One Month

Today, James and I are celebrating our one-month anniversary.

Okay, not really celebrating. We went to church, we're going to a Superbowl party at my birthdad's. But we both have commemorated the day. Even our bishop noted that it's been precisely a month, and he's a rather forgetful fellow.

One month of marriage. In some ways, it seems unbelievable that it's been so long already. In other ways (all positive), it seems as though it's been an eternity.

Some of the eventful things that have happened in the last month:

-Our wedding! =)
-Our mini-honeymoon in SLC
-James starting a new semester at BYU
-James' 2nd Degree Black Belt Testing (a huge event for both of us!)
-Our brother & sister-in-law's wedding reception (they got married 8 days before us, but had their reception a week after us)
-Booking our trip to NYC in April
-James' 23rd birthday
-James' surprise birthday party
-Me getting really sick (not fun!)
-James winning 2 of the Black Belt Testing awards (and thereby adding to our sword collection)
-Seeing Phantom of the Opera at BYU
-Going on a pizza-eating spree after Black Belt Testing (Pizza Pie Cafe on Monday, The Pizza Factory on Friday, pizza with the Estradas on Saturday while...)
-Learning to play Warhammer with the Estradas

Needless to say, it's been a very busy month! However, in the midst of the abundant craziness, we have truly been enjoying our marriage--getting to know one another better, spending time just the two of us. On New Year's, we made a poster full of our goals for 2013. One side is James goals, one side is Valerie goals, and in the middle, we have couple-goals. One of our goals this year is to go on a date every week. We made 52 hash marks so that we could keep track. We've got four of them marked off so far! Taking the time to continue our courtship is very important to us both.

It hasn't all been peachy. I feel like it's important to acknowledge that we've had some trials this month, including my illness, which was no bueno. I've struggled with some other things as well. But having James there has made these things easier to bear. He lends me his strength, and he bears me company through the midst of the hard times.

The very best part of marriage so far, in my opinion, is the fact that I am living with my best friend. It's seriously awesome. Yesterday, we got to really sleep in for the first time since our honeymoon. And even after we woke up, we just laid in bed for awhile talking. We talked about Phantom of the Opera, which we'd seen the night before. We talked about music, we talked about movies, we talked about Taekwondo. (One of my favorite parts of being married to my James is our mutual interest in Taekwondo. It's such a big part of my life; it's nice to be able to share that with my husband.) I love James' company, his companionship. We have so much fun, and I cherish the time we spend together.

One month down, an eternity to go. I'm looking forward to every moment. =)