once upon a time...

once upon a time, a long, LONG time ago...

a girl met a boy.

she thought he was cute.  and funny.  she had a crush, did silly things to get his attention (that she would later regret), and wrote their names together on her binders.

the time she spent with him always made her happy.

the boy and the girl were friends for a long time.  they learned each other's likes and dislikes.  they went fun places together and laughed.  a lot.  he told her all about jesus, took her to concerts, and attempted to teach her how to drive a stick shift.... but she never quite got the last one.

after being friends for awhile... the boy and girl decided they liked each other more than that.  and they began to date.  for a long, LONG time :)  

they had their share of good times and bad times, bad hairstyles and even worse ones, but at the end of it all, the girl knew... this was the one.  she was in love.

one beautiful october day in 2000, that boy asked the girl to marry him.  

(it's a pretty good story- she'll have to tell you about it sometime).  

no hesitation... she said yes.  she was in love.  

the girl had never known what a real, healthy, christ-centered relationship looked like.  she had never known what it looked like to be cherished, encouraged, served, championed, and challenged.  lucky for her.... she found someone to do just that.

lucky for me... i'm that girl.

on april 7, 2001, i married my best friend.  

the day was, technically, a rain-filled disaster. 

 but for me... a complete success.

when i married jeff, i thought i knew all the reasons i loved him.  why he was amazing.

he loves jesus passionately and wants to serve him forever.  

he is self-sacrificing and thinks of me first.

he is super cute.

he makes me laugh. all the time.

he has a tender, thoughtful heart and truly loves people.

the truth is, on april 7, 2001, i only knew a fraction of all the reasons to love him.

in the past 10 years, we have experienced moving to new towns, the highs and lows of ministry, the sadness at the loss of loved ones, dissolution of friendships, and the heartache of infertility...followed by the joy of 3 beautiful children.  

we have cried a lot and laughed even more.  

what i know now is that god gave me a husband who knows what it means to lead a family.

to serve me as christ serves us.

to love me even when i am completely unloveable.

to encourage me when i am at my lowest points.

i wake up every day thanking god for giving me this man, wondering how i got so lucky, and hoping to be the wife that he deserves.

happy 10 year anniversary, my sweet husband.

how i love you.

i can't wait to find out so many more reasons to love you in the decades to come.

Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

Ruth 1:16