Our life...

On August 1st, 2008, I logged on to my Plenty of Fish account to try to delete it. I wasn't having any success meeting someone worth my time, and I figured I should just cancel it. While on there, I was winked at by a cute boy. Aaron and I got to talking online, which turned to texting ALL night, which turned to him asking to take me to breakfast. Alas, I had weekend plans with Ms. Jay to go to Harrison for a girls trip. I turned his invitation to breakfast down, but we spent the weekend texting each other, getting to know each other through written words.

On August 4th, 2008, we met for the first time outside Jay's parents house. I was nervous - he was adorable. We went to dinner at White Spot with Jay and Chad tagging along. We walked by the river in Fort Langley. We kissed on the hood of his car.

From August until December, our relationship bloomed and we started falling in love. Then, in the middle of December 2008, the recession took hold of us and Aaron lost his job. It was the start of a long, difficult year and a half for us. Because he couldn't find a job right away, we agreed he'd move in with me and we'd work through it together. He started school to become an IT technician, got a part time weekend job at a motorcycle shop, and we got by on my salary and his EI payments. However, in August of 2009, EI ran out. In September, he was laid off from the shop because it was only seasonal. He graduated from the school that didn't teach him any practical knowledge, and failed at finding a job in his field. We thought the last 8 months were hard, but the following 9 were even harder. He got a job at Costco over the Christmas season, but we knew it would end. He still couldn't find any work, and we couldn't pay all of his bills. I'm not even going to beat around the bush - it was the hardest time of our lives. We held it together though because we loved each other more than anything, but it was tough.

We'd decided to help my dad renovate his basement suite in 2010, and move in when it was done to save money and avoid the construction happening at our co-op.

We were scheduled to move in there in June 2010. A week before moving day, Aaron was offered a job! It wasn't what he was trained in, but it was a job, and he knew he'd be good at it.

The next few months were just as challenging because the basement suite wasn't finished on time. We lived in a tiny room at my dads with our 2 cats. We both cried at one time or another. It wasn't ideal, to put it mildly. From late June until November, we lived upstairs, sharing their house and space with my dad and his partner. Finally, in mid-November, we could move some of our things into the suite. We were overjoyed! Our cats were probably the most excited!

On November 26th, 2010, Aaron surprised me with a get-away to Whistler for my birthday. It was perfect! He booked our favorite hotel - a full suite with a fireplace, living room, and kitchen! The first night, he made us dinner in the room with wine and cheesecake, and we cuddled by the fire. The next day, after exploring the village, he surprised me again with a full spa day in the mountains. Afterwards, he took me to a high-end restaurant for dinner, then a walk through the snowy village. We stopped at the base of the ski-hill to look at stars, and he asked me to become his wife. It was, to this day, the third best moment of my life to the day we got married and the day we found out we were having a baby.

On November 28th, we told my whole family while gathered at my mom's house to watch my favorite thing, The Grey Cup - it was an exciting time!

2011 was a whirlwind of activity - planning a wedding, helping my friend plan her wedding, buying a new truck, going to Vegas, and making our new basement suite our home.

 

 

2012 was our year. It was a year full of firsts and amazing moments. We found a house and signed the papers, had our bachelor and bachelorette parties, my wedding shower, our wedding, our honeymoon, and moved into our first home. We spent the year with family and friends celebrating everything good in our lives. It was a year of wonderful days, stressful days, fantastic days. We went on Aaron's first wine tour, camped in a trailer, I lost 25lbs, we had our first Christmas in our own home that we bought and furnished.

 

 

2013 so far has been... strange and wonderful all at once. Aaron went back to school at night to study  purchasing. I gained all my weight back and cut off 10" of hair. We renovated our new home. We adapted to the stresses and financial obligations that affect home owners. And best of all, we made a baby.

August 4th, 2013 - Aaron and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. I can't tell you how hard, how wonderful, how eye-opening the last 5 years have been. I can honestly tell you that the night I met Aaron I cried in the car on my way home... I knew my life was changed. This one man has not only given me a husband, a child, a partner, a best friend, a home - this man has changed who I am. He has made me a better person. He has made me more patient. He has made me see life through brighter glasses. He has given me reasons to smile, to laugh, to move forward. He makes me strive to be more than I thought I was capable of. He's made me his wife, he's blessed me with motherhood, and he's given me the kind of happiness that I not only thought I'd never have, but always thought I didn't deserve. He's made me feel deserving. I think that, above all else, makes him the most special man on this planet.

Aaron, thank you for being you, for coming into my life, for becoming my life. Cheers to the past 5 years, and to the next 50 to come!