"Husband, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her," Ephesians 5:25
"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord... Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit everything to their husbands." Ephesians 5:22,24
- Love & Respect: This year has been a huge learning process for Tanner and I. We are getting used to being husband & wife, roommates, and financial partners. Going into marriage, we knew what the Lord said about our individual marriage roles but actually living them out has been much different then what we ever could have pictured but so beautiful at the same time. We learn more about each other each day and how the Lord designed us together as a couple. I find it so beautiful that the Lord created us to be partners. As a wife, I have been able to grow so much from being under Tan's authority as a husband. He makes me feel safe and supported and I couldn't ask for much more.
- Cooking dinner is a very hard task: Going into marriage, I was ready to be Mrs. Betty Crocker and was very quickly faced with the fact that planning, organizing, grocery shopping, and preparing a meal is not easy. I have such a hard time finding things to cook that aren't crazy hard or expensive or that take half a day to prepare. I would say on a good week, I cook a home cooked meal maybe 3 times a week. (That sounds so bad when I actually write it out! Poor Tan.) Ah! Tanner has been very patient with me though and helps with almost every meal. This year, my goal is to keep improving that number and maybe bump it up to 4x/week. :)
- Naps: Tan is the best napper I know. He loves taking a nap after work or on the weekends. It's the cutest thing, I think. They aren't usually very long and he seriously falls asleep in less than 5 minutes. But they always remind me of how hard of a worker he is and how grateful I am to have him as my husband.
- Love languages: Tan and I learned each other's love languages pretty early on in our relationship, because we both have the same ones!! haha it kept it pretty simple. We have felt like these have helped our relationship so much this past year because sometimes it is the simple things that just remind you how much this person means to you, like holding hands while walking into the store or going places together just to spend time with one another. Also, I had someone tell me my love languages may change while life goes on and I'm eager to see if that comes into play for us but I want to remember how much they've impacted us this far.
- The first year doesn't have to be the hardest: When you're engaged, you get a lot of marriage advice and we kept hearing a common piece over and over. "The first year is the hardest." This, for one, is kind of intimidating advice but it also prepared us for some hard times. And this year has been pretty crazy with lots of job changes, school, and moving but I don't think I would define it as hard. We love that being married allows us to spend so much time together, learning about the Lord, His plan for our lives, and each other. Granted, we are still getting to know how each other operate and we are both sinful people but we're thankful the Lord has blessed us with a year full of joy, love and growth.
June 6, 2015 will always be my favorite day but everyday after that has been a true gift. I'm often reminded of just how gracious the Lord is to bless Tanner and I with the covenant of marriage. Also, we are so thankful for the love and support our family and friends give us daily that help our marriage flourish.
All photos taken by: The Shalom Imaginative
To check out our full wedding blogged by our photographers: http://theshalomimaginative.com/blog/los-angeles-wedding-photographer-wisconsin-woods-summer-camp-wedding-camp-rotamer-wi/#more-8181
