What a Beautiful Day

Dec 15, 2007: I counted down to that day for a year and a half. Our Wedding Day!

Between the flowers not showing up, then showing up wilted, my brother getting arrested and spending my wedding weekend in jail, and the weather being the exact opposite of what we needed therefore moving the ceremony inside - I had plenty of hiccups making themselves present in an attempt to spoil the day.

But when Brian and I turned the corner and saw Austin at the end of the aisle I forgot I even had flowers in my hand. I forgot where Brandon was, and I forgot that I was walking down a real aisle inside a chapel rather than down a sandy path by a lake. As God's plans generally do, the day turned out to be better than I could have ever imagined it and the one thing that mattered in the end was accomplished.

I don't need to go into detail, again, about the focus and importance of a wedding day. But I will say that it meant the world to me to have my family and friends there in support of our marriage. Growing up I loved going to weddings - the brides always looked stunning, no matter what their dress looked like, what color their hair was, or what kind of flowers they carried. But now I love going to weddings because it is such an honor to be asked to bear witness to what is truly God's most precious creation. God created each of us individually, which in itself is majestic, but then he created the union of marriage - and that creation has exceeded my wildest expectations. It's not always fairy tales and roses, but it really is the most amazing blessing that I never dreamed possible.

It's not at all hard to believe that its been 2 years, and in many ways it feels like its been longer. I know how that sounds - I know typically if you hear someone say "wow, feels like 15 years not 5" it is said in a negative tone, but I don't at all mean it that way. I say that it feels like longer sometimes because I think of all that has happened in 2 years and it seems unreal that we could really cram THAT much stuff into such a short time. The 10 months we spent apart while he was in Iraq went much faster than I thought they would, thank God, while the 3 months he spent in Arizona just dragged on and on. But the 11 months we've spent together in the meantime - 11 months, that's it? It just seems like, with all we've done, it has to have been longer than that. But - either way, it's been such a blessed 2 years and I really could not be more thankful. Austin is the perfect complement to all my strengths and weaknesses, and he brings a sense of balance and peace to my world.

And as wonderful as the last 2 years have been, I can't begin to fathom what the next year will be like. I'll spend the rest of my life trying to be thankful enough for all the blessings in my life - Dec 15, 2007 being one of the greatest.

I still remember so many details of that day - the people I had surrounding me, the wonderful words Father Tom shared, the beautiful trumpets playing as I entered and exited the ceremony...dancing, eating, and having a bowl of rice thrown at me (literally, the bowl)...I remember it all. But what still makes me smile the most is the vision of Austin's face as I turned the corner.