No Longer Newlyweds

I'm a little over a week late (12/29) on this but, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to us!  It's hard to imagine that it's already been a year since Alex and I were married.  In some ways it seems like yesterday, and in other ways like ages.

In the span of about 2-3 weeks, I:

• Left my dream job in Little Rock, AR
• Attempted to celebrate Christmas (with Alex working out of town) while tackling last minute wedding preparations
• Enjoyed a fantastic 3-day wedding weekend with friends from all over the country
• Relaxed on an AMAZING 7-day cruise
• Moved to a brand new city (in my home state of LA)
• Legally changed my name
• Started a new job

...and became a Mrs. somewhere along the way

Isn't he handsome?

I can't say this last year has been overly exciting except for one minor detail - we FINALLY live in the same state, the same town, and wait for it...the same house!!!  It has been SO fun to see each other almost every day, to have someone to sit next to at church, and even someone to share the dinner table (even if it is usually the coffee table instead of the kitchen table).

Aside from our wedding, we have experienced no major life milestones this year, and that's okay.  I still say coming home to Alex is my favorite part of the day, whereas dragging my butt out of bed on cold, dark mornings while he gets to lay there for an extra 30 minutes may or may not be my least favorite.  But, I digress.  

This year, December 29th was spent on the road.  We left the mountain cabin with friends and made our way as far as Mobile, AL before we called it quits for the night.  Looking back, it's only fitting that after two years of dating long distance, we would find ourselves traveling (together, this time!) on our first anniversary.

Another piece of irony for the day was realizing the church we attended that morning shared a name with the one we were married in exactly one year before.  Even more special in my eyes is the connection Saint Joseph has with his role in The Holy Family, which is a feast day celebrated on the first weekend after Christmas (aka the weekend we were married).  The Feast of the Holy Family is one of my favorite liturgical celebrations and I think it is very fitting (though unplanned) for it to fall on the same weekend as our wedding.

Since we had to wait a few extra days for our "year old" wedding cake, Alex treated us to boberry biscuits from Bojangles (on our third visit to Bojos in the span of about a week).  The vat of delicious gooeyness was definitely a good alternative. 

When we finally made it back to Monroe, we carefully unwrapped the "year old" cake and tried it out.  In the words of Alex, "It wasn't that bad."  I think he was pleasantly surprised after a few less than satisfying attempts we had at eating some of the left over cake earlier this year.  In fact, we are still enjoying it a few days later.  

It is my understanding that "newlywed" status lasts for one year, so I guess you could say we're no longer newlyweds.  I'm not totally convinced, so you be the judge about that.  We're as good of friends as we ever were (if not more so now), and we can only pray for the opportunity to spend many more years learning and growing together.  So, for those of you out there who are married, what would you say to this not-so-newlywed couple? 

-Lauren