army

The above photos were taken in (L) 2012 and (R) 2013.
They are pictures of monumental moments in our lives.

Kevin and I have known each other since 2004, and individually we have had many monumental moments. We, as individuals, have celebrated milestones, overcome obstacles, and changed in profound ways. And then in 2007, we decided that maybe we’d like to begin to share some of those moments, milestones, obstacles, and changes.

We decided that we’d think about each other when we made plans or decisions. That we’d spend time in each other’s company. We decided to share our lives with each other, not knowing where it might end up. And we were together through Germany and grade 11. Through Hawaii and BC, grade 12, graduation, and starting university. We stuck together through years of learning how to be adults and live on our own, and studying day in and day out.

And we talked about marriage. We thought about marriage. And we worried about marriage. But I guess something in Kevin decided he would succeed where so many have failed. He wanted to give marriage a shot, and he wanted to marry me. So he asked and then he waited..waited for me to finally be ready.

And on a gorgeous, sunny day in Halifax last summer – August 31st, 2013, we married each other. It was a monumental moment. We decided that we’d think about each other when we made plans or decisions. That we’d spend time in each other’s company. We decided on a lifetime of sharing monumental moments, milestones, obstacles and changes. And we have spent the last year smiling and crying as we do just that.

Today, I’m not just thinking about our first year of marriage or the time we spent together before that. I’m also thinking about the future. What will our lives be like on our next anniversary? On the fifth? What will our 50th wedding anniversary be like? I guess that’s the thing – we can’t possibly know now. Just like I didn’t know at 13 years old that I would someday marry the scraggly, rough, insanely nice boy that lived behind me.

What I do know? Kevin picked me. He chose to love me. Forever.

That’s some pretty great luck – past, present, and future.

Two years-ish ago now I was out at Staples doing some school supply shopping and I spotted a huge whiteboard with a rough wood frame and though it looked kind of beach-y. My plan when we buy a house is to do a coastal theme in some of the rooms and so this fit in perfectly with my kitchen – the only room in the house that is coastal/beachy at the moment. And I bought the whiteboard!

At the time, Kevin was in Afghanistan. I started writing messages on it, the daily countdown until when he would arrive home, or notes that I needed to remember. (The actual number of days was cropped out because I wasn’t allowed to post his return date on social media).

Once he got home, it became our notepad to each other. I’d leave for school and write that I fed the pets before I left and then when I’d get home there would be a note from him that said he was working late and that he’d see me later. Worked out pretty well, this practical ‘ole whiteboard.

Now, fast-forward to present day, we still use the whiteboard to write messages or little love notes to each other. Sometimes I’ll write to him in French and I’ll come back to find all the grammar/spelling corrections pointed out in red…

But now we also use it to document our little baby-to-be’s progress week by week! You can see them all below!