Our Vows

I'm feeling a little mushy as I browse through our wedding photos, so I thought I'd post our vows. The man and I wrote our own vows, and I highly, HIGHLY recommend it. It gives your ceremony such a special personalized touch and I cherish them greatly.

Me reading my personal vows to the man

Brad's vows to me:
Here are my vows to you, which I promise to hold true for the rest of our long and happy lives together.

I vow, first and foremost, to keep God at the center of our marriage as our base to grow upon. Because when we have God at the center, we may stumble or we may fall, but he will always be the constant hand to pick us up and put us on the right path.

I vow to be the spiritual leader of this family, as God as set forth for me to be.

I vow to love you fiercely and passionately, and no matter what happens, always make time for us.

I vow to always focus on us and our relationship, even when those busy times come and when we have kids, so that we can always be growing together.

I vow to constantly tell you that I love you so you know that our love is true and never fading.

I vow to tell you how beautiful you are each and every day, and to remind you when you start to doubt, that you truly are the beauty in my life.

I vow to hold you tight and close while you are scared or sad, and to hold your hand and run with you through the mountains when you are happy.

I vow to always communicate with you when decisions need to be made and when stumbling blocks are in our way so that we can overcome them together.

I vow to tell you good morning every morning when we wake up and good night every night when we go to sleep.

Lastly, I vow to never forget our past and never lose sight of why we fell in love, so that we can always be secret agent partners!

My vows to Brad:
Brad, this has been an incredible journey so far. At a time in my life when a relationship was the last thing on my mind, God changed all of that with you. And I never thought that two years later, we'd be standing here, on my way to be your wife. But doing so is the biggest blessing and honor that God could have ever given me.

Brad, I promise to love you with every fiber of my being.

I promise to spend the rest of my days showing you how much I love you. Whether that means moving with you to a new state, weekly slow dances in the dining room, giving you head rubs every night, or all of the above, I will try my hardest to do that for you.

I vow to encourage you, believe in you, and to be your biggest cheerleader. I will forever be there to laugh with you, to life you up when you are down, and to love you unconditionally through all of our adventures in life together.

I promise to give you the best of myself and to help you be the best you that you can be.

I will do my best to be your best friend, your true love, your perfect secret agent partner, and your home.

Most importantly, I promise to keep God at the head or our relationship and to always let him lead our marriage to wherever he has planned for us. It has worked amazingly for us so far, and I am eager to see what God has planned for us for the rest of our lives together.

I promise you my heart, completely and forever.

I love you Brad, fiercely and fully. Forever and always.

And this is just the beginning...

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye

My First Impressions of Pennsylvania

It has been about a month since I've gotten married and trucked over to Pennsylvania to start my life with the man. Here is a list of my first impressions of living in Ephrata, PA:

1) The rolling hills and mountains are gorgeous.

I ask myself all the time if the views will ever get old! I sure hope not! I love driving to Walmart and seeing gorgeous mountains on my way, and have learned that I hope to always live by some sort of elevated land from now on.

Those mountains...ah!

2) There are Amish folk all over!

Since we live in Lancaster County (the county most populated by Amish in the country!), they are all over. It has taught me there there are a lot of differences between different groups of Amish and Mennonite people. Sometimes you see them on a scooter in the side of the rode in super traditional garb, and other times they will have a t-shirt, jean skirt, and a lacy bonnet on as they get into their car. It all depends. 

3) HUMIDITY!

I'm someone who usually loves the heat and was so excited to move somewhere even just a little south of Michigan. The heat here is wonderful, but it is so humid. Some days it hits you like a brick. I'll just rock my sweaty face and invest in some face blotting wipes. 

4) Friendly people

At first I was nervous about the people here. I'm not going to lie, the stereotype of the "snotty Easterner" worried me. And moving to a place where I did not know a soul was scary. But so far, people have been so nice! One woman at Walmart came up out of no where when I have struggling to find a spice, and helped me look for a good 10 minutes. Our neighbors at our apartment brought us homemade cookies. Some of the man's coworkers have invited us for dinner and to hang out. It has been such a blessing to meet some wonderful souls.

5) Big Town Small Town

Ephrata is a perfect town for us. It has kind of a small town feel, but we aren't away from civilization. We have plenty of stores, but we still have a tight-knit community.

6) Food Stands and Farmers Markets Galore! 

Because of the plethora of Amish farmers living here, there are tons of farmers markets and food stands on the side of the road. Buying and cooking with fresh produce is so delicious, affordable, and fun. And of course the fresh-baked Amish goods don't hurt either...

Farmer's Market Goodies!

So far I am very excited to be living here. God brought us here for a reason, and I am truly enjoying experiencing this new place.

Love and Blessings,

Annmarie Faye