7 Years ago....

At this very moment, I was in a giant dress fit for a princess, standing in a glass elevator with my very own Prince. It is the only moment of the day that was NOT photographed, however it is one that I will never forget. I couldn't believe it was me. In that dress. In that elevator. In his arms.

You see, when I was in 7th grade, I vividly remember walking into the gym at Cherokee Jr. High for orientation. I scanned the crowd and noticed the Cherokee elementary crowd. I knew them because we played basketball against a few of them at the YMCA and the Boys Club. We were checking them out to see if THEY still tight rolled their jeans and what color their two strap Reebok's were. That's when I saw him. There was a boy that stood head and shoulders above the rest...literally. Standing at 6 foot 1, he made an impression. Finally...a boy that was TALLER than me! (Little did we know he would grow another 8 inches!!!)

Of course almost an entire school year went by before I even worked up the nerve to speak to him. It consisted of a short conversation at a track meet. Then at the end of the summer, my good friend Emily had a swimming party at the PVH pool. This was my chance. We talked and joked in the pool. OH I was falling in love. Unfortunately, the first contact we had was when I was swimming by and accidentally kicked him in the nuts. I was MORTIFIED! He still hugged me before he left so I assumed I was forgiven. Then he went off and started "going out" with someone else. But we became friends. We had Home Economics together and made some REALLY terrible food.

Our freshman year we went to homecoming together. Funny story. He had originally asked another girl and backed out on her to ask me. Good for me, not so good for her. She was probably my EXACT opposite. She was not involved in sports, had dark hair, was short-ish, wore make up, she drank and apparently had a mean streak. Still can't imagine why he backed out. Anyway, she was not pleased and proceeded to yell at me about the situation. THEN she punched me...right in the back. If you ever want to inflict real pain on someone, don't punch them in the back. It was one of the most lame things I have ever had happen to me. Anyway, we went to the dance and that was about it. It wasn't until February of our sophomore year that we went on our first date. Five years and five months later, he proposed. (I am hoping to share the proposal story with you on July 8th which is the 8th anniversary of the day he popped the question!)

So there you have it. The beginning.

Sure there are days when we get grumpy with each other. There are days when I am not easy to live with. There have been times that were dark and twisty. But those days are FAR outnumbered by the days where I look at him and can't imagine being able to love him anymore. Then he gets so wrapped up in a game of "talent show" with the kids and I fall for him all over again. I bet you didn't know, but I. LOVE. THIS. MAN. I have since I first laid eyes on him. For real.