last week marked our year and a half anniversary. no, we don’t really celebrate a year and a half of being married but doesn’t it just sound better than one year? :) everyone says that the first year of marriage is always the most difficult. in our situation, i didn’t really find that to be true. maybe it’s because we were married really young, i don’t know. it was not always easy, but i loved the newness of being married. i will tell you though, that for us the first year of marriage + a little baby has been more challenging. it has shown me, especially, the selfishness in my heart and how often things i want done my way. yes, the Lord uses different things in life to shape us and mold us into the person He wants us to be… and marriage is one of those things. these quotes are some of my favorite by gary thomas from his book “sacred marriage.” my mom gave it to me to read before jay and i were married and it is seriously one of the best books on marriage. ever.
so here’s to a year and half of bein’ married and many more years to come. have a beautiful sunday, friends.
love,
arielle
aw congrats! A year and a half totally sounds better than a year :) I’m just excited to hit that year mark! We’ve been married about 8 months. Almost there! hehe
Happy anniversary! My husband & I have been married a little over a year & a half too! I would not say that it has been hard, but going through this year as two first-year teachers has been very interesting!
I also read Sacred Marriage — what an amazing book! Have a blessed Sunday!
<3 leigh
thank you leigh! you as well :)
happy anniversary! oh i remember back in the day celebrating a year and a half. it IS such a wonderful time! my hubby and i are going on 8 years in july. ;-)
beautiful pictures, too! i love how you can get your hubby to do photo shoots with you…how fun is that?
What a lovely post! Beautiful pictures…Congrats on a year and half of marriage!! You two look so blissfully happy and in love.
Oh, and super cute dress! Where is it from?
thank you katie! :) oh and the dress is from forever 21 ;)
Lovely pictures!! Happy Anniversary!
Btw, your dress is so beautiful!
thank you jess! :)
Congratulations! Sacred Marriage is one of the books that my mentor reads with the people she has in premarital counseling. Hopefully one day I’ll read it!
You guys are adorable.
xoxo
congrats!! That is so exciting! Here is to many more years! :)
How exciting! These photos are great Arielle! Now that we are close to a year, I’d say the same thing…I didn’t find it as hard as some said it would be. It’s been the best time of my life! I love that quote! Marriage is SO MUCH MORE than just being happy! It is certainly a refining process.
God bless you two! Oh, and little Leland too!
I’m going to have to pick up that book! Another one Jay might want to read (if he likes to read) is Every Man’s Marriage. Brett read it before we got married and has read it again since then because he liked it so much. Happy one and a half year anniversary! ;)
oh awesome! we’ll have to check that one out! :)
thank you ashlee!
i think i’m gonna have to read this book…love the quotes. and love these photos!!
Love these photos of you guys. :) Congratulations on a year and a half of marriage! That’s so wonderful and I do agree- a year and a half does sound better. ;) I may have to get a copy of that book for my friend & her fiance. I’ve been wanting to get a good book for her as a pre-wedding present, but I have a hard time choosing since I haven’t read any myself. I’ll definitely look into that one. :)
thank you kristin! :) oh awesome….yea i loved the book. i saw that bethany dillon and shane read it before they got married and then a few months laters my mom ended up giving it to us :) blessings!
Happy Anniversary! My husband have been married for 19 months tomorrow. I agree with you on marriage not being as difficult for the first year like many people mention. It has been the best thing that has happen to me. But I will say, we don’t have a child or children in the picture so maybe that is why it is so easier for us. Cute pictures btw.
You two are so incredibly precious and your love for each other is very very evident. I wish you so much love and happiness. <3
thank you kelly ann <3
Happy year and half!! That’s so wonderful and you two are so cute! I love your outfit :D
happy year and a half of wedded bliss! i am excited to check out that book.. i am in need of some marriage help..
this post is so happy and love-filled, i love it! happy year & a half!
Beautiful post! Congratulations : )
Awww I loved this post! The pics are adorable (esp your hair!). Congrats on the first year and a half! We’re at 2 1/2 years right now (ish) and it gets even better every month :-)
thank you tamara! :)
Aw Arielle, I remember those milestones. We got married young as well (compared to the age most people get married these days), and I truly think sometimes that it did make that first year a breeze. We just adored (still do) being together. Also, sometimes it seems the older you get, the more set in your ways. Mr. MBL and I feel that we got to do a lot of growing together. We wouldn’t trade that for anything. I think that is one of the reason I love your blog so. Because it reminds me of when we were young, and first married, and had a hunger and burning desire to be used of God. It was a sweet time. I never thought I could possibly love him more than I did then, but we love each other so much deeply now. Ten years and counting, and looking forward to all God has in store. For you guys, and for us. :)
Much love,
MBL
thank you so much for your sweet comment. i love reading the comments that you leave, they are truly encouraging! i can’t imagine what our marriage will be like in ten years but i pray that it will continue to grow…
many blessings to you! :)
P.S. sorry for all the typos! How embarrassing! J is running around me with a glass, and I was trying to type and keep stuff from spilling…Oh the wonder, and wonderful world of one year olds…
Love this post and beautiful pictures! I also loved that book. My husband and I read it together. Another incredible one that is worth reading is “what did you expect.” Seriously, go get it!
Marriage just keeps getting better too! Enjoy!
xoxo
J
that sounds like an awesome book! we’ll definitely have to check it out!
thanks so much :) blessings!
Aw, wow. I don’t think I could love this post anymore than I do now. I’m getting married in less than two weeks and things like this make me look forward to it even more.
Beautiful.
What great photos and great quotes! You’ve got a lot of wisdom-even for being married only a year! Go GIRL!
I would say the 5th year is harder than the 1st year. But during the 1st year, I feel like I didn’t know him or love him nearly as much as I do now! The first year is an adjustment, but as the years pass more challenges come which puts tension on the relationship I think, WHICH is why having Jesus as our anchor keeps us close when the waves are hitting the ship and rocking it!
Yay for your love and your beautiful baby!
Happy year and a half-aversary! My husband and I are coming up on 2 married years in April and I can hardly believe how fast the time goes. You’re pretty impressive for getting married and having a baby all in a year! Seriously, I don’t know how you guys did it but it’s beautiful to see. x
congrats on the year and a half! i love you outfit in all those photos!! too cute :)
xoxo and blessings
Amazing pictures,as usual!!! The love shared between the two of you is so evident and beautiful!! BTW, what editing program do you use? I adore the way you incorporate text into your photos!!
It is my first time reading your blog.
The pictures of you and your husband are great. Happy 1.5 year anniversary.
Enjoy,
elena
i love those quotes, there is so much truth in them. I will have to check out that book :) Happy 1 1/2 years :) you two are cute!
xoxo
those photos are stunning! i am almost to my one and a half anniversary, too :)
That’s funny, my husband and I are also married a year and a half this month! AND…. we too have a little 7 month old:) It totally is challenging having a baby in that first year, but I would not change a thing;)
i love that you are celebrating 1 1/2 years of marriage! my cousin just got married yesterday and i have so many hopes and dreams for her and her new husband. i hope they celebrate all the in between days too because it truly does make for a beautiful journey. :)
HAPPY YEAR+1/2!!! You guys look so adorable together. I know marriage is supposed to be an earthly representation of our relationship with CHRIST our first love but I also am beginning to realize just how much warfare and trials a relationship can bring just from other couples and learning more about marriage. I think it is pretty awesome that you guys had a great first year together!!! Encouraging and just shows how much grace and love GOD has given you guys ;)!
Did you pray for your husband before you met him???
♥cheche
thank you so much cheche and the answer is YES i did pray for him before i even met him…. years and years. and it was SO worth it! :)
many blessings to you!
Happy 1,5 years anniversery! :)
You guys are a super sweet couple.
A moment ago i looked at your wedding pictures… and your hubby looks so young without the beard… well he is young but with the beard he looks older. :D you know what i mean.
Have a nice day.
http://lourpeacock.blogspot.com/
Congrats, you guys are so stinkin cute. =)
First, congratulations! Second, great message. Gary’s book is very good, and the quotes you selected here were on target.
Beautiful post. Congrats on a year and a half. We’re going on 3 years this April…and we had a baby not long after we said “I do…” It’s definitely not the easiest thing to adjust to, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sacred Marriage is such a fantastic book. Definitely a must read for anyone who is getting married or even already married. :)
Beautiful! Thanks for the book suggestion. Your mom hooked you up with some GREAT reading! I’ve read things shared from Gary Thomas’ book “Sacred Parenting.” I would LOVE to check out both books! =)
your pictures are always so beautiful!
Happy 1.5 with YES many more to come :)
What a great post!
Wonderful quotes! Congratulations on 1.5 years! :D
A year and a half is a great thing to celebrate! Congrats to both of you!
Love these sweet photos and the quotes are perfect. Sounds like an amazing book!
congrats! a year and a half sounds so much better! I just realized this month marks my year and half anniversary too! And believe it or not i just started reading “Sacred Marriage” ! so far im loving it.
You’re photos are beautiful, love the colors and your outfit :)
thank you so much charis :) i’m glad you are loving it! it’s an awesome book.
many blessings to you!
Yay! Happy year and a half anniversary! I just found your blog…love it!
Congratulations on 1.5 years! Time goes so quickly, yes? May you always be so in love [and even more, of course] as you are now!!
I guess you saw that I linked to your blog on a recent post? I think I’d like to hang out with you in real life and learn from photography tips from you. I am interested in photography myself and love your style.
yes time does go so quickly! and thank you so much for the link! ;)
blessings!
This is beautiful. It really is. You both look so happy. Congratulations.
Love Sacred Marriage! It transformed my mind!
so sweet! This post is beautiful:) Happy year and a half! xxoo
oh this is such a cute post! you too look like you are so in love. i love those captions, although i am not married these are very encouraging.
xoxo
jen
have a blessed week!
these are so beautiful, as is your blog!
you should check out the book “mystery of marriage”
incredible.