5 Years!

     5 years ago yesterday, 2 families united, and 1 new family began. On May 16, 2009, Ryan became my family, and I became his. So many people said our marriage wouldn't work out. We were told things were moving to fast, and we were too young, but if you really know us, you know neither one of us has ever been one to care too much about what others have to say. We can both be pretty stubborn especially once we make up ours minds, and when it came to how much we loved each other, we knew no one could possibly know our love better than we did. We have made a lot of mistakes along the way, and things have been difficult for us at times because we got married so young, but neither of us will ever say that we wish we didn't get married exactly when we did. We do wish people could have been more supportive, and we could have some happier memories of that time in our lives, but the past is the past, and everything has fallen into place exactly the way it has for a reason.

     Yesterday, I started off the day by packing Ryan and entirely cheesy "lunch-o-love." His exact response was, "I was glad no one was sitting next to me when I opened my lunch." Haha! But I could tell he liked the extra mushy attention. Nonna picked up the girls from daycare, so we could have a date night to celebrate our anniversary after work. We headed to Jackson and enjoyed a nice dinner together. We talked and laughed and kissed throughout dinner like we used to when we were dating. It was a lot of fun, and just what we needed after what have been a difficult few months. Rylee, however, would have been mortified if she was there. She has gotten to where if we kiss at all in front of her she says, "Ew! Yuck!" I swear she is 3 going on 13...

       We have changed so much since we first got together. A lot of that has to do with the fact that we are parents now. I couldn't ever have guessed how amazing Ryan would be as a Daddy. He is so amazing with our little princesses. Both of them just adore him so. He is patient yet firm, funny yet comforting, and he cares about every single aspect of their lives. I love how involved he is with them both. I read a study once that most fathers admitted to not really feeling a deep bond with their child until around age 2 when they became more playful and less needy. I can say for a fact that Ryan fell head over heels for each of these girls on the very first day they were born and he was always by my side helping me with all their needs throughout infanthood and now with Rylee into toddlerhood. I could not have a better partner to parent these 2 princesses with. When we were talking about what we love most about each other, the first thing he said to me was that I was a good mommy to our girls, and honestly his parenting is one of the things I love most about him as well.

    And there are tons of other things I love about him as well. We are so incredibly goofy together, and I love that we have a life together filled with laughter. These last few months have been very hard, he had been working a TON of overtime and his work was getting more and more stressful. This time of year for teachers is stressful because it's filled with test prep, then testing, then report cards and permanent records and packing up for the end of the year, not to mention the classroom filled with students who have Spring Fever and would rather be anywhere but inside learning. It all gets very overwhelming. It was a bad season for us, from about February until recently, we were arguing a lot and not working together, and everything was just hard. But we never gave up on one another. We learned a lot about what we want and who we want to be and I feel like now we are happier than ever. That is the best thing about us, I know that no matter how bad it seems, we will never give up, and we will always choose to be together. Always. My biggest fear is losing one or both of my girls or losing Ryan. I honestly don't know how I would go through this life without him, and I certainly would never choose to. When we said our vows, we meant them forever, and that's how long we intend to be together! :)