3 Years of Marriage!

Three years doesn't sound like a whole lot, but at the same time I feel like I've been with Joel my whole life! Time is such an interesting concept. I really love this whole marriage thing, and the commitment we have to each other. We've seen each other at our worst and best, and we've chosen to continue to love and support one another. Lately life has been hard in some ways that have thrown us off a bit... Since being pregnant a second time I feel as though EVERYTHING has been amplified this time round. Mainly being sick in the beginning and my hormones. Ohhhh my dear husband being patient with my hormones. I think we've both had the mentality of, "This isn't permanent. Only a few more months. We can do this." I've really come to understand how patient my husband really is, haha!

In the three years we've been married, we've lived in 4 different apartments and two cities. We have a cat named Cheeto, a little girl named Emma who is 15 months, and a little boy on the way who is "supposed" to arrive on Halloween. Joel and I met 4 years ago, you can read our love story HERE. It is crazy to look back and see how far we've come in 4 years of knowing each other! We were physically together for 8 weeks before we got married (that's including dating, being engaged, and the 2 weeks before our wedding when I arrived in Sweden). THEN we had 10 months of a skype long distance relationship... too long if you ask me!! At the same time I feel as though our long distance relationship has set such a good base for our marriage. We had no choice but to communicate. I don't know how many times I hugged a computer trying to get closer to Joel... haha!

When I look back at the past and what we've accomplished and also somehow survived, I am amazed to see how hard it seemed at the time until we finally managed to pull through together. At one point we were both unemployed and had NO idea how we were going to survive or pay for anything. How we made it through I have no idea... other than we leaned on each other for support and prayed our little hearts out.

I love Joel with all my heart, and when I've been at my lowest he has always been there for me and somehow knows exactly what to say to calm my troubled heart.

I've been putting together my favorite pictures of us and our little family since we met 4 years ago! Here they are if you'd like to see ;)

Here we are on our first date! July 16th 2011

This picture was taken a few days after we became "official"

After I left Sweden in August 2011, we planned for Joel to come over to the states to meet my family and propose

Yay!!! Finally engaged!

These are our engagement pictures

Finally together again!! Meeting Joel in Sweden, realizing this would be the last time we'd say goodbye like this. After Joel left the states in January 2012, we planned to have our wedding in Sweden. I landed in Sweden June 1st 2012, two weeks before our wedding.

MARRIED! June 14th 2012. You can see more wedding pictures HERE

We went on our honeymoon to Malta where we took our diving certificate! How many people can say they studied and had to take diving tests on their honeymoon?!

On our 1 year anniversary, I gave Joel a little gift. Inside that gift was a pregnancy test! We were going to be parents!! Little did we know what we were in store for ;)

On March 8th 2014, Emma Elaine joined our family and we couldn't feel more blessed to be her parents. She has grown into a beautiful little girl with so much spunk and goofiness she can hardly contain it!

Well there ya go!!! I think that sums up our lives in pictures pretty well! Here we are now with Emma and a little boy on the way. Crazy to see how our lives have developed, grown, and changed over these past 4 years of knowing each other. Joel Herrey, you are my hero and the person I look up to the most. I love you, and I love living life with you!!!