Two Years

It's been two years....two whole years of marriage.  I sat and wondered today how that could be the case.  How could it possibly have already been two years?

But then I remembered, in two years, we've honeymooned in Cozumel, moved to Newcastle, England and moved home.  Traveled to Spain, Ireland, Scotland, and Italy.  Moved to Grenada, West Indies.  Enjoyed a year on a Caribbean island.  Moved home to CA yet again.  And now Josh is almost done with his Step I. 

And then I think, how has it ONLY been two years?!?! :)  We've had enough adventures for a lifetime already and we've only just started out.

But today we slowed down for a minute.  And by slowed down, I mean that I worked and layed out at Gramma's pool and Josh studied all day long for his big test.  But we were still able to find a few hours to spend time with each other.

I made Josh breakfast in bed and presented him with his "cotton" anniversary gift.  And no, I did not make these myself.  I'm not that saavy with a sewing machine. 


Cotton throw pillows for our future apartment

 I also made him a frame I saw on pinterest.

It works like a dry-erase board.  You use a dry-erase marker to write on the glass of the frame and then wipe it off and write again.  Needless to say, Josh was THRILLED with my gifts.

I came home to beautiful red roses from Josh.  And we started off year three with a glass of wine from our wedding and some M&M's from the favors for our wedding.

We headed to Steak & Grape Restaurant in Bakersfield for some yummy food and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company, something we haven't been able to do much of while he's been studying for his test.

I'm excited and nervous for what year three has in store for us, but I know that with Josh by my side, we can get through anything.  I love him with all of my heart and I know this life is not the one I had planned for myself, but I couldn't imagine it any other way. Happy two years!

Paper and Clocks

I'm not sure how many people are aware of this, but there is a traditional and modern list of anniversary gifts.  For the first wedding anniversary, the traditional gift is paper.  While the modern gift is a clock.  You can find a full list of anniversary gifts HERE. 

Being the somewhat crafty person that I am, I decided to have fun with my "paper" anniversary gift.  I searched the internet for unique "paper" anniversary gifts and ended up copying something that I had seen on my friend Louise's blog a few months ago.  She also copied it from this shop on ETSY.  But honestly, why spend $400.00 on something that is so easy to do it yourself?!?

So, I went to Target and bought a 14"X18" white frame for about $20.00, got a piece of white matte board and a heart stencil at Michael's Arts and Crafts Store for $6.00, and went to AAA where my Mom is a member to pick up maps from different places around the world.  I think I bought 8 maps and the total was $16.00.  In total, this entire project cost me less than $50.00.  And I guess you can be the judge, but I think it turned out just as awesome as the $400.00 one.

What do you think?!?  Every heart in the center column is a place that Josh and I have lived, while every heart in the outside columns is a place that we have visited/vacationed.  Each heart is cut out of an actual map (the "paper") and then using rubber cement, glued onto the matte board.

Since our anniversary was taking place in Grenada this year and it would be very difficult to ship this gift without it costing a fortune and probably breaking, I decided to give it to Josh a week early.  Plus, we had our frozen wedding cake as well as wine and champagne from our wedding that my Mom had saved to celebrate with.  So we nibbled on one year old wedding cake (not so great), drank white wine from our wedding, and I presented Josh with his "paper" gift.

I think my Mom might have written something on this in icing before freezing, however, it didn't translate a year later.

I think he really liked it.

And then he surprised me with something extra special!  Apparently, some guys do look at those anniversary gift lists.  Because my amazing hubby got me a watch!  I had been wanting this particular watch since I saw it at a boutique in England.  He remembered that I wanted it, and when he saw that the modern gift for a one year anniversary is "clock," he decided that this was the perfect gift.  And it most definitely was.  I absolutely love love love it!  :)

Isn't she a beauty!?!

On our actual anniversary, Josh and I went to the Aquarium Restaurant in Grenada.  It was very romantic with an ocean view.  It reminded me a lot of some of the places we ate in Cozumel, Mexico on our honeymoon.  The food was delicious and we had such a good time.

We took a little walk on the beach, even though it was dark.  I just can't explain how beautiful this island is, and how special it was to celebrate our anniversary here.

365 Days Ago

It was just a short 365 days ago that I made what was undoubtedly the best decision of my life thus far.  I became Mrs. Joshua Ryan Scurlock on June 26, 2010.  That wonderfully perfect day, which you can read all about HERE, has lead to an incredibly adventure filled year with an amazing man.

Just 365 days ago, I would never have believed that I would have traveled to Cozumel, Mexico, Newcastle, England, Edinburgh, Scotland, London, England, Dublin, Ireland, Ibiza, Spain, Rome, Italy, and Grenada, West Indies.  You would have thought it wasn't possible to do all of this, AND successfully accomplish year one of medical school.  But then again, my Joshua isn't just any regular ol' guy.

Three hundred and sixty five days ago, I was scared about moving to a foreign country.  I was afraid of the unknown and the unfamiliar, but now I know that there isn't anything that the two of us can't get through as long as we have each other's support and love.

It's been 365 days, and I grow to love you more and more everyday.  I love ALL of you, the good parts, the not so good parts, and the sometimes really annoying parts too. :)

In 365 days, I've had a crash course in what being a wife really is.  It's being your #1 biggest fan.  Being proud of your accomplishments and supportive of your failures.  Making comprises with each other because some things are in the best interest of US and not just ME.

Over the last 365 days, we've laughed together, cried together, been nervous and scared together, traveled together, worshiped together,  rejoiced together.  But mostly, we've just been together.

These past three hundred and sixty five days haven't always been easy.  It's hard to live so far away from all your family and friends.  It's challenging to live in a foreign country.  And it's difficult to have no one else to go to when things get tough.  But I think that's the beauty of it.  In the last 365 days, we've had no one to run to but each other. 

In three hundred and sixty five days, I've learned that grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and quizzing you on anatomy are some of the easiest ways to show my support for the journey that we are on together.  And I've learned that for the most part, I actually enjoy doing all of these things.

I wouldn't trade these first 365 as days as your wife for anything in the world.

I have no idea what the next three hundred and sixty five days holds for us.

Maybe these first 365 days were the easiest.

But I think that the next 365 days might be even better than the first.

Happy first year anniversary Joshua!  I love you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  And I can't wait for the next 365!