14...

14 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. The man that I had guarded my heart for. The man I had fervently prayed for.

We got engaged just five weeks after meeting. Some think that's a tad crazy, but what's crazy is that I would have said yes on our third date (ok, second but that sounds real crazy, so I'll keep it at third)! It was the sweetest, most thought out proposal ever. He thought out each detail and had my family involved in everything.  I remember being just giddy when he asked me...and when I heard him say "I love you" I lost it. Those were words he saved just for me...words he had never uttered to another woman (other than his momma and sisters).

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. Ric hates...HATES...talking on the phone. Needless to say, we didn't really know each other. We didn't have cell phones, Facetime, Facebook...nope, just the good old telephone.

 Our wedding day was perfect.  Every detail was just as I had wanted it...but what I remember most is 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 had no idea how important those words would become over the next years.  But that day, 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, break 6 cell phones and iPad's (Ric) and lose 5 drivers licence's and debit cards(me), stay at the same church...oh the list could seriously go on people.

I  knew that the man that I married would be my closest friend, the one I laugh with about everything, cry with about everything, and love, but I had no idea that I would love him more today than I did the day I stood beside him as we got married. It's a crazy love I tell ya. I can't imagine my life without him. I don't just love him...I like him. Y'all know we are Baptist folk, and one of the quintessential lines of baptist talk is "I have to love you, but I don't have to like you". Well that line doesn't pertain to my relationship with Ric...I love him, and I like him. I like the way he laughs, the stupid things he says, the way he loves football, the way he rubs my foot (every night...don't hate ladies), the way he loves Christ. I like him (except when he eats standing up...now that drives me crazy...just sit down), I really do!!

You see, I do love Ric Blazi....more today than I did yesterday. I have seen him become a father, four times over. He is such a good dad, especially in the stage we are at in parenting. This stage is harder...by far harder than having babies and toddlers...and he is in his element at this stage. I have seen him grow in his ministry and begin to preach like a seasoned pastor. He is pouring into our teens and church like I have never seen before. He teaches them truth, how to defend that truth, and why they should love the truth. 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 kids, with tears in his eyes. Yes, I love him more today than I did 14 years ago. I have seen him make mistakes...and sometimes learn from them.

14 years ago I married this handsome man with the darkest brown eyes . 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. 14 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 14 years, I truly know him...and I love him even more because of that! Happy 14 Years...I love ya Rex...


14 Things I have learned in the last 14 years:

1.  Your wedding day is awesome, but it's what comes after that means the most.

2.  Saving our first kiss for our wedding day was the best thing we did...crazy hard, but boy was it worth the wait.

3.  Georgia football only lasts about half the year and Georgia football games trump anything…even babies being born (although we got married on the same day that Georgia played Georgia Southern…all the while several family members may have had ear buds in listening to the game during said wedding…I still get grief for that one)

4.  Having 4 kids is crazy...but it's our kind of crazy and I love it!!

5.  That I would rather drive closer to the white line than the yellow one...and it drives him nuts.

6.  Looks fail...trust me (my looks of course, not his...he has some eternal youth serum he drinks every night...I swear)...

7.  Love and commitment don't...

8.  Marriage is fun...go on dates...get away by yourselves...it's important.

9.  Frozen Yogurt should always be included in above dates...

10.  Pets drive my husband crazy...but our kids love them.  Cute pups and kids trump his vote...sorry babe! You get Georgia football...

11.  That paint thinner will not cause blindness…even when you are pregnant and shouldn't be painting!

12.   That men truly have the secret…about mowing the lawn. I may have to explain that one day soon but yes men, I know you're secret and I will expose your secret to your wives….y'all are so tricky!!

13.  That everything that happens is NOT a life or death situation…although I do forget this truth…daily!  I have perfected the "gasp" for every situation in life...drink spilling and kid cutting his hand open...same difference. 

14.  That God is faithful and good and His kindness toward me astounds me.  He gave me a good man, and I am a blessed woman indeed.  God is good, all the time!!! 


Happy 14...you are the best and I love ya!!