The First Year

On August 21st, Cory and I celebrated our first anniversary as a married couple. I wanted to write a post about what this first year has been like and our hopes for the many years to come.

Looking back at the time that has passed from our wedding day until now, it’s hard to believe that it has only been one year. We first moved in together at my parents’ house and created our first bedroom as a couple, a space that was all our own. Then, about six months later we moved into a great little apartment in Aliso Viejo and experienced the joy of living in our first home that was all to ourselves. Just over two weeks ago, we moved yet again and decided to venture out a little bit further this time, moving into our new apartment in Riverside County. While three moves within one year of marriage may seem like a lot, we have enjoyed the journey knowing that our true home is wherever we are together.

Besides our living arrangements, many other things have changed for the two of us throughout this past year, particularly our career paths. I decided to leave my university and pursue an Associate’s degree instead, hoping to make a career as an author. Cory left the university as well, a few months later, and jumped into a business venture to start a solar panel installation company. When it started to look like he was going to be successful enough to support us, I considered the possibility of us starting a family and me becoming a stay-at-home mom. I planned to focus on my family and write novels on the side instead of building a career.

Later, it became clear that my husband’s solar panel business was not going to get off the ground because of a lack of funding, and we decided to move on for now and potentially revisit the idea in the future. When that happened, I realized that I didn’t really have a great plan for my future, and I started to think harder about what I wanted to do with my life. It was then that I discovered a gift and a passion that I have for teaching children. With that in mind, I tentatively started to research options for returning to school, this time focusing on online programs that better suit my learning style. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for me to discover that financially, education beyond the junior college level was no longer within my reach.

Meanwhile, Cory started to refine his own career plans, and came up with the idea of becoming a programmer. It would be fairly easy for him to learn the necessary skills, and a job like that would provide plenty of income to support us. What he really wanted to do, though, was (and still is) to start businesses. Entrepreneurship is his passion and the thing that he dreams of making a career out of. Unfortunately, our financial situation while we were discovering all of this was not optimal. We were by no means struggling to survive, but neither did we have enough extra income to support my new educational goals or his business goals.

After a lot of thinking, researching, and praying, God provided us with a solution. Cory’s parents made an extremely generous offer to support us while we go to school to earn our Bachelor’s degrees, as well as to pay for the costs of school itself. Within the next few days, we found a university with the perfect programs for both of us. I am now working towards my degree in liberal studies, with an emphasis in multiple subjects teaching, which will lead me straight into a teaching credential program when I’m finished. I estimate that I have about three more years until I earn my Bachelor’s degree. Cory is working towards a degree in business administration with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, and he will be finished in about three years as well, according to our estimations.

When I have completed my schooling, I hope to start working as an elementary school teacher right away. Of course, the job market for teachers in California may not be the best right now, and I can’t guarantee that I will be able to find a job at all. But instead of worrying about it, I’m trusting God to provide a way for me. This is where He seems to be leading me, so this is where I will go in faith.

After Cory earns his degree, he plans to become a programmer and run businesses on the side, until he has gained enough experience to secure more funding for some of his bigger ideas. His business degree will only help him to be more successful and potentially more appealing to lenders who could loan him much-needed business capital. Until then, his earnings as a programmer should be more than enough to support us, especially since we will (hopefully) have my income as well.

We are hoping to start a family as soon as we have enough extra income to support it, which we think will be in five or six years. To be honest, that feels like a long time to wait for me, because I really want to have children! But at the same time, I know that we have to make responsible decisions for ourselves and our kids. Plus, one of the great things about getting married young is that there is really no rush to have kids! I still have over a decade of potential child-bearing years ahead of me. And Cory and I are going to enjoy our years of freedom from the responsibility of parenthood. After all, this is the only time that we will have to enjoy our lives with just each other. Once we have children, there is no going back and we will forever be a family of more than two— and quite possibly a lot more than two!

Obviously, we have a lot of high hopes for the future, and I am very excited to see where life is going to take us. The last year has been amazing, and I have loved being married for every minute of it. I’ve often heard that the first year is the hardest in a marriage, and if that’s the truth then we definitely have nothing to worry about! Our first year has only reaffirmed our decision to get married when we did, despite the obstacles and cynics that often seemed to block our path. Simply put, marriage suits us well. Of course, I know that our success so far has very little to do with us and everything to do with God, who is the center of who we are as individuals and as a couple. I am eager to continue growing into a better partner for my husband over the next many years to come, which I can only do with God by my side.

 

Thank you for being a wonderful husband, honey! I could never have asked for anyone better. One year down, 70+ to go!

😉