Flashback Friday

Eleven years ago today we were standing in that tiny little church right on the edge of the ocean and we could see the waves rolling into the black rocks just outside the window.  Our happily ever after started the moment that Reverend Alika chanted his blessing for us and Jamie Lawrence serenaded us.

For me, our wedding was magic.  The moments freeze in time and I remember exactly what the waves sounded like when we approached the altar.  I still see the way our Moms held hands on the way to light candles and how my Daddy cried all the way down the aisle asking me if I wanted to slow down. 

Our family and friends sacrificed a lot to be in Maui with us on November 18, 2000 and I don't take any portion of that gesture for granted.  Eleven years later I realize that it was only a moment and it is NOT what makes a marriage, but I am truly, deeply grateful for such a happy beginning to the life that E and I share.

For my love,

If I had known then what I know now I would have dragged my poor Daddy down the aisle even faster to get to you.

You are so much more than the handsome young man I married.  You are the conservative to my liberal, the salty to my sweet and the mild to my wild.  You still melt me with your big brown eyes and you can make me laugh like no one else in the whole entire world.  I love the way you smell and how you reach for my hand before you fall asleep.  I am awed by the way our kids look up to you, admire you and adore you. Their love for you as their Dad makes me love you more than anything I would have even imagined on that sunny afternoon in Makena.  I am a better version of myself because you love me and I always want to be better because you don't deserve anything less.

Thank you for eleven years of happily ever after. I pray we'll be granted the opportunity to enjoy many, many more.

Happy Anniversary.  I Love You