THEN and NOW! 15 Years!!!

 

I woke up this morning to the words “Happy Anniversary Sweetheart”! I opened my eyes and smiled at my handsome husband as he knelt by our bed for our morning prayer. “15 years!!!” I thought as I sleepily whispered “Happy Anniversary” back to him! We said our prayers together, he kissed me gently and said goodbye for the day! As I lazily rolled back into my comfortable slumber, I couldn’t stop smiling!

In the past 15 years, a morning hasn’t passed by where I haven’t woken to the loving, handsome, beautiful face of my husband. Even on the mornings when we’ve been apart because of travel schedules, work or the odd Girls or Guys trip, I wake up to his face in my mind!

How blessed I am to have this man in my life! I can’t believe we have been together for 15 years and that we’ve actually known each other for almost 22 years! We met when I was 14. I saw his picture on a Christmas Card his family had sent to us and after asking my mom who he was I announced “He’s HOT! I’m going to marry him!”. A few months later we met when his family stopped in for a night to visit while on their way to see their Grandparents in a city not far from where we lived! We instantly hit it off and felt like we’d known each other our whole lives! (We actually kind of had since our mothers were college roommates!) Though we didn’t admit it at the time, we both had crushes on each other. A year passed and another visit from his family led to another fun night of hanging out! By this time I was in High School and though I thought I was all that, just the sight of Adam made me stop in my tracks. I was in definite LIKE and dreamt of the day a few years off when I would show up at my 12th grade GRAD (equivalent of Senior PROM) with this Gorgeous California Boy on my arm!  Though we kept in touch on and off over the years, my dream of taking him to Grad never came to fruition. We met at a BYU Football Game the fall of my Senior Year, we talked on the phone and wrote letters here and there after that. We were good friends but nothing romantic ever happened (I wouldn’t have fought it if it had though).  When he left on his mission I was a freshman at BYU and his family invited me to the MTC to say goodbye! It wasn’t awkward or strange, just me saying goodbye to a friend. Over the next two years I went to school, dated other boys and wrote to Adam. Reading his letters I felt I was getting to know who he was! I loved his humor, his sincerity, his love of the Gospel, his desire to do what is right! Without even being around him I was falling for him. HARD!!!

  At a gas station in Orem, UT in the fall of 1991. We met for a BYU Football Game. I was a Senior in High School, Adam was a Freshman in College. My goofy brother is in the background!

When he returned from his mission I was excited, nervous, worried. I didn’t know what to expect. I knew I liked what I read in the letters, would it be the same when I saw him face to face? Would he like what he saw in me? We started dating and he wanted to date other girls too. While he was gone I had dated a lot! I’d had my heart broken a few times, one time pretty severely. I didn’t want to go through that again! A few short months after he got home, I knew I loved him and wanted to be with him forever. Everything I learned about him from his letters was real and everything I knew about him from dating was even better. He was the man of my dreams! He was good and kind and fun and loving and real! He wasn’t so sure about me though so I told him to date, get it out of his system and come find me when he was ready! It seemed like forever but in reality was only a few weeks. I couldn’t stay away, he couldn’t stay away and 6 months after he got home from his mission we were engaged, 3 months after that we were married!

  Our Wedding Picture

I look back on how young we were then, 20 and 21. So much growing up to do. So much learning to do. But he was my best friend, my love, my life and the only person I could imagine growing up and learning with. I wanted to spend my life and my eternity with him then, and I want to spend my life and my eternity with him now! In the past 15 years my life has been so blessed because of the wonderful man I married! I never could have imagined THEN, how happy I would be NOW! I hoped for it, I knew we were both committed to it, but the reality of where we are today reaches far beyond the hope we had 15 years ago! With 5475 days of marriage to the man of my dreams, I am the luckiest, happiest, most blessed woman on earth!

Adam, I am a better wife because you are my husband. I am a better mother to our 5 beautiful children because you are their father. Because of you I am just better. I love you today more than ever and tomorrow I will love you even more! I can’t wait to see what our next 15 years will bring!

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

I LOVE YOU!!!