One Year.

This past Sunday marked our 1 year anniversary, and I just couldn't believe the way the past year has gone. All the twists and turns and promotions and travel -- it is just crazy what can happen in one little year.

Even though Mike and I have been together for a (really) long time, this past year has made me even more thankful for him. I'll keep the mushiness to a minimum, but I am amazed at the tenderness and grace he shows me on a daily basis. He loves me when I am most unlovable (usually any time after 10:30pm, when I start getting crabby and mean). He loves me when I am insecure and scared (like when I decided to go to the bottom of the world for 2 months). And he loves me when I get super emotional (like when I started bawling after our entire stack of dishes came crashing down off the shelf). And I'm so thankful for it.

Mushiness is over now.

So, where are we after one year of marriage?

Six months after landing his new job in property management, Mike got promoted to Asset Manager and now gets to experience the joys of being the "Go-To" guy for any and all issues a tenant has with their apartment! Everything from leaking roofs to bed bugs to heat issues to broken appliances to "my apartment smells like Pine-Sol" -- property management is always exciting!!

Obviously, I deployed to Antarctica and got the chance to travel New Zealand; experiences I'll never forget. With Raytheon's contract ending on March 30, I shifted into job-hunting mode upon my return to the States, and in a few weeks, I'll be starting off on my next adventure: working in HR for a company called Arcadis. I am SO excited about the opportunity!

We've gotten involved in the Children's Ministry at our church -- teaching the K-1st Grade Sunday school classes once a month. We definitely enjoy teaching the kiddos and coming up with creative ways to occupy them for 30-45 minutes, but our favorite part is the hilarious things the kids come up with. Somehow, they manage to work in Star Wars or "I Know More Spanish Than You" competitions into our Jesus-focused activities. Very amusing.

Other than that, we've just been doing the usual snowboarding, hiking, and exploring Colorado! We are so blessed to be where we are, and we are so amazed at the life God's given us. We can't wait to see what the next year brings. :)

Peace, love & mawwiage.