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Our friend, Jennifer, thought we would be good together, so she made a plan so we would meet each other. John always picked up his friends and drove them to church on Wednesday evening. Jennifer was one of those people. She invited me to go with them, and I got to sit in the front seat next to John.

Even though we were both shy, we talked quite a bit and really enjoyed each others' company. After church I went home and didn't hear from John again until about a month later when he got brave and called and asked if I'd like to go to church with him again. This was a big thing for him since he was so shy. He had never had a girlfriend before and usually felt very uncomfortable around girls, but he felt pretty comfortable around me, and that's a big reason he liked me.

After that we started seeing each other more and more. We went to movies a lot. We sat in his car and talked and talked and talked! We never kissed or anything, but we got to know each other very well and became very special friends.

In the fall of 1988 I went away to college in a city that was about three hours away, and I really missed him! He came down to visit me in November. I felt so happy to see him, but, wouldn't you know it, right before he came down for his first visit I got a horrible bug bite below my eye, and it puffed up and looked terrible. But John was a sweetie and didn't mind how I looked. :)

After that first visit, he started driving down and visiting every month or so. I also caught rides up with friends and went home as often as I could. He called me at college a lot and had a *large* phone bill!! Often when I came back from a class or working in the cafeteria, there would be a note on my dorm room door saying he had called.

John would've been my boyfriend a lot sooner, but, silly me, I kept insisting we were just friends. Finally in November 1989, we officially became boyfriend and girlfriend. . . . Then In December 1990, he asked me to marry him.

He asked me to marry him when I was home on Christmas break. It was a snowy night, and we went to the mall to look around. The stores closed early because of the snow, but they kept the building open, and we were able to walk around for a while. John had been carrying the engagement ring in his coat pocket for a week or two and couldn't wait any longer to ask me, so in a little corner in the mall, he kneeled down and asked me if I would marry him. I said yes. :)

We got married the following year on August 10th. We had a wonderful wedding with some funny moments. John said, "With this wing I thee red..." and a few other things that made me laugh. The tape of the song the bridesmaid was going to sing started in the middle of the song. I had trouble getting John's ring on his finger. The wedding cake started leaning to the side. Usually some of these things might have made me feel upset and stressed, but that day I was so happy that it was all a joy to me!! It was a fun wedding. :D

Now it's 1998. . . ten years after we first met and 7 years after our wedding. We have a sweet two and a half year old little girl, and we are going to have another baby in December. Our relationship has evolved as the years have gone by, and we have become very comfortable with each other. I think we complement one another, and he is truly my "other half." I feel better around him than I do around anyone else. I believe that he knows me far better than anyone else. Even though things are not quite as exciting as when we first got married, I love my husband more than when we got married, and the love is deeper and richer. He is my very best friend, and my love for him continues to grow every day. I greatly appreciate all his hard work and his commitment to being a good husband and a good father.

Thank you, John!!!!!! I love you! :D