Take a meander down memory lane...

Today is our 5-year anniversary. WHAT?!?! Where did the time go?! Until this year we'd get "Congratulations!" and lots of smiles - but this year we're getting "Really?! Wow! you guys are an old married couple!" And, I love it. :)

So, in honor of our 5 years of wedded bliss, I thought I would review each year of marriage. Here we go!

"Nicole, will you marry me?!"

And of course, I said "Yes!" I was on top of the world...literally!

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YEAR 1...

* We got married on Saturday, June 18th. It was an amazing day with some wonderful mental snapshots that are etched into my mind forever.

* Chris surprised me by planning a honeymoon to Aruba! It was such a dream...


* Chris spent the rest of the summer working at his first job while I made our small apartment into a home and worked out some "first-year-of-marriage" issues. They seem so, so silly now...but looking back, it was so important to have that summer to just "be" together.

* Chris worked really hard at CBE and provided wonderfully for us financially. It was tight with money, but we didn't know any differently and were so happy!

*We lived in UNI's married student housing, and drove your VERY dilapidated Probe. That is, until it died a painful and noisy death, and we bought our first car!

*I spent my second semester taking 23 credits, doing a senior recital and a 40-page senior thesis, and playing a part in a very time consuming opera. I don't think we saw much of each other that semester!

*As we had worked through so many of our issues during engagement, this was a wonderful first year together. So so happy!

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YEAR 2...

*We bought our first house in Waterloo...what a PROJECT! While we spent 8 of our 9 months in this house doing MAJOR renovations, it was a great time in life. And, we learned how to sand hard wood floors.

*I went on a music trip to Costa Rica for ten days without him...and we survived!!!

*We went to a farm to "check out whether we wanted labradoodles or not", and ended up buying 2 puppies. Maybe the first sign that we have a tendency to act impulsively together?! We love you Sam and Lexi!

*I student-taught at Dunkerton Schools while Chris kept plugging away at his job...and got a promotion!

*Enter huge life change - I got offered a high school job in Webster City at the start of second semester, and after much discussion we decided to take it. So, we got the house ready for the market, moved in with my parents (WHOA small room with two dogs!), and Chris worked out of their Story City home with slow internet. :) What a trooper!!

*Our house in Waterloo sold and we bought a DREAM HOUSE in Webster City. Moved out of the "rent's place" and in on our own again.
*Whirlwind of a semester in Webster City. We got to go to St. Louis for a school trip together, and Chris watched me trip my way through the first show choir season...whoa!

*We planned for and went on a 3-week blitzkrieg around Europe with Jason and Christine. And, we spent our 2nd anniversary in Italy!

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YEAR 3...

*Chris started working his Waterloo job from home and was DEFINITELY lovin' life!

*I jumped both feet first into my Webster City job, and spent many late evenings and early mornings away from home. Loved every minute of it, but it was hard to be away from Chris so much.

*Chris' department got a new manager who wanted him to start coming in to Waterloo 2 days a week. So, he looked for a new job and started working at Electrolux in Webster City...only three blocks away from school! We could suddenly go on lunch dates, and it was so much fun!

*This was our first year in "the real world" together. We started working on school debt really hard, started figuring out what our faith looked like outside of school, and started learning about each other in this new, adult atmosphere.

*Chris planned an awesome date for our 3rd anniversary. We went to Ames, went on a scavenger hunt in a book store, had a great supper, and stayed in a really nice hotel. Such anice night away to celebrate three WONDERFUL years!

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YEAR 4...

*Had a wonderfully relaxed summer in Webster City. We did a lot of projects around the house (landscaping, building a dog kennel, washing/staining the deck, lots of other little things).

*Chris bought a motorcycle, learned how to drive it, and we spent lots of fun nights riding around just for fun. :)

*Finally felt like I "got it" at my job, and had a great year at school.

*Had the first health scare in our marriage - I had a mezzenteric cyst that they thought could have been cancer. While it ended up not being life threatening, it did require an invasive surgery that made life really difficult and helped Chris and I grow in a new way in our relationship. He was WONDERFUL.

*The day after my surgery, we went to an International Teaching Fair (with me in a wheel chair, recovering). And, we accepted jobs to work at Woodstock School in India!

*Got to take a band/choir trip to Chicago. Good times had by all!

*There was a recurrence of my cyst, and so I had another surgery. Chris again had to be the supportive husband, and I learned just how selfless Chris really is.

*It was an EXTREMELY emotional second semester, as we were dealing with health issues AND preparing to move to India AND saying goodbye to students and a community that we had really grown to love. We grew a lot, but NEVER want to go back to that emotional place again!

*We finished our work, packed up the house, and finally moved to India!

*Right before we moved, Rachel took anniversary pictures for us. :)

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YEAR 5...

*WHOA crazy year! We experienced some extreme culture shock the first month in India. We really learned a lot about each other, and parts of our personality came out that we would have NEVER experienced if we hadn't moved overseas together.

*We became each others only family, best friend, and emotional support. It was intense, but a beautiful gift.*Chris worked at job that he REALLY LOVED for the first time, and I got to see a different side of him that I really loved! :)

*We worked at a job TOGETHER for the first time, and suddenly had the same social circle. It was great!

*We got to experience some AMAZING things...

*Went home over Christmas for 2 1/2 weeks. We love our families!!!

*THEN, we spent 2 1/2 weeks in Hong Kong visiting Jason, Christine, and Josiah (and of course, yet-to-born Annette!) SUCH a great trip!!!



*Came back to India feeling MUCH better about the culture, and feeling empowered that we had faced such a hard transition and come out on the other side!*Our house in Webster City didn't sell and didn't rent - and so, we decided in December that we couldn't financially afford to stay any longer. And so, we told the school that we'd be leaving at the end of the school year.

*In January we thought that we could possibly afford to stay due to a few donors. God did some AMAZING things in our hearts, and really changed our willingness to do His will no matter the cost. Our faith changed drastically...and most importantly, it changed TOGETHER.

*We still ended up needing to leave at the end of school year. And so, the second semester was crazy busy, then filled with good-byes to new friends and students. It was hard to say good-bye, but so exciting to come home such a beautiful year together.

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And with that, we celebrate five years of marriage and excitedly look forward to Year #6!

Christopher John Farley - you are the love of my life. You challenge me and encourage me, make me laugh and hug me when I cry. I love the way we complete each other. I understand God more because of you, and I will love you for my entire life. Thank you for putting up with my "crazy", for loving me when I act ugly, and for choosing to serve me when I'm self-centered. you're my best friend, the one I want to talk to at the end of the day, and I can't wait to look back on many more anniversaries with you.

I love you hunners....