8 years...

That's how long we have been married. Yippee! I was walking with a friend last night who has been married for almost 11 years- listening to her tell her story reminded me of how wonderful Godly relationships really are!

Here's our story:

Long and short of it, I was sure I was going to be a foreign missionary. I would not even consider dating anyone unwilling to go with me. ;) Unfortunately, I had some pretty bad theology, and felt that all people were called to missions and that was all God was doing. Interestingly, I did meet Josh on a church retreat when I was a freshman at Texas A&M and he was a senior. I remember seeing him for the first time and thinking to myself how happy I'd be if I could date someone like that. We did end up flirting a bit, but he wasn't really interested because i was so young and he was actually co-oping as an electrical engineer that semester and therefore wasn't really around. I also met his awesome sister, Sarah, the same weekend and we became friends. I was hesitant to pursue much of a friendship with Sarah because I didn't want to use her for information. Anyway, flash forward to the next semester, in which i am a whole lot older, mind you. ;) Now, in high school, I took great pride in the fact that I got best dressed and rarely even wore jeans. I was always fully made-up with hair down my back. I guess after working at a summer camp, I lost some of the glam. Plus, I had been studying pretty hard this particular week- thuse my attire: pajama pants, a stained t-shirt, no make-up and my hair in braids- yikes!! So, bless his heart, Josh still talked to me and we ended up going to Subway for a quick bite. VERY long story short, I was mortified when I realized I didn't have my wallet with me, and I found out that Josh wa sthrilled because he could count it a date! He asked for my number and permission to call me. I was delighted. We dated for about a month and I was starting to get really scared. He had no plans to be a missionary. Uh oh. I ended up breaking his heart (and mine) by ending things. Josh did everythign he could to convince me we could serve the Lord in other ways, but I was terrified of actually caring for someone, so I said no. Josh continued to pursue me, but I got annoyed and he finally got the message.

That summer, I went to Spain to study and the Lord used it a wonderful place to teach me. First, I was beyond homesick. Secondly, through numerous conversations and TONS of alone time, I felt the Lord leading me to something else. I fell in love with the language and the Lord all over again. Upon realizing that I probably would not pursue missions, one of my first thoughts was "What about Josh Malone?" I quickly came to temrs with the fact that the Lord is sovereign and oes what He does in His own time and things were as they should be. I returned to school as a junior and chopped my hair to my chin- a huge step for me! I assumed that I still would never get marries because I was hoping for too much and had so little to offer in return. Josh had already graduated at this point and was working in Dallas, my hometown. Through divine intervention, he discovered that I has had a change of heart, but chose not to pursue because he was no longer in the area. Bless the Mortons (our best friends) for having their own wonderful story and getting married in College Station, thus bringing Josh back in my life. We ran into each other and he immediately commented positively about my hair. That afternoon, I was talking to my mom on the phone, lamenting that he did not ask for my number or email. I was actually opening my email at the time...crazyily enough, he had gotten my email and asked if it was okay to use it?! My heart beat really fast and thus began our internet relationship. He was training with his company and was able to fly into town every 2 weeks from his various locations (CO, CA, MN)- the first time he came in, he took me out to dinner and we took a long wlak where my the backs of my ankles actually were bleeding from my new shoes purchased for the date (I got some cheap flats b/c I wasn't sure he was taller than I am, and I didn't want the evening ruined by that)- so as he was asking for the honor of pursuing me, I was tucking my feet under me to avoid detection. That was Feb 11, 2000. We dated seriously and were able to live in the same town that summer, as he was building his new home in Plano- about 20-30 minutes north of my parents. He proposed on Oct 27 of that year- 8 months and 16 days after that fateful walk. He took me to an amazing restaurant and to apark, where he pulled out his guitar and pretended hew as making up a song that he had in fact written for this very occasion. He started off funny with the bloody ankles and worked his way to proposing. he even worked in the 8 months and 16 days part. I was crying by the end and wonderign how I was going to say yes since my dad had been out of town and there was no way Josh had talked to him. Much to my surprise, Josh had talked to him already, which is a good thing because the sight of my gorgeous ring he designed definitely outshone any obligatory feelings of parental respect.

We got married on May 19, 2001. He was an engineer and I started teaching high school Spanish that fall. It was that summer that he started seminary and all this craziness began!

To Josh-

I love you!! I LOVE that you risked everything for me and pursued me practically to the ends of the earth! I LOVE that you honored me physically and that we entered marriage (mostly ;) pure. We are human. I love that I was your first real kiss and you were my first real boyfriend. I love that you dated me with confidence and chose to love me for the rest of our lives. I love that you have given me the most happiness I could ever have anticipated. I love that you are the smartest man I know and definitely the best! I love that you respect your parents (way to go Mike and Phyllis- you did well!) and mine. I love that you love the Lord and not just books about Him. I love that you listen to me and that I have a real voice in our relationship. I love that we have never slept apart out of anger and that you have never let me fall asleep angry- even if it meant long hours of working it out. I love that you have given me the best 2 children ever and that you love them with every bit of yourself. I love that you are hilarious, especially with the kids. I love that you have accents when you read to them and NOTHING fazes you. I love that you were worried about the little lost puppy in the Elmo book because he never got found and that you don't like that Curious George is always naughty and the man in the yellow hat never learns to not leave that cheeky monkey alone! I love that you read a different version of George yesterday that included discipline for George's shenanigans. You are awesome!!