The Bean Blog

Happy Anniversary to me

Nov 14, 2006 Love & Marriage, Misty watercolor memories

Lee and I celebrated our ninth anniversary today.

We met on May 26, 1993. I remember the day because it was exactly a week after Lee’s 23rd birthday. I was 18, turning 19 in just two weeks. My friend, Joy, was dating Lee’s friend, Andre. One night I was hanging out with Joy and Andre and Andre said, “you’d be perfect for my friend, Lee.” Joy and Andre set up a meeting.

On our first meeting, it was just Joy, Andre, Lee and I. We hung out at Andre’s house, playing cards and soaking in the hot tub.

As the weeks went on, Lee and I started to spend more time together. In July we went camping together. And by camping I mean it was a bunch of friends hanging out by the campfire, sleeping in a tent and then I went home in the morning to shower before I rejoined them back at the campsite. I am so not an outdoor girl. I require the luxury of indoor plumbing and electricty for my blow dryer.

This photo was a self portrait we took of ourselves on that camping trip.

In the beginning we had kind of a bumpy relationship. Just six months in to our relationship I found out I was pregnant with Keaton. Not long after that we split up for a while. But we got back together when Keaton was around nine months old. And we’ve been together ever since.

Shortly after we reunited, Lee asked me to marry him. It was in August of 1994. We were on our way home from a party. It was very, very late. Lee turned to me and said, “If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?” He always was such a romantic.

A few months later we moved in together.

We had a very long engagement…more than four years. We got engaged just a few months after we reconciled, so I guess we wanted to spend some time together before we became husband and wife.

I wanted to get married in the fall; either October or November. One day in late 1995, I asked Lee to pick a day. He choose either the 14th or the 17th. In 1997, November 14th was a Friday. So that was the day.

We made plans to marry in Vegas. We invited our immediate family and our best friends. We had a “rehearsal dinner” at the Excalibur’s Tournament of Kings Dinner Show. It wasn’t so much rehearsing as it was just having a good time, eating with our hands and cheering on our knight. The next day, at 4pm, we were married at The Little Church of the West.

A year later, we had a big church wedding and reception. This time all of our friends and family were able to join us. We renewed our vows at the church I’ve been a member of since I was a baby. And this time Keaton and Justis walked down the aisle as our ringbearers and helped us light our unity candle. It was a very special ceremony.

Our Vegas wedding was a special private moment. Our renewal gave us another opportunity to proclaim our love, only this time in my church before all of our family and friends. It was awesome to be able to include our closest friends as bridesmaids and groomsmen.

And here we are nine years later and even more in love. I’m so lucky to be able to spend my life with this man.

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