This past weekend James and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. We don’t normally do too much to celebrate; just a nice bottle of wine and making steak + lobster…you may have seen it on my Insta Story. But, 5 years is quite an accomplishment these days and I wish we could have done something a little bigger to celebrate. However, with our crazy work schedules, both families coming to visit with+in a week of each other and me working all weekend it just didn’t happen.

So this got me thinking about marriage and how it’s not always easy, pretty and perfect. In fact, it is actually messy, hard and A LOT of give and take. The last two years have truly been a testament of our love and support for one another. We moved across the country away from our family and friends, had our second baby girl, all while managing our crazy careers, keeping up a house and trying to find time for each other.

To be completely honest, the last couple of months have been some of the hardest yet. There have been a lot of TOUGH conversations about where we want to be, what our plans are for the next year and this is the first time in eight years we’re not on the same page, I mean not really even close. But, we are continuing to talk things through and we will get through this stressful time of our lives.

I think the thing I have learned the most in the past eight years, five of marriage, is that you have to communicate and I mean REEEEEALLY communicate…not just talk on the surface about something, you have to get down and dirty about all the hard stuff and really listen and understand what the other person is saying, how they’re feeling and be fully open to work together on a solution that works for the both of you.

We are still in that really listening and understanding phase, because let me tell you…FINDING SOLUTIONS ARE HARD, but I trust that with time, compromise and a little prayer we will figure it out, we always do.

But, at the end of every day, no matter what we have faced that day, week, month, whatever…I always want James to know that I will always choose you. I choose you to be my best friend. I choose you to laugh with until my side hurts. I choose you to cry with when everything is a complete mess.  I choose you to trust with ever fiber of my being. I will undoubtedly choose you to be my partner in life and raise our girls to be their very best Over and Over and Over Again.

Keeping perspective on our relationship is the most important thing. I love all of our jokes, quirks, the family we’ve created, the little moments, our commitment and most of all…the Love. It’s beautiful in all of its glory and flaws.

Thanks for stopping, I hope you have a fantastic week!

Kallie