One and a Half Years of Marriage

I routinely spend the first half of January wondering how it is already January. This morning I realized the presence of this month means Luke and I have been (almost) married for a year and a half. Folks are not kidding when they say years of marriage fly by. Luke and I have learned a great deal in this short amount of time. We have learned how to work through disagreements and grumpy moods. We have grown in silliness, ability to make each other laugh, and how to be a better team. I love Luke now more than I did on our wedding day. He is more intelligent, challenging, honorable, patient, hilarious, adventurous, and loving than I could have ever imagined. Saying I am spoiled would be a radical understatement. ;)

Things we like: weekends together, well-crafted coffee beverages, discovering new recipes, The Gospel Church, our friends, reading books in our pajamas, talking about new workouts/wellness research, the rare bottle of wine, roadtrips, dancing around the house, singing and worshiping, visiting our families, date nights, our roommates, and seeing our Godson daily. 

Things we watch/have watched: Dexter, Mad Men, Hoarders, documentaries, and we just started John Adams. (We only get to watch things when I am not in school... or when I'm sick. 

Things we eat: burritos, veggies, smoothies, homemade wheat bread, and a plethora of new recipes I find each week. Our kitchen is like my laboratory. Luke's current favorite is dill stew. I try to make us vegan dinners, for the most part.

Places we would like to go: Washington state, Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Alaska, Spain, Italy, France, New Zealand, and back to Oregon. At least. ;) 

Dreams we dream: Getting a dog to take on hikes, doing some sort of marathon together, buying a home, (eventually) having babies, writing books, playing music, travelling, and living long, healthy lives together. 

If money grew on trees: We would buy a big Victorian home or a big chunk of land that we could split with the Elling family. We would build our dream homes and buy some goats and chickens. I would plant a gigantic vegetable garden and Eli would dig in the dirt with me. Luke would write more. The boys would have a bigger man cave. Emily and Michelle would craft more and take sewing classes together. We would have big feasts and sleepovers with all of our friends. Luke and I would make time for international trips and visit other places in the U.S. 

Luke encourages Emily in: writing more worship songs, writing in general, mixed media and drawing projects, achieving workout and health goals, making nutritious meals, working with children, and finishing school... for now.

Emily encourages Luke in: writing, singing (amazing- just sayin'), working on his book, writing children's books with his wife, achieving workout and health goals, building things for our home, and growing professionally.