every year we take a photo on our anniversary. granted we've only got two photos so far, but won't it be great to see them all together as the years go on? we'll get to watch our family grow and see the difference the years make.
you can't half tell which one was professionally shot, huh?
dear mr hutchins, we were married one whole year ago today
ain't it grand that we didn't meet on a reality dating tv show?
i think so too.
sometimes, usually when you're at work and i'm at home on my lonesome, killing time and playing hard to get with the chocolate in the fridge, i think about the time before i met you. before i called you mine. i used to chat to God about you, well not you specifically, but you know what i mean. i didn't usually hear much back, other than be patient which is clearly my strong suit
now. on the flip side of the whole marriage thing.
i can hear what God was saying that whole time.
"oh naya my girl, i know him already, and made him just with you in mind! i'm so excited for you two to get to know each other, just you wait my girl, you will love him"
now a year on, God's probably pretty chuffed with himself because we worked out so darn well, huh? you know the ranting satisfaction i get when i set up two friends and it actually works out? imagine how God must feel!
do you remember our wedding day bear? in case you've forgotten here is my favourite photo from the day
just kidding, but we're pretty darn popular in the under two demographic, huh?
okay okay, i'm still kidding, but look how confused we are!
this is my actual favourite
i still look up to you bear. thank you for our love story
oo em gee i love marriage. or maybe i just love my husband. either which way there is something so nice about doing life with your best friend. it's not always roses, but it is pretty darn good.
i was reading a poignant post by one natalie holbrook over at nat the fat rat (a blog i must say i stalk frequent a lot). she wrote a post about marriage and said a bunch of great things but the one that stuck with me the most was
'be fiercely loyal to your husband'
i liked that so much. i already knew it, but i previously couldn't find the words to articulate it.
fast forward to the hutchins household last night. there wasn't anything particularly special about last night, no romantic dates or grand gestures, but for the most important things there never really is, is there?
i was watching oprah (as you do) and nick was in the kitchen cooking (oh my, you will drool hear about this a couple of paragraphs down). so anyway, oprah was talking.....oh wait, side story to make this story make sense.
nick's from michigan, i'm from sydney, we both live in sydney now and whenever he sees/hears a reference to michigan he goes 'woo'.
so anyway, back to the previous story, oprah was talking about love, peace, happiness, the usual and mentioned ann arbor, michigan.
i said woo (i'm cool like that)
nick from the kitchen says did she mention australia?
i said no, ann arbor, michigan
he said i love that you do that
i said i'm all about you bear
he said i'm all about you nay
and for anyone looking in on our marriage (as you are now) that might seem like an insignificant exchange but for me, it summed up my marriage and so perfectly exemplified what i want our marriage to continue to become.
then, to put a cherry on top of the proverbial 'perfect marriage moment' sundae, he watched oprah with me. ain't he sweet? and he cooks too!
because you stuck with that story now you are rewarded with some snap shots of a wintery weekend in ol' sydney town.
what's going on?
a bit of church some belt shopping my spinach, feta & pine nut filo tart (jamie oliver) people who sleep in have to eat breakfast in the car nick's chocolate and raspberry bread pudding (donna hay) i got to lick the spoon (i came running)
post script
i bought some new jeans this weekend
while wearing my new jeans i hear nick wolf whistle behind me
feeling pretty chuffed i turn to take the compliment
he's whistling at the case of corona he's opening
he then started singing my corona to the tune of my sharona
for those of you playing at home you will remember here i said i am trying to make/give gifts that are a bit more personal, that show a little extra effort, especially in the presentation department.
a friend of mine recently wed and moved into her first grown up home with her now husband. i put together the 'ultimate kitchen starter pack' for her new place so that when she reaches for a spatula she won't come up empty handed.
i noticed when we moved into our first new home we were rather lacking in the kitchen utensil department. as it turns out, houses do not come with utensils (or screw drivers, brooms, buckets, cloths, matches, batteries, light bulbs, pegs and a plethora of other things you just thought would be there because they were just always around in your home growing up, word to the wise - they're not)
sometimes growing up can be a steep learning curve. life used to be so simple and run so smoothly, but now there's dust bunnies in the bathroom and my towels won't dry because the house is too cold and there's ants in the kitchen that even an ant genocide hasn't fixed. bit of a tangent i know, shall we move on? yes, lets.
here are some pictures from said ultimate kitchen starter pack. i also included a donna hay cook book because without her my husband and i would be eating cereal for dinner and the box it came in for dessert.
saturday started with waking up in an empty bed as the husband had already gone to work. i very rarely wake up not knowing what day it is, but this was one of those rare occasions where i woke up tired and confused, thinking it was friday and then realised "no wait, friday was yesterday, it's SATURDAY!" and isn't that just the most joyous feeling, i know i am not alone in this?
a friend of mine was getting married that day. her and her now husband are very artsy folk so there were definitely some cute bits and pieces at their wedding that i had to document (see below)
i really like weddings, mainly because i really like marriage. i love that christian marriage is not based on your love for each other but rather your love for God. so if that 'spark' should wane, as i am sure time, weight gain and children will inevitably cause it to, the marriage does not have to fall apart. with Christ there is always that strength, hope and purpose.
i know we only made the jump nine months ago, but i love watching the story of our marriage unfold and strengthen, it is rather exciting.
at this particular wedding i also had the following exchange with mr hutchins and it just about made my night
nick i gave him a hug, it was a man hug though, not a hug hug
naya *laugh and quizzical look*
nick it's a thing
a little light reading regarding the below pictures. the bride's maid of honour did not want to be the one to catch the bouquet, but chance would have it that she did, note the reaction of the other girls when she catches it. maybe it was a 'you had to be there moment' (ahh geography humour).
this week has been one of the hardest in a long long time. my workplace has turned the stress levels up to extreme, and in turn our stress levels have gone with it.
we are planning an event coming up which should be relatively simple but is anything but. i won't go in to the details, but in summation it has been a tough week.
that is why the little things have been that much nicer of late.
nick made dinner for me, gave me back scratches don't you wish instead of paying for a massage, sometimes you could just pay for a back scratch
and one day i came home from work to find this.
it's things like this that melt me sometimes and make me so
thankful for the man my husband is.
in a surprising turn of events however i just found out
i got a new job!
it is still within the university, just within a different department.
nick and nadia met while both students on a dts at youth with a mission. what started as an innocent friendship eventually grew into something more, much more. after countless trips back and forth across the pacific (she’s from sydney, australia, he’s from grand rapids, michigan), letters, emails, skype dates, real dates, visa hassles, sad goodbyes and two weddings, they begun their lives as a young happily married couple in sydney, australia.
one day my husband made this for me. it sums up the story nicely
and lastly my husband and i have decided to take a photo of us every year on our anniversary, so as time goes on we can watch ourselves, and our little family grow. so i guess therefore, these photos are year zero
