16 years ago today we stood in front of 1100 people and said, "I do." We gave our lives to one another and became one. It was a fairytale wedding, and according to my sheltered, fairytale mind, the rest of our lives would be living the fairytale dream and the "happily ever after". I never took into account...LIFE! The beginning years of marriage of getting used to each other 24/7, or the devastating years of dealing with infertility, or losing our first adoption that we planned for for 7 months, church planting with no income for 21 months, walking the wilderness road for about 5 years...these were just some of the hard times. Yet, each of these drew us so much closer to each other and increased our faith tremendously! Not to mention the wonderful times of 8 great years in a wonderful ministry where we saw tremendous lifechange of hundreds of lives and developed life-long friends, adopting two of the most precious boys in the world that we can't imagine our lives without, the birth of our three biological children, living at the beach and ministering with a church family that we love and adore at East Coast Church! We are so very blessed and are so grateful to our Lord and Savior for allowing our paths to meet!
Derrick, you are an amazing husband, friend, provider, protector and leader of our family! I love you more today than ever and look foward to the next 50 years with you! :) Thank you for loving me unconditionally and for always helping me to be the Godly woman that God wants me to be. Thank you for your wisdom in times of uncertainty, your strength in times of hardship, your support when I feel like giving up. Thank you for always being a gentleman, opening the doors for me, walking on the outside nearest the cars and still romancing me after so many years. Your love is surreal and I can't imagine my life without you. I am so proud of all that you do...stepping up to the plate for all that God calls you to. I love you with every fiber of my being.
Happy 16th Anniversary today and Happy 46th Birthday tomorrow!