A Grateful Girl.

Sunday, May 18, 2014
We had a really lovely weekend.
We accomplished "adult things", we ate yummy dinners, we enjoyed sunshine, we enjoyed time with each other, the pool opened, we made peanut butter cookies, we spent time with our lovely new friends, I cut Hunter's hair, we felt God's love in the temple, we got milkshakes, we planned our trip to California, we got really excited for our cruise, and in the midst of it all we grinned ear to ear as we discussed how getting married was the best decision we could have possibly ever made.

I don't know what I did to deserve the life I'm living but I was overwhelmed with gratitude for all the many blessings I have in my life as I laid my head down on my comfy pillow to fall asleep last night. 
My husband was breathing heavily beside me somewhere in dreamland, a wonderful Sunday was coming to a close, and we were ready to start a new week. 

Weekends always go by much too quickly.
I've always hated when Sundays hit around 9 o'clock. I begin dreading falling asleep because I know the next time I open my eyes, I'll have to get ready for a new week.
I was contemplating this last night. Why do I dread a new week so much?
I mean sure it's quite possibly because a carefree weekend is over, but really the week days aren't all that bad.
I like my job. A lot. Especially since a 5 week old baby just came.
(I'm in love with her. She's just so squishy.)
I really love coming home and being with my husband again.
I love cooking dinner, doing the dishes together, and just enjoying our time together. 

I came to a conclusion that
A: it's just a social norm to hate Mondays and a new week
&
B: I forget how wonderful this little life of mine is right now because there is always something more and something else to look forward to.

But last night was different.
It was the first Sunday in a while that I felt excited to see what memories this new week would bring rather than dreading it.
I was counting my blessings rather than making mental lists of what could be and what needs to be.
I felt truly happy.

There was something in the way Hunter was peacefully breathing beside me that made me reflect on these things.
I love him. I really love him.
And, I love that he is a constant reminder to me that I am living the life I dreamed of since the day I met him.

There was something in my reflection in the mirror with my apron on and a mixing bowl in my arms that made me think back to all the Sunday's I dreamed of cooking for my husband. 

There was something in our family night discussion that reminded me how perfect the gospel is and how lucky I am to have married a returned missionary.

There was something about reading my book in my lounge chair next to the pool with my husband right beside me that made me smile about our simple, yet oh so wonderful life. 

(I really didn't mean for this to sound "braggy" at all.
I'm just happy, and grateful, and in love.
And, this was the result.)

Here's to another week, and another reason to smile.

All my love,
Aleigh Joy

(Pardon the screenshots of snapchats)












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Life as of Lately

Friday, May 9, 2014
I've kind of dropped off the face of the blogging earth since being married.
I thought I would be better about documenting our little newlywed life, but suddenly I have to do dishes, make dinner, do laundry, decorate our little home, go to work, snuggle my husband, go on newlywed dates, and everything else that just seems so much more important than sitting at my laptop and blogging...
But, I'm working on juggling it all.
As for now, I'm feeling pretty darn content.

We're really really enjoying this whole married life thing. 
It's the best feeling knowing you have your best friend to do anything and everything with. 
As much as I love our home, I really enjoy getting out of the house and doing things.
So, here's what we've been up to as of recent:

> We hiked the Y for my first time ever! I'll admit it... It was a whole lot harder than I thought it would be. Probably because Hunter practically ran it. That man has some long legs. He's also incredibly competitive and made sure we beat the couple that started ahead of us to the top, which we did. At least he let me take a bunch of pictures at the top. 

>We're loving teaching primary. Kids are hilarious, and Hunter might as well be a kid so they all love him. I get close to tears every time he bears his testimony to them. Even though most of them are hitting each other, fiddling their fingers, jumping up and down, or spinning around in their chairs as we attempt to teach, we are really loving this calling.

> We have a wedding video, I just can't seem to finish editing it. We have over a thousand wedding pictures, I just can't seem to post them on this blog. We really did get married, and it really was a wonderful day, and one day I will actually make a post or two about them. Maybe when we've been married for 6 months... ha kidding.
But on the note of our wedding: Our wedding book just came in the mail and I can't stop looking at it :)

> We went to Saint George "for" my birthday this year. Oh yeah, I'm 20 now! Woohoo! It was really actually because Hunter got asked to help with a youth football camp along with some other BYU football players. I'm so glad we went :) Every single penny of the trip was paid for. The wonderful man hosting it all, who insisted on us calling him Gator... paid for our gas, hotel, and every single meal! It was quite the sweet setup. While Hunter was out in the ridiculous heat teaching those kids I went to the outlets, laid by the pool, and spent the whole morning throwing up... Yeah. On my birthday. That was not cool. Oh, and because I'm sure all of you are now wondering, I'm not pregnant. I took a test. And it clearly only had one line. And we aren't even trying. So, I'm just throwing that out there. We also climbed through some caves. It was pitch black so thank goodness iPhones now have flashlights. The walls were sparkly and there was even a bat. Then the sheriff told us he was going to cite us for being there when the park was closed. He then told us he was a die hard BYU fan and would let us all go. Which led to him telling us he actually ran into one of the other guys who decided not to climb through the caves who told him to mess with us. Ha! That sure got my heart racing. 

> Hunter is on a lame diet where he will pretty much only eat chicken, veggies, and rice. Blahhhh!! If any of you have some brilliant recipes to jazz up chicken I will forever be thankful.
I'm making pulled pork next week. I don't even care. 

> The peanut butter oreo shake from sonic is amazzzinggg! Oh and they also think that banana cream pie is the same as coconut cream pie. But it's not. Our server named cookie argued with me about that. I finally gave up. It still tasted good. 

> Don't bring your husband to Target unless you know exactly what you're looking for and are guaranteed to be out of there in 15 minutes. Ha. That was a comedy. But I still love him.

> We just booked our belated honeymoon cruise and I am SO excited I can hardly stand it. I spent an hour on the phone last night trying to get it all squared away because they told me I needed a guardian over the age of 25 with me since I'm not over 21. On our honeymoon... And I'm married... They finally figured it out and we're all set to go :)

> Other than those things we're pretty busy with our jobs, Hunter's schooling, football, making late night breakfast, going grocery shopping, experiencing the yummy restaurants in Provo, and making frequent trips to the Jacuzzi. I sure do miss San Diego still, but Utah isn't so bad when you have your best friend right beside you :)

All my love,
Aleigh Joy




















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2 Months of Marriage

Thursday, May 1, 2014
side note: this is my all time favorite picture ever. Check out Erryn Kowallis photography. Like seriously. 



Today my lovebug and I have been married for two months. 
I know, I know 2 months is nothing compared to 20 years, 15 years, even two years... But it's hands down been the best 2 months of our lives and that's really why I wanted to write this post. 

The world seems to look down upon getting married and starting a family at a young age these days. I can Truthfully say that i cannot seem to understand why. 

When I went to try on wedding gowns I remember standing in the dressing room getting zipped up thrilled to see what I would look like in a big white dress. The lady was asking me questions about me and my fiancé. I love talking about Hunter so I was really enjoying this experience. She asked when the wedding was and was stunned to hear how soon it was. She then asked our ages and her eyes almost bugged out of her head when she heard I would be a teenage bride. She immediately assumed I was pregnant, then asked if he was in the military. When I explained that it was simply our choice to get married young and only a few weeks after the engagement she looked puzzled and the conversation just kinda ended. That was the first of many confused looks I got throughout our short engagement. 

I remember laying down on my pillow several nights during our engagement wondering if we should have waited longer. I mean everyone else made it clear they thought so and it sure would've made for less explaining on my end. 
Well, I'm going to make this very clear... I am so glad we didn't wait! 

The first night Hunter brought me home to our first place I was trapped in newlywed bliss. I surveyed each wall trying to figure out where I would place decorations and was so excited to finally be able to cook for him. We layed down that night wrapped in each other's arms and I couldn't imagine how life could get any better than at that moment. 
Yet somehow, it did. 

I didn't have a job the first month of our marriage. I also couldn't drive our one stick shift car. Hunter was gone all day everyday and I began feeling pretty lonely. Our relationship was wonderful but we were only with each other and awake for like 3 hours of the day. I hated saying goodbye and even goodnight to him. I was a smitten new wife and I quickly learned that he was my biggest most reliable source for happiness and I just wanted to be with him every second. 

Each night Hunter would walk through the door my heart would race because I was so excited he was home again. Each night seemed to get better as I became more and more comfortable around my high school sweetheart who I thought I was already comfortable around. Our little life together quickly and easily became all that really mattered to me. My thoughts shifted over from making sure I was in the know about all the coolest new music, movies, shoes, and clothes to planning dinners in my head throughout the day and day dreaming about taking our future family for walks to the park. I'm not a perfect wife and I know I have a ton more learning to do, but I'm so glad this concept clicked so easily: Hunter and I are now a family. And just typing that brought tears to my eyes. We are one, and we are each others forever. The car is going to break down, we are going to be tight on money, a baby will one day be screaming in the other room in the middle of the night, we're going to get frustrated with each other, and there will be plenty of trials thrown our way... But we will always have each other and this is the one relationship that matters most. 

Hunter is my husband, but he is also my very best friend. I confide in him, I feel most comfortable around him, I laugh with him, and I cry with him. We have already made countless memories together that we can't wait to share with our kids one day. Some have been good and others have been not so good. Like last week when I ran to the bathroom crying because I felt so sick. Hunter found me lying on the floor in tears. I then threw up twice as he held his hand on my back telling me everything would be okay trying to comfort me in any way possible. He brought me to our bedroom and set up a movie for me to watch as he drove to two different stores to get me what I needed. He then stayed up with me until I was finally asleep. Even between the nausea, sore throat, and tummy aches I felt content because I had my husband, my best friend right beside me through it all. And that, is what I'm trying to say in this big, jumbled, lengthy post. I'm trying to say why wait? When you can have a constant support system, lover, helper, sidekick, and best friend right by your side for the rest of your life! Yes times do get hard, but getting through them together is a thousand times better than doing it alone. 

I for one, couldn't wait to be a wife and share this life with Hunter and accomplish things together. I can't wait (well but can at the sane time) to start our family together and experience the joys and challenges parenthood will bring. Yes, I'm only 20 years old (well on Saturday) but growing up and growing old with the love of my life was the best and most important decision I've ever made. I know we have so much further to go and so many more challenges are to be had, but we're in this for eternity and eternity is what we shall have. 

So anyways, Happy two month anniversary my love! You're all that I have ever dreamed of in a husband and Moore. Thank you for putting up with my grumpy days and doing the dishes when i get sick of them. Thank you for turning every moment into a party and for helping me satisfy my ice cream cravings. But in all seriousness, thank you for loving me, for being patient, selfless, and kind. I love you with all that I have and then some. 

All my love, 
Aleigh Joy
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