*This post contains affiliate links. A research team under John Gottman, a well-known expert in couples research, found that, “the success or failure of a marriage depends not on whether there is conflict, but on how conflict is handled when it does occur (Walsh, 2012).” Because of that, Gottman has addressed the mistakes we make while in the middle of marital conflict, in hopes that we can correct our mistakes and live happier marriages.

In my marriage and relationship skills class that I took over the summer, my professor was making fun of his cousin who just got married and started a blog about marriage, as if his cousin was an expert on it. Apparently they would write in a way that the things they were suggesting were wrong. With my professor being an actual expert on marriage in being a couples therapist, I could see why he would get annoyed of people like that.

A few weeks ago, I heard a stupid song on the radio. Well, goodness, aren’t most of the songs on the radio kind of stupid? At least the ones on the cheesy pop stations, are. (I really hate most of what is played on the radio and am baffled that our society actually enjoys them so much that they become a top 10 favorite, but that is an argument for some other time, haha.

I have loved our married student ward here in Provo, and I am going to miss it dearly! I especially will miss the Sisters who have been in the ward, as they have influenced my life in many ways. I guess, this post is a goodbye letter to them, as well as an encouragement for those who are also in married student wards. For those of you unfamiliar with what a “ward” is, it’s a way of referring to a local congregation within the LDS faith.

Our little apartment is being emptied. All the pictures and artwork have been taken down from the walls, leaving them as blank as a piece of paper. Our couch has been sold, so movies are being watched in our bed now. The shelves have been cleared, and the drawers are empty. Clothes are in bags, appliances are wrapped up, and the random things are boxed up.. Well, pretty much everything is boxed up… our life… it’s all boxed up and ready to be put elsewhere.

Before I got married, I would hear things about how friendships change when a friend gets married. I heard that the girls nights disappear, and the friends stop calling each other. I heard that single friends think their married friend is too consumed in their husband to care about them, or that there’s no relating to each other anymore. I’ve also heard that the single friend feels like their married friend is always trying to set them, and it’s annoying to them.

Buying a house can be expensive… Haha, that’s an obvious thing. The price gets higher and higher with every new appliance or furniture purchase, too. After buying the necessary refrigerator, washer and dryer, and a couch, you could say our savings is getting depleted! Even though we have the money for it, and are being responsible, it’s put us on a tight budget this month and next month, as we make sure we have enough money for all the living essentials and closing costs coming up.

Pregnancy. It either happens when you want it, don’t want it, were not expecting it, or couldn’t wait soon enough for. It’s usually pretty great news to hear, right? Whether the news is for yourself or for someone else, it is really exciting to see one of God’s greatest miracles happening to someone you know, and someone you care about. One of my friends and past roommates recently found out she is pregnant :) I’m so happy for her to be a mom because I know without a doubt, that is her mission in life.

If you read Part 1, you’ll know that we went into our appointment feeling worried about the huge price increase on the home plan we were interested in the most. We let them know we were very serious about this home, but that the price jump was going to be a deal-breaker for us. We asked the rep if there was anything they can do for us on that, since it happened literally overnight.

When we first started thinking about the idea of moving and buying a house, it was difficult to be fully invested in the idea because there were multiple factors that were up in the air that could alter that idea. It really felt like everything was about timing. We weren’t sure if the timing was right with me going back to school. We also weren’t sure if we should save up a little more, though we did already have a down payment.

Ready for these two exciting announcements? We are moving! We bought a house! Yep. This just got real. It’s awesome yet crazy, and just a huge step in our lives but we are so excited to take that step! Though the idea of moving has been in the works for us for about five months, the opportunity with this specific house came up quick. And when I mean quick, I mean that we had three days to decide on it, haha.

I like doing surprise/spur-of-the-moment dates. Especially when they are much needed. I have had some medical concerns (or you could call them annoyances!) for several months now. (I’m not pregnant, don’t worry, haha.) I’ll have slumps of days when almost any food sounds good to eat, but then I’ll have annoying streaks when I don’t want to eat anything; sometimes it gets to the point of just thinking of my favorite foods makes me want to gag.

Josh and I met on October 20, 2011 on the street corner while walking to class at the University of Utah. He said hello & the rest was history.. just kidding it wasn’t that simple. A few dates, break ups, one summer of me studying abroad and him selling pest control & skyping, a reunion the same place we met and several–staying up way too late because we didn’t want to say goodbye–nights later we were married March 12, 2013.

We love living in Provo. There’s some great things about this area (Provo & Orem) that set it apart from other cities in Utah. The music scene has been great to be a part of, and has been the creator of some memorable date nights for us. Someone, somewhere nearby, for some inexpensive price is always playing, and they are usually pretty entertaining. I don’t know of any town that can do that, let alone, has enough talent to give birth to some great bands.

Music is one of my favorite things that this life offers us. It has the power to inspire, to soften hearts, to change a mood, to make our bodies move, and ultimately, it can make us happy. My favorite thing about music, however, is its ability to preserve a memory, whether happy or sad, silly or annoying. I absolutely love that because of the many, MANY songs on my personal favorites list, every single one of them involves a memory… Singing Backstreet Boys songs with my friend every drive I took from St.

We are now on month 13 and I’m feeling grateful for where we are at. It is funny because this month I’ve suddenly felt like we gained a little bit more maturity with completing one year. Every year brings it’s certain experiences that allow us to learn and grow, so each year we’ll become just a little tinsy-tiny bit more wiser than the year before, and I’m looking forward to it :) With that being said, I think it is important to look back at things we have learned.

We’ve mentioned our ideals on dating in marriage before, but we’ll mention it again: One of our expectations going into our marriage, was committing to have a date night each week. In looking back at our first year, I don’t think we missed a week. I know it’s so much easier for newlyweds to continue to date, and make time for dates, but that’s not an excuse to lack! No matter what stage of marriage you are in, I hope you ask each other out on fun dates still.

Feel free to LISTEN to this blog post below! [sc name=“soundcloud” id=“273881414” ] I don’t like bikinis, I don’t wear them. I think they are immodest and inappropriate and impractical to be wearing swimming. I have read a few articles the past month, that have lead me to feel strongly about sharing why I feel this way about bikinis. One of those articles was, “I’m not celebrating bikini season this year” by Kit Steinkellner.

You’ve probably noticed a decrease in posts the past few weeks. (I’m sorry for that!) I love our blog, and I love writing posts, but I’ve just had my hands busy with school. Yep! After being out of the academic loop for two years, I am back in the game! It’s been a slight adjustment with getting back into my nerdy, studious habits, but it’s been more of an adjustment with how face-paced summer blocks are.

Remember when you first got married, and there’s that one (or more for some of us) person who makes the comment, “So when are you going to start having babies?” I’m sure we can all think of someone who said that to us, right? Some of them are just funny little grandmas just waiting to have more cheeks to pinch! But others can ask in an interrogative way about it, as if they may be upset if you give an answer that doesn’t include the thought of immediately having a child.