Nine Years of Marriage

 On April 14, 2007 we began this adventure called marriage.
It's been the best nine years ever!

We've created so many memories.

I've been looking back at old pictures and reflecting on all that we've been through.

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I knew I wanted to marry Sean when I was 16. 

Wow!

That's crazy to think about now.

So just making it to the alter with this handsome man was a dream come true!

When I look at pictures from our honeymoon and marriage before children it just seems so long ago.

Since we've been married, we've lived in four states in several different places.

We lived in my parents basement in Washington the first few months we were married.

It almost seemed like we were just playing house.

Then we moved back to Rexburg and got our first apartment together.

I remember we used my grandpa's horse trailer to move our things.

We lived in that Rexburg apartment for almost three years.

Then we moved to New Mexico.

(That move was one of the worst experiences of our lives!)

We lived in two different apartments in New Mexico before we moved to Utah.

We rented two different apartments in West Jordan.

Then last year we bought our first home.

It's the best place we've lived so far!

We absolutely love our home and feel so blessed that we get to raise our children here.

We closed on our house on our 8th wedding anniversary.

We've been tremendously blessed with four healthy, beautiful children.

Being a stay-at-home mom has always been my dream.

I know I'm so lucky that Sean is an amazing provider for our family.

Those four babies have been blessed by Sean.

I'm so lucky to be married to a worthy priesthood holder.

During our marriage we've been able to visit dozens of temples together as a family.

And we've been able to take our children to three temple open houses.

We've had so many wonderful Christmases together as a family.

I love looking at pictures and watching our family grow.

We've had some hard times including

four surgeries that were burdensome on our family.

My c-section, Sean's shoulder surgery, Avery's surgery and Eli's surgery.

Since we moved to Utah, going to Bear Lake has been one of our favorite memories.

Occasionally, I even took some pictures of just me and the Mister.

We've celebrated a lot of birthdays.

It seems so long ago, but we earned our bachelor's degrees.

Our favorite memories are those we share with our families.

Wow! That's a lot of pictures and a lot of memories.

When I think back on the past nine years I think about being busy, stressed college students.

I think about being first time parents who were clueless and excited.

I remember being so broke right after graduation.

I laugh at all the small dumpy apartments that we lived in and the tiny kitchens I cooked in.

I think about all the dance parties we've had after dinner and trips to the park

and family get togethers with cousins, and aunts and uncles, and grandparents.

I think about the countless hours I've spent packing and unpacking all our belongings.

The pillow talk before bed talking about our dreams of owning a house and raising our family.

I think about all the meals that I've cooked that my picky children wouldn't eat.

I could never count all the diapers we've changed or hours of sleep we've lost comforting a baby.

I think about all the wards we've been in and the amazing people we've met.

I think about the dozens of callings we've had. How our testimonies have grown.

I remember Sean being a goof ball and making us all laugh.

I remember family walks in the evenings and on Sundays.

I remember setting up my tripod and camera timer  and desperately trying to take family pictures.

I think about long road trips in the car with wiggly kids.

I think about the hours we've spent reading together with the kids before bed.

I think about all the years we had just one car and I was stuck at home most of the time.

And I think about the years that we didn't have a washer and drier.

I think about the years that I've spent being pregnant and the days I've spent in labor.

I remember the tears of joy I've shed as I've took at my beautiful babies.

And the tender and sometimes hilarious prayers of our child.

I remember doing on family drives looking at neighborhoods and dreaming of a home.

I remember feel frustrated and blessed by day to day life.

These past nine years haven't always been easy but I wouldn't trade them for anything!

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Happy Anniversary Sean! I love you!