Our First Wedding Anniversary!

We Made It!!!!!

How awesome is it that Lamar and I have been married now for a whole year (plus 1 week)!!  *does happy dance* And to commemorate this, I found this cute list of questions for us to answer.  This will definitely be something nice to look back on as the years march on! ^.^

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[1] What has brought you closer together this year?

Lamar: The many firsts we experienced together.

Caleisha: I think that our current housing has brought us closer, literally and figuratively.  Lamar’s brother has been super amazing and is letting us stay with him until we can get our own place.  That means most of my belongings are in boxes in the garage and I’m always on the hunt for ways to make the most of minimal space.  Sometimes I get frustrated but Lamar is always there to help me see through it and make the best of where we are in our life together.

[2] What's your favorite memory of your first year together?

L: Our first Communion together & our staycatiomoon.

C: We have done so many fun/memorable things this year that it’s hard to pick a favorite… so here’s a list Disney World, the Dali Museum, Cirque do Soleil, our Delaware reception, Thanksgiving with my family & him getting to see my VA house, many many #christianturnup nights, Caleishentines, Escape the Room, Christmas with his family, and our Staycationeymoon…

[3] Did you have a wedding or honeymoon disaster that you're already laughing at?  What was it?

L: "I WILL" & the 3 takes on our 'crossing the threshold' photo. (Our officiant phrased our vows in a way that Lamar had to say "I will" instead of "I do".)

C: I wouldn’t say “Disaster” but we do laugh about how late he was to the ceremony. Our wedding started nearly 2 hours late ^.^  The funny thing was when I talked to my Mother in law about it, she was like “eh… that’s my son”  lesigh… but those appetizers he was making were sooo good!

[4] What has surprised you most about being married?

L: How much things stay the same.  Our living situation may contribute to that since we're not in our own place yet.

C: It surprised me how easily I fit in with his family.  I was thinking that we’d have to warm up to each other because you always hear about “monster-in-laws” but his family is really awesome.  The other day, my father-in-law gave me a crochet kit and I knew this was all meant to be ^.^ lol!

[5] Anything shocking you've learned about your spouse?

L: Can't tell you that ;-)

C: Shocking… he doesn’t like pie.  Who doesn’t like pie! Who I ask!?!

[6] What is a bonus quality you discovered in your spouse that you didn't know about until marriage?

L: How loyal she is to her friends.

C: I didn’t know how dedicated he can be.  He’s always telling me that when he commits to doing something whether it’s in his personal life, career, or church, he wants to do it to the fullest of his ability and he sees it through til the end regardless of the opinions of others.

[7] If you could do anything different what would you do?

L: Be on time to the wedding. Do more financial planning before we got married.

C: Probably a wishing well instead of a registry.  We have yet to open the vast majority of our wedding gifts and they're all in storage.  Future brides… don’t let the Bed, Bath, & Beyond guy pressure you into putting random stuff on your registry!

[8] What have you learned from your spouse this year?

L: The importance of taking advantage of the time you have.  My late hours coaching and her weekend working schedule mean that we have limited time together.  So we have to take advantage of it.

C: I have learned to focus more on NOW instead of worrying about what might happen later on.

[9] How have your feelings changed in just one year together?

L: They have been reinforced.  I've seen everything I love about her demonstrated in our everyday lives.

C: More and more over this first year, I’ve been feeling appreciative and blessed to be married to Lamar. He is definitely the type of person that works to lead by example and he always wants to better himself as well as those around him.

[10] What is something you've done that has made a difference in your marriage, that you would give as advice to be successful to others on their wedding day?

L: Listen and make sure you communicate things clearly.  Be patient and be prepared to hear things about yourself you may not want to hear or accept.

C: We talk.  Talking about our days is a really good way to decompress and to make sure that we know what going on with each other.  Whenever we talk about something that’s wrong or upsetting, we try to use the active listening skills that we learned in pre-marital counseling.  When I’m expressing some feeling or another to Lamar and he can respond with his understanding of what I said, I personally find that very reassuring.

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And there you have it. Thinking of the answers was a good memory exercise.  I did have to go back through instagram and my phone photos to remember random things we did over the year.  Also, I find it kinda funny that all my answers are longer than Lamar's because he is most definitely the talker between us lol :)

Wish us luck, send up prayers, and send us positivity as we go into our second year of marriage!  Let the adventure continue!