A Poem for John on his 36th Birthday

On November Sixth, Nineteen Ninety Eight,
We met up at ten for our fateful first date.
We both were surprised by our immediate connection
And spent several years deepening this affection.

We were meant for each other, we always knew,
And so, on July Seventh, Two Thousand and Two,
When you sang for me and your intentions professed,
You knew before you asked that my answer was yes.

On March Twenty-Second, Two Thousand and Three,
I was grafted into your family tree.
And though I cried as I said goodbye to our guests,
I knew as we left I was incredibly blessed.

In Two Thousand and Five we couldn’t stop crying
As we disappointed each other and loved ones kept dying.
But our marriage was made stronger by the trials we faced,
And God showed us anew the extent of His grace.

Two years later a daughter brought joy,
And two years after that, along came a boy.
Though parenthood definitely has moments of stress,
The heartwarming moments make up for the rest.

And John, as we enter Two Thousand and Ten,
Please know that I’d happily do this all over again.

The Story of John and Jen, Part 5

July 7, 2002

We had spent the July 4 weekend at John's parents' vacation home in West Virginia and were driving home. I had been hoping for a proposal that weekend, but after an emotional few days (long story) I had given up on it happening that trip.

On our way home, John got off at my parents' highway exit. When I asked why, John said that he wanted to sing worship songs by the lake nearby. We had spent several dates at that lake, and we were both emotionally frazzled, so it sounded like a nice idea to me... although I have to admit, I started wondering whether "this was it" since the idea seemed so out of the blue.

We found our way in the dark to a hill by the lake, and John pulled his guitar out of the case. Strangely, this evening he had trouble coming up with the chords for the worship songs he played every week in church.

After two or three songs, John started playing chords that I recognized, but not from a worship song. We both love the movie "The Wedding Singer," especially the song that Adam Sandler sings to Drew Barrymore at the end, "Grow Old With You." I had told John at one point how much I'd love it if he'd learn that song and sing it to me someday, and in my mind I had thought (but not verbalized) that it would be a great way to propose. It seems John had thought so too. And when John started playing the chords, I was pretty sure I knew what was coming.

I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad

Carry you around when your arthritis is bad

All I wanna do is grow old with you

I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches

Build you a fire if the furnace breaks

Oh it could be so nice, growing old with you

I'll miss you, kiss you

Give you my coat when you are cold

Need you, feed you

Even let you hold the remote control

So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink

Put you to bed when you've had too much to drink

I could be the man who grows old with you

I wanna grow old with you

(Below is the clip from "The Wedding Singer". John sings it better but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough on the draw to videotape his proposal.)

When John finished singing the song, he pulled a box out of his pocket, opened it, and asked me to marry him (we were sitting on the ground so taking a knee would have seemed ridiculous). I remember thinking to myself, "Say something witty or profound, because you'll be telling this story for the rest of your life" (my mom had answered my dad with the very romantic, "Are you sure?"). But the best I could do was stutter out, "Of course!" and throw my arms around the man whom I would never have to let go of in this lifetime.

Before leaving the lake, we took these photos:

Then we drove the five minutes to my parents' house so my mom and I could jump around the den together and we could call all of our immediate family members.

Happy fifth anniversary to the man I will love forever!

Celebrating Five Years Together

I found the one whom my soul loves.
-- Song of Solomon 3:4

The Story of John and Jen, Part 1

John and I celebrate five years of marriage on March 22. There have been tough challenges, sure, but there have been countless blessings as well. I'm so thankful God has given me John as a husband -- it's been one of many ways that He has smiled upon me!

I'm going to steal an idea from my friends Mary and Sarah and share "The Story of John and Jen" this month in several parts to remember the beginning of one of the best adventures of my life.

____________________

The first time I remember seeing John was when I was home from college for Christmas break my senior year. I was on the summer worship team for my home church's college/young adult group, so I was surprised to see someone I didn't recognize leading worship that Sunday. I turned to Sunny, a girl I had just met, and asked who the guy was playing guitar, and she said, "Oh, that's John." I went back to worshipping and didn't give it another thought.

After church, the girl went up to John and told him about the girl sitting next to her who had been checking him out. Excited, John asked who the girl was, and Sunny could not remember my name. By then I was gone, and off to college for my final semester, and John was furious at his friend for dropping the ball regarding a girl who was apparently interested in him.

Eleven months later, I told my new friend Sunny that I had gone on a date with John. And suddenly she remembered who it was who had been "checking John out" that morning.