It's now been a full year since I've been married. Today, in fact, marks the first day of our second year together, and I am no longer a "new wife".  Last night, on our anniversary, I spent a lot of time thinking about all of the changes that we've made, both individually and as a couple, and I realized that I'm proud of who WE are. It's so difficult to merge two lives together and try to find a way to co-exist (as pointed out so poetically by my husband in his entry this weekend), but we've managed to come out in the end stronger than when we started 365 days ago. For this, I am grateful. I never understood what people meant when they said that they love each other more with each passing year... it always sounded so very cliche' to me. But I realize that I love my husband differently today than I did when I married him. Loving him "more" is difficult to fathom, but I truly do love him more deeply, fully, and without exception, all of which I didn't understand as I stood before a hundred guests under that hot August sun.

    Despite our many flaws (yes, yes, I'm admitting that I have them, too), we've learned to come together as a couple and to work through them with a small amount of patience and a healthy dose of laughter. If I didn't have my husband there to harrass my every move, I would take myself too seriously, probably ending up a neurotic mess of a woman. And if my husband didn't have me there to nag his very existence, he would feel just a little bit empty inside. So, as I look back on this last year of our lives together, I want to end this blog with hope as we look toward the future. It's the end of one year and the beginning of a lifetime, the beginning of our family, and the time to expect great things. Thank you for sharing this time with us, laughing with us, and overall, for choosing my side (I can already see his eyes rolling at that one). Just remember, this is not the end. Afterall, we have a family that we're planning to start, so this is just the beginning.... Stay tuned.