Fifteen Years of Bliss!

15 years ago today, I walked down the aisle with my best friend in the whole world and my soul mate. Here are some things you may not know about the first year:

• My brother Jon was my best man, my brother Dan a groomsman, my sister Susan was a bridesmaid and my brother-in-law Ed a groomsman.
  
• I had two bachelor parties. One of them the police broke up.
• I still had a year left in college, Cathie got a job at Big Brothers/Big Sisters. We didn't know what we'd do with all the money.
• The first car I bought after we were married was an Audi Fox for $100. My friend Webb and I had to string a cable around the car to hold the floor up after the floor rusted out. This in turn cut the gas line, so gas would trail behind the car.
  
• We honeymooned down in Florida, the exact same time Hurricane Andrew struck.
  
• On our way down to our honeymoon the woman at the American Airlines counter saw that it was our honeymoon and upgraded us to first class. We wandered all around the back of the plane because we couldn't figure out where our seats were.
• We rented a convertible in Florida and loved every second of it. It was our first time alone together on a trip and it was amazing. I remember driving in the convertible, hearing the song Life is a Highway while Cathie and I were laughing til it hurt as we read Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy.
• We found out the hard way that the Canaveral National Seashore in front of our condo was actually a nude beach.
  
• For the first part of our marriage, we lived in a 400 square foot apartment in married housing at MSU.
• Within the first 6 months, I taped over the only copy of our wedding video.
• We didn't have much money or have a clue what we were doing, but we were on our own and it was bliss.

I have fallen more in love with Cathie every day, beyond what I could have ever dreamed. Cathie gets me and models what for me what it looks like to love and server one another. My Mom prayed for all of us since we were little that God would give us amazing spouses. God really answered that prayer in a big way for me. My heart still beats fast when I look at her. She is the perfect woman for me and can't wait to grow old with her.

(Cathie included fifteen notes in my suitcase, one for each year of marriage.)