Anniversery

Nine years ago today, I married the woman of my dreams. I fell in love with her because she was compassionate, loving, industrious, she loved kids,had the patience to work with teenagers, old people & animals, and she loved Jesus. (to name a few)

We had met on my Uncle's farm, I was pumping gas into my car and she was walking a her show cow. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was showing one of my Uncle's cows at the local fair. She had a halter around the cows neck and was marching her back and forth around the farm like a dog. Being the kind of person that speaks my mind, I said something to her like, "I am sure you will grow out of this, it won't last." And later I was to find out that she thought I was a jerk. (i was)

Anyway we ran into each other a few more times at the farm and I became interested in her. But it wasn't till about two years later, I was working a grocery delivery business and was making supper one night around 9pm at my parents house. She brought my sister home from Bible School, she walked in the house and invited everyone in my family to go swimming at the Hitz Pool.

I had work to do and didn't want to go, but my parents knowing I worked too much said I should and that they were going to go too. So I went with my sister, my parents never showed. After swimming we went out for pizza. Afterwards I still needed to go grocery shopping for the next day. So Shelly thinking it was an adventure went along with me. We spent a few hours together that night and I knew I wanted her to be mine.

Soon afterwards we started dating. Her friends soon became my friends. This is when I first met Mike Dodson, Doug Gibson, etc. She was incredibly nice and I was a jerky man. I eventually drove her away. (she dumped me, one of the worst days of my life) But I still hung out with her friends and secretly longed for her to be mine.

A year later we dated again for a few months I was helping her with Second Chance, the youth group she was running. This time she dumped me the day before my birthday (in front of the pizza shop in Cleona). My last words to her were you dumped me the day before my birthday so you don't have to buy me anything. (what was i thinking? what a jerk i was!). I still loved her and wanted her to be mine.

After that life changed, I went to LBC to college where I ran into some friends she made there. (She had gone there for a summer). I told them how much I loved Shelly and eventually the news traveled back to her. People kept saying to her, "I met Brian, he really loves you." (this drove her crazy) After LBC, I moved to Nashville. (for what I thought would be the rest of my life)

Shelly says I called her on Christmas Day 1993 after I had been in Nashville for a year and said to her, "Move down here and marry me." I don't remember that, but I am sure I did. My time in Nashville ended a year later when my father died and I moved back home. That one event changed my life for good and bad. Without detailing everything, I miss my dad and the only benefit that I have seen from his death was my move back to Lebanon which was the catalyst for Shelly & I getting back together. A year later Shelly and I were married at the Camp Grove at noon on May 6, 1995. What a great day. What a great wife.

If you see my wife this week wish her a happy anniversary.