Married at 19, Mom at 20

Recently I read a blog post about a girl who had gotten married at 19 and she said a lot of good stuff about how she didn't regret it even though a lot of people were against the idea of marrying so young. After reading it I thought, "I was 19 when I got married..and though a lot of people thought I was crazy, I knew what was right for me and I haven't regretted the decision for a moment!" So here's my story of my teen wedding :)

After my second semester at BYU-Hawaii, I felt strongly that I was done and that I needed to move back to Utah, not to return to school. I didn't know the reason, so I started planning an adventure to Italy. I had always loved to travel and I didn't have much else going on so I thought "what the heck?" About a week and a half after I got back from Hawaii, I met a wonderful, fantastic, handsome man named Samuel Bartholomew. I felt right from the beginning that I was going to marry him and Italy no longer played a part in my plans. We were engaged about two weeks after meeting, and exactly a month after getting back from Hawaii, on my 19th birthday!

When I announced my engagement, I had many people tell me I was crazy and raise their eyebrows, saying that I didn't know what I was getting myself in to. My dad, in particular, thought I was nuts :) He had been married at the same age, my mom was seventeen, and I'm sure he thought I was giving up so much to get married so young. But, he was supportive when I expressed how sure I was of Sam. I heard the advice of everyone and I got what they were saying but, I knew I was doing the right thing for me and for my future family! When I had prayed about Sam, I got such an indescribable and irrefutable feeling of surety! That feeling has never been swayed, not for a second!

Ever since making the choice to be with Sam throughout all eternity, all the things in our lives have seemed to fall into place. Soon after getting engaged, my wedding dress, our car and our house practically fell into our laps! The wedding plans went smoothly and we were so in love! We had great support from our families and friends. We had many adventures and got to know each other better, enjoying every minute of it. We loved each others' families, we had similar ideals about the way we wanted to raise our children, and we found joy in each others' company. We had an amazing wedding day, a wonderful honeymoon and moved into our home shortly after returning! We got our puppy, Meeko, who we love and we are excited for her to enrich our children's childhoods. We got chickens and tended our yard together, enjoyed holidays, complained about work and school, all the things living a full life entails. Even through the struggles we've had since being married, we have made a great team, both being more concerned for the others' well-being than for our own. That is the way I always imagined marriage to be. A spouse should be constantly striving to please and help the other, giving and taking in equal measure. I had always heard that the first year of marriage was the hardest and while there were definite tough spots along the way, the attitude with which we faced our companionship got us through unscathed and closer than ever! We are the best of friends and our relationship will always come first and foremost!

About half a year after we were married, we found out we were pregnant! Right around my 20th birthday actually, the irony was noted, my birthdays with Sam have always been awesome :P We had been trying for a while, actually since after a month after being married haha seems crazy to want a family so soon but we were excited to begin! It was okay that it took time though, we enjoyed being a twosome during that time. My pregnancy was pretty rough for the first little bit and got better over time, the last month being the hardest physically. I had great support in Sam and we enjoyed looking to our future of being parents. We wondered what our sweet girl would look like and talked about the fun adventures we would take her on as a family. We couldn't wait!! On December 13th (about a month before her due date) our little Bug came into the world with a bang! I had been having cramps for a few days prior and then the night of the 13th I discovered I was bleeding a lot! So we rushed to the hospital, the decision to take her out was made and twenty minutes later via C-Section, there was my angel, perfect and healthy at 6 pounds 8 ounces and 19 inches long :) She was meant to come at the time, I know it. All the doctors were amazed at how great she looked at 4 weeks early, calling her a "miracle baby!" The Lord prepared her to come early and we've been blessed to have her in our family! She is an amazing and beautiful little angel from our Heavenly Father and I am so grateful that He decided to bless us with such a gift! I love my life, I love being a mom!!

So, though many people would hear the age at which I became a wife and a mother and think that I was nuts and that I gave up so much time to be just me, I don't see it that way. I had my adventure out in Hawaii and I had felt right about going there and I had felt right about coming back home. I know the Lord sent me out there to get my fill of alone time and meet many great friends and that He sent me home to meet my husband and start my beautiful family! Every day I get signs that I made the right choice..in the sweet way Sam holds me and loves me in the comfort of our wonderful home. I feel it when I hold my little Ayden and rock her to sleep. I feel it every time I go to bed with Sam by my side and every time I wake up to help my daughter eat and drift to sleep once more. My life has been blessed beyond any design I had in mind and I know that I was brought to this point for a reason. I know some people will tell horror stories of their teen weddings, and maybe it didn't work for them and maybe they should have waited to be sure of themselves..but, I know that Sam was, and always will be, right for me.