One Year Down, Eternity To Go!

Us on our anniversary! :)

Well friends, Dan and I have been married for a year. I know, it's hard to believe, isn't it? It seems like yesterday and then again it seems like more than a year has gone by. I can honestly say it's been the best year of my life. Sometimes I can hardly remember what I was doing before my life with him. I have learned so much about myself, him, and the two of as a couple. I fall for him more every moment we spend together, and even those we spend apart (which thankfully hasn't been more than 48 hours yet).

A lot can happen in a year, I'm sure many of you married peeps know that (and even those of you who aren't). Dan and I moved to South Ogden and have been here since we were married. We're both attending Weber State and recently were accepted into our programs of choice. We have grown to love our ward and people we are surrounded by. Dan teaches the 16 & 17 year olds in Sunday School and I get to have fun with the Beehives in Young Women. (Often I am mistaken for being one of them, which I keep getting told I'll be thankful for one day.) We have met some amazing married couples whom we love to spend time with. We're grateful for their support and being able to relate to them during these new and exciting stages of life. Heavenly Father blesses us where ever we go, it is seen in our everyday lives.

I've grown to love and appreciate my in-laws more and more. I am truly blessed to have married into the Hayward family. I could not ask for more caring and thoughtful parents-in-law. I know they would do anything for us and I appreciate that they enjoy spending time with us and do things we like to do. And I love having new brothers and sisters to spend time with and get to know better. It's fun to have your family grow. I have also seen my family in a way I never have before. I am perpetually more grateful that they are mine, and that I get to spend time with them when we can. I love my parents and am so grateful for their example and the way that they raised me. I don't know what I'd do without them, being the amazing people that they are. I love my siblings and am so happy they found their other halves as well and that we all get to be together forever. I feel closer to them now that we're all married and on the same journey. Family is really what it's all about.

Harris

Hayward

For the most part, nothing too extreme has really happened in our first year, which I count as a blessing. We've gone to school, changed jobs, learned to pay bills we didn't have before, sleep in a bed with another person (although I can't say it's too difficult in a King size, we're lucky), kept what we can afford of our hobbies, and learned to like some of the things the other one does. We've rubbed off on each other and changed in our own unique way. We're Dan and Ally, we're the Hayward family. I love it!

Marriage is an adjustment, that's for sure. We've learned what bothers the other one and what makes them happy. We've learned new needs that we have as individuals and as a couple, and how to fulfill those needs. We've learned to help each other study, both of us going into the medical field helps that!, although Dan definitely knows a lot more than me so I think I am getting the better tutor. We've learned to remind one another of the talents and abilities we possess. We've learned that I have to wait to have children to continue "Disney Movie Sunday" and that Dan needs to play Gamecube with his guy friends, for the most part - I will play super smash. We've learned how to motivate one another to do things the other isn't too fond of, I'm grateful he has been there to get me out and about and exercise and do new and exciting things. We've learned that Dan is super ticklish and he wishes that I was still. We've learned that I don't stand a chance wrestling him, even when he uses one arm. We've learned how to take care of each other when I burn myself on the motorcycle or he drops heavy beams on his toes at work. He's my best friend and I love him. 

Not everything has been smooth sailing though. We have experienced our own little difficulties and trials. We definitely see that tithing is a huge blessing! But I feel like I bring a lot of those trials to the table and Dan is there to help me through them. Thanks goodness he has excellent health or we'd be in trouble. I am grateful for the support that he is to me and all he does to make ends meet for us. One reassurance for me that helps me know I picked the right man to be my partner for eternity is that Dan helps, the best he can with what he knows and understands, me with my depression and anxiety. I know it's hard on him but I see that he tries and I appreciate that he just listens without trying to fix me. This little video could be used for all married couples, ha, and it's exactly what NOT to do. I'm grateful my husband isn't this way. 

I could never go back to life before Dan. He is my everything. He makes my world go round and I made him promise before we got married that he has to let me die first because I never want to live without him. Cheesy? Maybe but I'm serious! I don't want to be old and alone. I don't want to know what life is like without him now that he's here. Throughout this past year I can see why Heavenly Father has made marriage, eternal marriage, essential to His plan. It's an amazing blessing and I am so happy for those who make the decision to partake of this gift from He who loves us most. 

"If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by." -F. Burton Howard

I look forward to many more years with the man of my dreams, my better half, my lover, my best friend, my gift, my one and only, my very own Mr. Hayward. I love you sweetheart!