How has is already been two years?  And how has it ONLY been two years since that day we walked down the aisle, said “I Do”, and cried as we read our vows to each other?  It seems like we’ve been married much longer than that – and I mean that in the best way possible!!

I think back to November 5, 2011 often and so many memories race across my mind… getting up and doing one last load of laundry.  Getting ready in the room that’s now my office.  Carefully walking across that stone bridge to see as I was shivering from the cold and the excitement of getting to see your face.  Meeting our friends in downtown with so many smiles and hugs and walking down Main Street while Jana and Kim stopped traffic just to get a shot of all of us together.  You doing your best to warm my hands and arms because it was SO COLD outside!  But being so thankful it wasn’t raining!!  I laugh every time I think about how my heel caught on the back of my dress and I slipped and almost busted it about an hour before the ceremony!  My brother getting you before the girls walked upstairs and taking you back upstairs to walk your mom to her seat (glad we did a First Look because you would have seen me then!).  Walking down the aisle to you and trying my hardest to not “ugly cry”… and being in utter disbelief that I was standing there and getting to marry you.  Listening to our friends read 1 Corinthians 13 in our three languages.  Taking a selfie at the end of the ceremony with my camera!  Running into friends just after the ceremony and some more portraits.  Chris Freeman being our chauffeur to the reception (thanks, Chris!).  My brother being the best caterer in the world and giving us food before we were introduced at the reception (yum!).  Dancing with you, my husband, to I’m Yours and towards the end trying to figure out which direction we needed to be facing so you could dip me and Kim and Jana could get the best photo (I love that you understand me!!).  Toasting with Cherry Coke… being swept away to get our photos in the Shutterbooth… photos by the plane at sunset… running through a line of our friends holding sparklers (and you protecting me since I’m terrified of them) and getting into a small plane to literally fly away from our reception… circling over Greenville in awe and disbelief of where we were and the day we had just experienced.

Ben, I love you.  I’m in awe that I love you more now than I did that day and it almost makes my heart hurt with the fullness of how much I’ll love you 50 years from now.  Thank you for choosing me, thank you for loving me, thank you for understanding me, thank you for making me laugh, thank you for thinking I’m beautiful no matter what time of day it is.

Happy 2nd Anniversary, my love.
(Photo below by Kim DeLoach… more to come on Thursday!)