for no particular reason

i know this is a photography blog but i am just

really grateful so you guys get to hear about it. :)

i went to the temple with my husband the other day and

the cute old man at the front desk asked me how married life was.

i smiled and told him it was going well.

he then asked me if matt was a fast learner.

i laughed and said he does pretty good.

then with a big smile on his face, he looked me straight in
the eyes and told me not to give up on him.

i laughed and promised him i wouldn't.

i keep thinking about that and how powerful that really is.

it's just us forever and ever. no matter what. never giving up.

it's a promise we will keep for the rest of eternity.
i like that.

our marriage isn't perfect but i was thinking about

things that make it happy.

some are random and some obvious but they work for us. :)

1. be patient. so my husband isn't totally incredible at a few certain things

but he will always rub my feet when they hurt, laugh at my stupid jokes,

 and put on his jacket before he even hangs up the phone to go help 

a stranded friend in the middle of a freezing cold night without even a second 

thought. but sometimes those things that he is not so incredible at are easier to
focus on. but we are in this for the long haul. relax and give it time. cause honestly.. 

i am pretty sure we are equal on the "you're driving me crazy" scale. i need to give him
and myself time to learn and develop into that cute old couple holding
hands in the park who always say cute things about each other.

they have earned that love. we'll get there someday. we just can't give up.
and being relaxed and patient makes the journey a lot more enjoyable.

2. choose to laugh. this sounds weird but it helps! the last thing i want

to do after a long stressful day is allow myself to laugh at something that

isn't really that funny. but if i just allow myself to laugh at my husband's
lame joke, myself, locking us out of the house again and 

watching my husband climb through a tiny window, or the dang dog hair
i have to vacuum up for the 4 billionth time, life becomes a lot happier and
easier to cope with. no matter how painful or "fake" it was at first, it started
coming easier and easier and now we laugh a lot. every single day.
and i like that.

3. your spouse is the hottest person who ever has lived, is living, 
and ever will live.

my husband told me when we were dating that he didn't want to hear which

celebrities i thought were attractive. at first i thought he was a little crazy, but

he doesn't ask for much, so i decided to go with it. i have come to LOVE it. i

know there are hotter people than me out there but for all i know, my husband

has no idea they exist. my mom used to ask us all the time if we were
"helping or hurting". hearing about how other people are attractive might
not really seem like a big deal but it's definitely not helping. at the
beginning i would catch myself almost saying something all the time
and now when i see girls googling over guys on pinterest or at the mall,
all i can think of is how dang good looking my husband is and how i am
lucky to have him. there may be sexier men out there but for all i know,
mine is #1. i am sure of it.

i am a firm believer that you can be as in love as you want to be.

you can train your mind to do anything. if i can learn and train my mind

to understand and pass my chemistry class, i can train my mind and heart

to love as deeply as i want to. but just like that chem class, it's going to take
a lot of time. i am still pretty new at this marriage thing when looking at the
big picture but if these things make us happy now,
they should work forever right?

i know this post was way too lengthy and if you are still reading, you are either
awesome or crazy or maybe both, hah but i just wanted to end on
one more cheesy note...

 i really do just love all the friends i meet when taking their pictures.
i get to see beautiful couples starting out their stories together and
families i can only hope and dream to be like someday. i always feel
like i learn something from them every single time i walk away from
a photo shoot. i have so much to learn and so far to go but i just
wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to be better.
don't ever give up on your beautiful families and keep on keeping on.

you guys rock. :)