5 Years!

A Timeline:

September 7th, 2007: Chris and I were married at Donovan Pavilion in Vail, Colorado

September 9th, 2007: 10-day Honeymoon in Costa Rica

Year One Highlights: I worked at Whirled Peas Catering and Chris at RK Mechanical while living in our "loft" style apartment 1-block from Coors Field off of Blake Street in Downtown Denver.

January, 2008: I started my new (and current) job at Event Travel Management (formerly Polk Majestic Travel Group).

September, 2008: We purchased our first (and current) home in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver.

Year Two Highlights: Getting established in our home, finishing our basement, getting to know our neighbors, enjoying married life.

August, 2009: We purchased our first new car together, a 2010, Subaru Outback and said goodbye to Chris' old Trooper.

Year Three Highlights: We began to think about starting a family and went on a couple of vacations including including Tennessee, Maine and New York City.

November, 2009: We sold my Ford Focus, purchased a newer Trooper and I got the Outback (score!)

December, 2009: We figured out that said cars would be filled with a little one that next August; I was pregnant with Logan.

August 7th, 2010: Miss LMK was born.

Year Four Highlights: We were surviving life as new parents, I started working part time, attending MOPS and started The Uncommon Reel with Andrew.

July, 2011: Chris completed the Colorado Trail on his bike.

August 7th, 2011: Logan turned one!

Year Five Highlights: Had (and still having) a blast with Logan and settled into our lives as parents nicely.  Managed to take a couple of mini-vacations including Telluride, Miami, Virginia, North Carolina and Beaver Creek.

June, 2012: Discovered I was pregnant with Baby Number Two!

August, 2012: Logan turned two.

September, 2012: Celebrating 5 years of marriage in Chicago...yahoo!

That, my friends, is a brief snapshot of the previous 5 years and when looking at it, looks relatively joyous and idylic, doesn't it ?!  First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage...

And it has been.  For the most part.  I just want to be the first to say that our lives nor our marriage are perfect.  We have had and continue to have our struggles - some small and some, well, not so small.  Marriage is tough work people and probably the hardest job that I have.   I am continuously learning about what makes our marriage work, what doesn't and in what ways I can be a better wife, friend and mother.  I know that some would argue that marriage isn't supposed to be hard work, but I would beg to differ.

The awesome thing, however, is that it's all worth it.  The good times, the bad times, the sad times, the happy times, the unforgettable times, the just plain awesome times.  Our marriage, our family and the life we have built is worth it during all of those times and the life I have because of all of the imperfections is a perfection all its own.

Why I even share this with you, I'm not sure.  Partially because I think we (I speak for myself here) look towards so many outside sources for what a perfect marriage is.  What it should be, what theirs is like (or appears to be like), what my dream is, what the media says, etc. etc. that I lose sense of what my marriage is and that ours is really the only one that should matter.

Happy Anniversary, Chris!!  Thank you for five amazing years of seeing me at my best (and my worst) and for loving me the entire time.  It's been a fun and wild ride and I can't wait for more.