Throw it way back.

I guess this is what you do on Thursdays, post old photos??  I don't know, I'm a first timer to #tbt.  Maybe my hip and much younger siblings can give me some pointers.  Anyway, throw it back to Ogden, Utah- the week we were married in 2011.  And my pregnant hips!  I had hips folks, once upon a time.  These photos were taken just days after Chad and I were married.  We have no photos of us on our actual wedding day- which yes, bothers me a little.  Our story however, doesn't bother me one bit.  I love that we eloped to Florida that February.  I love that we had no plan.  I had no flowers, no guests, no lavishly expensive dinner and no 4,000 dollar wedding gown.  Wait, okay I'm sad I didn't get to wear the gown, not sad I didn't have to pay for one.  It wouldn't have fit me anyhow.  That day nothing I owned fit me.  I was 5 months pregnant and we were flat broke.  I wore a plain Old Navy sundress purchased the day before, flip flops and my engagement ring.  Chad had spent every penny he owned having it made for me.

The idea of marriage really scared me then, it still does.  Something about promising your forever away no matter what just doesn't seem natural to me.  Things change, people change and that's okay.  I didn't want to get married just because it was the respectable thing to do or because it seemed like the next step in our relationship.  I just wanted to be with Chad.  I wanted us to be a family.  I didn't need a marriage license or a ceremony to tell me how much he really loved me.  I knew enough about him then to know that he was committed, married or not.  For me, this day was like any other day- about nothing more than our love for each other and our desire to stay together.  I love that our baby was there growing inside me as we promised to take care of each other.  For us, it was perfect and the feeling of peace I had that day remains with me still.  Two babies later, I still feel it.  There is a sweetness and a fullness inside my heart.  It's as simple as that.