So, This is What 20 Years Looks Like!

It seems at once like yesterday and like a lifetime ago that we were planning our wedding and dreaming of our future together… So here we go: one photo per year of marriage:

Our wedding day felt perfect in every way…

And soon after was our first night in our new home…

Then our second anniversary…

And our pregnancy was a bit of a rough ride, but all was forgotten the moment we looked down into those sweet, perfect eyes of our little girl!

We took her to Hawaii in 2001.

Spent 2002 Easter at Filoli:

Our favorite photographer while Emily was modeling (some examples are here and  here), Marcy Maloy, once invited Emily over for a test shoot for fun, and she took a few of the three of us while we were there—to this day this is my favorite image of our little family:

And soon Emily became a budding photographer in her own right!

Our love affair with Disneyland is obviously a big part of our family:

Our 10th Anniversary!

Hiking in the hills above our home:

And trying on Mama’s wedding dress:

Ice skating in New York:

And Emily turns 11!

Our annual Mother’s Day trek to college, where we met:

And Emily’s skills at work once again on our 16th anniversary!

Stealing some alone time while chaperoning Emily’s choir trip to Disneyland at the end of 8th grade:

And baking our annual Christmas cookies:

A selfie (with the less than spectacular forward-facing camera, but still I cherish the moment!):

And our little family as we are today. (I really do need to get back into the swing of shooting with my big-girl camera, but I find myself loving these images, too!)

Twenty years is a long time; in some ways I feel like we were children when we met, and we dated for a long time before marrying. Our marriage hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been beautiful and special, and I think the good is made all the sweeter by the bad. I think we have grown together, and we will face more challenges together and apart as life winds along, but I am confident in our love. I married a wonderful man, and he gave me a wonderful daughter, and together we’ve built a life I adore. I can’t wait to see what the next 20 years have in store for us!