tolerating us in our imperfect parenting. You teach us more than you could imagine.