Thursday, January 30, 2014

not a joke

we have all heard the jokes.
in movies, from people we know and on sitcoms
"my wife and i were happy for twenty five years, and then we got married" ha.
or one I read the other day,
"when a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her" hilarious.
I am now on a military health insurance plan so I had to get a physical yesterday.
My appointment was in the middle of the day on Zach's base
so he went into the room with me
for no other reason, than the fact that is was fun to see each other at 1 on a week day.
The doctor was having me take a deep breath and Zach was making me laugh
because of the eye contact we were making in the mirror.
She looked at both of us,
asked how long we had been married
and in response to our answer she said,
"figures"
My mom, who doubles as my bestie and voice of reason,
reminds me quite often, to not take things so personally.
And she's absolutely right, I take a lot of things straight to the heart,
even when that is not the intention of the person or institution. 
But either way, I haven't mastered that and there are some
phrases
sentences
jokes
or in this case, one word
that sticks with me..
'figures'. 
I love to hear about the experiences of others.
Hearing life stories and advice that comes from them,
is a treasure we have access to through simple conversations.
I have learned so much through listening to others
but I need to say,
it's sad how the image of a husband and wife changes
based on the amount of time they have spent together.
The doctor wasn't even trying to be negative,
but the idea that an 'obviously happy' married couple
 must be newlyweds, is haunting.
There are those who have been married much longer than I have,
will read this, chuckle and think
"this girl will see..give her a couple of years."
And of those people I ask for your encouragement,
rather than your sarcasm.
Because the reality, is that marriage does take work,
sometimes a lot of work.
It isn't always easy and yes, we are young.
In the place of a "classic" joke about how much sex we won't
be having in our future, maybe a joyful notion that there can be so
many incredible ways to grow in intimacy with your spouse. 
I am not a cynic who cant take a joke,
and I am not on a soapbox with a megaphone.
In my opinion, there is enough marriage satire to go around,
let's try a different approach. 
The fact remains that I am a 'newlywed'
and I am wildly, embarrassingly, inappropriately, irrevocably
in love with my husband and
I never want to stop being exactly who we are.
No matter what.
And I don't think that goal comes from being
young, naive or reckless.
Because we all know people,
who have been together for a while
and when they are on fire, just like when they first met
it is a sweet breath of fresh air.
-hay

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Florence Primrose Gay

This Christmas, Zach and I made the decision to grow our family.
It was something that had been on our hearts for a while, so we took the plunge and
adopted a baby girl!
Her name is Florence Primrose Gay
she has brown hair, weighs three pounds,
and is two months old. 
Her favorite activities include scratching furniture and
gnawing on sticks.
She is quite the independent girl but does let 
mommy hold her like a baby sometimes.
Her nickname is Flo but we think she prefers Florence.
She has an instagram hashtag that is EXCLUSIVELY hers
#florenceprimrose
and if you do in fact meet her,
she prefers that you use her correct hashtag on all
social media.
Yes, our girl is a bit of a diva.
She has declared war with a pillow in our living room
and in the mornings she needs her breakfast, water and
twenty minutes to adjust to the new day before she is ready to be held.
We do love her so much! 
She loves watching TV with daddy and her favorite shows include
Parks and Rec, Modern Family and American Idol.
She has added so much joy to our family and increased 
mine and Zach's patience for interesting odors and stains.
We are very blessed to have this cutie!
the day we got Flo!




cuddles with mommy


maybe one day she will conquer her enemy, the pillow behind her



 Proud mom,
Haley


Sunday, January 19, 2014

two thousand thirteen

hello two thousand fourteen.
our farewell to two thousand thirteen was so sweet
and I'm not just talking about new years eve.
Zach and I were home for two weeks with the people we love most!
Zach's sister, her husband and our niece moved to California a few months
ago and so these days, when our families get to be together all at once,
it is such a wonderful thing.
We did in fact, get some amazing, USEFUL gifts
and some awesome pajamas!
We received really sweet feedback from our "thank you" video and
we are so glad that y'all got a kick out of it.
Two thousand thirteen was a year filled with a full range of
experiences and emotions.
I left behind one phase of life to
embark on a completely new one.
In 2013
I became an ex-athlete and a wife
an aunt and a daughter in law
a college graduate and a resident of Virginia
I came to the end of one long distance relationship
and began about fifty others
I lost a name and gained a name
I road tripped
I went to shows and saw incredible artists
I was without my soul mate and I was with my soul mate
I lived with my best friends, I lived with my parents
I lived with my man.
I drank beer with friends, toasting to the good times
and wine to forget about the bad
i
fought
laughed
sang
yelled
whispered
cried
danced
i failed
i succeeded
and got closer with the God who loves me the same either way.
it was a year that i will never forget.

Gay/Pattersons

Lemons/Gay

my bestie got a tat!
 2013...
it was a great year

 -Haley