After New Year's and my birthday, it has been a bit of a reflection phase about how the last year or so has gone. And it's actually gone by pretty quick, but so much was jam packed into it. Last January Kasey came home for leave and we decided to start planning a wedding, he was sent back and we lost a family member, lots of wedding preparations were done and a lot of stress and anxiety went on, then he was finally done with Afghanistan and came home to marry me and we had a great honeymoon, then he had to go away to Germany since he was stationed there, then I decided I couldn't wait for the possibility that he might come home near Christmas so I bought myself a plan ticket and went to Germany, then he finally came home, we packed up all of our things, and we moved together to Tennessee. And that's the short version.
So many firsts, so many goodbyes, so much stress, a bit of hurt, a lot of longing. It's funny when people say it was all worth it, especially with going through so much. And true, it could definitely have been worse. And I would do this last year all over again the exact same way every single time if I was given the option. Nothing comes without hard work, without sacrifices of some sorts, without wanting something so bad.
My family grew this year, I have more parents-if you will-and more siblings. I am so thankful that I get along with Kasey's family so well. It was so nerve wracking meeting them for the first time, wanting their approval, hoping I didn't let them or Kasey down, hoping that they would know in their hearts if Kasey picked the right one to become a new family member. I felt welcomed right away, being invited to spend time with them even after Kasey was sent back to war. My family-my parents, Brittni, Fritz, Cooper-and Kasey's family really kept me going this year. It was a lot of back up that I am completely grateful for.
This past year has just been the first chapter in the new book of our life together. I can't wait to find out what else is in store for us with every turn of the page.
Well we finally have our new place and we finally have cable and Internet and we finally have all of our stuff here from storage. It's so exciting. Our place is looking more and more like a home and its great to feel more comfortable in it. I really need to take some pictures of our set up. The living room is done. The kitchen is mostly done. There are just two boxes of mostly paperwork I need to go through. The upstairs rooms need some work, but I am hoping to clear most of that up this week.
Things have been really tight with money and it has been pretty stressful. But thankfully we are holding together strong and working everything out. I have been making dinners basically every night, and if you know me, this is a new thing. I used to help out my family with dinners when I lived at home with them, but it has been a long time since I have actually cooked things for someone other than myself. So far I think he is enjoying it! Or at least telling me he likes it ;) haha
I do the dishes basically every day too. That is also different than when living alone. I like it clean in here and I want it to show that I care if it is clean for the other person as well. We also go through a lot of dishes since there are now two of us.
Kasey hung up some pictures around the house and it looks really great. We're still not done decorating, but this is a great start and I love that we have pictures going up the stairwell. Soon, we will be able to get our puppy. We did taxes yesterday and the returns will be here soon. Then we can plan our trip to Detroit to use the tickets he got me for Christmas for the hockey game there and we can get the puppy, and then save as much as we can with the rest.
I love being married to Kasey. He is the sweetest man ever. My favorite part of the day is when he wakes me up in the morning with a hug before he leaves for work, and then when we are laying down at the end of the day ready for sleep, we always kiss each other good night and say "I love you". I know, cheesy, but I really don't care. I am so happy. They seem like such little things, but they really are the biggest.
