( Remembering May 17th, 2003 )

It didn't take more than a couple minutes of quiet observation to decide that this cute blonde guy, with the killer smile was 100% crush-worthy. And in the following weeks after rubbing shoulders with him and his family a little more, and hearing his Mom and sisters absolutely rave about him, I realized he was more than crush material. I watched him fill the role of the man of the house, as the oldest boy of 11 kids after his Dad lost the use of his arms to ALS. He was this amazing 18 year old guy with stellar character. The kind of guy you can totally picture being the father of your children. I am not sure how it is that we girls can go from having a crush on a guy one minute, to seeing him as the potential father of our children the next ? One of life's great mysteries, I guess.
So I was a girl in-love with a boy, a common, everyday sort of occurrence I know, but he was the guy who I measured all other men by, a hero of a man, my hero. Secretly. I said nothing about this to anyone, except for my parents and eventually a couple of my closest girlfriends. It took him a little longer to catch on. Lets say, four years. But in God's perfect timing, and after four years of hoping, wishing, agonizing and I do mean agonizing. After four years of praying for him and waiting, he noticed me. And we became really good friends. Over the summer we had some really meaningful heart to heart talks and shared some very sweet moments. He called me late the night on my birthday and was I ever surprised to realized the guy on the other line was not infact my brother. Not long after that, he called to ask my Dad if it was okay to call me on the phone. My Dad pretty much put him on the spot and said, hey, I am not going to risk my daughters heart at your expense so you better think this through and if your serious then you can absolutely call her... I overheard my Dad's end of that conversation and was crushed, thinking that after a talk like that he would certainly be scared away and that would be the end of our friendship. Looking back I am so thankful my Dad stood up for me like that and basically got the ball rolling by challenging him to man up and figure out where exactly he was at with us. A couple weeks and 20 minutes later, after totally beating around the bush in another phone conversation he very nervously said to me " I'd like to get to know you better, if that's alright with you? " I am sure he could hear my heart racing when I replied " Yes, I'd like that."
Just over a month later David asked me to marry him. I was over the moon. And literally unable to come back down to earth in the months following, leading up to our wedding.

I don't think I will ever get over my amazement of how God can take two people right where they are, as long as their hearts are turned toward Him, mistakes and all and in His good grace, redeems their lives and together turns their story into something better than a fairytale.

Being married to David, I would have to say is my personal definition of heaven on earth and still even after, no especially after 6 years, even though life and children often come before romance, life with you continues to be a truly, goose-bump inducing experience.

I am so thankful that I didn't fall in love with anyone short of a man who has a heart after God and is willing to on a daily basis puts the needs of others before his own. Every day, since I felt the first tinge of butterflies for him at age sixteen, I have told myself...he should be too good to be true. This should be too good to be true. All of it.

But the impossible happened.

Happy Anniversary, Babe. Thank you for the last six amazing years. I am so excited for the next six, no sixty . I love you.

"Come grow old along with me,

the best is yet to be. "

Robert Browning