I thought I loved you then....

Okay, well, I said it was coming, atleast I warned you but I wanted to write about my man. He is so deserving of a good, sappy blog. Our anniversary is coming up on September 25th, and I have pretty much been excited about this day for the past couple of months, I don't really know why, but its our 5 years and I just feel that is sort of exciting?? 5 is just such a good number to me, its a stand-out number, anyway, I met Jared on October 26th, 1996...........yep, that long ago. We were in youth group together and we had never met until this night. We went to Judgement House at some church (I can't think of the name...Crestview?? I don't know) and we were all sitting in the pews waiting to go through and my friend Leah and I were being girls and decided we needed some gum, so we went around asking and Jared just happened to be who we bumped into. He was sitting with a couple other guys. Of course, Jared had some winterfresh gum, and pulled it out of his pocket and gave us pieces. Now, this next part could be laughable to some, but from the bottom of my heart the minute I laid eyes on Jared.......I knew. This is weird, I know, but seriously at the time, being so young, I felt so connected to him, again like I just knew this was someone who was going to be in my life. I can remember everything about that night, from what Jared was wearing, to how I immediately felt toward him and being on the bus going home thinking how weird I was for thinking this way. Am I sounding psycho yet?? Its okay, when I talk to Jared about that night, he thinks I'm weird too. Anyway, thats how we met and I haven't stopped thinking about him ever since. Of course we wouldn't start dating for about 3 years after that due to age, which is a whole other very long and complicated story. But I can remember a couple years later before we started dating, praying one night, saying to God how I knew there was something special about Jared and I just couldn't put it all together but I was asking Him to prepare us for each other if we were meant to be husband and wife.
Its funny now when I look back, because I will run into other girls I was in youth with back then who I haven't seen in forever and they can remember how I used to say I was going to marry Jared Jones, and that I actually did. Love is just so funny sometimes, you grow up thinking you have to date all these guys to find the right one, and some people do, and then there are others who meet one person and thats it for the rest of your life. God is so good in all situations.

Anyway, 5 years after we had dated we decided it was time, so we got married and the rest is history. Jared and I look back on our first year of marriage and remember how easy it was.....you know just us two. I don't think I could have gotten any happier our first year, life was just easy, I got a million butterflies in my stomach driving back from Tuscaloosa everyday just thinking how I get to spend the night with Jared, living in our very first house, washing Jared's clothes as a wife, cooking dinner together, all our first holidays, grocery shopping together, our emergency room trip when Jared damaged my foot during a game of "trust", sleeping in every Saturday and then waking up and going to eat breakfast, and finding out we were pregnant with our first baby girl. Jared and I never struggled with that "adjusting to living with another person" thing. We had a blast and were glued at the hip. I owe him the biggest hug for making all my dreams come true. When your a little girl, you picture a fairytale and I truly got mine. From the moment I met him, to our wedding day, our amazing honeymoon in NYC and even 5 years later I look at him and think......is he really MY husband?
I haved loved Jared for 13 years, and I thought I couldn't love him anymore than I did on our wedding day, but I do. Now, don't get me wrong here, we have had our times when we have wanted to put each other in a choke-hold but I can say that our marriage is at its finest right now because God has complete control over our marriage and our lives. He is center of attention and that makes this marriage so sweet. Praying with my husband at night is one of the things I look forward to the most during the day. We are so rich in blessings, and give all credit to our Maker.

To the sweetest man who walked the planet, who understands me and yet still loves me, who I have 2 precious daughters with, who makes me laugh so hard I cry, who goes to EVERY Dr. appt with me, who scratches my back, who has given me a reason to be excited about growing older.............Happy Anniversary, I love you Jared with all my heart, I truly always have.


okay, everybody can go barf now :)