A Love Story

Eight years ago today, Kenny and I were married.  It was a glorious day.  We had SO much fun, and often talk about how much we would enjoy doing that day all over again.  Without all the planning, of course.  Just show up, put on the gown and tux, say the vows, and celebrate with our friends and family.  What a wonderful memory…

Kenny and I met 12 years ago in July of 2000.  I had just moved to CO for my new job at ECA, and Kenny was hired that same summer as the tech guy between both campuses.  We ran into each other often at school, and at a new singles group our church started that fall.  We became quick friends and spent quite a bit of time together.  What I saw as in interesting friendship, God saw as a deep friendship to build a marriage on.

November of that year Kenny let me know that he was interested in dating, but I wouldn’t hear of it.  Why would I want to ruin a good friendship?  I had dated on and off in college, had been heartbroken a few too many times, and was ready to be single for a while.  Kenny was a true gentleman and continued to be my friend even though I had turned him down.  In fact, he not only continued to be my friend, he also began pursuing me.  He was creative and relentless, and it worked.

By July of 2001, God had completely changed my perspective and I was ready to begin a relationship with Kenny.  Yes, he waited 8 months for me!  Then, I waited 3 years for him.  We dated for three years and they were wonderful!  We learned everything about one another, spent tons of time together, and had quite a bit of fun.  What a sweet time that was.  God prepared our hearts for marriage during that time – we dated with the intention of getting married, and therefore used that time to talk about everything under the sun.  By the time we got to marriage counseling, there was nothing left to discuss and therefore no surprises.

Kenny proposed the evening of May 31, 2004; the day we had both played for our friends’ wedding.  We spent the summer planning our wedding, and on September 5, 2004, we were married!

March 2005 we bought our first house,
April 2009 we had our first child, James,
November 2011 we bought our second house,
and that same month we had our second child, Anna.

Our life together continues to be wonderful, frustrating, fun and exciting, challenging, but most of all, loving.  We’ve had a few bumps along the road, but then again, we ARE two sinners living together, being refined daily by our Lord.  Although life together is not always easy, it is good, because God uses marriage to mold two people into the individuals He wants them to be.  He uses the ‘day to day’ of marriage to bring us closer to Him, and THAT is a glorious thing.

Our life together is also SO much fun.  We have two little people living with us who make life simply grand.  They depend on us for everything right now, which is both exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.  We LOVE being parents and count it a privilege and honor to raise James and Anna.  Being parents has brought us to our knees much more and for that, we are grateful.  God is so faithful and continues to provide just what we need to persevere.

I am so very thankful God brought Kenny into my life.

Sweetheart, I love you so much more today than I did 8 years ago!  At the end of the day, you are still the only one I want to see, to hang with, to talk to, to eat with, to enjoy our children with, and to have fun with.  As someone* once said, “You are the butter to my bread, the breath to my life.”  I love you, Kenny, and look forward to so many more years together.

* Paul Child, to Julia, one Valentine’s Day