Four years ago....

Tomorrow is our four year anniversary! In one way I can't believe it has been 4 years; then again it feels like we have been together forever. So much has happened over the last 4 years! I think that if you would have told me on my wedding day all that we would go through in the first years of our marriage, I wouldn't have believed you. We have been through so much! I think we are different people than when we were first married, but I would like to think that we have grown closer in the process. Here are the big events of the beginning of our marriage...the good and the not so good :-)

1. Graduating College- We got married right before our last year of school. I prayed and stressed a lot about whether we should get married then or wait until we graduated. Although it was a tough and busy year, I don't regret that we didn't wait. We were ready. We have some great memories from that year, although it was kind of a blur! :-)

2. My mom's breast cancer- About 6 months after we were married my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was quite traumatic for me. It made me realize that bad things don't just happen to other people, they can happen to my family too. She went through chemo and a mastectomy, through all of which Tyler was very supportive of me. I am happy to report that she is now cancer free :-)

3. Moving to Florida...and coming back :-)- This is another thing that I am very glad we did. We loved living in Florida, and hope to again someday. It was a good time to establish our independence and strike out on our own. We proved to ourselves that we could do it. We also gained great experience in the classroom that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. This was a very tough year for Tyler with his class...I do wish that he would have had a better experience. We came back for many reasons...we are glad to be around our families. They are resources that can't be replaced!

4. My health issues- Up until about 2 years ago I would have considered myself a very healthy person. I had never been in the hospital, never had anything wrong with me at all. However, I told Tyler the other day that my 20's haven't been very good to me; I hope subsequent decades are much healthier. :-) It all started when we were in Florida and I found out that I have MS. The whole onset and diagnosis is a story in itself, but Tyler really established himself as my caretaker and let me know that we could get through anything. Although things are going well now, MS is very scary because you can be completely fine one day and very much not the next. I stopped taking my medicine when I got pregnant with Ellie, and occasional symptoms remind me that I really need to get back on it soon.
As for what has been going on lately...I don't know what is up! :-) Since Ellie has been born I have had 2 completely unrelated surgeries. Hopefully, my body is on the mend now and there will be no more setbacks.

5. Ellie's birth- What a life changing experience! Nothing could have prepared me for how much life would change or how much I would love this little person. We are no longer just a couple, but a family. We have a little girl who is a little bit of each of us and has bound us together forever. What an amazing journey this has been!

So, I think those are the major events. I can't believe how much has happened. I can't imagine what the next 4 years will hold for us. One thing hat has been proven to us over and over that I know will remain true...God will always take care of us. He has gotten us through quite a few messes so perfectly, I truly believe that He will always get us through.