Our Love Story

Rewind to August 2004. (any non-sappy people might want to exit now)  An excited, ISU freshman out on her own for the very first time. Getting adjusted to college life in the dorms, having a roommate and having sweet freedom. I first met Will the second weekend at ISU- in his dorm room through a mutual friend from high school. Will gave my friend and I a ride back to my dorm (Steph- do you remember this?) and the meeting was very insignificant. But then we started talking and seeing each other randomly. Back when MSN Messenger was the "cool" way to communicate (man, am I dating myself or what?) you could find me at my desk late into the night having conversations with Will about what I had to lunch to my crazy family- and I mean that in the best of terms. (If I haven't apologized- I am sorry to my roommate, Chelsea, who probably fell asleep to the sound of the keyboard several times.) It was like I had known him forever and I soon found myself disclosing some of my most personal secrets to him. Things I hadn't even told my closest friends. I'm not sure if it was the safety of the computer screen or what but November came and we had our first date at Carlos O'Kelly's in Ames, Iowa. And, as they say, the rest is history. Sorry for the clichés, you just can't have a love story without 'em.

Don't get me wrong- we didn't go riding off into the sunset and not everything was rainbows and sprinkles from that point forward. We hit some bumps in the road- mostly because our relationship sort of scared me. Ok, not of sort of, it did. It scared me that I could know someone for so little of time and feel an instant connection with them. Something I hadn't felt before. It scared me that I was only 18 but yet felt that I could potentially marry this person. Things sometimes felt too good to be true and sometimes I was waiting for the other shoe to drop- for him to reveal a second head or something. I found myself pushing him away at times and creating fights for no reason. We both went through some times when we weren't sure where our relationship was headed. When I look back at those times, I KNOW those are the times that really tested our relationship and thankfully we made it back to each other.

The things that caused me to fall in love with him (his generosity, kindness, willingness to help anyone and everyone, his downright scary intelligence, and his quirky personality) are all things that make me fall in love with him more to this day. But then there are new things about him that have developed since I have met him that amaze me. Like the way he is with Sophia and Saidey. :::heart melting:::The way he can say just the right thing to get me to "snap" out of a mood or a bad day at work. The way he knows me, sometimes better than I know myself.

We got engaged the night before I graduated from ISU- May 2008, right by the campanile. We got married a little over a year later, on September 26, 2009. I was 23 and he was 25. What babies we were. And how much we have both changed since then. But the neat thing is that we have been able to change individually but also continue to grow as a couple. We have chosen to accept each other as we are, despite the changes (good or bad) and I believe that creates a true love story.

So, as we approach our five years of marriage, I am reflecting back on our journey and where its landed us. A home we have built together and two beautiful, happy, healthy kiddos. I know we still have a bumpy road ahead, we will have fights, there will be tears of both sorrow and happiness BUT at least we'll be on the bumpy road together.

 {END SAPPINESS}