Six Years

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...whatsoever you seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the heavens...
- Doctrine and Convenants 132:46


Today, August 21, 2008, is our SIXTH wedding anniversary. These first two photos are the photos we used for our engagement photos. These engagement photos and our wedding photos were taken by my brother and his wife. Here is their photography website link: Rob Higginson Photography




More photos from our engagements.


These two photos were taken by a friend of my mother in law's. Just another fun engagement session in a beautiful place.




The night before our wedding, Aaron's family hosted a wedding dinner in their backyard. Some friends of Aaron's from Brazil came and cooked the whole dinner. Aaron LOVED Brazilian food, so it was perfect. It was such a great evening. It had been raining that day and the report said it was supposed to continue raining that evening and then that it was supposed to rain the next day as well. We didn't have any alternate plans for the dinner, so it was such a blessing when it stopped raining about a half hour to an hour before the dinner started. Aaron's dad stood up and asked for people to just stand up randomly and tell a memory or an experience they have had with Aaron or me. So, there were some funny and special things said about each of us. It was a wonderful evening.


That next day, Aaron picked me up bright and early so that we could go early to the Salt Lake Temple to have our 'couple' photos taken before the wedding. It was going to be better lighting and there wouldn't be people walking through our backgrounds. Even though it was supposed to rain that day, there were only a few small clouds in the sky. We were so blessed with beautiful weather and a beautiful day. Everything about the day was beautiful. It was the most joyful day of my life.


















Aaron wanted to surprise me with the suit he picked out for the wedding. So, I didn't see what he was wearing until he picked me up that morning. I LOVED it. His tie and vest were steel blue and then his shoes were black and had blue on them to match his vest. He was really proud of his shoes and I loved how excited he was about what he had chosen. He looked SO handsome that day. He was always handsome, but on our wedding day, he was radiant.
About 6 years before I got married, I found a dress in a magazine that I knew I wanted to be my wedding dress, so I held onto that page. When it was time to get a dress for my wedding, my mom, my sisters, and I went and picked out a couple of patterns that would work for the dress and then we went to pick out the fabric. My mom made my dress and it was absolutely perfect. I loved wearing it. I am so grateful to her for the work she put into it.








These are the guests who we were privileged to have at the actual ceremony in the temple.












These few photos were not set up. They are some of my favorites from the day because they were candid and I love the way Aaron is looking at me.


The reception was gorgeous. It was in Aaron's parents' backyard. They worked so hard all summer to get it ready. They planted flowers and just had the yard looking spectacular. I am so grateful for their hard work. It was perfect. Both families helped so much with what we needed help with. Everything was so great!


My sisters made my cake. I love daisies. My whole reception was covered with gerber daisies and so was my cake... made out of frosting. I love this cake. They did a great job and I am grateful for the beautiful work they did.


On the left is a cross stitch of a bride and groom that my mom made. The flowers were done by my sister and Aaron's sister. My sister also made my bouquet. Everything was beautiful. The cake on the right is the groom's cake. More on that later. The interesting cake in the back that looks like a bunch of rings stacked up is a Norwegian wedding cake.


Cutting the cake.


Eating the cake. With the Norwegian wedding cake, the bride and the groom are supposed to take ahold of the top of it together and break some of it off. Supposedly however many rings break off in your hands, that is how many children you will have. You can see in one of these photos how many rings broke off. I think it was like 14 or so. Wow...


Aaron LOVES Ford trucks. He is obsessed with Ford. He loves their trucks, he loves to talk about Ford, he loves to tell people that they are better than other trucks. So, I asked my sisters to make a Ford groom's cake. Aaron LOVED it.


It was always my dream to be married in the Salt Lake Temple. My dreams came true on August 21, 2002 at 11:20 a.m. It was the most beautiful day of my life. I have had two most beautiful days of my life. My wedding day and the day Aaron Jr. was born.
I always wondered if I would be nervous the day I got married. I was. I had every emotion running through me that day. As I walked into the sealing room where we were to be married, I felt this peace wash over me from head to toe that made any and all nervousness become just a memory. I cried all the way through the ceremony because the JOY was overwhelming. I was so happy. WE were so happy. Our wedding day was exactly as I imagined it.
I am so grateful that Aaron and I are sealed for eternity. I am eternally grateful that he chose me and that I chose him. Looking forward to eternity with Aaron is what makes this difficult journey seem bearable.
Our anniversary this year is just another one of those 'firsts' that I have been dreading. In those first months after Aaron passed away, all I planned to do was visit the cemetery and then sit at home with Aaron Jr. and Ode, our dog. I planned to just have a day of nothing but sorrow and loneliness. But the last few months, I have thought a lot about what we could do to celebrate the day. As I looked at our anniversary, I realized that even though Aaron isn't here physically to celebrate with me, it is still a day to celebrate. We started our eternity together SIX years ago. That is still something wonderful to celebrate.
It is strange that my very first posting on my blog was from our anniversary last year when we were celebrating FIVE years. Looking back at those photos makes me realize that I just had no idea what would be happening in my life just a few short months later. If only we had known. Now I can only imagine... if I had known Aaron was not going to be here much longer, I would have tried even harder to make sure he knew how much I love him. I would have made sure he knew that he brought joy to my life and that I was SO grateful for him. He would have known. I hope he knows now.
I imagine that today will still have the moments of loneliness, sadness, and sorrow... but we are going to celebrate. I miss Aaron so much. I know that I am doing better than I was in the beginning, but the pain of Aaron being gone is still a very real pain. I still feel the heartache and heartbreak. I still wish everyday that he could just hold me and make everything okay. I still feel like half of me is missing. I miss Aaron, but I can be grateful for what I have. I am grateful for the blessings in my life. At times it is difficult to recognize them when I am missing Aaron so intensely, but I am truly grateful for the multitude of blessings in my life.
I hope and pray that I will feel the comfort and peace of knowing that Aaron is with us today.

Happy Anniversary, my Menino. I love you... for eternity...
Love always, your Menina *

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