Our First 1st

I am feeling quite beautifully blessed today as I celebrate one year of loving the man of my dreams. One year ago today, Darin and I went on our first date…and my first ever date. Talk about nerves. Ha! Seriously, I was SO nervous. Apparently I had a fear of commitment I was unaware of and a fear of being alone with a boy. My goodness. What a perfect date it turned out to be though...a date full of great conversations, pretty places, and amazing company. I had never felt so special in all my life.

August 1, 2012 & August 1, 2013

On August 1, 2012 Darin and I committed to love, pursue, and treasure each other. We chose to enter into a relationship we believed was God ordained and orchestrated and chose to fully embrace a love neither of us fully understood. From August 1, 2012 on, I have been falling more and more in love with the amazing man God has made Darin to be. As I reflect on this day one year ago, I tear up imagining the journey it took to get to that point. The heartache, the frustration, the misunderstanding, and the countless (seriously countless) prayers prayed, all paid off as we started our journey together. And what a journey it has been. My goodness, as I think back on this past year, it is honestly pretty difficult to believe all that happened in just 365 days. Darin and I have been blessed beyond belief with amazingly sweet moments, valuable lessons, and a love bigger and better than I ever imagined possible. We have endured the struggles of a long distance relationship, maximized every moment we had together, and have grown in tremendous ways as the Lord led us every step of the way. It has been absolutely amazing to see how God has used Darin so uniquely and so boldly in my life. He has revealed areas of my heart I never knew existed, has brought out a passionate desire to love, serve, and further the Kingdom, and has shown me what it feels like to be pursued and loved unconditionally. Darin has embodied sacrifice, patience, gentleness, and love in a way I had never seen or experienced. It is absolutely humbling to have the opportunity to love and be loved by Darin Mirante.

I could say so many more words. Words talking about the lessons I’ve learned, about the joys I have experienced, about the places we have gone, the people we have met, the memories we have shared…but instead, I will simply say this: This year has been one of the most unexpected, amazing, difficult, joyful, and beautiful years yet. I get to love and be loved by an incredible and Godly man and that brings me to tears. I love love.

Happy 1 Year Anniversary, sweet love of mine!

Here is a quick glimpse at the adventures we have shared this year…

August 1, 2012

 September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Oh what a joyous evening we had celebrating our first 1st Anniversary as we called it. He loves me so well and I am so thankful. After a ridiculously busy last few weeks...or months, it was SO nice to be able to spend quality time with just him. Ahh, I enjoyed every minute. In sticking with tradition, my sweet boy came to the front door and I was greeted with THE most handsome man and THE most gorgeous flower arrangement. Seriously, I have never seen such beautiful flowers. And to add to the sweetness, he had decorated the vase with love and anniversary stickers. I mean, seriously? Totally blushed and was shaking when I saw him because I was so excited to see him. Ha! 

Throughout the year, Darin and I have declared certain places we have visited as "our spots." These are our go-to happy/pretty/relaxing places. One of these spots is Eden Park, which just so happens to be where our first date was. Sticking with our love of adventure AND our spots, Darin found a super fun and delicious restaurant in Eden Park called VIEW Cucina. Umm...yum! It was super tasty and the atmosphere was perfect. We got to the restaurant right before sunset and were able to enjoy a beautiful meal outside with a view of the Ohio River. Oh it was just lovely. After we ate our meals, we were (somewhat) coaxed into trying one of their desserts. Best decision of the night! Ha! We got a homemade-literally everything was homemade- s'more dessert. Oh my word, it was so yummy. After having super happy and full stomaches and super happy and full hearts, we walked around Eden Park and just totally soaked up our time together. It was perfect.

 Dijon Crusted Lemon Sole (his) & Goat Cheese Ravioli (hers) 

Oh I just loved having that special time with my sweet love. It was so perfect because it was with him. I'm pretty sure I would have been just as happy eating a PB&J in an empty room as long as he was with me. Darin shows me and tells me about love in a way I have never experienced. I am humbled every single day by the opportunity to love and be loved by him. I treasure our love and thank God for leading us together and also pray for continued guidance, wisdom, and opportunities to learn how to better love and serve together in the years to come. 

I love you, babe! You make me better every day and lead me to Jesus. I love your love and treasure the amazing gift that it is. I love you today, tomorrow, forever, and for always. Happy First 1st!