We met in Mexico

I came down to his parent's church to stay the summer and help YFC with their short-term missions trips.

He was there for a couple of weeks to help translate and lead construction on the church building.

I saw him leaning up against the church wall outside in the heat and dust waiting for the team to arrive.

He saw me getting off the fifteen passenger van with our first mission team for the summer.

I saw him checking me out.

He thought his sunglasses were darker than they were.

I broke my sandal at the lake.

He volunteered to take me shoe shopping.

I was left to hang out with four guys for a week when the first team left.

He made sure I was safe on our walk to the cliffs when the guys decided to visit the lake in the middle of the night.

I knew after that.

He kept me warm on our drive back from a day trip to San Antonio- then he knew.

I had to be back in Wichita for a week's worth of job training in the middle of the summer.

He volunteered to drive me back to the San Antonio airport with his brother-in-law before they headed off to Tennessee.

I missed my flight... his brother-in-law isn't the fastest driver ever.

He ended up driving me to Oklahoma City instead.

We had plenty of time to talk about things like:

He was worried about our age difference...  I was 22, he was almost 29.

I had a thing for older men.

He was getting over another girl.

I was ready for a serious relationship and wasn't willing to plunge into another "fun relationship" that was going no-where.

We parted ways at the Cracker Barrel... and met up two weeks later in North Carolina.

Those two weeks were torturous and just a taste of the year-long long-distance relationship we were about to embark on. But it was worth it! So glad I'm with you today, a decade later! I'm so thankful that God has brought us together and carried us through even when we've been disobedient wretches, He's sustained us and is growing us up in Him. Thank you, Jesse for being willing to put up my selfishness, stinky attitudes, and crazy emotions and loving me in spite of it all... Happy 8th Anniversary; I love you more than I can say!

And Happy 37th Anniversary, Momma and Daddy! Y Feliz Aniversario 52o a mis suegros, tambien!