Happy Anniversary!

The above picture was taken about 18 years ago. John and I were at the fair and we went into one of those couple dollar picture booths. I guess that I was around 15 and John was about 18. It was a black and white photo that we left it behind when we moved. A little after we moved here on the farm my Mom had the picture made into a water color. This picture does it little justice due to the reflections but is does represent our history together.

Today we celebrate 13 years of marriage!

We met when we were just young, he was friends with my cousin, Jeff. At the time I lived in another town and visited my family on occasion. I was a little tom boy and Jeff and John were always wrestling with me, trying to dump me off a sled while towing it with a snowmobile. The rougher they were the better. I'd always go back for more!
In the summer of 1988 my mother was going through her second divorce and my grandfather offered to help my mother if she wanted to move into the development they all lived in. My mother gave me the choice of doing that or she offered to get an apartment in the town we lived in until I was done school. I was ok with moving so that is what we did.
On the 4th of July, 1988 we moved a few towns North of my hometown. I did not know a soul so I drove my cousin Jeff nuts tagging along with him every waking moment. This is the summer that John and I started to show interest in one another. For the next 2 years we were on and off and from 1990 on we were committed to one another. John lived with my mother and I my senior year in high school. We helped around the house and paid some of the bills. We both worked through high school, he worked as a marine mechanic and I was a waitress.
My mother always felt better when I was out with John because she "knew I would be safe" as she would say. We still got into mischief we just didn't get caught because John was clever (even back then) My friends and I always managed to get in trouble and get caught. The summer after I graduated we moved into our first apartment and acquired are "first child" Maggie.
A little while later we moved to a trailer, we lived at each places about a year and then in November of 1994 we bought our first house, a small gambrel with 3 acres just 1 mi from this place.

That next summer while we were up North visiting my Dad, John and I were on the lake boating and we started to talk about marriage. We had held off on it because "we couldn't afford it" I mentioned that I could do it at a minimal cost and from that day on our plans began for a September wedding. It was not the typical wedding proposal, it was more like an agreement.

We had an outdoor ceremony presented by a wonderful baptist minister (regardless of our catholic upbringings) he was one of our substitute teachers in high school . Long story short we were married on a tight budget. Looking back it was better then many of the 10-20k weddings we've been to and I think a few of the couples are already divorced.
We borrowed and bartered for everything we could including rings, my dress, and old fashioned limo. We grew much of our decorations (gourds, pumpkins, flowers) and we made most of the food ourselves ( I had access to lots of banquet equipment/linens) and a good friend catered it.
It was a great time! Even our DJ thought so, he got OUI that night. That cost him more than we paid him to host the ceremony.

Shortly after we were married I started taking classes toward my nursing degree and graduated in 1999. That following June we had Luke and 2 years later Miss Leah was born. In December 2006 we literally "bought the farm" and in May of 2007 John graduated from nursing school.


We have had a wonderful life together and I cherish our relationship! I cannot imagine life without John. He is good man with so many great qualities.
I love ya babe! Cheers to us for 13 great years with many more to come!