Looking Back

At this very time 3 years ago I was sitting at Chili's with my parents and siblings enjoying my last meal as a single woman and a Goode. Since then it has been a whirlwind. Matt and I went into our marriage too young to even get a hotel room for our honeymoon, Matt's mom had to make the reservations. We were both pretty much unemployed. Matt was tutoring and going to school and I was a nanny making $200 a week. Soon after we got back from our honeymoon God blessed me with a job that would provide Matt the opportunity to continue school and not have to work full time. Like most marriages there were still times when all we had left in the pantry was tuna and top raman, but I cherish those days. The only thing we could afford was to pick up Chick-fil-a and cuddle on the couch. In August we got our fur baby, Jessie. Matt got her for me so I would quit asking for a baby, but sure enough in February I found out I was pregnant with Brooke. We had always planned to have me stay home with our children so Matt set out to find a new job. In April he started the application process with HPD and it wasn't until October when he finally started the academy. Just after our first anniversary we welcomed our nephew in to the world. Mom and Dad made the move out to Waller which shook my world, I cried like a baby cause we couldn't just pop in for dinner anymore. It was a lesson in independence that I desperately needed. October 29th, 2007 Brooke was born, I had never felt such a outpouring of love deep inside until I saw her face. WE as a couple became WE as a family. We moved to our bigger apartment in December and things only got crazier from there. Matt's schedule was ever changing and the academy took a toll on us all. I suffered from postpartum depression for a few months but thankfully we all made it out sane. Almost exactly 6 months after Brooke was born we got pregnant with Maddux. We knew we were going to need even more space so at the end of our lease we moved into mom and dads old house. What a blessing it has been, we have been able to save money and are now in the process of building our dream home. Maddux completed our "typical american family" on February 11, 2009. They say that having a baby, a change in careers or building/remodeling a home is the most stressful things on a marriage, Matt and I have done all of these things before we have even gotten out of our newlywed stage. It hasn't always been easy but having such a loving and thoughtful man by my side has made it all worth fighting for. I look forward to the decades of married life I have ahead of me. I hope things do slow down a bit once we get settled but I know that God will never give us more than we can handle.

Matt,

You are the love of my life, I have known that from the first date. I can't imagine going through any of this without you. Everything great in my life has been with you and because of you. I look forward to growing old with you. Big kisses! I love you!!!