:: 10 years ::

ten years... 

TEN!!!!!!

How does a decade fly by that fast? 

1 Corinthians 13:7 says... 

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things"

Over the past ten years we can honestly say that God has shown us just how true His words really are.

True love....true commitment....bears all things. 

It bears the greatest of life's griefs and disappointments. 

Most of you know Chad's cousin and groomsman, Drew, was killed in a car accident in November 2017 , nine months before our wedding. Flash forward to July 2018 , one month before our wedding, and my dad passes from a sudden heart attack.

We felt cursed. Why was God doing this to us? Why was He those around us that we loved so much and NEEDED in our life? It just outright wasn't fair. There were so many times we questioned God and grew angry. As much as we pushed through it to make our wedding as "normal" as possible, the wave of grief didn't really set in until our first year of marriage.

We were primary caretakers of my papa and we had to just keep pushin' on for HIM. 3am in the morning his Lifeline would alert us that he had fallen from getting up to go to the bathroom and Chad would have to get up, walk or drive over and sneak in a window to get him up. This was our first years as newlyweds. Not exactly a carefree, worry free life. We had one of life's greatest responsibilities: taking care of a loved one. Cutting his grass, taking him supper. We were blessed with amazing caretakers who helped throughout the day while we worked and my sister and mom helped a TON, but we were next door...living in my dad's house mortgage free...and this was just our duty. It was our life and if you know me, one of my reasons for living and what brings me the greatest joy is helping and serving others. I like to take care of people and when I say we were happy to do it, I mean it.

Exhausting at times? Sure. Would I trade it for the world? Absolutely not.

Flash forward to Fall 2010 when we thought we were eight weeks pregnant with our first child. A baby we had prayed for and knew we were ready for. Our time to take the next step.

A check up early December revealed no heartbeat and that resulted in our next huge heartache.

We spent months trying again and once our first blessing Cade was born in February 2012, my papa passed away just three short weeks later. Life is always bittersweet. 

We've since lost three of Chad's grandparents and two of his uncles. We had gotten pretty use to riding in long black limos. Hand in hand. I made sure his black suit was ready and watched him lift the caskets as a pallbearer in each and every funeral.

Love bears all things. 

a photo of my dad added to my bouquet along with my Granny Young's crown pin.

True love and commitment believes all things. 

Chad has always believed in my wildest (sometimes crazy as hell) dreams. 

From living our entire first year with me bringing in ZERO INCOME and cooking tacos 75% of the time (1. because it was a cheap meal and 2. because it was really one of the only things I knew how to cook) to me looking at him three years ago and telling him I wanted to move Sugar across Uptown to a location that was DOUBLE THE RENT , needed to be completely designed/furnished and oh by the way I was pregnant with our second child Charlie. He never once told me I had lost my mind. Now, he may have thought it...but he never said it. haha

Through all of it, we BELIEVED God would provide... 

and guess what? He always did.

Chad's response anytime I would throw out another wild idea or dream is 95% of the time "Let's do it" or "Let's go" (unless it's just something so farfetched that I don't need to be doing it anyways) Remember he's the realist here and I'm the dreamer. He's the saver and I'm the spender. Trust me, the man keeps me in check and I absolutely need it. 

He has always been my biggest cheerleader when it comes to allowing me to chase my dreams and I admire that he's never made me feel as if any of those dreams are too big! 

Love believes all things. 

Believes in each other. 

Believes that no dream... or obstacle...is too big for our marriage when Christ is at the center of it.

Love hopes all things. 

Our hope for our marriage as we started out did include big dreams of one day selling my dad's place (which was split between us three kids) and building closer to Due West (which we did in 2014), having children (two beautiful healthy boys in 2008 and 2015), growing a business (working on it each and everyday)...and the number one thing....

are you ready for this? 

our hope for the future was to simply ENJOY LIFE TOGETHER and be CONTENT. 

Contentment is so hard y'all. Especially in a world where everything is exaggerated and flaunted on social media, but I honestly feel at this ten year mark our hearts are 100% in the right place. We are so incredibly content, GRATEFUL and humble with where God has brought us. We may not have the best of everything or an overflowing abundance of funds in our checking accounts, but hey we making' it. Each and every week. Hustle and hustle. Blessings among blessings. We've worked our tails off and we're proud of where we've come. To finally see the fruits of our labor, yet continue to work work work for greater goals and future dreams is an awesome feeling. 

Some days are rough....no wait, let me back that up. MOST days are rough. Having two young children, two full time jobs and trying to balance a social life in between is by no means easy, but at the end of the day as long as we think we've done our best and can carve out time for each other - keeping OUR needs and marriage FIRST - we are ok.

We have so many hopes and dreams for our future and for our kid's future. It's exciting to look ahead at another ten years.

Love hopes all things. 

Love endures all things.

The definition of the word endurance is "the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way."

No matter what life throws at you in a marriage...guess what? You don't. give. up. 

KEY PHRASE HERE: Don't give up. 

As with anything in life, success comes to those who WORK FOR IT. 

You don't just get a successful, happy marriage handed to you on a silver platter. Love at first sight? Sure I believe in it, but surviving the longevity of your marriage? Ask some who have been married 50+ years and they'll tell you.. you WORK. 

During our wedding reception our DJ asked Chad's grandma and papa Newell (who had been married 40+ years at that point) what their advice for a successful marriage was. Grandma Frieda went on this long speech with all you can do and then when he handed the microphone to Papa Jack, he said...

"JUST STICK WITH IT"

Wise, simple words from a simple, wise man. 

It's like a race. No, a marathon. You stick with it , ENDURE all of the obstacles, tired times...those times when you just want to throw in the towel....you just get through it and you don't give up. 

Plain and simple. 

Love endures all things.

Our marriage is by NO means perfect. There's no perfect person and there's no perfect marriage. 

We've had the conversation before where Chad tells me how his parents have been married for 30+ years and "divorce is not an option" for him. 

I reply, "Cool. Because my mom and dad divorce and both been married once and twice since then and well,  divorce is not an option for me either".

Cool? 

Done deal. 

God blesses you with your soulmate, your best friend and then you simply commit. When the "honeymoon phase" wears off (because it will...) you work on all the hard stuff (and the fun stuff : romance) and you never even let the words "give up" become an option. You really do end up falling in love over and over, throughout numerous life events (birth of your children...loss of another loved one....) and that is marriage. I love him more today than I ever have.

Again, no expert her. At only ten years in we have soooo much left to learn...but we're always eager to learn, eager to seek adventure and the older we get? eager to keep living life to the fullest because we realize just how quickly it's flying by. 

Cheers to ten years...and ten more...and ten more...and ten more...and ten more...

and THANK YOU LORD for our marriage and my best friend!!!!