HERE COMES a word from THE BRIDE.....

Most little girls dream of their wedding day. They imagine the dress, the flowers, the cake, the big church and all the other typical things that go along with weddings. I can't say that I ever sat and dreamed about all those things. I always wanted to just go somewhere and get married. Since my first trip to Disney World in second grade, I have always wanted to either get married in their wedding pavilion or do a simple ceremony and go to Disney World for the honeymoon. I'm getting neither of those things. I am, however, getting my dream come true.

When I was little, I had an imaginary husband. I can't believe I just admitted that, but it's true. Most kids just have an imaginary friend, but I had a husband. My number one goal and dream in life was to be a wife and mom. In the last few years I had started to think it just wasn't going to happen for me. In the past couple of years, I have slowly turned over area by area of my life to God to handle. I am a control freak and it was hard to let go of those things that I so badly wanted to dictate the outcome of. One of the hardest things to let go of was my marital status. I finally realized that in God's perfect time, things would happen and I began to enjoy life as a single person.

It's true what they say. When you stop looking, he'll come out of nowhere. The day I got a friend request on facebook from Randy along with a message changed my world completely. To be honest, I didn't think anything would come of it. We had already chatted back and forth online 2 years prior and nothing happened. To this day, I still don't know why I even bothered responding because "What's the point?" honestly went through my mind. We agreed to meet and I came very close to cancelling because I was a nervous wreck. I am the first date wonder so it wasn't like it was going to be a big deal if I didn't go because I was never going to see this guy again.........or so I thought.

Our first date was the best first date I had ever been on. There was nothing over the top or flashy about it at all. That may be why it was so great to me. From the first moment we were together, I was at ease. I felt like I had known him forever and no one made me laugh like he did. The whole way home I remember telling myself over and over "Stop being so excited and happy. He's never going to call. You'll never hear from him again. Don't be an idiot." In case you can't tell, I'm a big supporter of myself...lol.

Imagine my surprise when he called Monday night.....and Tuesday night....and again on Wednesday....Thursday.......and on Friday he invited me over Saturday night because he was going to cook for me. What? A man offered to cook for me?? I continued to remind myself not to get excited. It wasn't going to last. I liked him way more than he was ever going to like me and I told myself that over and over. On the drive to Monroeville I kept thinking "Have I lost my mind? This man could be a serial killer for all I know and I'm going to his house." I told my friend, Kerrie, and my brother where I was. I was hoping that one of them would notice my absence if I went missing. We spent forever talking that night and it was easy. We didn't run out of things to talk about. I could have spent all night at that table running my mouth.

Date after date, I just remember thinking he was going to bolt and run at any minute because he was to good to be true. When I started to realize I was in love with him, I was scared out of my mind. I was entering dangerous territory because I was at risk of really being hurt at this point. All of my friends said they knew I was in love when I told them I went fishing with him.....ha!

He will never let me live down the day he brought up the subject of marriage. I told him it didn't make me sick or hyperventilate. Okay, I know that was probably not the emotional response he was looking for, but that had happened before when an ex-boyfriend brought up the subject. In my defense, I had no idea he was going to ask me to marry him. It took him 8 dates to kiss me. I certainly didn't expect him to propose in 3 months. (I hope he doesn't kill me for saying that!) I was figuring on 3 years for a proposal...ha!

Yes, that's right. We dated for 3 months and then we were engaged. That seems fast to some people but for us we just knew. I know that there is no one more perfect for me than him. I can't imagine life without him and it's hard for me to remember how things were before him. I have had some definite freak out moments during the whole wedding planning process. My wedding day may not have turned out the way I dreamed of or imagined it my whole life, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Today, I will marry my best friend and the love of my life.

When I decided to type a post for today, I thought I was going to type out words to express my love for Randy. It turns out, there are no words. That is why I told you parts of our story instead. I also want to encourage all the single girls reading this that your day WILL come. I hated sitting back seeing everyone else so happy and in love while I was wondering if it would ever happen for me. It seemed like everyone I knew was already married and on their third child. I know everyone says this, but just relax and enjoy where God has you right now because before you know it, your love will come along and life will never be the same.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding to go to...............MINE!!!!!!!! The blog will be down for a little while for obvious reasons ;-) . I will be back with wedding photos and a Thanksgiving update. Keep a check on here for updates and lots of pictures!