Nine years

Today marks Thomas and my nine year anniversary.  Well, our nine year dating anniversary.  Yep, NINE years ago today we were talking on the phone around midnight when we started asking each other what we should tell people when they ask us, "Are you guys dating or what?"  See Thomas and I had been friends for many, many years before we started dating... ok here's our story.

Thomas and I met up at Flaming Pine Youth Camp when we were about 13 and 14 years old.  We only saw each other for two weeks out of the whole year.  We never really talked to each other much, but we were in the same friends group so you hear about each other from time to time. 

When I was 17 or so I found out that Thomas liked me (I didn't like him because my eyes were set on someone else... anyway).  Over the next couple of years it would end up where he would like me, but I didn't like him and I would like him, but then he didn't like me. 

Then the summer after my freshman year of college we started talking.  I didn't want to go back to the school I had attended and didn't know what to do.  So I prayed everyday that whole summer for God to show me where he wanted me to go.  I prayed that he would bring someone into my life that would help me with this decision and guess who he brought?  Yep, you guessed it... Thomas!  The first day I arrived at camp Thomas came up to me and started talking to me about college and said that I should go to York (the college that he was attending).  For the rest of the summer we talked a lot.  On the last day that I would be at camp Thomas came up to me and handed me a letter.  In it he said how much he wanted me to come to York because he wanted to get to know me better and hang out.  Believe me, by this time I was floating and falling for this guy.

Two weeks later I was driving to York and one week later we were on the phone saying, "I guess we can tell people we're dating."  A month later we were sitting at a park talking about what we wanted in life and I fell in love.  (that's where we both knew we were going to get married)  And now 9 years later I'm sitting in a house with our two boys and one dog and he is on a bus filled with 60+ students heading to the Mall of America and Valleyfair.  Aaahhh, so romantic... not even in the same area.  Wait!  We're not even in the SAME STATE.

Happy nine years, Thomas.  I love you SO much.  You're my best friend, my support, my love, my favorite.  Thank you for being a great husband and father.  Thank you for the last nine years and the many more to come.  Ride steel venom for me. 

* The song that is playing is "our" song.