13 Blissful Years!

Sonny as a high school junior, Mike as a senior . . . Punk Day and Nerd Day.
Young and in L-O-V-E! I was 16 - he was 17!

On May 26th, Mike and I had the privilege of celebrating 13 years of marriage. That's 17 years total of being together! Hokey Petes are we getting old. You know you're getting old when you've been with your spouse longer than you were without them!

I was 16 when I fell in love with Mike. I knew within a month of dating him that he was THE ONE! If any 16 year-old would tell me that today, I would think they were crazy . . . but I knew! We had been good friends for about a year . . . and that friendship slowly grew into the real thing.

My junior year was a tough one. My dad had left just the year before, and as a result, I was all mixed up trying to deal with all the stuff a teenager deals with, along with trying to figure out life with separated parents. Mike was a good friend who truly cared about me - and most importantly, he could make me laugh during a time in my life when laughter didn't come easy. We were band nerds and Madrigals partners - we even had study hall together (which is where the Punk and Nerd Day pics were taken).

We started dating just after Mike graduated from SCHS. A year later we were both in the same dorm at Calvin. And, it's all history from there. We were married between my junior and senior years of college.

If only we could have known how clueless we were!
Mr. and Mrs. and all of 20 and 21? Yikes!

Just look at what babies we were! We had no idea what our vows would come to mean - how they would be tested and tried. "I promise to be your faithful and loving wife; in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow . . ."

Divorce . . . Miscarriage . . . Building a house . . . Infertility . . . Cancer . . . More Infertility and Miscarriage . . . Miracle Babies . . . Mystery Illness . . . Depression

Sheesh! It's a miracle we made it this far still standing! And not just standing, but still 100% in love with each other!

I read somewhere that "it's in the crap that flowers bloom best." We've been through an awful lot over the last 13 years of marriage, but our marriage and our love just gets more and more beautiful and strong each year.

Michael, I love you more today than I did yesterday - and I'll love you more tomorrow than I do today! You are the love of my life; my confidant, my comfort, my security, my best friend. Thank you for loving me the way you do! I am a better person because of you!