A Valentine's Tribute

** Disclaimer: Serious gag alert. The following post is way cheesy and I would probably hate it if it weren't written by me. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Last night, Lance and I watched The Notebook. Cut us some slack. It was Valentine's Eve and tonight (actual Valentine's Night), we are watching the Tampa Bay Lightning play the Ottowa Senators.
Anyway, back to The Notebook: I have seen it before, but last night while watching it, a realization struck me-- I married my "Noah" (Notebook reference).

When Lance and I met in 2000, I was finishing up my bachelor's at BYU. He was a roofer and had not completed a day of college. I never imagined that I would marry the guy-- I was just dating him for his looks and dry sense of humor. But man, did I fall in love.

When Lance asked my Dad for my hand in marriage (he's old fashioned like that), my Dad's answer was something along the lines of, "Well... you already have 3 strikes"(no formal education, no mission, and a shaved head) . I may not have had my parents' strong approval initially-- but I didn't care.

When I decided to marry Lance. I didn't care about anything but being with him. I didn't care if we were poor for the rest of our lives. It didn't matter where we lived. I didn't care about what my wedding ring looked like. I didn't care about our wedding (except that it had to be in the temple), or reception. I just wanted to be with Lance every day. Forever.

I love this line from the movie, {Ryan Gosling saying to Rachel McAdams}: "You tell me when I am being an arrogant son of a (biscuit) and I tell you when you are a pain in the (neck). Which you are, 99% of the time. I'm not afraid to hurt your feelings. You have like a 2 second rebound rate, then you're back doing the next pain-in-the-(neck) thing. "

Aside from the mild obscenities, that is me and Lance. We argue and make fun of each other. But man, I love being married to this guy. He is sincere. He is honest and not afraid to call me out when I need it. He is hilarious. He challenges me. He makes me laugh harder than anyone ever. He is fantastically supportive. He is my best friend.
So, I took a risk on the 22 year-old who did not serve a mission or go to college. The risk paid off. My husband is a worthy Priesthood holder who takes me to the temple regularly. And as a bonus, his hard work and ambition have enabled him to make a great living for our family. He is an amazing Dad. (And I feel the need to say that my parents now love him and highly approve of my choice).

Happy Valentine's Day