Miracles happen. Motivation Monday.

“There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

~ Albert Einstein

7 years ago today was our wedding day.  Shaun was a banker.  I was a teacher.  We bought a condo together in Worcester, Massachusetts.  We met in college and dated for almost 7 years before “tying the knot”.  Marrying Shaun always felt like the easy part of my life.  I was certain about that.

We were 25.

3 months later we were expecting our first daughter.  Just after finding out, I remember walking down the beach together and talking about what the baby would be like.  About how our lives were changing so quickly.  About what it would be like to watch our children play on that beach one day.  Just 7 years ago.

Shaun was promoted at work and we would save every penny in the next 9 months so I could take a year off from teaching to be home with the baby.

When I was pregnant with Giuliana, I remember always feeling restless.  Like I was waiting for life to begin.  We had no idea.

6 months after Giuliana was born I started the adventure of Heidi Hope Photography.  In our seven years of marriage we have welcomed 2 beautiful daughters into the world, gone through 4 career changes, moved 3 times, bought 2 homes, started a business and moved into 2 studios.  We’ve worked side-by-side in business for over 5 years now.  We have shared every struggle and enjoyed every success together.  There has been celebration and loss.  Like everyone’s story, this is ours.

There were times of uncertainty.  Times when we feared that if our business didn’t succeed, we would have nothing.  With 2 mortgages, studio rent, and a 2 year old to feed, “not making it” was a fear, but it was not an option.  We spent those years working such long hours that we often missed out on living life. But even when we felt we had nothing left, we had each other.  Sometimes Shaun would hold me up.  Sometimes I would hold him up.

And here we are.

Giuliana starts first grade in the fall and I can still feel that first time she moved in my tummy.  Grace is 2.  And we’re living our dream life.  A dream we didn’t even know we had just 7 years ago.

7 years ago feels like both another lifetime and only yesterday.

With many miracles in between.