December 31, 2008

Today is Mike & I's FOUR year anniversary, so I thought it would be fun to write a post just about our life together.

We met when I was 16 and Mike was 17. His cousin, Sarah, was in my ward. Mike had come up (he lived two hours away) to spend time with his cousins over Christmas break. He asked Sarah if she had any friends his age (she's three years younger than Mike) and I just so happened to be the one. We started texting and I was not impressed because he is a very boring texter (still is... sorry). He was always sending back one word texts, so I would just stop texting. We texted back and forth for a couple days before we met. For New Year's, we had decided that I would come over to meet him. Honestly, I wasn't super excited because he was so boring over texts. I went over there with a hoodie and jeans on and no makeup (I really had no faith). I walked up to the house and Mike was standing outside with two of his boy cousins. I had to ask Sarah which one he was because I'd never seen him before. He just so happened to be the one on crutches (this comes into play later), so that made it easy to spot him. 

We all goofed off all night (throwing snow on each other, having "spoon wars", etc...) and I actually had a blast. Later in the night, Mike and I were sitting on the couch together and I had my legs draped across his lap. Mike's cousin, Sam, came and grabbed one of my feet and started tickling it. I started yanking on my foot trying to get away (I can NOT handle my feet being tickled). Well, as I was yanking my leg back... Sam let go. My knee flew back and slammed Mike right in the nose. It instantly started pouring blood. He had to get up and hobble into the bathroom... on crutches... with blood pouring down his face. This was only the 2nd bloody nose he'd had in his entire life. I felt SO bad, but it ended up working in both of our favors. 

For the rest of the night we just sat together. When it was time for me to go home, Mike walked me outside. I went to give him a hug and... yep. We ended up kissing too. I had to do something to make up for breaking his nose.

I went home that night and wrote in my journal that something felt different about him. It might have been my teenage hormones... OR I just knew that he was gonna change my life.

We didn't "officially" start dating until the middle of January. We were long distance for a lot of our relationship and that was rough. It did make us appreciate our time together so much more. We never took one second for granted. We were young, stupid teenagers so we had our fair share of problems. My family was very actively LDS and Mike's was not. I had (have) trust issues. Those are just some of the issues I'm willing to share with you. We both have had a rough go at life and it definitely showed in our early relationship (it does still present itself occasionally these days).

This picture was taken a few months after we met. We were still babies.

We dated through half of your junior year and all of our senior year. Mike was able to be at my graduation because he refused to walk in his. He'll tell you that the only reason he even graduated was because I pushed him to.

I ended up going to college for one year down by Mike, just so I could be by him. I had never planned on going to college. I only changed my mind to be closer to Mike. That one year of college, challenged me in more ways than I could have imagined. It also helped us learn things that still help us in our relationship today.

After college, I moved home and got a job. Mike & I needed this year to work on ourselves before we worked on our relationship. We didn't realize that's what we were doing, but it ended up being so beneficial to us. 

Finally, after lots and lots of learning... we decided it was time to be close to each other again. I moved back down to be with him in June 2012. It didn't last long... The end of July, Mike ended up getting laid off from his job. I took this as a sign. Mike's family all lives in a small town and I had been struggling. I need malls and gyms... and stoplights (haha). I told Mike that we should try moving up by my family and see if we could find something up there. We literally moved up there the next week. We both lived with my mom until we got things figured out.

He got a job the beginning of September and we got engaged about five days after that. We finally just decided to take that leap (with a little pressure from my mom). We set the date for October 27, 2012 (also Mike's birthday). A lot of people thought I was pregnant because of how fast we got married. (joke's on them... four years later still with no kids). When you know it's time--you just know.

Our first of marriage was actually a breeze. Everyone always says that the first year is so hard, but the second year was our hard year.

Mike & I have been tested in almost every way imaginable. One thing that I always point out about us... We started dating when we were 16. You are SO impressionable at 16. We have pretty much shaped each other into who we are today and I love that. We know each other so fully that sometimes it blows my mind. He truly is my other (better) half.

I don't want you to think that our marriage is all rainbows and sunshine... We've had so many trials that sometimes I felt like I was drowning. But knowing that I had Mike at home waiting for me, always helped me get through everything. If I hadn't had Mike with me when my anxiety got really bad... I would not have survived. It's that simple. He has always been my rock.
Because we've been through so much--we've pretty much hashed out every big issue there could be. We do bicker like an old married couple though. The biggest things we fight about are... when he gets into a parking lot, it's like he forgets how to drive. It drives me insane. He knows it. He thinks it's funny. At this point, he might do it on purpose.
Anyway... My point was that no relationship is perfect, but Mike is pretty darn close. I can't tell you how many people tell me that they want to clone Mike. He is the most hard-working guy with the biggest heart. He is always willing to help anyone. He hardly ever complains about anything. He makes me feel like a queen. And let's just consider the fact that he's married to me. I am certainly no walk in the park. He's just incredible. 

Back to our story... 2015 had a really rough start for us. I won't go into details, but it was definitely in the top three for the hardest things our relationship has been put through. BUT! Hard times really do make us stronger, and we made changes to our relationship that benefited both of us so much.
On top of our relationship struggles, we were really struggling with the ward that we were currently in. It got to the point that we started going to my mom's ward (she lived really close). We tried to get our records switched over and it caused this huge annoying drama and eventually... our stake president got involved. That ended up being the best thing that could have ever happened. Mike & I had been working towards the temple since we got married. We were struggling, but our stake president knew that we just needed someone to believe in us. He came to our ward one day... just to talk to us. He pulled us into the bishops office and told us that he wanted us to get sealed. As soon as possible. He told us that he knew our hearts were in the right place and that's what mattered. I was literally dumbstruck. Once it all settled in... I was on Cloud Nine. 
Mike got ordained an Elder about two weeks later.

 We went on a trip to California with my sisters...

Then we came home and got sealed about three weeks later (July 18, 2015).

I was so extremely nervous to go through the temple. Everyone wants to give you "advice" and their "advice" is always... "don't be surprised when it's kind of weird". It's NOT weird. Having everyone tell us that was what was freaking us out. We got there and I've never felt more at peace. I knew we were doing the right thing. I knew our Heavenly Father was so proud of us. I've never felt so loved. It was an amazing experience.
Getting sealed the next day was way less stressful. I was definitely ready to be sealed to Mike for eternity. I'd been waiting for this day for almost seven years. 
2015 ended up being, probably, the best year of my life.

2016 has definitely been full of ups and downs. Mike got a new job. I got promoted at my job. We got to be with Mike's brother, Seth, as him and his family got sealed together. I'm choosing to focus on the good because life will always have hard times, but that doesn't mean we should choose to focus on them.
I'm beyond happy in my life with Mike. I couldn't ask for someone better to be by my side. I know it sounds SO cheesy and cliche buuut... Mike is my soulmate. I know that he's been by my side from the beginning. He challenges me like no one else does. He loves me so unconditionally. He helps me see the bright side of everything. He makes me feel a love that I've never even come close to experiencing. He's done an incredible job of healing my soul and my heart.
Before I met Mike... I'll admit that I wasn't invested in the church at all. I've always been kind of cold-hearted (or at least I pretend to be). I don't let anyone in. Even the church. I didn't want to feel anything. It was easier that way. No one could hurt me that way. (Unfortunately I still do this with people but I'm continuously working on it). Then I met Mike... All of a sudden, the appeal to be with someone for eternity became very real to me. I couldn't imagine being permanently separated from him. The thought made my chest hurt and I couldn't breathe. I would not be where I am at without him. He made me believe in something that I was sure didn't exist (not talking about God--I've always known he was there). 
Enough with the mushy... Today is Mike's 25th birthday. Go wish him a Happy Birthday. He deserves to feel so loved. 
And just in case you were wondering... No we're not ready for kids. We're getting closer, but don't expect it for at LEAST another year. I still have a lot of emotional healing to do before I bring a child into my world. Also, the more people that tell me I need to have a baby... the less likely it is to happen. I certainly don't like being told how to live my life and I usually choose to rebel against it (I don't care if this is childish). So... just leave it alone. It'll happen when the time is right.
Love you all. I hope you enjoyed our story (hope I remembered everything). It's definitely not typical, but neither are we. XOXO