Happy Anniversary {8 years and counting}

Today is my 8th wedding anniversary! People would laugh if they new how crazy that day was and the next eight years…so i am going to share with you our story! The summarized version…and I am by no means an English teacher…so forgive the errors and misspellings!

Wedding Number 2

Year One:

We were married on Friday, January 31st, by John Murphy at Doyle Methodist Church with our closest family and friends present. I had been in Nashville with some fellow MTSU students, lobbying for Special Education rights and had to race to the courthouse to sign for our marriage license…almost wrecking and speeding well beyond the speed limit because I just couldn’t wait til Monday to get married!  We decided to get married only 2 weeks after Bryan had proposed because he was being transferred to Hawaii (sad place to move to I know…) with the Marine Corps. So we planned a big wedding for May. May was a big month for us! I graduated from MTSU, had a second wedding, found out we were pregnant and moved to Hawaii! Lots of changes! In December, a month early, Harrison Maxwell Bouldin blessed us with his presence!

Max 1 week old and his first trip to the ocean! Max and Daddy

Year 2:

Began with Max and myself moving to TN temporarily because Bryan was sent to Florida for a military class for six months and I by no means was going to live all the way in Hawaii by myself. We made monthly trips to visit Daddy and made sure he didn’t miss a thing! In the late summer we moved back to Hawaii and lived on Ka’ahumanu St. and spent our weekends on the beach:) We celebrated Max’s first birthday just the three of us!

Year 3:

Shortly after the first of the year we learned that Bryan was being sent to Iraq. Nothing is more scary than having a one year old and living across the ocean from your family while your husband is off fighting in a dangerous war…so we moved back to TN! Bryan came home safe and sound that fall…we spent his time in Iraq waiting for phone calls and emails and excitedly talked over webcams at least 2 times a week! Apparently, it is pretty common for women to become unexpectedly pregnant when there husbands return from combat! LOL! Because surpise…we were expecting by Christmas!

Year 4:

Bryan was once again sent over seas this year and was heading to the Philipines…so of course I once again was heading back to TN! Jackson McKinley Bouldin was born on August 26th…Bryan was in a raining mudhole of a drill exercise and didn’t find out until the next night that his son had been born! In November, Bryan surpised us and came home to meet, Jack, for the first time! Jack was three months old! We were also blessed enough for him to be home with us for Jack’s first Christmas….

Max meets Jack!Jack

Year 5:

Bryan’s term in the Marines was coming to an end…Myself, Max and Jack remained in TN and began house hunting! Bryan came home in April and by May we were moving into our new home on Turntable Rd.! Bryan started his first civilian job in 10 years and we decided the best thing for our children was for me to be home with them! The best decision we had ever made:) And we once again ended up with an unexpected pregnancy! Fertility was definetly not a problem in this family…

Goodbye Hawaii...my last trip to Hawaii!

Year 6:

This was for sure the worst year of our marriage…in February we had a miscarriage and were devistated. But kept relying on our faith in God to get us through…two weeks later…a drunk driver crashed into our home! Scaring the pants off us all! But sometimes God puts us through things so that we can come through them molded into what he wants us to be…and we clung to that like a life raft! In late, August, we found out we were once again…PREGNANT! And this time its a GIRL!!!

Max and Jack are excited about having a baby sister!

Year 7:

This year is looking up. I surprised Bryan and took him to a Presidential debate and we met President Clinton and his family!

...technically, Lorelei met them too;)

Welcome, Lorelei Claire Bouldin!! On May 18th 2008, we welcomed our first daughter!! Luckily everyone in our family was there to welcome her…this is a first for us!

Daddy holding Lorelei for the first time!

Finally, the family is complete!

Things were looking up! This was also the year I decided to start my photography business! Its such a blessing to have the support of family and friends and with their encouragement and support our next venture was off to a slow but sure start!

Lorelei at 6 months old

Year 8:

This past year of our marriage has for me been our best…our family is becoming this comfortable rythm. This year was also very sad…we said goodbye to my father. He passed away this year of colon cancer and we miss him dearly. He would be so proud of our family and how it has grow and how sucessful we have become… Bryan’s work is becoming more and more sucessful, my business began growing with leaps and bounds…and our children are becoming the most amazing kids! Their personalities distinctive and a joy to watch unfold! A typical day in our home is mass chaos! With toys and clothes and blankets everywhere lol…but it is our family and we love it! And hopefully there will be many, many more years to come! We can’t expect it to be perfect or expect there not to be bumps in the road, but we will get through them with our faith…together! I love you, Bryan! Thank you for giving me the most wonderful family and life I could have ever dreamed of…Happy Anniversary!

The Fruits of our Labor!