three years.

My how time flies. All day I was reminiscing at different times about where we were, what we were doing... the "moments." I know how blessed I am to have such beautiful memories of not only planning a wedding - but of the actual day itself, and with Jared right next to me.

We have come so far in three years. Decisions that have matured us, stretched us, made us closer. We have learned how each other loves, how each other deals with conflict, how each other plays, and how much marriage is a beautiful thing. 

Three years in. So many more on the horizon. Thank you Jared, for being such a committed husband to our relationship. For always seeking me out and pursuing the best for us. 

I love you to infinity & beyond! 

her birthday.

In my industry, we often see people “take over” an organization’s Twitter or Facebook account as a way to create more customer engagement. For instance, a company's president may answer a series of questions or a professional athlete may give a shout out to fans over twitter. Today, my hope in “taking over” Skyler’s personal blog is not necessarily to build customer engagement, but to tell her just 25 things I love about her on her 25th birthday—her golden birthday, I might add.

Recently she’s done tributes to her dad, nephew, long-distance friends, and closely related moms, so my hope today is to compose a tribute to her.

Here are just some of the things I love and appreciate about you, Skyler.

1. Your commitment to Christ.
2. Your genuine spirit.
3. Your devotion to me and to our marriage.
4. Your smile.
5. Your ability to decorate a home… within budget!
6. Your prayer life.
7. Your sacrificial attitude—driving 50 minutes to work each way!
8. Your willingness to keep me accountable.
9. Your longing for close friendships.
10. Your desire to capture all of our moments on camera.
11. Your (non) green thumb.
12. Your encouragement for my personal and professional growth.
13. Your time mentoring younger girls and desire to be mentored.
14. Your desire to be healthy.
15. Your love for football, baseball, hockey, and other sports.
16. Your compassion for those without a voice.
17. Your heart of a caretaker.
18. Your embrace of my family.
19. Your creativity.

20. Your vocabulary about your job, which is completely foreign to me.
21. Your love for the little things (wearing a scarf, drinking a London fog, sunning).
22. Your excitement to travel.

23. Your random (mini) tangents.

24. Your maturity in immature situations. 

25. Your readiness to serve others, no matter what the opportunity.

Happy 25th birthday, beautiful.

our story | part 1

we truly "met" over a coffee date. it was a long coffee date, that included a long walk, and many shared interests that were developing months before we even knew we were interested in each other. greatest coffee date ever. But a friendship starts before that. Some of you are very familiar with our story. Some of you aren't. Some know all the details, some only a few. So let me fill in the gaps, and remember some of the greatest months of my life. If you're up for it, read on....
________

My freshman year of college at Northwestern was marked by being busy. I was playing volleyball, spending more time at the gym or on a bus than anything else, and when I wasn't doing that, I was managing about 3 separate friend groups... each semester. Trying to find my place. 

At that time a friendship was being formed. One that I didn't know about yet. It's Fall of my freshman year, 2006. My very good friend (since kindergarten!), Nick, had taken a work study job within the athletic department at NWC doing some broadcasting and statistics for the volleyball games. His desk mate was this guy named Jared Johnson - and these two were a bit intimidated by each other at first... each thinking the other was this hot-shot on campus, both trying to impress their boss, and not really knowing how to act together. After a few games, it was made obvious that Nick knew me. He talked about me, he greeted my parents, and from what I hear, this made Jared even more intimidated, as he had noticed me. As they worked more and more together, (and Nick continued to try and correct Jared on how to pronounce my last name...)friendship began to form.
____________

Volleyball takes up a large part of the "pie graph" of my life. It was a passion. A lifestyle for me. An emotional feeling every time I stepped onto the court. Heck, every time I even look at at a net I get a surge of memories and emotion. Jared says that in those games and moments he watched me play while he was broadcasting, he was drawn to me. My passion for my game, my joy when I was playing, my joy when I was cheering on the sideline, my competitiveness... he says there was something about the way in which he was "introduced" to me (watching me live my passion) that made him know he wanted to get to know me. All of this he thought silently...
____________

Months went by. About 6 to be exact. I continued to float around friend groups, be busy, and have no clue who Jared was. Around March, I met this girl named Toni - who had an established mixed friend group - and we hit it off fast and furious. I melded into this group like it was my job. I was with these friends 18 hours a day, practically. Toni, Skyler, Sydney & Ashley. And the guys? Well, their names were Nick, Jared, and Ryan. :) God knew.

But let's backtrack first. One day, I walked into the dorm building to see my new best friend studying with this guy. And he was..... bald. Completely bald. Yep, freshly shaved head shinin' in the light of day. Of course I went over to talk to Toni, and she introduced me to Jared. A friend from one of her classes that also "..was, like, best friends, with Nick, Sky! You know Nick, right?!?" Nick. Of course I did, and anyone that is friends with Nick, I can be friends with. Now, from what I hear, this was thee moment Jared had been waiting for for like, 6 months. To be introduced to me. And we later laughed over how ironic it was that God chose that moment - right after Jared had, on a whim with some guys, bicked his head. Makes you chuckle a little bit over God having some fun with teenage relationships. :)

My memory is a bit foggy over the details of this interaction, but I do remember one thing. One thing Jared probably wishes I didn't remember. I got a pickup line. Toni laughed, Jared tensely laughed, I laughed - probably only because I thought it was unbelievable he just did that, and he was cute, even with with a shaved head... and as funny as it is to say; that's how I first was introduced to my husband. With a bald head and a pickup line. 

This group continued to grow... we spent as much time as we could all together, and my memories of my spring semester of my freshman year of college go untouched in my mind as some of the happiest days of my life. Big statement, but it's true. And within that bigger group, a more intentional relationship began to form.....
_________

part II coming soon.

knowing us.

Have you noticed [I have] that sometimes when you read personal blogs on a regular basis, you start to feel like you know everything about that particular person or couple’s life? In reality, of course, a blog is only made up of snapshots or glimpses into one’s lifestyle… hardly a complete picture. And although most of the stuff that gets published here makes it seem like all is fine-and-dandy, I can't claim that we have it all together all of the time. :) So here's some of our day-to-day. The usual's. Our normal. US.

he's a night person. sometimes a morning person. she's neither.

he has gotten so much better about eating veggies since being married.

she does not take out the trash. 

He doesn't grocery shop.

we both do the dishes.

he likes to steal her side of the bed after she gets up.

he nicknamed her "bubba-ganoosh" and it stuck. and yes, we spell it that way.

she can be a bit messy.

he can't be at home without his slippers.

she gets crabby when she's hungry.

we both love blueberries.

he sings. loud and proud. and he knows like every song ever made.

she loves doing laundry. but hates putting it away. 

we both procrastinate working on our budget.

we love following tv shows, but are terrible at keeping up with them.

he watches FRIENDS with me, and loves it more every time.

we have a hard time deciding where to eat out (if we do)

she hates dusting. So it rarely happens.

we both like shoveling. its a good thing too, we don't have a snowblower.

she wishes she had a green thumb.

he loves getting back-scratches. she [sometimes] loves giving them.

she makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich. One of his faves. 

he grew up in the country. she's a city girl [who loves the country open air]

she could eat breakfast any meal of the day.

we have a really big yard and lots of plans for it. 

he loves to mow. at least that's good.

we love taking walks. 

we love our family.

we love each other. 

we love being married. 

_______

We're coming up on three years of marriage this summer. [WOW!] Sometimes I hear myself say that and I can't believe it's been that long. We are constantly growing and changing as a couple, and this whole marriage thing is tough - but so amazing to see how it's changing us for the better. I'll be writing bits of our story over the next month... so [if you're interested]... stay tuned! Happy Sunday.

his birthday.

this year was a fun birthday. jared turned 25! a quarter of a century old, as he told himself all day. 

so handsome. :)we had a pretty stacked weekend which included celebrations at two new restaurants, (both scored big!)time with both friends and our families, which we felt very blessed by, and  some much needed alone time. the weather was gorgeous over his special weekend, so we made a point to break out our skates, and we weren't sorry!

my husband is the special-est thing in my life. this being the 5th birthday we celebrated together, and it only reminded me of how much more i love him every. single. year. 

enter some (sappy - be warned) reasons... 

- he makes a mean egg sandwich (don't judge me for that being #1, we like our eggs :)
- i know i always come before his work, even though he has to work a lot
- i know he works a lot because he is committed to his job and our family
- seeing him back in school reminds me just how hard of a worker he is
- he makes me laugh. plain and simple.
- he had tried many new foods for me over the past couple years - and is such a sport about it
- he warms up my freezing toes without complaining
- he doesn't complain
- i see him studying his Bible daily. he inspires me.
-  he kills spiders for me. and doesn't look down on me for leaving them under cups until he comes home.
- he does the dishes. and not just when he feels sorry for something. daily.
- he makes me smile when i think about him. that's new and i love it.
- i see him growing. and maturing. himself alone and with me - it's a wildly beautiful process that is drawing me to him even more.

HAPPY (belated) 25th BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST FRIEND. you are the sweetest, most genuine man i have ever known. i'm so blessed to be yours. :) here's to another growing year!

today's our day.

730 days ago {about this time exactly} I was seeing my groom for the first time.

We've been a lot of places in the past 2 years. Not just across the country and back in 3 months... but we've learned a lot about each other that you can't learn in marriage books or premarital counseling.  I love him so much more than I could have imagined after 2 years. So happy anniversary, sweetheart... you're the best part about my life!!! I love you!