Amy's 'momentary trouble'

20 years ago today, at 7:00pm, my life changed forever. I stood at the end of that long aisle, my hands cold & clammy, watching for the entrance of a beauty so stunning, so radiant that my attention couldn’t be drawn away by the 300 or so people sharing this same moment. As the doors opened and the music changed, I barely noticed that the others in the room rose to their feet…and in she walked. As she approached, glowing and shining in her loveliness, a smile of happiness spread across my face. Our eyes met for the briefest of moments, but the effect lasted much longer as the electricity from that intimate glance made the hair on the back of my neck stand and the breath in my lungs catch. Even as the priest asked ‘Who offers this woman’s hand in marriage?’ I couldn’t remove my eyes from the curve of her face…the beauty of her eyes. Her father said, ‘Her mother and I do.’ And the spell was broken as she turned and hugged her daddy and he placed her arm in mine. The rest of the ceremony is a blur…vows spoken…my best man almost passed out…I sang ‘Lady’…we lit our unity candle…and…finally…we kissed. We rode to the reception in a horse drawn gilded carriage. We laughed and chatted with the best man and maid of honor as we rode through town like royalty. At the reception we toasted…cut cake…and danced. People hugged us…congratulated us…wished us well. Sooner than expected the evening ended…and sooner than expected four years had past. Four years of marriage, four years of building a relationship, getting to know each other…building trust…building a deepening love…and Brittany was born, making us parents. Then six years had past and Amy gave birth to a boy…Trevor joined our family. When you are first married, ten years seems so very far off, but in reality time has a way of slipping by. Year 10 for us was very tumultuous and if it weren’t for God and my praying wife, we might not have made it past this year. The one bright spot in this rough year was on December 1st, Vinny was born, putting a happy ending to this long year. What followed was…blessing…a move to Baraboo…establishment of friendships…rootedness in a great God fearing, bible believing church. Year 15 soon came and after much discussion, Amy made a preliminary appointment to look into taking permanent measures in not having any more children. It was at that very appointment that we found out that Amy was pregnant! Tell me that God doesn’t have a sense of humor! On December 8th, Hope was born. As the years have past, we have enjoyed watching each of our kids grow. Yes, we’ve had our share of trouble, issues and disappointment. Time waits for no one…it continues to march on and when you least expect it, weeks…months…years have past. I can honestly say that year 20 isn’t one of my favorites, but like it or not, it is what it is…it’s part of us…it is our story and I for one wouldn’t want to have spent it with anyone else. Happy anniversary honey…I love you!

I’ve told you so many times that I love you, and I do.
On our anniversary, though, I wish I had another way to express it,
a way no one else in the world uses.
If only I could ask God to create a star just for you,
brighter and more beautiful than the others,
it might give you an idea of how you light up my existence…
Or if I could give you your own personal rainbow,
with each color representing a facet of you that enchants me,
it might come close to showing you how much color…
how much vibrance you bring into my life.
If only it were possible to take all of the feelings I have for you
and mold them into a sunbeam which would keep you warm forever,
then you would know, without a doubt, what a difference you make in the world,
what a difference you make to me…

This is Amy's story as seen and told by me - V