I think that everything that happens in our lives is for a reason and God can use it to help others or bless others. I don’t feel that my life story is dramatic or show-stopping but it is my story and I want to share it with you. Life is a journey, full of ups and downs and it is important to treasure even the little things in life.
Our journey began like others, we got married when we were 24-25 respectively. He had been working for a year and I had just finished up college 2 months before. I am so glad we waited until we were done with college to get married. It definitely adds a different dynamic to life. I lived with 3 girl roommates and then alone during my college years. Then had to learn this new person’s habits and style in a more permanent way. It was a fun adventure but it would have been tough to navigate with college and work also. Working full time and full time classes was a lot but I made it through.
We did, however, jump into a home purchase 3 months before our wedding so, that was something, to deal with a new house and all those fun details and plan a wedding to boot. It was a stressful few months for sure but well worth it.
My husband’s family was so very sweet and welcoming but they were different from what I was used to. He sort of had a community style family. Meaning, they did a lot together, they traveled to see each other and enjoyed spending main holidays with extended family. My family wasn’t really like that. My extended family is pretty spread out and no one, except my immediate family, traveled to see anyone much. It is very rare when someone from my family makes a visit to see us.
My husband’s family is also Asian, from the Philippines, so there was a cultural difference to get used to also. It has been fun to see the differences in how he was raised, in Florida, to how I was raised. I was originally from Minnesota, moved to Missouri when I was 4. He was born in Florida and moved to Missouri when he was 12. See, y’all, God had a plan even before we had any clue.
We met through mutual friends in our college years. At the time we met, we were dating other people. Our friendship continued to grow. Those other people were not who we were supposed to be with. There came a moment when we realized that God’s plan was for us to be together. We had so many things in common and other things that just meshed well together. We are good at communicating and truly enjoy being around each other.
After dating for around 6 months we decided we didn’t need to waste any more time. We had known each other for years already so we had a good base to build on. We got married 2 days after my 25th birthday. The wedding was amazing. It was everything I could have hoped for. My closest friends and family were here. Most of his family traveled here and we had an amazing party to celebrate our life changing moment.
After the wedding, we traveled to Mexico for our honeymoon. Mexico in August is very hot. We spent a lot of time in the water and just treasuring each other’s company. We did most of the activities that the resort complex offered and just made the best of every moment we had there. Our trip did not come without a few scary surprises but that is for another story. We were together and enjoyed every moment we could together.
We returned home and I began applying for work. I applied at several places. The job that I took was at a local university in a research and development department. I was able to use my Biology degree as well as learn some new things to continue to advance my education. I learned a lot there and very much enjoyed it and the wonderful co-workers that I really got to know.
Three years into our marriage we decided to take a big trip before we would jump in to trying to have kids. We had very much enjoyed the 3 years to get to know each other and really build a solid foundation for a family. Our big trip was to the beautiful state of Hawaii. We worked with a travel agent and visited and stayed on 3 of the 7 Hawaiian islands. It was absolutely beautiful and an experience I will never forget. We visited a volcano, took a jet over the Big Island, swam with sea turtles and whale watched off the porch each morning. It was absolutely amazing.
Not only did we have a bunch of fantastic experiences there, we also suspected I was pregnant. Talk about a surprise! I started to have food aversions which I had never before had and a ton of nausea. Pregnancy tests were too expensive there so we just took precautions and waited to test when we got home. Sure enough a positive pregnancy test. We were ecstatic! We got the vacation of our dreams and ended with some of the happiest news we would ever receive.
We had some pregnancy scares which is another post in itself but everything worked out as it was supposed to. I know marriage and pregnancy is not for everyone but I thank God daily that it was for me. I would not change anything about how things have turned out.
I think it is important to talk out aspects of life and allow the memories to come forward. I hope you will enjoy me sharing my life’s aspects and would love to feature those of others. If you have a story that you would like to share, I would love to feature you. Be sure to say hi in the comments if you read my story…part 1.