Today marks the 3 year anniversary of blogging on this website. If that wasn’t exciting enough, tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of the first time I ever met my husband. It’s a big week for me.

SO much has changed in 3 years.

For starters, to the relief of all my friends and family, I am now married.

No one wanted to be married more than me and I made sure everyone around me knew that. My husband is the best man in the entire world. He is an angel among us. He makes coffee for me in the French Press every morning while he is getting ready for work while I lay in bed wondering if I should get up.

On Tuesday, I spilled the burning hot coffee on myself while he was getting ready and I screamed for him to bring aloe to me. Not usually known for my dramatic flair ups, I couldn’t hold back as the liquid seared my skin. Max is so sweet that he actually blamed himself for bringing it in “too full,” instead of reminding me I shouldn’t rest it on myself or the bed as a way to hold it. Anyways, he came in, a bottle of aloe in hand, to comfort me in my moment of distress.

There he sat, at 6:30 in the morning rubbing aloe on my coffee burns and telling me that they definitely were not 2nd degree and he was impressed I was being so calm. (I have freaked out much more over much less.)

I asked him moments later, “Did you ever think this would be what being married to me was like?” to which he responded, “Yes. Yes I did.”

In some ways, like being a wife, I feel like a totally different person. I like to remind everyone I am “running a household now” since I am married.

In areas that maybe haven’t changed completely, I have still seen so much growth.

My relationship with the Lord has deepened on many levels.

I feel like I am a better daughter, friend and teacher than I was 3 years ago.

My love and passion for Frozen Yogurt has grown immensely.

I am secure in who I am in Jesus.

I had Chick-Fil-A for the first time.

It’s been a good three years.

Ironically, I received my school picture today and found myself doing something that my blog name condemns: counting chins.

My blog started as a way to express the amazing blessings in my life instead of obsessing about my weight, and specifically double chins that I would gawk at obsessively and cry over into my iced coffee.

As people with round faces know, head shots are not our friend. I am at peace with my body, but I have accepted the fact that a close up of my face is not my best angle. Don’t try to reason with me. It is what it is.

I stared at the multiple chins on my school picture. I gave them a good look. The lighting did not help either…the shadowing added at least a chin or two, as well.

But you know what? I was fine with it. I mean, obviously I would have preferred one chin, but I didn’t get down on myself, cry or let it bother me for more than a minute or two. My cheeks take up the width of the 8×10 and while I still wouldn’t mind losing a few square feet from the cheekal region, I’m okay with them.

So yeah, sometimes I still do count my chins. But those moments are so much fewer and far between then the moments spent praising God for the incredible life He has given me. Counting chins might always be my first instinct, but it doesn’t have to be where I set up camp. It has been 3 years and although I have some of the same Insecurities I had then, I don’t give them nearly the power I used to.

Growth, change, progress.

I am thinking next year I will ask to submit my own picture from a high angle of my left side with a sly closed mouth smile that makes my jaw look defined. (I haven’t thought about this at all). I’ll get in contact with Lifetouch on retake day.

This blog started as a way to share my journey and struggles through life with others in an effort to connect with as many people as I could. There have been some posts 80 people read and some posts hundreds of thousands have read, but I quickly learned it couldn’t be about the number of people reading. Whether it’s 10 people or 10,000 people, I hope whoever reads this blog is also able to see the slow, steady transformations in my life- all thanks to my amazing Savior.

Thank you SO much for reading and supporting my blog. People are my favorite.