Happy Anniversary to my husband Christian!!!! Since my blog is new, there is no better day than today to tell you about our love story.

In January 2008, Cole and I made the journey from Nashville, Tennessee back to Virginia Beach, Virginia.  After a few years of living as a single mom in Nashville, I had finally reached my breaking point.  I was sick all the time.  My stress levels were through the roof.  My life was stuck in neutral.  It was a scary decision to give up my comfort zone and to move Cole away from his home, but I needed a support system.  My home was calling my name. As we moved home, I had very few things on my mind.  I was looking forward to embracing single life. I was going to be single, and I was looking forward to dating no one. I was going to find a Masters program, and I was going to get Cole and myself settled into a happy life routine.

Two weeks after I moved home, I posted a comment on Jimmy’s, my sister’s ex-boyfriend, myspace page (Yes! Myspace!).  He and his wife just got back from an amazing trip in Oregon.  I asked him if he had any friends who wanted to take me to Oregon.  And that is when Christian made his way into my life.  He also posted on Jimmy’s myspace page. His response – Hi Kristy. Want to go to Oregon?  He soon followed up the comment with a message to assure me that he wasn’t a creepo.  We emailed back and forth for a few days.  I finally agreed to meet him on Sunday.

Friday afternoon came around, and I received an email from Christian that made my heart skip a beat or two.  He told me that Sunday was too far away and would love to meet me tonight.  GASP! What girl doesn’t want to hear that?  We meet that evening and haven’t left each others side since.  So much for enjoying being single!

Nearly two and a half years later, Christian and I said “I do.”  I wouldn’t change anything about our wedding.  We got married on the beach. We were currently living one block away from the ocean, so we got married at the end of our street.  Our dear friend Justin preformed the ceremony that Christian and I wrote together.  We had one thing in mind when we got married.  We wanted it feel like a simple gathering of friends.

My lifelong friend Nicole read the following passage during our ceremony.  For us, it says it all about our life together.

When you love someone you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity – in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern. The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what it was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. For relationships, too, must be like islands. One must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits – islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, continually visited by the tides. – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

After the ceremony, we headed down to 23rd street where we had dinner with 65 of our closest friends at our favorite breakfast spot, Doc Taylor’s.  After dinner, a local musician, Jesse Chong entertained our guests.

After our first dance, the evening ended by our departure on a bicycle built for two – and we were having so much fun with our friends we took the party to our favorite local bar.  We continued the celebration with more champagne and lots of laughs.

I don’t think the day could have turned out better.  It was about Christian and I becoming husband and wife. It was about Christian, Cole and I becoming a family.  We were surrounded by only the friends and family who have supported our relationship. It was simple and relaxed, and the food was amazing. We might have to do it all over again in ten years to renew our vows!

I can’t wait to enjoy this life for at least 50 more years!

(I couldn’t help but put all the photos up – our wonderful photographer, Deanna Casey, capture all the emotion of the day!)

How in the world did Cole turn into a 7-year-old? 7! That is a big age.  There is not even a hint of baby left, and some days we might as well fast forward to teenager. Being his mom is the best gift I could ever receive.  He is funny, a little crazy, definitely bull-headed, an amazing artist, and he has the sweetest, kindest heart of any child I have ever meet. His love of nature and respect for the world around him is to be envied.  On hikes through the woods, he wants to save his water so he can water the flowers along the trail (because they have to be thirsty too).  He will chase down any piece of trash that is on the beach. After watching Planet Earth, we have had numerous conversations about life cycles and food chains.  He has definitely shed more than a few tears for the seals who are eaten by sharks.

The best part of being his mom is that I have a front row seat to watch him grow up, to see him discover who he is, and to witness him discovering his passions in life.  It’s an amazing thing to watch.

I love you Cole Reed! Life would be incomplete without you!

Tonight’s festivities included: Swim Lessons (his request!), dinner with the families at Tijuana Flats, and cake and gifts at our house.  We bought him a backpack for hiking, a glow-in-the-dark yoga mat, and tons of pokemon goodies.  We are also celebrating on Friday at Great Wolf Lodge. According to Cole, “this is the best birthday ever.”  We even sang “Happy Birthday” to Cole!!!!

We are definitely back to reality in our house. Cole’s home. Spring break is over. And Cole starts swim lessons tonight. Whenever we add another element to our normal daily routine, I always find myself getting anxious.  I like routine. I like having a plan. In the past, I would normally throw my hands up, give up something I love, and toss dinner plans out the window.  We would normally just pick up Chickfila on the way home.  Not anymore.  I’m reminding myself to breath, relaxing my brain, and reorganizing our nightly routine. Seriously – It is only 50 mins of swimming twice a week.  I can handle that.  Cole will be swimming for the next 8 weeks on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:20.  I know families juggle so much more than swim lessons twice a week. I’m envious of those who can get it all done. There are a few thing I won’t do though – sacrifice family dinner time, give up my training, or ask Christian to drop all of his hobbies.

In order to keep my brain relaxed and open, I need to find a balance for cooking dinner at home, getting Cole to swim on time, my training plan, time for yoga with Christian, nightly meditation, homework, and just some good family fun time (all after 4:30pm and before 8:00pm bedtime).

Tonight’s plan – Christian has offered to stay home from swim so he can be responsible for dinner (Love my husband!).  While Cole is swimming, I’m going to take advantage of working at the rec center. I’m going to get a little bit of extra work done and I’m going to walk 20 minutes on the treadmill – if one is available.  Then Dinner, hang-out time, bedtime for Cole. After Cole’s in bed, the husband and I have a date with our yoga mats followed by some evening meditation. Bedtime by 10pm for us old folks.

Parenting is definitely a hard balance between sacrificing everything for your children and selfishly keeping everything for yourself.  I struggle with both constantly, and I tend to go extreme on either end.  I need both running and yoga in my life, and I want Cole to have the same passion about something. After our Shamrock final-mile disaster, Cole, Christian and I had a long talk about Cole finding something he loves – drawing, running, basketball, swimming – I don’t care what it is, but I want him to feel proud of himself.  He told us that he really loves swimming. In fact, according to Cole, he loves swimming so much that he might have gills on his skin. Cole is a good swimmer under the water, but now he is ready to tackle learning to swim on top of the water.

Can Cole complete my 40 day goal challenge for me? While he is ready to jump feet first into “swimming on top of the water”, I have my feet firmly planted on the pool deck.  Looks like I’ve got some things to learn from my cute child with gills on his skin!

In order to move forward and literally get my feet wet, I need to explore what is holding me back. I know once I jump in, I’ll be fine. I know how to swim. I think I’m mostly embarrassed to swim laps for the first time.  I have no knowledge on how to properly swim the breast stroke (is that what it is called?). I really don’t want to look like an idiot. Similar to Cole, I’m uncomfortable with the thought of having an audience.  Let’s be honest though, who is going to be watching? The lifeguard? I just need to do it! I’m going to use the next few days to do some research and then I’m going swimming. Next Wednesday on my training plan is a free exercise day for me. I had planned on cycling, but I think the pool is calling my name. If I don’t get over this silly fear of mine now, I will never do it.  I’m using up too much energy thinking about when I’m going to swim. I just need to do it.  I’m putting it out there – I will swim laps next Wednesday (May 4th). If you are a swimmer, please send me words of encouragement, tips, etc. I need it! I might even take notes during Cole’s swim lessons.