Happy Anniversary, Baby!

So, today marks our 4th wedding anniversary. It's crazy that it's gone by so fast! There were days and times that didn't, of course, but looking back over it all? Speedy quick.

Those of you who were there for me 4 years ago while we dated, after he proposed, when things looked shaky, and when they were grand, thanks. For those of you who weren't, well, today is a look back on those days, so you can feel cool too!

In March 2006, I was told I needed open-heart surgery for a heart condition I'd had since birth but didn't know it. We scheduled it for July 6 of that year, around my family's reunion so that I could have lots of help afterward. Just after that, Virgil asked DisGrace if I'd ever go on a date with a Samoan, not knowing the husband is Tongan. I said sure, but I wasn't looking for anything serious. hahahahaha. The same day Virgil asked the husband about it, the husband's dad told him he needed to go on a date. With a girl. So the husband instantly said yes, just to get his dad off his back.

We went on our first date April 8, 2006. Blind date with DisGrace and Virgil (and Dizzy) along for the ride. It was a lot of fun and he asked for my phone number. He texted me a few days later to see if I'd go out with him again.

The next weekend, I took him Easter shopping for his daughter -- she was living with him at the time, and Easter is a big deal to me, so we made her an Easter basket! We had dinner that night, too, and he threw a shrimp tail down my shirt. Accidentally, or so he said.

We watched movies at the condo the next weekend, which is where we shared our first kiss.

I'd kissed plenty of guys before, at least in the double digit range, though definitely not a LOT of men. But kissing him was something different. It was electrifying and rocked my world. We still have great kisses, but I remember that one specifically. It was that powerful.

The next day? Yeah, he asked me to marry him. I told him maybe, that I needed to think about it. I think on some level I knew we'd get married, but I was still freaking out about my heart. I went back and forth and remember telling Steph that I didn't think I loved him, and she countered with, "I don't understand why you think you don't." haha.

Another powerful moment occurred when Kiddo asked me if I was going to marry him, and I said I didn't know. We were on the swings at the park by our condo, and I almost fell off of mine. "Did you pray about it?" She asked me. I said yes, I had, but didn't have an answer yet. "I bet if you're really quiet, Heavenly Father will give you an answer."

I think he just had. I finally said yes on Memorial Day.

At the end of June 2006, his daughter was taken back to California to live with her mother. That was really hard -- we'd planned on being a family of four, and suddenly we didn't know if or when we'd see her again. Just a week later, I was checking into the hospital for my surgery.

My husband (then fiance) drove me to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. We got me all checked in and my parents came to spend some time with me/us. I had a bunch of lab work done that day, and then spent the night in the hospital. The nurses gave me Valium so I could sleep, and put up a cot for the husband to share the room with me. We watched some lame movie and tried to sleep. I had to get up very early the next morning and shower with Hibiclens (a surgical prep), and then they got me ready for surgery and took me off to the OR.

My mom said when I came out of the OR, I was asking for the fiance. Not her. I'm sure that hurt her feelings. Sorry Mom. When I realized he'd stayed the whole time, and when I asked him to stay and he did (trying to sleep on uncomfortable cots and benches in the ICU waiting area), I was relieved that he really wanted to be with me! Like the whole 3 months previously had been a joke or something.

Eight weeks later, we were married.

I wish I could say everything has been easy, but it hasn't. There have been some very bad, very dark times in these last 4-1/2 years. But there have been some amazing times and wonderful times and even just so-so moments as well. Even though our life isn't perfect, we are happy and our kids are happy ... and we're getting back on our feet.

Thanks for reading my reminiscing, dear readers. There will be some changes on the blog going forward, which I'm excited to tell you about very soon.