{One}

We made it babe, Kyle and I celebrated one year of perfectly imperfect wedded bliss yesterday. Being together for many years this first year of marriage has seemed like it has gone by fast but also it seems like we have been married longer at the same time. I am really glad I recapped things that happened over this past year in our marriage. I want to look back and see what the Lord has done in our marriage. We have started getting use to sharing a bed :), I have loved doing ministry together, praying about decisions in our marriage has been one of my favorite things about being married. After I read this book I have a different outlook on marriage and was so glad that my heart was open to making changes. Our marriage is no where near perfect nor will it ever be, we are two unique people created by God who will not always agree on everything or think the same way. I'm glad we have had real conversations about our finances, helping others, what our future career goals are, living in different cities, etc. These were not always easy for us to talk about but I am glad we could do it. It may seem like our schedules are full with different things but thanks for making me feel special and always being on my team. You are a great supporter, encourager, you make me laugh {and cry :)}, and I look forward to what God had planned for us. Love you babe!

Our trip to NC is how we are celebrating our anniversary but I also wanted to do something on the actual day of our anniversary. We had a late lunch at P F Chang's, rented a movie, and took a 2 hour nap. We also enjoyed the 70 degree weather which was different from the 90 degree weather on our actual wedding day. Cincinnati weather is unpredictable!

Kyle had his fake smile so we decided to take another one

{11}

It is hard to believe we have almost been married for a year! One of the best thing about being married for me is having a partner to do life with. What I have seen in our marriage is that it provides someone in my life that I can lean on when something happens that I never expected or I experience great joy I know that Kyle will be right there beside me through it all. It may not always seem that way when our schedules are filled with many things and we do not always have time for us to be with one another but I know that Kyle reallys does cherish me as his wife and to see his heart for people is truly a blessing. I am excited to see where God takes us on this adventure of life. I am really glad I get to do this journey with you babe!

Happy 11 months babe!!

{10}

This time last year we were busy finalizing the details of our wedding. I will busy doing DIY projects for the wedding and Kyle was painting our house. I was probably a little stressed about getting all the neat DIY ideas I had seen completed but it all worked out great and I could not have been more pleased. I'm sure I told my mom a bunch of times I never want to have an event this big again :) We have been praying through decisions in marriage like we never have before. For example, after reading this book I thought it would be a good idea to pray about where we should go on vacation for our Anniversary. After praying and searching God gave us this great condo. It has everything we were looking for and is a great price. I'll admit praying is not always the first thing I do when a situation arises, I usually try to think of a solution myself first but we are starting to let God have control of all the aspects of our marriage. All the Glory to him, who provides for us in amazing ways!

Happy Ten Months Babe!

{9}

Tomorrow will be nine months, the time has gone by quickly! This picture is us at our Rehearsal dinner which also happened to be Friday the 13th {I do not believe in all the goofy stuff about this certain day}. The Lord is starting to change our hearts about certain things and I am excited about letting him take control of all the aspects of our marriage and lives. In theory it sounds really easy to let God do everything {that's what he wants to do} but it's much harder to not worry about anything {Phil 4:6}, to let him take control of everything including simple things for us like food and clothes {Matthew 6:25-26}, I want to be content with what he has given me since it is more than I could ask for or know I needed {Phil 4:11-13}. I pray that the change will be heavy on our hearts so that we will continue to do it.

Happy 9 Months Babe!

{8}

I have a 40 min to hour drive to and from work five days a week. I decided to start listening to books that I get from the Library to make the time go by quicker. I have been listening to "Love and War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of ". To say that I LOVED this book is an understatement, it has been one of the best books I have ever read! Maybe because of where I am in my life but I truly have been encouraged, given hope, and received lots of Godly advice about marriage from this book. I will share more about what I have been learning but here are some things from the book that I really loved about marriage.

"Marriage is fabulously hard. Everybody who has been married knows this. Though years into marriage it still catches us off guard, all of us. And newly married couples, when they discover how hard it is, they seem genuinely surprised. Shocked, and disheartened, by the fact. Are we doing something wrong? Did I marry the right person?......Of course marriage is hard. For heaven's sake, bring  together a man and a woman-two creatures who think, act, and feel so differently you would think they'd come from separate solar systems--and ask them to get along for the rest of their lives under the same roof."

"God gave us each to each other because we need someone to watch our back. We need someone to pick us up when we fall."

"...you are the human being who plays the most significant role in your spouse's life. It is not your spouse's mother or father. It is not your spouse's favorite teacher, author, or pastor. It is you."

" The first big shock we receive in marriage is that it is hard. The second great shock usually follows hard on the heels of the first--that we are, both of us, a royal mess."

" God knows who you are going to marry. When you do marry that person, your spouse becomes the one person you were supposed to marry...it really is true "that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose {Romans 8:28}"--Many people questions why they married someone all the time, I think this is a great statement to tell them.

I can't wait to share more. I will be recommending this book to all my friends. It has given me great wisdom on how to talk to others about marriage and also what I would want Kyle and I's marriage to become :) Lord thanks for allowing me to soak up your wisdom!

Happy 8 months babe!

{7}

Kyle and I hear this a lot “You guys are soo busy”. Which is a true statement with Kyle working three jobs, coaching 5th and 6th graders in community league basketball, YL, going through paramedic school which includes tons of hours of hospital and squad time. My schedule was more full with working and going to school but now I am just working full time since I now have my Bachelors :) Kyle and I may be busy but we always make time for each other and others. Kyle’s next few months of school with be hard and stressful but even though he may have lots of stuff going I know that we will have time together with just me and my husband and maybe our pup too. There are times when I am stressed out with not being able to see Kyle or many nights {usually at least three} where he will not be at home because he is working. Kyle does make sure that we have K & J time! Recently we went out to dinner and got dressed up for me being done with school. I love that Kyle wanted to get dressed up and that our time alone may not come as often as I would like but it is always special! I am reminded of this passage when I think of our time. I pray that even though Kyle and I we may be “busy” that we would cherish this time in our life with the Lord and help it to build a great foundation for our marriage.

Happy 7 months babe!

{6}

It is hard to believe it's been half a year, time really has flown by! Since today is Valentine's Day I thougth I would share a little bit about love. I knew being married would change the way I think about love and the selflessness that comes along with being married to someone. I find myself still getting caught up in what is going on in my own world and not letting Kyle be part of it. Another thing that I have been learning about my love towards my husband is that it can sometimes be conditional and when I am like this I realize how much the Lords love is for me when he can love me unconditionally through whatever I am going through. I want to love Kyle unconditionally but my selfishness gets in the way of me wanting to love him for who he is. I have also been learning that loving Kyle means that we need to be on the same team. I find myself wanting to get mad at him because he is mad at me but instead I should want us to be on the same team and not against each other. These are just a few of the things I have been learning. My prayer is that when Kyle feels loved that he would know that it is coming from the Lord. The only person who can truly love him unconditionally for the man he is!

Happy six months my Valentine!

Thanks for being my best friend, supporter, back-bone, comedian, and love of my life

{5}

Kyle & I have the privilege of being part of an AWESOME ministry called Young Life {YL}. YL is a non-denominational organization that shares God with kids in high school and middle school throughout the world. We have the honor of sharing with our friends at Oak Hills the great news that God loves them for who they are and wants a personal relationship with them. Kyle & I have done YL in different states, different areas, different schools, but since being married we have done it together, what a TREAT! While doing ministry is not always easy I have LOVED doing this together. I love seeing Kyle's heart for our friends at Oak Hills and how he wants their lives to be changed like ours have been. Kyle invited me to YL our Junior year when we started dating {he had accepted Christ at YL camp that past summer, I accepted Christ the next summer}. YL will always have a special place in our heart!

We do not know what the Lord has planned at Oak Hills but he does {Jeremiah 29:11}. We pray that he will make them visible to us and we will grab hold without fear or hesitation. What an opportunity we get to be part of God's plan, we have a wonderful, loving God we serve!

{seeing the sunrise on our honeymoon}

Happy 5 Months Babe!

{4}

I can't believe it's been four months! This past month Kyle and I are learning how to communicate better. Communication has never been our greatest strength and is something that we knew we would have to continually work on. Sometimes we think since we have been together so long that we know what the other one is thinking but more than likely this turns out wrong because we did not communicate with each other. Our miscommunication causes hurt feelings, wrong information, frustration, etc. We are now learning how to work on this better and have even told each other what we need to do to make sure we are on the same page.

Sometimes we fell like this..

{via}

Miscommunication will always happen but hopefully it will not be as big of an issue the more we continue to work on it.


Happy Four Months Babe!

O how I would LOVE to be at the beach right now with my husband!

{3}

{via}

It was three months on Sunday. Since we have been married we have been working on our finances. Every time I think of money this song pops in my head. Since we dated for so long we knew what kind of spenders we are. Usually I would say that I am a saver and Kyle is a spender, but this is not usually a problem. We are learning how to balance our spending/saving since we now have to pay for grown-up things. I really think that our spending is not out-of-control and that we are living within our means, but we both would like to give more with our money. If I was being honest, I would say that giving our finances completely up to God is probably something we struggle with, but we want this to change. I don't think we treasure money but we do know that it gets us "stuff" and I think I have the mindset that if I give up that control I won't be able to get "stuff"  anymore.  Money is not something that we constantly worry about but I know if we do not give our finances to the Lord it will be something that consumes our minds and is something that stumbles us from keeping our focus on God.

At church on Sunday they talked about "Secrets to financial success" and one thing he mentioned is having money is not a problem but its "when money has you" their is a problem. Kyle & I are going to be making some changes in the way we spend/save our money in this upcoming year. We now have a better idea of what our monthly expenses are and will be able to figure out how much we can give, save, and spend.

Happy Three Months Babe!

{2}

We have been married for two months!! I know, this is nothing to really celebrate but I want to remember what our first year of marriage was like. I want to remember what it was like living with a boy {i mean man :)}, how we have grown and become less selfish, how we have seen God in our marriage, working on our communication, and the other fun, unexpected things that will happen in our marriage.

This month we celebrated my birthday, we were both sick, and I was super consumed with school. Kyle always does a great job surprising me for my birthday! I love that he never lets me know what he bought me and likes to tease me by telling me he has no idea what he should get me and to just tell him what to buy. My response "You will figure it out. You have known me for how long...I'm sure you will come up with something" This year was no let down, he got me real diamond earring {no more claire, make my ears itch and sore fake diamond earrings for me} I was SHOCKED! We once had a conversation about him buying me earring it went like this:

Kyle: Jenny do you know how much diamond earrings cost?!
Jenny: No, I would just like some so my ears won't get infected anymore.
Kyle: They are EXPENSIVE, more than the journey necklace and I told you I'm not buying you jewelery anymore because you lose it {this is not true, but the story will be shared another time :)}
Jenny: I had no idea they were soo expensive! {In my head I thought I would never get them because they were so expensive and Kyle usually does not do things he says he's not going to}

But here they are {i'll put up a pic. soon of the bling on my ears}

We were also sick this past month. I had a good ole cold: sore throat, cough, runny nose, etc. Kyle had a major headache and woke up in the middle of the night with the room spinning and feeling really dizzy. They both did not last for more than a few days but it was different living with each other being sick. We have been sick while we were dating but we would leave each other houses early or not come over when we were sick. But now that we live in the same place our only choice was to be with each other when we were sick. Kyle was working the day I was sick and honestly the only place I wanted to be was my bedroom at my parents house and for my mommy to take care of me. I did not go to my parents but I was tempted. When Kyle was sick he texted his mom and told her about being sick. It's really funny to me that we still want our mom's to take care of us! It is something that we are going to have to work on, being unselfish and relying on each other and not others to take care of us. I'm sure as time goes on we will not call our moms first but it's hard when they have taken care of us for so long.

{sick as a dog}

Update: My sleepy little eyes have gotten better, sharing a bed has become easier!! We only wake up once a night now usually instead of two or three times :)

Happy Two Months Babe! Thanks for loving me when I'm mean, snippy, and not having a good hair day ;)



{1}

It is exactly one month ago Kyle and I said "I do". I know one month is not really anything to celebrate but I want to remember what our first month of married life was like {i have an awful memory sometimes}. For starters, my favorite thing about married life is talking about our day before we go to bed {this is my FAVORITE}. When we were dating, we use to call each other and talk on the phone before we went to bed but when you notice the person on the other end of the phone is not responding anymore you realize they have fallen asleep {not really great conversations lol} It has been such a joy to talk about what has been going on, what we are learning, and praying together. The cherry on top is getting a good night kiss right before my sleepy eyes shut for the night, priceless.

Speaking of my sleepy eyes, sharing a bed with someone is not as easy as we thought it was going to be :) Kyle said he has gotten the least amount of sleep this past month! {he's a firefighter who works sometimes a 100 hours a week {literally, but that includes sleeping at night if they don't get any runs}and this past month he has gotten the LEAST amount of sleep} We really do wake up about 2 to 3 times in a night. Sometimes Kyle is not at home because of work so we both joke we will get a good night sleep since we are not sharing a bed :)

There are other things that I love about being married but these are the two I am most aware of this month :)

Enjoy some more wedding photos

Happy one month babe! Hopefully by month 2 we will have mastered sharing a bed :)