-17 years knowing, 12 years together, 10 years married-

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We celebrate our 10th Anniversary on the 28th day of this month of May.  It's so cliche to say it's "hard to believe" and "where has the time gone?", but I say them anyway, because that is how it feels.  We often marvel about the way God has blessed us with each other in our marriage.  Sometimes when we look at the crumbling marriages around us we feel almost guilty for having it so easy.  There's been issues, and lessons and hard spots, but the past 10 years together have been way more joy than strife.

  We met in between our Freshman and Sophomore years of high school at a church picnic that my family attended just shortly after moving from Powell, Wyoming to Cheyenne, Wyoming.  We knew each other's names, and that we both swam (but for rival high schools), but there wasn't much more to it.  He tells a grand tale of how he was in "love at first site".  I laugh, a bit amused with that, because I honestly remember so little about him from that first year or so.  

  I hung out with his family on occasion, but there really wasn't much of a friendship between us until our Junior year of high school when we both started participating in a sexual abstinence campaign program called, "Worth Waiting For" that was run by mutual friends.  During meetings for this is where we started having people telling us we'd be married one day, to which we both laughed, heartily.  It seemed absurd!  We often got in to trouble in youth group, Bible studies and Worth Waiting For because we just couldn't seem to stop horsing around.  We were constantly joking with each other and just genuinely enjoyed each other's company.

 

I dug through a box of old pictures and was only able to find 3 that we were in from high school.  I know there's more.  It's just a matter of locating them. 

This was how it went for our last two years of high school and then he was off to UW, while I stayed behind and went to the community college in Cheyenne.  He came back for a weekly college age singles Bible study and again, we often found ourselves in trouble for being too noisy.  We always sat together, and always joked.  It wasn't until the end of this year, at a high school graduation party for one of our mutual friends, that I started seeing him as POSSIBLY more.  Just possibly.  One of my girlfriend's moms mentioned it to me and my mom did as well.  I laughed them both off, but not like I'd laughed off people our junior year.  This was a nervous laugh.  A laugh that came with a blush.   I had never had a "guy friend" like him.  We were truly just becoming best friends.  And friends was it.  There wasn't any underlying motivation for either of us.  We just loved being together.  

The summer between our freshman and sophomore years of college, Josh would come back to Cheyenne often to visit.  Sometimes it was intentionally to visit, and other times it's when he was passing through with family. We would get together and spend a few hours laughing hysterically at the ridiculous jokes we'd conjure up.  We were serious in our conversations as well, talking about anything under the sun we could think of.  At the end of the summer I was gearing up for a move up North to Covenant Bible College in Strathmore, AB, Canada.  He asked me if I'd write him an email (since that was the extent of our ability to connect at that point....so weird to think about!) and I remember feeling a bit giddy about it, and thrilled!  I emailed him as soon as I had a phone number and for the next 5 months until Christmas break we spend hours in communication over yahoo messenger and the phone.   I didn't have a computer, but one of my dear friends did and we would leave her door open and turn the speakers clear up so I could hear the little "badoop" when he'd message.  I have a nostalgic love for that sound.  He purchased multiple long distance calling cards throughout the next 5 months and he would give me the new pin number every time he had to replace one.  We've never sat down to figure how much money went in to our phone conversations, but it was probably pretty hefty, since most of our conversations were no shorter than a couple of hours, some extending 3 or 4 hours, into the wee hours of the morning.  We would set a general time and day to talk, and I'd wait with my dorm door open and hang out with my friends in the kitchen of our dorm until I heard my phone ring.  I'd race upstairs and they knew I was out for the next few hours.  We talked about parenting, life, school, our love for Christ....you name it.  We discussed it - anything that our young brains could think of to talk about.  

At Christmas I came back home for a few weeks, and during that time spent several nights at UW where I slept in the room of my best friend from my childhood, Angela Muecke.  I hadn't seen much of her since our move from Powell 4 years before, so it was a beautiful double hit to see them both!  He was her RA!  I flew back to Canada certain, after spending a fair chunk of my Christmas break with him, that there COULD be more.  I wasn't sure he saw it that way because he played it cool, but I was open to it if he'd take the lead.  We talked long hours on the phone for the next two months, and then one night in late February, I answered the phone and he sounded different.  He sound nervous and it was clear that he was making small talk.  He eventually made his way around to telling me that he'd taken my parents out for dinner.  He didn't immediately divulge why, but I was no dummy.  I knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't pursue me with out getting permission from my parents, namely my Dad.  He had a healthy respect for my Dad and was, in fact, quite intimidated by him.

 He mentioned he'd also had dinner with his parents - I just knew it.  I knew why - it felt like it was taking forever for him to get to the point.  After many words from him during which I felt my face grow rosier and rosier and my heart quicken in pace, he explained to me that he'd recently realized, after a couple conversations with my and some serious prayer time, that it was time to start getting serious with his best friend.  And we were honest to goodness best friends at that point.  It was the perfect way to start.  He told me the only reason that he was asking me to "date" him was because he had ever intention of marrying me one day, unless God guided him elsewhere.  We hung up the phone earlier than usual that night, not really knowing what else to say, and at 1:00 am I climbed onto my mattress that was resting atop a ceiling of lattice work next to my girl friend's mattresses and woke them up to tell them that my best friend was finally my boyfriend.  I didn't sleep much that night.  I was on cloud nine.  

I graduated from Covenant Bible college and headed back to Wyoming with anticipation and apprehension about how on earth to be a girlfriend to my best friend.  We'd not seen each other since Christmas and our last several months had been long distance "dating".  It felt awkward for me for a few months, but we soon found a groove and realized that we didn't have to be all grown up and serious about everything just because our relationship dynamic had changed.   We settled back into our old familiar fun with each other and began to just absolutely love being a "couple".  There were no fights, or break ups or downs, really, just togetherness between best friends.  We got engaged in late November (I say that because I can't remember the exact date.....  :) of 2004, and through God's grace alone we were sexually pure when we married each other on May 28th, 2005.  

Here are some photos it took me a good 45 minute to find.  I'm certain we have more together, but I have no idea where they might be.  I had to scan these in, take them into light room and fix them the best I could.  I'll add more as I come across them.

And then FINALLY the wedding day came!  After much planning, anticipation, heartache surrounding close family relationship struggles, and prayer - the day arrived!

That was 10 years ago, now, and with a cliche again, it's hard to believe.  What an incredible journey it's been!  It never ceases to amaze us the way God blessed our relationship - we continue to be best friends.

We moved to Maryland in July of 2005, lived in Missouri for the first two years of med school from 2006-2008 where we welcomed our first son, Elijah in July 13 of 2007.  We moved to Colorado in July of 2008 and lived there until May of 2010, and welcomed our second son, Judah, in November 5 of 09.  We packed up once again and moved to Florida for Josh's med school residency at Eglin AFB where we were blessed with an unexpected surprise - our 3rd son Joel was born on July 12th of 2011.  God orchestrated each of those journeys beautifully, in only ways that he could have.  

We moved from our beloved three years in Florida, 17 weeks pregnant with our 4th son, Luke, who was born on December 30, 2013 and here we are!  10 years later with four precious miracle boys that keep our lives hopping and joyful, living in Portugal and gearing up to live in Turkey starting this July.  


TEN YEARS!

This past weekend we were able to take a "stay-cation" to the other side of our little island here.  Our beloved Portuguese nanny, Manuela, stayed with the boys (she's been bugging us to get away before we move) and we stayed 2 nights in the "Pousada" in Angra.


Our couple of days consisted of a hike, ocean viewing from the highest point on our island, relaxing on the beach, horseback riding, a lot of picture taking (I'm so grateful for a husband who encourages me in the things I love to do!), some shopping and some incredible local food.  It was truly a blessing to refreshen after a long couple of years and remember again the fun we have with just us two.  We laughed our heads of just like we used to, carrying on the same stupid jokes me make up - carrying on and on and beating them to death.   

 

Joshua,

Thank you for who you are.  Thank you for loving all the frustrating parts of me and for the way you follow in obedience to your Creator and lead me and your sweet boys in loving Him.  Watching you grow spiritually into the man you are as I write this has been a great joy and I will cherish each day more that our sweet Lord gives us together.  

Happy 10 years, my darling best friend.