a happy day for me

Okay, so this should wrap up my birthday/holiday entries for a while.... but today is my birthday! always thought an april fools day birthday was wasted on me. i am not a good joke teller ( i have a terrible memory ) nor am i a practical joker. i just don't see myself as a funny person. but none the less, i do enjoy having a spring birthday. today has been a great day & i feel blessed beyond measure.
(ps--thank you sweet friend for the birthday blog love!)
Thursday Dan & i will celebrate our 9th anniversary. I wanted to share some of "our story". this may get a little long so feel free to just skip on over & i'll see you next time in my next non-personal non birthday entry. hopefully one filled with lovely blooming atlanta flowers & maybe a craft of two...wink!

Gregg & I were married 17 years ago . At that time Dan & Gregg were roommates. We all went to the same church & that's how we all came to know each other. Gregg was a total flirt~ we hit it off well & began running together , fell head over heals in love & married about 2 years after dating. Dan was actually one of the groomsmen in my first wedding! Dan was much older (wink!) & much more intellectual than I . I don't think we had much in common back then. Even though we knew each other, we all spent little to no time together. Despite the fact that Gregg & Dan were best of friends, the two were very different. I don't think I would have appreciated many of Dan's qualities when I was in my 20's.

When Gregg was diagnosed with cancer, I was pregnant with our third child. He needed 8 hour infusions 5 days a week--i tried to limit my exposure to the chemo so Gregg had many many friends come & take turns sitting with him. Dan was one of those guys. We had seen very little of Dan until that time as he lived over seas and or was working on the other side of Atlanta. Gregg passed away 9 months after he was diagnosed .

A few years passed --Dan was hired into administration at the school savannah attended. We began playing tennis & spending time together. It was instant love for me....it seemed like this guy who i had known for many years was suddenly a different person to me. & honestly , i believe he was different. He was amazing with the girls. always playing with them & telling them stories about their daddy. it was just a perfect fit. dan was so protective of me. he always looked at me with this sweet tender look, i can't explain it , but it was almost like he was going to protect me from ever being hurt again. i have always felt so safe & cherished by him.

having a young healthy husband die a horrible death from a horrible disease has really shaped who i am today. one of my "over the top fun friends" refers to me as her homebody friend. years ago i loved being into everything at all times, busy, wide open & very social. but something changed in me when i experienced gregg's loss. i am much more content, i love being in my home, actually business makes me somewhat nervous. i am much more quiet & just enjoy 'being' . maybe i'm just getting too old!ha!

i never prayed for a new husband. honestly i think i figured i would never marry again. seriously, a 30 year widow with 3 girls under the age of 3 isn't high on most men's "i want to marry list". however, i believe the lord completely orchestrated our relationship. dan had never been a big 'player'& he tells me he's never told another women that he loved her. imagine what a gift that was to me. he is amazingly romantic--he sends me cards....in the mail! he tells me he loves me dozens of times everyday. he is loyal. i know he will never leave me. he always walks in the door, drops his bags, kisses each of us & is ready to give any of us 100% of his undivided attention , at any time. years ago, i know i wouldn't have appreciated those characteristics. i would have taken him completely for granted. there is not a day that goes by that i am not completely aware of how blessed i am to have this man. we never argue, we never go to bed angry & we try to have date nights at least weekly. i feel like he is my true soul mate.

Dan is an amazing daddy to the girls. having adopted them after we were married, you would never suspect he wasn't their biological daddy. he loves them each unconditionally. they are not his step daughters, they are his girls. we were blessed with little caroline a couple years after being married.

i'm certain gregg must look down from heaven & smile. he loved dan & he obviously loves me and his girls. when i told gregg's mom that i was engaged to dan, she was thrilled. she told me she had always loved him & that he would be just perfect for us. perfect he is!

happy anniversary sweet man---i love you immensely & i'm so proud to be your wife.

allofmylove2you