Some kind of wonderful

The story of how two people met and fell and in love warms my heart. When I'm getting to know someone, it's one of the first things I like to hear about them. And an older couple who'll share their story with me? Don't even get me started. Love it! You throw WWII into the mix and the romance always goes up a few notches. ;) It never gets old. What's even funnier is that I never forget a love story either. Years later I'll mention to Andrew “don’t you remember they told us they met on the top of Splash Mountain during summer camp of '99?”

“uh, NO”
Well I do. It's the hopeless romantic in me, I guess.

So since I have you as my captive audience (and because the anniversary of my own love story is tomorrow) I thought I’d share. From my perspective, of course. A little over 10 years since our first meeting and counting.
It all starts with my back pain. Isn’t that fitting?! We should have known! And Andrew should have run fast when he had the chance! No, my hubby’s so sweet, I’m sure even if he had known he would have stuck it out. ;)

But for real. I was in massive pain on our first date. But let me start from the very beginning.

My senior year of college two friends and I decided to do a triple blind date, each setting the other one up. Since I was a senior and let's face it, had dated a lot of guys already, I said I'd go for the fun of it but figured he'd probably end up being someone I knew already anyway.

But come to find out I'd never even seen the guy around campus before. All I knew about him was that he was a 22 year old transfer, tall with dark hair and that he sang on a singing group. Making a group at Liberty kinda makes you a mini-campus celebrity. So I was impressed, I gotta admit. And definitely excited to meet him.

However, in the weeks before the date my back health got worse. My leg started hurting so badly I couldn't really walk and I had to stop going to classes all together. Little could any of us imagine I was dealing with something as complicated and huge as a shattered L-4 disc! Yikes.

So I'd been lying in bed for days and days. When the evening for the big date rolled around, I was totally bummed I still felt so lousy. But I really didn't want to miss out on this too. So I gritted my teeth against the pain, dragged out of bed, splashed on some make-up, grabbed my now infamous pillow (I think this just might be the first time I ever took a pillow with me to sit on; now it's a given I don't leave the house without it!) and went. I still don't know exactly how I got thru the evening and was able to act like myself, but somehow I did. And I actually had a blast in spite of the everything! Looking back, I'm sure God had me covered!

It was a fun night. We all went for dessert, then hung around taking silly pictures in downtown Lynchburg (and can you even believe I can't find those pictures right now?!? Ahh! So sorry! No first date pic for the blog. boo.) . It wasn't necessarily love at first sight, but I instantly knew he was my type. And as the night wore on, I was more and more impressed. He was so conscientious about my back, totally cool with the pillow, and opened every door for me. (And the opening doors thing could make me cross a guy off my dating list quick. I know...picky. But I figured if a guy's not going to be curteous on a first date, it's only going down hill from there...so if several doors hit me in the face....seeeeeee ya, dude.)

But Andrew passed that little test with flying colors (and can I just say he still opens every door for me?) Yep. He's a keeper.

Perhaps the moment that stands out the very most from that night may seem insignificant. But it made quite a difference in the way I viewed this Andrew guy:

For dessert, the resteraunt had this kitchy thing where you can make S'mores at your the table. They brought us little canteens of fire along with all the fixins. Now, when it comes to making s'mores, I'm a catch-the-marshmallow-on-fire-to-get-the-job-done-fast kind of girl. I noticed Andrew went about making his differently. He rotated it ever so slightly over the fire creating this perfect bronze color, slowly melting the insides to gooey perfection. And then he pieced it together.

Now little miss turbo (me) had already made and eaten TWO in the time I watched him make his ONE.....

.....and then without a word, he leaned over and set it on my plate. He didn't make a big deal about it, just set it there and started making another one for himself. I was taken back. All that time he'd been making that perfect s'more....for me (who'd already eaten two!)

Seriously.
I just might have KNOWN in that moment. ;0)
That this guy was some kinda special.
OK, OK, I know what you cynics are thinking! He was trying to impress me. But I really don't think so. In the nine years we've been married Andrew's proven over and over to be one of the kindest people I've ever known, thinking of others when everyone else is rushing around busy with their own stuff.
By the end of that first blind date, Andrew says he knew too--that we just might have something. Not that I did anything sweet and endearing like make a perfect smore for him or anything, but I think he liked my spunk. ;0)

Shortly after that date I went home for surgery. I loved that he called to check on me (and we have a hilarious story about our first phone conversation while I was under the influence of pain meds. Let's just say I gave him a little TMI.) And he still wasn't fazed!

Within just a couple of months, after I got better and went back to school, there was no parting us. From the very beginning, everything about being with him was just easy. It was easy to talk, easy to laugh, easy to have fun, easy to get to know him. We were on the same page of the same book, he and I. And the fact that he was so cute AND had a great voice was I'm not gonna lie, awesome. There's been no parting us since.

We got engaged on a Christmas sleigh ride in Iowa a year later.
Could I possibly be smiling any bigger here?

and married July 21, 2001. I'll always remember how we were so excited to be "husband and wife" we practically sprinted down the aisle (and I left the altar without my bouquet)

Nine fabulous years full of memories!

And now we got this little cutie out of the deal too.... Some kind of wonderful!