3 years already?

When I told my friend Amanda that I was dating someone, she was so eager to hear how I turned on the charm to get this new mystery man.

“That’s great!!” she said excitedly. “As long as it isn’t Ski… Anyone but Ski! He’s so immature!”

Four and a half years later she flew all the way from Texas to watch as I walked down what could possibly be the longest aisle EVER and marry my husband…Ski.

It was a magical day and when she handed me the wedding card she got me, there were tears in her eyes. It wasn’t because she was so moved by the beautiful ceremony, or our unconditional love or the painfully long road we traveled just to get to that point. It also wasn’t because she was so pleased that my dreams were finally coming true. It was because she was laughing.

Hysterically.

“Open it now so we can both laugh!” She told me.

Inside was a sympathy card…

Today marks three years since I walked down that ridiculously long aisle. Although I thought I knew so much about him back then, it’s amazing what you learn about a person when you live with them on a daily basis. From the small stuff like how purging a couple of T-shirts is such a struggle even though you own 75 of them, to the really big stuff like the stress of parenthood or a cross country move with a toddler.

Although he is a very simple man he is also very complex. Here are a few interesting things I've learned about him over the last few years.

• His wardrobe consists mainly of jeans and T-shirts.
  
• If he thought there was anyway I would believe him, I have no doubt he would try to tell me he was allergic to collared shirts.
• He cannot stand to go to the doctor and will try to "walk off" a broken foot.
  
• He likes things neat and orderly - almost to the point of being obsessed!
• It drives him completely crazy if a job is left undone or something he owns is lost.This will literally keep him awake at night.
• He is beyond competitive - even when playing a game with Cadence.
  
• There is absolutely no filter from his brain to his mouth and at times he can be a little rough around the edges.

But he is a man of integrity. He is always the voice of reason and he knows when to make me laugh. He swears he's not much into feelings but I’ve seen his daughter melt his heart in an instant with the words “Bye Bye Daddy.” I’ve seen the pain and worry in his eyes when he found out his dad had cancer. I’ve seen the pride he has for two kids that aren’t even his yet he raises them as his own. I've also seen the love in his eyes when he looks at me. And because of all of these experiences, I have seen how mature he has become and I am so proud to be his wife.

Plus he looks so darn good in his uniform!

Happy Anniversary Ski! I love you!

This is Amanda standing next to me - coincidentally she is the one that introduced us when I got to Japan. They still have a love/hate relationship and will trade obscenities back and forth to each other over the phone!

One of Ski's favorite pictures! If only he knew what was ahead of him at this point!

The whole Fam!

Here we are today - exactly three years later!