Five

It's now October, just a few months past July when we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. The day was ordinary and wonderful, spent relaxing and home and enjoying take-away from Dr Noodles in town. Garrick even convinced me to watch the Mariners.

Recently, my mom found a copy of my wedding vows. This prompted Garrick to look for his. We eagerly read through them and laughed at the slightly dramatic and naïve prose. Then memories flooded our minds. The day was gray and the sky threatened rain. We walked down the grass aisle at 6pm at Lord Hill Farms in Snohomish, Washington on 27th July 2008, both twenty years old. I remember little from the day, except feeling overwhelmingly happy. Truly, it is still the best day we've ever had.

Here is what we promised each other a little over five years ago:

For Garrick Allen

I am truly blessed by everything that you are. Not only do you love and cherish me, but you also correct and sharpen me. I am very excited to be standing here with you right now getting married!! I really can’t believe it.

When I met you in the 9^th grade, I instantly knew that you were a very special person. I thank God every day that he brought you into my life at such a young age. Today I want to make some promises to you that I want to keep throughout our entire lives together:

I promise to put God first in our marriage.

I promise to love you more every day and to appreciate all of your wonderful qualities.

I promise to take care of you, yes that means cook. J

I promise to make you think and to challenge you to be a better person every day.

I promise to have fun with you and laugh throughout our lives.

I promise to always put you first and to do what is best for both of us.

I promise to support you in whatever dream or desire you have.

I promise to be honest with you and share every part of me with you.

I promise to always recycle.

I promise that no matter where God leads us, I will be obedient and follow his calling on our lives.

I promise to listen to you and understand how you feel.

I promise to encourage and pray with you throughout all of life’s ups and downs. 

I love you and I can’t wait to be MARRIED!!!!

Love, Andrea

For Andrea Stevens

Because of all you have done for me, because you love me, and because you have chosen me to be your husband I vow to love you wholeheartedly until the very second I slip from this life to the next.

I vow to hold your hand and hug you, and kiss you always in affection and comfort, even when you haven’t brushed your teeth yet.

I vow to listen to and be ever thankful for your words of love, encouragement, pride, comfort and even criticism, even when I’m pretty sure that I was right all along.

I vow to honor you the best I can in every way as a person who loves me and as the person whom I love more than any other.

I vow to always remain hopeful in and faithful to you because God is the one who has ultimately brought us together.

I vow to do my best to cherish you every day that I wake up next to you and stare into your beautiful, seemingly unending, mass of freckles.

I vow to give you all of myself in honesty, vulnerability, and trust.

I vow to do my best to keep the Lord Jesus Christ at the head of our relationship and to put you before myself in every way.

To you I vow my unselfish, unrelenting, deep and abiding, heartfelt love forever.  

I love you.