We started dating in November of 2002, just two months after my dad passed away. I have always known that was no coincidence. My dad knew exactly what he was doing when he sent you my way. It may have taken you 4 years and 1 baby later to figure it out, but I've always known. You were the one. You've ALWAYS been the one.
The night we got engaged will always be the most magical memory of my life....
....I don't know that any proposal could top ours. Even though I still believe you used every ounce of romance you had in you on one evening :) but, it was SO worth it. We were sitting with friends around a fire on a private white sand beach under a full moon in Costa Rica....on Valentine's Day. (Really?! Does it get any better than that?) You'd have thought by the end of the night I'd have caught on that something was up....but, I was too concerned with the thousands of hermit crabs I could hear scurrying around us in the dark. When you pulled out the ring, I remember thinking how nervous you seemed (which I'm sure was more due to the fact you were scared one of us would drop the ring in the sand because my hand shaking so bad). Then I think your nerves turned to fear when you witnessed your 1st 'ugly tear session'. I remember bawling the words YES, YES, YEESSSSS!!!!! I can only imagine what was going through your head at that moment. Thankfully, you've never told me :)
We were married on a Saturday in the late afternoon. Thankfully, you didn't view the Cornhusker loss that day as a bad omen and you decided to marry me anyway. It was a beautiful day and with all of our family and friends surrounding us, we recited our own vows. Even though I know you wrote yours only hours before the ceremony, I can never thank you enough for writing them. For me, that was the most special part of the day.
I take you, Barry, to be my husband. I promise to love & cherish you, to be supportive during Nebraska games, compliment the size of fish you caught, no matter how small it really is, & to never get mad when you choose to spend our anniversary with Nate in North Dakota, since I have been reminded over & over again how this is one of THE BEST hunting weekends of the year. I promise to love you in good times, & in bad, when life seems easy & when it seems hard, when our love is simple & when it is an effort. I will always be honest with you, kind, patient, & forgiving, but most of all I promise to be a true & loyal friend to you. I promise to always make our home a place of laughter, which may include inventing my own words to songs & singing them at the top of my lungs just to make the two of you smile. I feel so blessed that you have chosen to share your life with me, & that I get to grow old next to you. Above all, I promise to never stop laughing, & to never stop falling in love with you. I give you this ring as a symbol of my promise.....
I take you, Teresa, to be my wife. Each of us has had quite a journey in our lives so far & I feel so blessed to have found you as my partner. I promise to love & cherish you from this day forward, to be a comfort & safe haven in our families lives, to hold you close, to listen deeply when you speak (even when I have no idea what you are talking about). I promise to nourish you, to uphold you with my strength, to weigh the effects of the words that I speak & the things I do (and even the things I don't do). I promise to never take you for granted & to always give thanks for your presence in my life. I give you this ring as a symbol of my promise....
You are my best friend and I could never imagine my life with out you. You have blessed me with so many wonderful memories and given me 2.5 of the most beautiful children a mother could ask for. I love you so much, B.....cheers to 50+ more years!
I love your love story!!! Thanks for sharing!
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