1 Year Anniversary!

The most sound advice we received the night before our wedding went something like this:
"The first year of marriage is the hardest, but it is because you are starting from scratch on putting someone else first in your life. While premarital counseling is highly recommended, marriage counseling after the wedding can be just as important the first year, because we begin to actually experience and understand the dynamics of marriage, and what it means to be husband and wife."

This past year has proven to be the most difficult, and yet the most amazing year Matt and I have been together. We did eventually decide to try marital counseling by a respected pastor for two months after our wedding. It proved to be the best decision we could have made! God has since then, blessed our marriage, and taken us on a journey of growth, love, and devotion.

To celebrate our 1 year anniversary, we chose to have a simple and relaxing day, enjoying each others company. We slept in, ate breakfast in our pajamas while watching a church service on TV, enjoyed doing some simple hobbies at home, and then cleaned up to go out for dinner to have King Crab legs!

Standing outside of Outback Steakhouse after dinner

We are so thankful for the past year together, and are excited for the future years to come! Especially if the first year is supposed to be the hardest, then we only look forward to every year getting better and better!

...in Sickness and in Health

Last week, what started as annoying allergies Thursday afternoon, turned into a horrendous head flu that rendered me stuck in bed for hours the next day!

Thursday evening, by the time I made it home from work, my throat was sore, and my nose was burning. Like a good doting husband, Matt got my herbal heat pack (I usually use them for sore muscles - but they have chamomile, and lavender in them -- so they are also like aroma therapy). I drank Theroflu and pressed my herbal pack to my nose for a good 1-2 hours, while Matt did the dishes for me.

That night, I woke up at 1AM from chills... I had all my blankets over me, but was cold! I glanced over at Matt sleeping, scooted closer to him to try and share body heat. Two hours later at 3AM I woke up again, only this time I was burning up! I had been dreaming that I was running a 5K, and couldn't jog more than 15 seconds without collapsing from heat exhaustion. You can imagine how weird it was to wake up from that and still feel like I was suffering from the heat! Sleep came and went from that point on... at 8AM I called in sick to work, and stayed in bed until 2PM with a fever, headache, body aches, sore throat and nose. It was awful.

Matt brought me orange juice, fruit, water, and advil. He was working from home that day, and would check in on me every hour or so, feeling my forehead. At one point, he even brought his laptop into the bedroom and worked right next to me as I slept - trying to break my fever. By the time evening came, I had broken my fever, headache was gone, and I only had a sore throat, and felt achy/weak... I can't begin to express how free I felt to be able to move from the bed to the living room couch! haha.

Matt gave me a hug, and I was worried that he would have to suffer the sickness next with all the attention he was giving me. But he shrugged, and laughed saying that we now share everything being married.

That was a week ago - he still hasn't gotten sick. :-)

Together and Apart

This past weekend was pretty fun! Aside from the busyness, it was a realization on how a married couple can be one, yet on various levels of being apart.

To start, Matt and I spent Friday on our own with friends.  I spent the day at Disneyland with a couple of my closest girlfriends, while Matt spent time with a couple of his buddies for the evening.  We each got home later that night, and talked about our day before going to sleep.  We both enjoyed sharing about our day apart, and admitted that we started to miss each other towards the end.  It reminded me of the phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder".  It also reminded me of when we were dating in college. We would spend one day together, and the next apart... time apart makes you appreciate the time you do have together.  Sometimes this is true with work days as well.  You work the entire day, and look forward to the evening with your sweetie - but there's something different when you spend your free time apart.  I must say, that even while I was physically apart from Matt and having fun with my friends, he was definitely on my mind everywhere I went - even in conversation when I caught myself say "we" more than "I".

Saturday we spent the day at my parents' house... yet doing our own things.  I helped my mom with her jewelry show she was hosting, while Matt spent the day working on his mustang's brakes with my dad and friend Justin.  So even though we were in the same location, we were each doing our own thing.  I truly enjoyed getting to spend time with my mom, sister, and the ladies that came and went... but I loved knowing in the back of my mind that my husband was just around the corner.  As a couple, you go many places together, and I realized that being one in marriage, doesn't always mean being attached at the hip.

Sunday we spent the morning at church and had brunch with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. Afterward, Matt and I went home and did chores.  We each had our respective chores... I scoured the sinks, and he checked car oil, I dusted, he vacuumed, I cleaned out for Goodwill, and he cleaned out the dishwasher, I cooked, and he did the dishes. We spent the entire day together, but we had our separate things to do.  I realized that sometimes the things that we do differently, are the things that help make us a better team.

Overall, I think we're getting this marriage thing down. :-)

How it all began!

I guess I should start this by giving a little intro about us! :-)

About Candace
I was born and raised in Southern California, and have lived in Arcadia, Temple City, Glendora, and now Placentia. I Graduated Cal Poly Pomona in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, and a minor in Marketing Management. I'm currently working as a Marketing Coordinator for University Housing Services at Cal Poly Pomona.

My favorite hobbies include traveling, drawing, cooking, running, boating, watching movies, and going to the beach.

About Matthew
He was born and raised in Southern California, and grew up in Costa Mesa as a kid. He has since lived in Huntington Beach, Pomona, Chino, Fullerton, and now Placentia with me! He graduated Cal Poly Pomona in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems and currently works at Boeing.

His favorite hobbies include playing guitar, flying RC planes, traveling, going to the gym, listening to music, computer games, as well as going to the beach.

The day we met!
Tuesday - May 10th, 2005

Candace's Side of the Story - A day or two prior to the day we met, I had told God that my heart was in His hands. I prayed that He would bring the right man into my life without me trying. I only simply asked that this man would be Christian, genuine, and have the guts to approach me.

I was standing in line getting Subway at Cal Poly Pomona, before my next art class. At that time, Matt was walking by and noticed me standing there waiting. He came over and stood behind me. At that moment I turned around to see if I could find anyone in the Bronco Student Center that I knew. I noticed Matt looking at me and smiling. I felt immediately embarrassed and turned back around. He then spoke up and told me I looked like I was ready to go to the beach (I was wearing shorts and flip flops). Still feeling a little shy I turned to look beside me to see if he was talking to someone else - I looked straight into a wall. He introduced himself and we started talking. I distinctly remember him complimenting my hair, being very easy to talk to, and cute! He gave me his myspace, and we parted ways.

Two days later we started messaging each other, and decided to meet at Campus Crusade for Christ (campus club I was involved in). Over the next month we wrote back and forth, went on 2-3 dates, until he kissed me and asked me to be his girlfriend on June 11th, 2005.

Matt's Side of the Story - I reached a point in my life where I said, ok God, I give up, I am going to leave it up to you in order to find the right girl. I had a couple humble requests, this girl be a Christian, she have a sibling, and that her parents would still be together.

I was in between courses at Cal Poly Pomona when I decided to stop by Subway and get something to eat. There was an incredibly attractive girl there, with this wispy blond hair and something compelled me to talk to her. I said, "Looks like you're ready to go to the beach.", she looked at me surprised, and turned to look behind her to see who I was talking to, and looked directly at a blank wall. I laughed and said, "Yes you!"

I gave her my myspace address and thought I might not see her again, but she messaged me. A month later we started dating and haven't looked back.

How we got engaged! - told by Candace
Mammoth Mtn. - March 21st, 2009

We had been planning on going to Mammoth Mountain with a few friends for a while. Our good friend Katie had connections to a free cabin, so we all took Friday off work and drove up for the weekend.

Saturday morning it started snowing this perfect soft and fluffy snow, and it didn’t stop all day! After lunch we went for a walk outside. We walked through the trees, finding shelter under them from the falling snow, and having fun making tracks in the fresh powder. We walked to the top of this hill that overlooked the town and that’s when he took my hand, knelt down on one knee, and proposed to me in the falling snow! After exchanging hugs, kisses, laughter and excitement, we walked back to the cabin to warm up by the fireplace. There we prayed for God to bless our engagement, and our future marriage together!

We spent about 2 hours calling and texting family and friends the good news, and later we popped a bottle of champagne when our friends got back to the cabin.

Where we are today!
Placentia - April 2010

We have now been married for almost 6 months, and LOVE it! We have been keeping busy, and trying our best to enjoy each day as it comes. Even after 6 months, we've gone through your fair share of trials... but having benefited greatly from them! You truly learn very quickly, what it takes to keep a marriage happy and healthy. Patience, forgiveness, and of course - a large dose of love! :-) Although... even greater than those, is God!

We decided to create this blog, to keep the loved ones in our life feeling connected! We have to face it, we don't always get to see everyone, and so we hope that this blog can give a little glimpse of how we're doing!