For the Rest of Forever

Disclaimer: this post is for me.   It's not to boast or brag or make others feel bad.   It's to always remember to love my husband and to stay committed to him, for the rest of forever.  

-------------

I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately.  I come from a family where it's not super common to stay in a committed relationship.   My mom has been married 3 times, with a recent called off engagement.   My oldest sister has been divorced, then back with the same guy, and then broken up again a year later.   And my middle sister has recently just separated from her wife after 4 years.    

It scares me.

Divorce scares me.

My ultimate biggest fear. 

I remember telling Caden before we got married that he was marrying me for all of eternity.   I don't talk about divorce, I don't think about divorce and it's a big naughty word in my house.   I HATE it. 

I feel I have been blessed with a fantastic husband who supports me in all that I do.  When I watch love movies, I think about my husband. When he is away, I miss him.  He's my whole world, and I hope that never goes away. Ever. 

I contribute our successful marriage to communication. Me and Caden talk a lot about our feelings. Probably more than he wants to. But, he's a good sport and always asks me what he can do better or what I need from him.  And I do the same for him.  My goal is to take 100% care of him and he takes 100% care of me, and that works well for us.  

I feel having religion in a marriage is another great part of our marriage. I don't know if that is what is missing in my mom and siblings' marriages, but I feel like a religion and covenants to a Heavenly Father helps the commitment stay firm and strong. When Caden gets spiritual or shares his testimony with me, my love for him grows in huge leaps and bounds.   Nothing makes me love him more than his love for the gospel, the church and his father in heaven.

Family time is a third thing that makes my marriage run smoothly.  Nothing is better than spending the day with my husband and our children.  A man who is a good Dad is so sexy, am I right?!   Caden is a fantastic parent.  He puts her to bed, he bathes her, he does her hair in pig tails, he lets her wear her favorite pink dress and he takes her to do fun things. He's the ultimate Daddy and that makes our marriage so strong, in my eyes. 

Family time includes extended family.  We spend every Sunday at either my moms or his parents, alternating weeks.   This has been great for me personally.  I love that my family loves my husband.   They all adore him and I feel he has personally brought us all closer through his love and obsession for games.    I also love to see Caden interact with his own family.  The way he cares about his siblings and his affectionate towards them warms my heart.   He spends one day a week with his mom going to lunch and running errands and I think it's amazing that he has that bond with his mom.   Family time  is important and I really love having that in our marriage. 

I love being married.  It's been a complete dream come true, and everything I hoped it would be.   When I pictured my marriage as a young girl, I pictured this. This is true love, folks. The Cinderella kind.   

I worry about my family and being alone. I don't think anything would be worse than being without a spouse.   And when people say they "never want to be married", I literally ache for them.   Marriage should be amazing, it should be heart warming and it should be romantic.  It should be just like the fairy tales, and I think I am crazy lucky that I've found that.  

I hope my marriage only gets stronger.  I pray that we grow together and we hold hands when we are 100.  I pray we continue to inspire each other and make each other laugh.  And I pray we never forget what this feels like.   

Marriage is great, guys.

And I hope everyone in the world gets to enjoy this kind of love, for the rest of their forever. 

Bun in the Oven.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this: I forgot to tell blogland about our new addition.

So, without further introduction.  Meet Miss Oakley.   

She will be joining our sweet family in the end of October or early November.   She makes my heart full and I am so grateful that Hazelnut gets a sister.  

Every girl should have a sister.

Poor Caden has a house full of crying, emotional girls.
...Luckily, he handles it super well.

Cheers to bows, ribbons, pink and sparkles.

And cheers to more babies in the Hall family.

<3 div="">

Nursing to Motherhood.

Recently I decided to go part-time as a nurse and full-time as a Mommy.   

Best decision I have ever made.

We may not be able to afford things we use to: like TV, and eating out, and groceries.   (Kidding, about groceries.)  But, it's been 100% with it.  

I can't explain the amount of happiness being home with my babies gives me.  I remember thinking that I could never be a stay-at-home Mom.  At the time, working was so important to me.  I had a serious drive to be successful in the work place and I worked hard to get good grades, graduate with honors,  hold a good job and take great care of my patients.  At the time, that felt like the most important thing and I couldn't imagine throwing that away to be a mom at home.

And then I had a baby.  

And THAT became my number one priority over anything else.  Nothing could be more important than teaching my daughter her ABCs, watching her take her first steps, playing barbies and taking her on walks.   

Motherhood is amazing.  It does something indescribable to a person and I pray that every woman in the planet gets the opportunity to experience it.  It's so rewarding, so beautiful, so thrilling.

So, although I love nursing, being a mommy at home is the goal. 

...and it's my favorite job I've ever had.