4 years ago...

Teamwork. Dedication. Commitment. Hard Work. Long Hours. Blood, Sweat and Tears....
If you know me all too well, you would think that I am talking about coaching...but I'm not. I am talking about marriage. It takes all of the above and so much more, like FAITH, HOPE and LOVE!

4 years ago, I married the "Man on my list." After having some, ok many, not so lucky relationships, my mom sat me down one night and said "sis, what do you really want in a guy?" I had never thought of it that way. I had thought "hmmm that guy is cute and taller than me...lets see if he is single." So after pondering my mom's question and really truly praying about it...I came up with a list. A list of very specific details of the qualities I wanted in the man I was going to marry...and I was not going to date anyone who didn't meet my list. I had all but given up on it, but I put it in my Bible and prayed and prayed and prayed......

One hot softball season, 5 years ago, my eyes wandered to the football coaches who had come to our !!game....the rest is history.. LOL (I don't have enough computer battery to write all the details :) !!)

When I said "I Do" to honoring someone "through sickness and in healthy" I didn't know that Chris would have walking phenomia 3 times in one year, that he would cut open his hand with a knife, or that he would get hit upside the head with a baseball while I was 7 months pregnant. When I said "I Do" to honoring someone "for richer or poor" I didn't know that Student Loans would consume 60% of our paychecks, that we would have house payments, electric bills and hospital bills... When I said "I Do" to someone "for better or worse" I didn't know that we would try and try and try to have children, that we would lose a "son" after 6 weeks, or that we would spend 7 weeks in the NICU with the children we were suddenly blessed with.  When I said "I Do" to "love and cherish" someone "til death do us part" I didn't know that it would take commitment, hardwork, commitment, long hours, blood, sweat, tears...but I did know that it would take FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE.

Without those 3, the past 4 years would not have been possible. Not only did I marry the "man on my list" but I also married my best friend, the father of my children, my assistant coach and someone I admire and respect for all his hard work, dedication, commitment, blood, sweat and tears. I married someone that God made especially for me. Someone to pick me up when I hit rock bottom, someone to sing to me when I am sick, someone to make me laugh when all I want to do is cry. But, not only did God make Chris just right for me, He made him just right for Parker and Payge. He knew that I needed someone to lighten the mood during late night feedings, someone to pass on his GREAT looks to our children, someone to hold my hand in the doctor's office day in and day out, someone to sing to Parker when his legs are hurting or someone to rock Payge when she is fighting her nap. God created Chris to complete my life in so many ways.

So, 4 years ago, on a very hot August afternoon, when just hours before the wedding the AC went out in the Church, I danced with my best friend to a song that continues to play in our lives and our hearts:

"Ordinary, No. I really don't think so. Not a love this true.
Common destiny, we were meant to be. Me and You."

Happy 4 years Toph!