5.

it's hard to describe 5 years in one post, but here i go...

7 years ago-- A girl saw a guy standing in the front rows of her church. She had never seen him before, but a voice in her head said that she was going to marry him one day. After a summer of Starbucks dates, late night text messaging and conversation until you fall asleep with the phone in your hand (and wake up with it there too), the guy left to go back to school with a new girlfriend. For the next year, they would remain long distance, falling in love with each other- all the time knowing that one day, they would be married.

6 years ago-- The guy graduates from college and moves to the girl's hometown.

5.5 years ago-- The couple gets engaged on the beach in Perdido Key, Alabama under the moon, with the waves crashing against the sand.

September 5, 2009-- The couple stands before God, family, and friends to become one and a new chapter of "Mr. and Mrs." begins.

Today-- I'm in awe of our last 5 years together. The joy, the laughter, the trials, the tears, but knowing that I could do this for at least 50 more years.

I love you, Sam. Happy 5 years. 

four and a love letter

my love and i are celebrating our 4th anniversary today.

the picture above is my favorite that we have ever taken. it represents our relationship so well. the joy and love that we experience is unlike any other and i am so blessed to be his wife. i fell in love with him because he made me laugh, he loves God and supports me no matter what. our story is one for the books because it happened it such a wonderful way. i had no doubt in my mind that i was going to be his wife and spend the rest of my life with him. i can't believe that 4 years have already come and gone but i can't wait to spend at least 40 more with him.

to my love, 
may we always love God and love each other no matter what we face, no matter how hard is gets. may we encourage each other and continue to build each other up. may we raise our children to love God more than we ever could and do bigger things than we could ever imagine. thank you for being my husband and for encouraging me to jump and trust that God has me even when i can't see or struggle to hear Him. 

i love you, 

k

long days

the last couple of weeks have been a bit crazy for this mama in the holmes house. i have had a rough week or so at work with trying to catch up on work that needs to be done with the ability to only work part-time hours. the job that i do is definitely one for a full-time position, which i used to work, but since having the baby, i have dropped back to part-time hours so that i can be at home with xander. i love that i can work flexible hours but am reminded of how much work i really do when things begin to pile up.

on top of the craziness that is my job right now, xander is entering a new stage of growing up. he turned 7 months old on march 31st and with that came a lot of fussing and yelling when he is not happy or extremely tired. he has also decided that naps are recommended but not necessary and often cries in his crib for a bit before finally falling asleep from pure exhaustion. right now...this very moment...is one of those times. there just comes a point where you have to just let him cry it out.

on the better, less fussy side of things, xander is rolling over as a means as transporting himself to be able to reach his toys. i have come into the living room a couple of times to find him completely off his blanket on the floor, so i decided that he needed to spend some time in his playpen so i could get some things done around the house. he keeps himself occupied and has started to learn how to scoot a bit. he is also starting to push himself up on his knees so we figure that crawling is not far away. i plan on baby proofing the house this weekend.

at 7 months old, xander does wear us out. he does go down for bed around 8pm every night and sleeps until about 5am. sam and i have enjoyed some nice quiet evenings spending some time watching tv while i get some much needed knitting time in. we have even left the tv off and just spent the night talking...our talks remind me of all the 1st year we were together and spent the year long distance. we would spend hours on the phone about anything and everything. i love the conversations that we have and im glad that we are returning to them. i love when these long days end with a baby sleeping peacefully and a mama and daddy spending the evening cuddled on the couch.

back where they belong

My rings are finally back on my finger! Since I was pregnant during the hottest part of the year and gained a little bit of baby weight, I havent been able to wear my wedding set. After a fiasco at the jewelers' last week, they are finally sized, cleaned, and back where they belong. i know that having a ring on your finger doesn't make you married, but i do love what my rings represent. the simplicity that our relationship is...the sure fact that we love each other and that we are better together. someone (who shall remain anonymous) gifted the diamond in my engagement ring to my husband. after we were engaged in march 2009, we took the ring and had it reset in a ring that better suited me. and the day that he placed the wedding band on my finger was one of the happiest of my entire life. 

I feel like a newlywed all over again...I keep glancing down at my simple, yet beautiful set, remembering the moments when i became the mrs....