And Then There Were 5: 12 years

Craig and I celebrated our 12th year of marriage this past Sunday. With all we've been through in the past year we are so thankful to have each other and our health and these sweet little punkins. Because Craig and I are both very much homebodies (and we don't have the funds) we usually celebrate dinner in at home with the kids. Hopefully by the time our 15th comes we can go somewhere special to celebrate. But Craig was a sweetie, with Trinity already showing signs of getting sick he went and got a bunch of appetizers and a delicious chocolate mousse layered in brownie and ganache (oooohhh so yummy). It was very fun and the kids enjoyed hearing stories of how we met. We actually met twice...the second time we fell in love. The first time we met at a Milton vs Roswell football game. I had gone with my friend Christina and were leaving the game when she saw a friend and started talking to her. In their crowd was this handsome guy but we were too shy to talk to each other at the time. A few years later I was taking a Developmental Psychology class for my nursing degree. I was so finished with dating and guys that I was lucky to put some makeup on for class each day. I did however wear sweats and comfy khakis to class each day (I did teach a step class and had a part time job at the local Blockbuster to pay tuition in my defense). He walked in and had on his Raybans and was smoothing down his gorgeous curly hair and I didn't recognize him because he was now huge into body building and was a personal trainer at a gym. All I thought was this is some gorgeous guy that's probably a meat head or so into himself that I'm just going to ignore him, Then the next week at class he went from sitting in the very back row to sitting right behind me in the second row (I always sat in the front row). And as the roll was being handed out he learned how to spell my name. This was a big deal because my name is pretty weird in spelling. I found this out when he asked for my number later that month. The next week I was going to school and on my way out of my neighborhood I hit a deer. I pulled over and cried and cried and the deer I think was stunned because there wasn't even a dent in my bumper. And then two guys drive up in their pickup and tell me not to worry about it they'll take care of him. Well my dad is a hunter and as I left for school I thought yeah I don't think my idea of taking care of this deer and their idea of taking care of the deer were the same thing. And the more I thought about it the more I cried. So I got to class and there's Craig. He asks what's the matter and then jokes that it's alright they probably had a good dinner that night. I was almost hysterical....he tells me he's joking. I'm thinking not funny! And believe it or not that's how our relationship started. We continued to talk during and after each class and got to know each other. When he learned that I was going to transfer to UGA and was going to room with my best friend Nicola he tried to go to. He wasn't able to transfer and I made a decision. I decided to stay at KSU. It was the best decision I could have made. Later he brought me to his church where I sang for their teen mass and got christened, and then married (not all at one time) . He knew all the things that my family had been through, things that I had been through and he still wanted to marry me. He's my best friend. I am so blessed to have him as my husband and father to my children. We've been through some very tough times but we have persevered by God's grace and our marriage is rock solid thanks only to God's grace. I pray we will have many more years together and that the next year will become a changing and new start for us. May there be prosperity and forging of new beginnings. But above all may it all be for God's glory.

Here are some pictures I scanned of our first year together:

Isn't he handsome? My mom knew the first time she heard his voice on the phone he was the one. How did you know Mom?

Our first Christmas as a couple (he knew I loved the Nutcracker and despite it being painful for him he brought me and we ate at Cheesecake factory-I also told him he was the one I wanted to marry and he almost ran off the road... that was pretty funny)