August '09

Alot has changed in the 7 years we've been together.  When we met I was freshly 21 and now, I'm pushing 30.  We spent many of our nights choosing what movie we would see at the theater in Old City or what new restaurant we'd try.  We grabbed drinks after I got home from work or I cooked dinner after shopping for a recipe I found in Bon Appetit.  We loved to grab breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays and then head to our respective gyms for the morning.  We went to street festivals and beer gardens, explored new towns and islands.  Before the boys got here, I thought we were the closest we could ever be.

July '16

Campbell and Lucas have not only changed us as people, they've changed our marriage.  I knew Mike would be a great dad but it's beautiful to watch how the boys light up when he comes home.  He reads to them, tells them stories, and is always asking how he can help me.  I love him in a whole new way.  We've seen each other in a different light this year, we respect each other more.  We've been in the trenches together at 3 AM when one of the boys was losing his mind for only a reason a newborn could.  We were exhausted and hungry and needed showers but he reminded me often in those first few months of motherhood how he was in awe of me as a mom.  We value our time together, knowing that grabbing drinks on a Wednesday just isn't an option.  Even if dinner out is with boys in tow, we make the most of it.  I've learned since having the boys that our marriage should change.  It can not always be how it was, we must adapt and grow as a couple.  I can be nostalgic for the days when I didn't have to pack 4 people 3 days in advance of traveling just to keep myself sane.  But we can't go back to them and I don't want to.  Our marriage is no longer just the two of us, it includes our family.  Cheers to our third year of marriage, the year that pushed us to grow both in size and in our relationship.