9 Years ago......

9 years ago today I said " I Do" to a man I barely knew....no, we didn't elope....didn't have an arranged marriage.....I just hardly knew him. You see, when Ric and I met, we went on three dates and knew that we loved each other...knew that we would be married...and knew that forever had each other in it. We just didn't know each other. Yes I knew that he was Godly, funny, caring, hot....oh, the list could go on. But seriously, how do you know someone in three dates.

God had brought us together in His perfect timing.....and we just knew....quickly! It was a whirlwind to say the least. I had finally found the man that I loved....and that loved me! We got engaged just five weeks after meeting....I would have said yes on that third date though! It was the sweetest, most thought out proposal ever.....and I remember being just giddy when I said yes. Just two short months after we got engaged, Ric had to move to Georgia to start his job as a youth pastor. We were apart from May until we wed in September. We saw one another occasionally....but really got to know each other, as best we could, over the phone....and my husband hates....HATES...talking on the phone. Needless to say....we didn't really know each other.

I remember standing there on our wedding day and repeating the words that Ruth told Naomi in the Old Testament....." Where you go, I will go...Where you lodge, I will lodge....your people will be my people...Your God, will be my God! I remember feeling more love for that man than I had ever even imagined could be humanly possible......but I still didn't really know him.

Little did I know that over the next years that we would have four children, go through great times, mourn over loved ones who had died, weep over teenagers that had gone astray, pray for our sick children...with uncertainty, move three times, drive... a lot, go through really hard times, laugh like we do, lose 10 cell phones(Ric) and four drivers licence's(me), stay at the same church....oh the list could seriously go on people.

I also didn't know that the man that I married, would be my closest friend, the one I laugh with about everything, cry with about everything, and love more today than I did the day I stood beside him as we got married.

You see, I do love Ric Blazi....more today than I did yesterday. I have seen him become a father...four times over. I have seen him grow in his ministry....and begin to preach like a seasoned pastor. I have seen him love his children....and teach them about God and His unbelievable grace. I have seen him go through struggles....and come out stronger. I have seen him pray over one of our sick babies.....with tears in his eyes. Yes, I love him more today than I did 9 years ago. I have seen him make mistakes.....and sometimes learn from them. I have seen the intensity that he has...when he watches Georgia football(and yes, he has woken up our children with his hollering more times than I can count). I have seen him cry in a movie....so what if it is Beverly Hills Chihuahua....that is why I love him!

9 years ago I married this handsome man with the darkest brown eyes you will ever see. I could look in those eyes and know that I was safe...that I was loved...and that he would be faithful to me....until death parts us. 9 years ago, I knew all of that.....but I have lived it now....and that my friends, is what makes me truly know who Ric Blazi is. He is a man of his word, a man of faith...conviction....and a man that stands for truth. He is faithful...kind....generous....and most of all he loves me. And after 9 years......I think I know him....and I love him even more because of that!

Happy 9 Years.......I love you Ric........