8 years.

 Justin and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on Monday! I feel as if that deserves a dozen exclamation points- 8 years feels great and big. Two kids into marriage feels big! Being married into our 30's (we were both 22 when we got married) seems big!

  We had the most fun celebrating this year. It was my favorite anniversary to date. We booked an evening boat rental from a local marina, Justin surprised me with some charcuterie and a great bottle of wine, and we just spent two hours on the lake together. I felt like a mini vacation in the middle of the week and sort of like a little luxury! Why haven't we done this before??

  8 years into marriage has taught me about the joy of living past the honeymoon phase. These are the good years- where we both know and feel as if we're putting in the hard work. Ever since Tyler was born, we've both re-resolved to our commitment to building a firm foundation. So that, when our kids are grown and out of the house, we don't look at each other and feel like strangers. Its some of the absolute best advice we've been given and it definitely takes work.

  Our resolve for year 9 is to really, truly make time for the two of us on our regular basis. We have a plan with our neighborhood babysitter (we love you, Josie!) for monthly date nights and just knowing that in 4 weeks we'll have a day to ourselves again is amazing! It will surely cost us money and planning and time. But man, what a difference 5 uninterrupted hours with my husband does for my heart!

  On a bigger scale, we're dreaming and starting to budget for a fun 10th anniversary trip in two year. Having something big to look forward to is a ton of fun. And if there is anything worth celebrating, it is definitely our commitment to each other!

Things I love about Justin (and our marriage) at 8 years:
- his humility when it comes to his relationship with Jesus
- his undeniable sense of humor and ability to make just about anyone laugh
- our unintentional habit of always going to bed at the same time and talking before we fall asleep
- how, at the end of the day, we still always want to be together
- our big dreams for adventure and fun together
- our shared loved for sweets and family donut traditions
- his selfless desire to provide for our family
- how, despite himself, he absolutely loves being a dad to toddlers
- despite my hesitant and cautious tendencies, he initiates the best and most fun adventures for us

6.

  Time can change so much. Our marriage is evidence of that. We are so different than the 22 year olds at that wedding 6 years ago, together and individually. We've moved and traveled and completed a new degree and started professional jobs. We've built a home, the same home we would lose one baby in, try a long time for another, bring Caleb home from the hospital to, and now, we're dreaming of another new life coming into soon. We've fought and made up and learned to communicate better. We've grown up over the last 6 years. 
  Marriage is hard in the best ways. Isn't that true with all the best things? There no fun or growth or change if we never face challenges. We can't live forever on the peaks, or in the valleys even. It's somewhere in between that we've found our sweet spot. It's an adventure, but also full of really routine and simple things. I'm so thankful I get to do the hard, easy, boring, simple, exciting, big and little things with you, Justin. Here's to year 7!

4.

  This week, J and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. Gosh, that's crazy to think about. It feels like 4 months and 40 years all at the same time, you know? In all the best ways. I love the simple life we're building. If you would have asked us on our wedding day four years ago, I'm certain we couldn't have predicted where life would take us. 
  So, here's to year 5 and even more joys and challenges than we couldn't dream up if we tried. There is absolutely no one else I'd rather go through life with than you, Justin! 

ps. our 3 year anniversary
pps. our 2 year anniversary
ppps. our engagement story here and here

251. finding ways to love Justin
252. having a love to celebrate
253. extra time with Justin this week
254. surprises
255. a whole evening together
256. sharing our my favorite pizza
257. walks around the neighborhood
258. vacation excitement
259. 4 years ago I married my best friend
260. dunkin donuts 

Up and Doing. {1}

I'm so excited to share my goals for this month! Since I've been working on them for over a week now, I'm feeling good about them. 

And I totally would have posted them last week, but lost my camera cord. And didn't realize the my Mac {that I've had for 2 1/2 years...} has a memory card slot! Thanks Emily & Lauren for pointing that out to me :) 

First off, when I was thinking and planning my goals for the month- I kept coming back to three separate focuses. Myself, my husband, and others. I wanted to intentionally work on bettering myself, my relationship with Justin, and how I love others. So, I've unofficially deemed my categories me, him, and them. Cute, right? Not really. Meh.

So this month, I am trying to...

-Be healthier. My exercising has been so sporadic over the last few months and I want that to change. So I'm setting out to workout 3x each week. Last week, I only did it twice. But I've already gone twice this week and its only Tuesday...so that's improvement!

-Serve more. I'm in a rut when it comes to cleaning, and I know it needs to change. Justin loves a clean house, and while I know he can pitch in and help {and he does!}...I really want to serve him by keeping things a bit tidier. Use works as a love language. Last week, I did a great job picking up the living room {blankets, books, cups, etc} every night. This week, since that's tackled...I'm on to keeping the kitchen clean every day. So far so good!

-Be more intentional. I have amazing friends. And I need those friends in my life to keep me grounded. Its always on my heart to make more of an intentional effort with friends...and this month I'm working on sending more letters. I sent out 2 last week and I've already mailed to packages so far this week and have a few letters in the works. 

So there you have it, my goals for January! I already less lazy and so much more productive. Keep me accountable, call me out on twitter or instagram! And let me know your goals...we can be accountability buddies :) 

No Spend September: Menus.

A week late and a dolla short.

That's how I'm feeling about this whole "No Spend September" thing.

I started out wanting to be much more structured and organized than we were last year, but Justin wasn't really on board. So we opted to do the whole thing in a much more basic way.

But I guess we're still saving money, so its a win-win.

The backstory:

For the first time, we found ourselves having two full-time incomes in May. We've felt more comfortable with our finances and were able to enjoy summer, eating out, weddings, and new babies in the family. With my grad school loans coming up, vacation, the holidays, and Christmas in Florida...we realized we needed to make an effort to seriously spend less and refocus. 

Enter No Spend September.

I had grand ideas of using the envelope and having creative date nights and 'shopping our home'. But they weren't really sticking.

So we decided to just find our one big area of spending and cut back.

For us, that meant food.

Between J's eating out for lunch, us grabbing supper, and inconsistent grocery shopping...we realized how much $$ we've been wasting on food.

So, we decided to get back on a strict grocery/menu schedule.

And we love it!

I'm sure it seems like a no brainer, but planning ahead is key. At the beginning of the month, I identified a budget for grocery & household items. That helps when I'm planning & shopping because I know what we can and can't buy. We also plan out each meal and snack throughout the week. We only shop off our list, so that by the end of the week our fridge and pantry are mostly bare. This cuts down on waste...both food & money-wise!

We've found in the past that its easy to get in a rut and recycle the same recipes over and over. This is great if you love the recipe, but it can also lead to a "wellll, let's just grab Chipotle instead" attitude. For us, its important to have meals we look forward to and take our minds off eating out. {We sound like gluttons, I know!} While I like using blogs & Pinterest for ideas, I'm kind of over them right now. I have tons of cookbooks that I love and make it a goal to try at least one new recipe a week. This makes it way more fun for me!

Once you've made your menu and created a grocery list from that, the best way to save $$ is to shop cheap. Aldi, Wal-mart, and Trader Joe's are just about the only places I shop for groceries and household stuffs. Actual grocery stores are WAY more pricey and kind of stress me out. Aldi & Trader Joe's are actually owned by the same people and I love how affordable and healthy their stuff is. 

And finally, stick to it. Make each meal you said you'd make, don't go out to eat unless you have a giftcard or it was preplanned {ie. a family birthday dinner}, and don't make 'extra' trips to the store for snacks or dessert. We've already noticed a difference on our bank account and our bellies. Its also nice for me to be back in the routine of making supper nightly. And nice for use to feel more organized and in control of what we're spending!

If you have a money-saving tip you'd like to share,

email me @ withasmileblog@gmail.com.

I'd love to feature you!

And don't forget to link up to the {photo} challenge tomorrow!

3.

3 years ago today,

 I married my very best friend.

I've talked before about how marriage takes work and is worth all the effort you put in.

I've talked before about how blessed I am with the husband I have.

Today, I'm thinking a lot about our marriage and how marrying Justin is the second best decision I've ever made in my life.

{only second to choosing to follow Christ}

This year has been full of changes and joys and some hard things.

And each of them was a million times better because J was by my side. 

So, here's to year 4. 

I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

And until then, I'm so glad I have you at this very moment Justin.

I won't give up.

I love this song.

I love it SO much.

Justin & I have been married for almost 3 years.

We're still pretty young,

but we're getting to that point.

That point where most of our friends that got married around the same time as us are either having babies or getting divorced.

Two extremes, right?

I was chatting with my kindergarten bff the other day about how people tell you marriage is hard. But not until that 'newlywed' phase is over do you really understand what they mean.

Marriage is seriously hard.

Don't get me wrong, it's also seriously beautiful.

That's how all the great things are though, you know? 

Like having a relationship with Jesus. 

It's awesome because, well it's the purest and most amazing relationship you can have.

But its freaking hard because it consists of serving someone other than yourself. And refining who you are to better love Jesus.

But more than worth it.

And still hard.

Marriage is also hard. And I get why people get divorced, or why people these days often don't even get married or act they are married yearsss before they actually make that commitment.

But J & I know that 'divorce' isn't in our vocabulary.

So when it gets hard, divorce isn't even an option for us, you know?

That can't be it, though. We can't just work to avoid divorce. That's not the end goal.

We have to daily work to love each other more, not just prevent ourselves from loving each other less.

All that to say, I think its good to acknowledge that marriage is hard. But I think its even better to pair that knowledge with constant efforts to focus on the love you have and build on it.

To quote Mr. Mraz

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not
And who I am

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up.

...and God knows we're worth it.

-I Won't Give Up, Jason Mraz

{side note:: this is just my opinion and our outlook on our marriage. I by no means wrote this post to offend, passed judgement, or any other mean thing you might be tempted to comment on! :D}

Birthday boy.

Happy 25th, hot stuff!!!!

This last year has been a challenging one at work and financially for us.

But I've kind of loved it. Because your strength and faith in Jesus have shined. {or is it shone? meh, whatevs.}

And I admire all the hard work and faith you bring to our family.

I love your smile.

Seeing you happy makes me the happiest girl in the world.

 Even with your lazy eye {see above ^}, you're still the most handsome hottie I know.

Seriously.

While 24 was good...I know 25 will be even better for you!

So sweetcheekshotstuffsexymcgee...

Here's to another year!!!

730.

Two years doesn't sound like all that long. But when you add up the days in those years...730 days sounds like a good chunk of time!

And you know? At the risk of being cheesy, 

they are the BEST 730 days of my {nearly} 25 years so far.

Not because of some fairytale romance or perfection,

but because of the mundane, everyday things.

Justin, you make me happy. But even more, you make me better.

We've learned quite a bit in these past 730 days,

and the biggest lesson so far has been unconditional love.

Together, we're daily learning more about Jesus' marriage to the church through our marriage to one another.

I know that's an age old analogy,

but its so true.

I've never learned more about Jesus or His relationship with me than I have through our marriage.

And its wonderful.

I fail. a lot.

But I know, no matter what, that you'll always love me and forgive me and move on.

Even more so will Jesus.

At the end of the day,

there's no one else I'd rather hang out with,

I miss you when we're apart,

I laugh the most with you,

I could never tell you a lie,

I can't sleep when you're gone,

I'm so proud of the ways you've grown and matured,

Your discipline amazes me,

and I couldn't be more blessed to call you my best friend.

I love you, husband!

The first two years have been amazing, can't wait to see what round 3 has in store for us!! :D

{here are a few more wedding pics!}

Weekend recap.

I wish I took more pictures, but my sweet {but slow} iphone and ancient point&shoot are just so darn inconvenient. 

Maybe one day I'll get myself one of those nifty DSLRs.

{cough*birthdaygift*cough}

anyyyyyywho, 

This weekend was wonderful! I worked a bit

{did I mentioned I'm still selling bras at that popular store? and waiting tables at a semi-famous burger joint? i am},

went to the movies with some good friends 

{Bridesmaids is half-HILARIOUS/half-awkwardly serious at times}

deep cleaned the apt,

heard a great sermon at church,

had some amazing friends over for supper last night,

fell in love with a new board game {Ticket to Ride, have you played?! I love it!},

and spent time with my sweet hubs and crazy pups.

good weekend, overall. 

but no pictures to prove it all happened :)

And on a completely random note, did you read Cameron Diaz's interview where she claims marriage is dead? If not, read it here.

A dying institution? Meh, I don't think so. And 'old traditions that don't suit our world any longer'? Not so sure. 

It's really had me thinking. 

Blog friend Kate wrote a great post about it yesterday, and I think it sums up what I've been ruminating on.

What are your thoughts? Is marriage dead or dying? Is our world not suited for it anymore? Or have we just drifted from something that can be so wonderful if valued?

happy monday! :)

Happy birthday, my love.

24 years ago today, this handsome stud entered the world.

And I could not be more thankful!

An amazing husband, leader, friend, loan advisor!, dog owner, and Big Mac eater...

I love my husband!

Happy birthday, hubster! You're the best!

back in action.

Oh hey, world! I forgot you existed for awhile...

grad school will do that to you.

Sorry about being m.i.a for so long, but it was like academic diarrhea this week. seriously, it was SPLAT all at once.

(was that too graphic?)

but anywhoooo I could not be more excited to resume life again. After class last night, i breathed the biggest sigh of relief and treated myself to more York peppermint patties (i have no shame about my current obsession), the Office, and the Apprentice. and an early bedtime.

all is well again!

I'm feeling really lazy today, but that's ok because the only things on my to-do list are things i love. cleaning. running. project runway. crafting. seeing my better half. finally.

happy friday!

sidenote: let it be known that while i was absent from the blogging world for a few days, several posts were still started in my head. a few of them:

-an open letter to the squirrels and chipmunks of the monon trail

-an open letter to AT&T

-an open letter to Bath & Body Works

(why am I on an open letter train of thought?)

...all that said, I'll spare you my feelings about the above things. just know they're strong. especially towards the first two. curse you AT&T and Monon critters! curse you!

sometimes.

sometimes

...I have to take (literally) 27 pages of notes, and rewrite them all over again just to retain what I'm studying. 

...I cry when watching Oprah, listening to the radio, and talking to my dog. all in the same day.

...I eat York peppermint patties for supper. and nothing else.

...I listen to the MmmBop station on Pandora (all day). and LOVE it.

...feel like a baller driving my parents GMC Safari van. 

sometimes.

but all the time I miss my husband when he's out of town.