Maternity Photos + Random Thoughts About Marriage!

We took our maternity photos yesterday and I am IN LOVE with them.  You can see the dress I mentioned in my previous blog.  It was even better than I expected on the day of!! We did kind of a two in one here with our photos.  Yesterday was my second wedding anniversary and when the photographer offered the 23rd as an available date for photos I felt like there would be something special about it.  At first I was hesitant because I wanted to make our anniversary about us and not have the pregnancy or baby take over our marriage but when I prayed I felt something special would take place.  And so it did.  Getting dressed up, doing my hair and make up and unexpectedly receiving a pearl necklace and earrings from my husband as an anniversary gift (worn in photos) made it feel like a wedding day all over again.  Plus I may be biased but I feel like our love for each other and it being our anniversary showed through our pictures. 

I had several flash backs to my wedding day as my husband put the necklace and earrings on me and I topped my hair with the headband I wore on my wedding day.  I am so glad I said yes to these photos on our second wedding anniversary. It was such a beautiful day and a sweet celebration I will cherish forever.  Oh and I must brag on God again.  There was serious rain in the forecast at the exact time we were supposed to start shooting.  I had prayed for good weather in the beginning of the week but as the days were passing rain was falling on and off the forecast for Sunday.  Saturday night it was cleared from the forecast and we celebrated thinking we were in the clear, but Sunday morning I wake up to a text from the photographer saying she checked the forecast and there was a high chance of rain and offered to reschedule. This was not an option for me because of two reasons: I rented the dress and had to return it in two days and secondly, it was our anniversary and we wanted to take the photos on our anniversary.  I looked at the weather app and the time we were supposed to meet for the photos was the time the rain was supposed to start.  I began feeling sadness come over me but before I let it sink it my husband and I began to pray and ask God what we should do.  We prayed and I heard God say he'd clear the skies for us.  My husband felt peace about continuing the session for that day.  God said He was going to clear the sky for us and so we trusted Him.  My photographer must of thought we were crazy but we said we are going to stay with today and it's not going to rain.  She said bring an umbrella just in case and I was so adamant about it not raining I said out loud (not to her via text) I am not going to need an umbrella.  Not too long after we agreed to stick with our original plan I felt a little nervous but I heard God reaffirm me and say "I am going to hold the rain for you."  Well not one drop of rain fell during the shoot.  After the shoot was over and we got in the car to leave it started raining! Haha,  I love God, so much. I even took a picture of the sky as we were arriving and if you look to the bottom left of the photo you can seek the sky clearing up! I was a great day!

  As we were sadly getting ready for the work week packing lunch and loading dishwasher my husband asked a funny question.  He asked "so now that we are two years married are we still considered newlyweds?" I was so amused.  I think we were both ready to not be newlyweds anymore.  Our first year and half of marriage was so much adjusting and rapid growth we feel the relief of being two years in.  I know we are just getting started and from what I hear you never stop learning, even after 50 years of marriage, but I will say for us we are loving this time in our marriage more than the first year.  And I know some may think it's only a year difference, what can be so different in a year, but for us it has been a huge difference from year one to year two.  Also living in another state and trusting God with such a big life change with my husband has made me love him more.  I can't quite pin point what it is exactly yet because it seems so soon to fully wrap my mind around it, but it's been the best adventure of my life. If I had to say what I think it is at this point I would say it is building our life our here together.  I was 32 when we got married and my husband 29.  Those are lots of years of living your own life and doing things your way and they way you like to do them.  In the same space you can easily live like your same self and not really fully adjust into married life so easily.  Maybe this is why you read in the bible about newlyweds moving away from their family and community for their first year of marriage.  They do this to get acclimated to each other to learn one another and to best serve one another.  Moving to Washington has been that for us.  Now this is not why we moved, but I feel like God had this in mind when He relocated us.  We love our family and friends in Cali, but being out here feels like my husband and I are creating our own family DNA.  When two people get married they aren't an extension of their family they are a new family with a new legacy.  We have had so much focus and clarity ever since we got here on God, each other, our purpose, and our vision for our family and life.   I know not everyone can get up and move away to strengthen their marriage, and it's not always what is necessary.  I will point out we are not isolated out here.  We have a strong church community who we do life with.  It just new and we get to discover more about each other and ourselves while we discover our new land.  I will say, if you are serious about making your marriage the best marriage it can be and you give it over to God, He will do whatever it takes to make sure your marriage flourishes!
So much 💖
Cherise