I choose him.

Two Years ago today I woke up on a very, very small Twin bed.  My Cousin may or may not have been snoring over in the corner.  My 4 year old cousin may or may not have woken up in the middle of the night screaming, and I may or may not have only gotten 2 or 3 hours of sleep that night, and if you know me at all, I NEED 8-10 hours.

And somehow, none of that mattered.

It was 4 am.  I tossed and turned for a little while trying to get in a few more minutes of sleep, but it just wasn’t going to happen.

I gave up my pursuit of sleep, stumbled down the stairs and quietly made myself a cup of coffee.  Two of my other cousins were asleep on the couch in the living room.  Even if I couldn’t sleep, they sure needed to. 

I drank about 2 cups of coffee, (even though coffee was the last thing I needed at the moment) wrote a few letters, played on my phone, turned on the oven to start breakfast and once6:30 hit, I just couldn’t take it anymore.

I tiptoed through the living room, trying to be as quiet as possible, and went to tap on my Mom’s door.

It took her a minute, but I finally heard some rustling around.

“Mom, it’s time to get up!  It’s time to start my hair!”

After a little while she finally came out of her room.  The Curling Iron was on, the arsenal of hair products was ready, and I had about 50 bobby pins ready for action.

In no time at all, she had my hair curled and pinned up with some fresh flowers woven in between the curls.

Pulled on my cowgirl boots,

Slid my pretty new dress over my head,

I had forgotten my eye liner, so I borrowed some from my grandmother. 

I had painted my toes blue the night before,

And I slid the 1986 penny into the bottom of my boot.

My Uncle started up his Expedition, and my mom helped me get loaded up.

It was time.

We drove the 10 minute trek to the rose garden, and there He was.

He was standing there.

Waiting for me.

Up until this point there hadn’t been a moment of anxiety, not a moment’s worth of doubt.

And there He was.

My stomach began to flutter, and anticipation began to grow.  It was not nervousness or anxiety that filled me, it was the realization that this Man had been chosen for me before I was ever born.

I was His Bride.

He had been made specifically for me.

We had a few precious moments together before the chaos began.

He told me that I was more beautiful that day than any other, and that He loved me, and I’m sure a whole lot of sweet words that are all a blur.

 We slid out wedding bands on our fingers so that we could take our wedding photos before the ceremony.

A few short hours later, I was standing behind the closed doors of the church, waiting on that moment when the ushers would swing the doors open and I would walk down the aisle radiating with the Love of my groom.

My Dad told me that it wasn’t too late; there were plenty of cars outside that we could get away in.

We laughed about it, He had told my older two sisters the same thing on their wedding day.  I stood there waiting, anxiously, doing the tee-tee dance, because that’s what happens when you are nervous and drank as much coffee as I did that morning.

And then, the doors opened.

And there He was again.

Waiting for me.

Choosing me.

Loving me.

We promised ourselves to each other forever,

We promised to choose each other daily.

We Poured some sand,

Shared our first married kiss,

And He gave me His Name.

The first year of marriage flew by,

And we thought,

“Oh, we’ve got this!”

Then the 2^nd year of marriage came around and we began to realize that marriage takes work. 

Love takes work. After all, you will never drift together.

The 2^nd year we learned what it was to CHOOSE to love daily.

There were definitely the days when I didn’t choose to love, when I chose my own selfishness instead and I could only blame myself for the chasm that was created.

He showed me grace every time, and He loved me in spite of my selfishness.

There were definitely more high points than there were low points, but there was lots of grace and lots of forgiveness as well.

And at the end of those two years of wedding bliss, as we steadily continue on into your third year, I stand in awe at how far we have come, and I am so excited to continue on and see what this year has in store for us.

Two years ago today, I chose to become one with my best friend.

Today, I choose Him all over again. 

Today, I choose to choose him every day until the last breath that I breathe.