14 Years and Counting!

Yesterday was Michael and I's fourteenth wedding anniversary! He surprised me by having a dozen gorgeous roses delivered to my door. I was in tears! I told the kids, "See how much your daddy loves me?" They thought it was so cool and keep smelling them and talking about them. We actually got to spend our anniversary together (a very rare occurrence) but we only had the evening, so we explored a new back road and then went out for a yummy steak dinner. It was wonderful, especially since we hadn't been on a date in months. Josiah took this picture of us. Not too bad for a 5 year old. It looks like Michael is shorter than me, but it is just the picture. He was slouched down and I was sitting up.

My twin sis and I were married 20 days apart (not a planned thing) when we were 20 years old. Everyone wanted us to have a double wedding but we couldn't agree on anything, including colors, and being twins, we wanted to have our own special day for once in our lives. As twins you share all special occasions while growing up. My sis posted her story of how she met her hubby 20 days ago on their anniversary, so being her twin, I thought I do the same.

Michael and I met when I was 15 years old and he was 17. His best friend and my best friend were dating and they introduced us. We met at the Tygh Valley All-Indian Rodeo. I remember looking at him, and thinking, "That's a cute cowboy I haven't dated yet. Maybe I'll date him someday". He was a bullrider and I was a barrel-racer/break-away roper. Well, we both went out with other people soon after we met but we kept seeing each other at various rodeos that summer. By mid-summer we were "single" again and starting to get interested in each other. By the time the Pendleton Round-up came in September, we were officially an item. We dated 5 years before we got married (with one 4 month break-up in there) then married in the summer of '95. I told Michael on our anniversary yesterday, "I've got no regrets and I'd do it all over again". We've both changed a lot, but we've changed together. We've traded horses and bulls for two kids and a Harley at this point in our lives. We'd love to get back to a farm life someday, but so far, God has us in this place. We'll keep trusting Him. He'll never let us down. Our marriage hasn't always been easy. We've endured long separations, a deployment and all the stuff most married people have to deal with. But we can honestly say we are more than just committed, we are still in love. Happy 14th Anniversary, Sweetie!