five years.

last week nick&i celebrated five years of marriage.  i can't believe it's been five years, it's flown by... and yet, i can't believe it's only been five years because it's hard for me to remember life apart from him.

the last five years of my life have represented the tangled web of pain and joy that is this life.  the beauty of the mountaintops... and the empty brokenness of the valleys.  we have felt it all.  and honestly?  i'm so thankful.  definitely not for what has caused our pain and grief and struggle.. but for how god has used it to cement us even closer together.  our marriage is not built on butterflies and romance which is fickle and fleeting... but on what god has brought us through together and how he has continually deepened our love for one another.  teammates.  for life.

on our wedding day, one of the most amazing details was something that was not planned by us.  actually, it could have never been orchestrated by anyone other than god.  throughout the duration of our ceremony, an eagle circled over the exact spot we exchanged our vows.  several of our friends and family told us about how beautiful it was.  to us, it was a god thing.  his reminder that he was there, in the midst of us.

the morning after our wedding, i woke up as the sunlight first crept in through our windows.  contended and happy, i laid in bed next to my sleeping husband and relived the events of the day.  when i thought of the eagle flying above, god immediately brought to my mind isaiah 40:29-31:

"he gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the lord will renew their strength.  they will soar on wings as eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

as we began our new life together that day, i was comforted by those words; by the sign i felt like god had given us.  life is hard.  but he would be with us each step of the way.

the past five years have proven that to be true.  loss of loved ones, a move across the country, grief, change, fear of the unknown, financial struggles... and yet woven through all of the difficult times, the birth of two gorgeous babies, the provision of jobs we absolutely love, unexpected blessings, the purchase of our first home, watching god build a beautiful life for us... one we are so grateful for.

we celebrated our anniversary by a little getaway to bar harbor, one of our favorite places.  it's a quaint little village on the coast where nick proposed to me almost 6 years ago, so it's very special to us.  it was rainy and gloomy most of the time we were there but we didn't care.  that made it more cozy.  we didn't have set-in-stone plans... there was so much beauty in just roaming the streets and not having to take note of the time. one of our best trips ever!

  

the quaintest, quirkiest coffee shop we found; definitely a new favorite

us

walking by the water

nick & his cigar ;)

love it when strangers volunteer to take pictures!

the shore path we love to walk

town square & cherry trees

love this old new england style church

our hotel balcony

 

ahhhhh....

before dinner

ocean shot

i've always loved this fountain

 so grateful for you, nick; i love you more today than ever and i can't wait to see god's story for us continue to unfold.  thanks for asking me to walk this journey with you.  i'm forever blessed.