One year

(Photo taken by Lindsay Gray Photograhy)

A year ago today my sweet, handsome, amazing husband took me to the very top of a hill in middle Tennessee. We talked over a glass of wine about how wonderful life has been since moving to Tennessee.  He told me how much he loved me and how beautiful I looked.

Then he did it - he proposed and my world was forever changed in that moment because I knew for certain that the rest of my life included him.  That there would never be a time when we got back to the Army and they considered me "just a girlfriend." That I would be his wife, and that he saw all the things in me, that I saw in him - the other part of ourselves. 

Now, this doesn't mean that before December 13, 2009 I wasn't sure... I was pretty sure.  I knew that I loved him with reckless abandon.  I knew that every day when he woke up, he would do anything he could to make me happy.  There was just something about the officiality of it for me though... it mattered. 

I was so excited I must have asked him at least 3 times if he was REALLY proposing.  He was so excited he even has REAL smiles in our pictures from that day... not just that closed lip smile. 

This past year we have shared so much.  Planning a wedding, quiet moments where the world has disappeared around us leaving only each other, arguments over silly things like invitation envelopes, making up after realizing how stupid it is to argue over envelopes, surprise candlelight dinners just because he loves me, road trips, prayers, compromises, and much much more.  We continue to learn about each other every day and continue to set each other on fire with our love. 

During our wedding ceremony the pastor told us about the original translation of how woman came to be.  He said that what has been translated as "from the side" was meant to be the entire side... created from the half - the other half.  That when two souls come together it's more about finding the other half of you that has been wandering around.  It fit perfectly with the way that we fit into each others lives.  We are opposites in many ways, though we have the same values and passion for life. 

He is exactly what was missing from me... he is my analytical and "think it through" side.  He is the part of me who is certain and proud.  I could go on and on...

Thank you husband for the most amazing year since our engagement.  Thank you for wanting me to be your wife.  Thank you for the way that you love me every day - without hesitation and without judgement.  I am so excited for every day that is ahead of us! I love you more than words could say.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.  I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;  So I love you because I know no other way than this:  Where I does not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. - XVII ~ Pablo Neruda