10 Years

I'm writing this for two reasons: one, it's our 10 year wedding anniversary next week and two, my sister is holding a contest on her blog about your own "love story". :)

Nick and I met at Multnomah Bible College in 1997, although he doesn't remember that meeting. He played on the college soccer team, me on the volleyball team. He'd fractured his hip playing in a game and the whole school prayed for him. I'd thought he was kind of cute and one day at the gym I saw him hobbling around on his crutches. I mustered all my strength and courage (I was WAY more shy back then than now) and asked, "How's your hip?" "Fine!" was his curt, short answer. Off I went, dejected. How rude.

One year later, two of my friends from volleyball wanted to get a group together to go to our school's Fall Banquet. The only guy they could coerce to go with us was Nick. :) I'd never talked to him or had any contact with him since the previous year so I was all intimidated and nervous. One night before the event, we were walking to dinner and I asked him if he liked any girls. He just seemed like the type of guy that's your buddy. He said that my roommate was kind of cute. In my head I'm thinking, O great, another guy to use me to get to Lisa. Fabulous (yes, it had happened once before). Then he blurts out, "I like you, too." Hmmm, what do I do with this information?

After the group banquet, he continued to ask me to a couple of group activities. I consider our first official date to Subway. We walked, it was raining, I was starving but didn't want to show what a piglet I could be so I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu besides a veggie sub, so I got a turkey sub. That Christmas, Nick came home with me to visit my family. It was then that I knew that he was the man I wanted to marry. We'd only been dating about a month and a half, and we were only 20 years old, but sometimes you just KNOW.

Another fun trivia tidbit is that Nick was my first kiss. Not that I didn't have chances to kiss other guys, but once you get to a certain age, why would you want to waste your first kiss on a "frog" when you can have it with your "prince"?

Nick proposed to me on my 21st birthday, Christmas Eve 1999. We were married exactly 6 months to the day later, June 24, 2000. I'm so thankful for my wonderful, loving husband. He's blessed us with 3 great kids, he's a hard worker, and provides for us more than I can imagine. Sometimes I don't get why people get married when they're not really in it for the long haul. What's the point? I could not imagine my life without him. There are days that I don't like him very much (and vice versa), but I'd rather have him around and annoy me, than have peace and quiet without him. Thank you, God, for my forever love!

August 1999, at my friend Janina's wedding

June 2000, opening our wedding gifts at Mom and Dad's house

Our bridal party

Married!