Anniversary approaching. This only seems appropriate.

When I was fifteen years old I was elected vice president of the ninth grade class. We had an awesome group of officers and one officer and I had quite a bit of laughs together.

Most of you know that I am talking about the 14- year old knee-high sock wearing, yo-yo club founder, fake WWE teacher wrestling match organizer, T.H. Bell basketball and football jock, is my beloved Chris. Chris "asked me out" to be his girlfriend walking to seminary on December 18, 1998. Creepily we acted more like brother and sister, passing notes with silly jokes and hilarious stick figure cartoons, mostly done by him and Blake Eskelson.

We broke up and made up a few times and mostly for good reason. We were going into high school and knew we should date other people. We tried this pretty much every fall all the way until senior year, when we finally gave up trying to find what we always knew we had.

We were married five years to the day, December 18, 2003. Fast forward almost seven years later. This is where we are and why I still love that fifteen year old boy all these years later and for completely different reasons.

Here is how we are alike, but completely different. And why it works. Chris and I are pretty organized and a tad OCDish. He is about planning, actions, routine. And I am more about actual objects and things. He likes spreadsheets, making it to the airport on time, making sure the garage is closed. *Example - Did it shut? Yeah babe it is closed. Let's just go around and check. I SAW IT WITH MY OWN TWO EYES! Wherein my obsessions are having things in their place, putting water on my toothbrush before and after the toothpaste, and making sure we have enough time to stop at the cupcake shop before the airport. *Example - Really? You have to have one for the airplane, too? YES HONEY! It is all I have thought about since I had one for lunch three days ago.

As you can see I have much more to learn from him than he does from me. I get obsessed about random, somewhat non-practical things or things that I have no control over. Where Chris frets about, well, mainly just me and the kids or getting from point A to point B. I am more go with the flow, Oh things will totally work out in the end. But bottom line, things don't always work themselves out. That is why I need Chris. And honestly that's why he needs me, because half of the time they do. So my job is to reassure him that the kids will get over the runny noses and that the pipes aren't gong to freeze tonight. And his is to make sure I don't go overboard on the brownies I just made or to tell me that I won't get attacked by highly skilled ninjas when I take Spike out to pee at night. (Okay, I just don't want to take Spike out, but it could totally happen)

Some tads and tidbits on why I still love this guy twelve years later.....

• He still tells me how hot I am. And yes this is a BIG one because twelve years, two kids, a patch of grays in the front, and the fact that I am usually wearing a mens large Lansing Lugnuts t-shirt and stretchy pants, is just not cute.
• He is smart, quick-witted, sarcastic, FUUN-NY, silly and has the greatest looking tooshie EVER.
• When we play tag in the back with Jack he chases me super fast on purpose because he knows I uncontrollably laugh and usually fall over with a side cramp. I think this may be more for torture, but I like it that he still likes to make me giggle.
• He gets my toothbrush ready for me at night. Do I seem obsessed with my toothbrush? I kind of am.
• He does the dishes. Oh, I love that.
• He checks in on me throughout the day. And I think, I hope, it is because he wants to hear my sexy voice, but I'm pretty sure it is to check my mommy sanity levels.
• I know this one is cliche, but things are cliche for a reason. But how he is with our kids. Oh, he is so good, so fun, so sweet and reassuring to them.

Bottom line, I may have a huge rug burn on my left elbow from family football in our living room two nights ago (Millie ran two back for the girls, holla!), but rugburns aside, WE HAVE FUN together. We joke, we trick, we play, we wrestle, do favors, remind each other, and honestly love and respect one another. Everyone tells us all the time that all we need is the picket fence out front. I just smile because I know we have little bumps, bends, and detours just like everyone else, but secretly I know we have something very special and very rare.

For you my love.....Love~Your Skin and Bones Jones