Happy Anniversary

Cory & I celebrated our 8th anniversary this week. It was a fun day to reminisce about where we started, what we've been through, and the road ahead of us.

Cory & I met at EFY when I had just turned 16 and Cory was almost 19. It was my first EFY and his last, before his mission. I met Cory at the first dance, on Monday night. My best friend, Sherri and I were in different groups and it just happened that Cory was in the Scooby-do Company with Sherri. So when Sherri and I took a break from dancing to go get some water, there was Cory, doing the same. He and Sherri said "Hello", and then Sherri introduced the two of us. Cory shook my hand and said, "Save me a dance." And that is what started it all. Cory, weeks away from leaving on his mission, was quite intent on having girls write him while he was away. I, being 16, and finally old enough to date, was quite intent on meeting guys at EFY. We hit it off that week and promised to write after we got home. And we did--even through the two years while he served his mission in Washington. We started actually dating when he came home in the summer of 1998, and got married the next summer.

Looking back, I realize that when we got married I was just a baby, barely 19 and had never lived away from home before. Cory was a newly returned missionary, just starting to make his way in the world. We started out with a lot of blessings, a lot of love, and not much else. Here we are, 8 years, three kids and 5 moves later--still with a lot of blessings and a lot of love. It reminds me of the song that was sung at our receptions, "It's been a long road, a happy road, with detours on the way. Love has brought us to this one perfect day." I feel so fortunate to have had 8 magical years with this fun, crazy, wonderful man and hope that we'll have at least 88 more!