12 Years of Marriage

Twelve years. Wow. It’s flown! 

Something I love about Kyle and I is how natural we are together. Don’t get me wrong, we get on each other’s nerves and have to work on our communication! But we are, and have always been, really good friends. 

With that said, this year was both incredibly wonderful and simultaneously challenging! Figuring out our groove as individuals, business partners, and new parents— definitely took time!  We may have clunked our way through 2022 like a pinball game, but I’m so proud of our teamwork and feel like we are finally hitting our stride. 

This year was about relishing small memories: trips to Home Depot and my favorite home decor stores, lunches at Chickfila, hanging pictures, reading books to our tiny bookworm, and neighborhood walks. Day trips to the aquarium and Dollywood. And the few and far between date nights to eat Mexican and drink margaritas.

In the midst of a very full season with work and a toddler, relishing in these small moments slowed time down and I’m so grateful for doing life with my two favorite humans. 

Work:

We finally have clarity on our individual roles in the business, something that was harder to figure out than we expected. 

Parenting :

Figuring out consistent childcare threw us for a massive loop this year. We never knew when we would get to work or for how long and neither of us thrive outside of a routine. We’ve finally figured out a way to tag-team childcare that’s giving us both dedicated work time and dedicated Madelyn time! 

Marriage :

We’ve had a lot on our plates this year, which means our minds are often consumed trying to manage all the things—parenting, running a business, laundry. It’s been extra important to make space for each other. We are so grateful to have found a wonderful babysitter we trust with Madelyn and have seen how important it is for a regular date night. We soak up the rare just us time. 

For our anniversary we had a low key date night: dinner at a local favorite and browsed the used bookstore. I bought beautiful coffee table books on discount, could there be anything better? Kyle knows me so well! We are planning a trip to Asheville in December as well.

12 of my favorite things from this past year.

1. Life in Tennessee! I loved days at the pool this summer, our first lake day with Madelyn, watching the daffodils and dogwoods bloom this Spring, and the gorgeous Fall leaves. 
2. I love living near family and all the special memories we’ve made this year: dying Easter eggs with Madelyn at Bebe’s house, Christmas Eve service with Casey and Liam, high school graduations, hosting grad parties, and seeing the girls off to homecoming. 
3. Our nightly neighborhood walks! 
4. Watching our sweet girl grow up. Walking, talking, dancing, and general silliness. Her love of books and bite bites. 
5. Trips to Dollywood! 
6. Valentine’s trip to Grove Park just the two of us! 
7. Making new friends and finding a church home. 
8. Making our house a home! Hanging pictures and curtains and furniture shopping trips. 
9. Having so many house guests! 
10. Making the most of the little things and intentionally celebrating the big things too: with Holiday decor and new family traditions.
11. Madelyn’s first birthday
12. Daily life with you two! 

With each day and each year I love you more. We have grown so much this year and have seen new sides of each other. You are a wonderful husband and incredible dad. Madelyn and I are the luckiest.

xo

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