:: 5 years :: the story.

when i got on that plane to fly to kamp, i was SICK with anticipation…God had literally told me I was going to meet someone there. it was dinner in the dining hall, and of course, I became immediately attracted to the obnoxiously loud kamp leader in the room. Ben. well, he told me his name was Ben Bobinhood. ??? but im getting ahead of myself….

when i heard him screaming kamp songs with his boys, i knew immediately THAT was him. i never in my life thought I’d be that person…the one who saw someone and then light shone down from heaven, yada yada yada…but God had other ideas for me apparently…and thank the Lord He did and that it wasnt up to ME to find my husband…I was royally screwing that up at the time.

he came up to the counter where i worked in the kitchen…in the dining hall…and asked me to refill the koolaid for his barn. I refilled it. then he told me i should write him a letter and tell him about myself. WHAT? who the crap is this guy. oh he is so smooth. i dont know him from ADAM. write him a letter? come on. buddy seriously. THIS is what was going through my head. I asked him his name…this is where the “ben bobinhood” came into play…he was clearly toying with me. and i was clearly amused.

i wrote him a letter.

and there it began folks. we wrote HUNDREDS of letters back and forth for the 4 weeks we were there…multipes a day/left in eachother’s mailboxes in the kitchen. thats how we came to know eachother. and yes, i still have every letter safely tucked away in a shoebox. i fell in love with him immediately. he was loud, yes. but bursting with personality. overflowing with character. oooooozing charm…and in everything he did I saw Jesus. well, Jesus and my dad. and I always said growing up that I wanted to marry someone who reminded me of my daddy. (who is an utterly amazing man of God) . ben was really funny, he constantly made me laugh, made me blush, we could have conversations for hours, he made me feel like what i KNEW a husband made a wife feel like….priceless.

when we left kamp, ben drove me to the airport. you see, i was going back to school in tallahasseee…after all i was only 18 years old…and ben was going back to life in tennessee. we were both appropriately devastated to be leaving one another. we had discovered, oh…about a week into the letters that we were going to get married. it was settled. we said goodbye and i was CRUSHED. i literally thought i had met my husband and that i was never going to see him again. again, i was totally limiting God….not giving him ANY credit…”for I know the plans i have for you…plan to prosper you and not to harm you…plans to give you hope and a future…”

it was about 2 weeks until we couldnt take it anymore and ben made the drive down to tallahassee to see me. the rest is history folks…2 years of long distance dating history.

we were married on june 5, 2004…in a tiny little chapel at a camp on lookout mountain, right on the tennessee/georgia line. we moved immediately to roanoke rapids, nc so ben could start his new job at a church there. we’ve lived in nc, tennessee, tallahassee, and now south florida in the last 5 years. we’ve had plans that didnt pan out, dreams that were crushed, hard times and tons of challenges…but we also went back to school, were able to live and spend amazing time with family, found our feet and our NEW dreams and are now living them out here in west palm.

we started with NOTHING, and i mean nothing but our love for eachother and our love for God. and yes….i’m busting out the cliche, that was enough. it was MORE than enough.

just last week i said goodbye to my full time job as a salon manager. it was bittersweet, but i’m convinced its God plan and the best decision ive made in quite some time. i am now a full time wedding photographer. i cannot believe how faithful God has been.

ben is still as uber smart as ever and is tutoring ap courses, test prep classes, and privately tutoring math/science/biology/chemistry to it seems a billion kids, while he is finishing up his bachelors so we can start the journey to dental school. he is amazingly intelligent and completely driven…i’m so proud of him.

we have a circle of friends here in wpb that we are so thankful for….friends who lay down their lives for us constantly. we are so blessed.

and yes…last but certainly not least…josiah will be joining us any day now. literally! he is due in 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS! we cannot believe it is this close. and today is 5 years since that mountain chapel wedding….where we had nothing but love and God. it seems that with all that we have now, really those two things are still the only things that matter.

ben – looking back at where i was when i met you, i am in awe of God and how he threw you into my life when i LEAST deserved you. i was searching..i was so broken, and God KNEW how badly i needed a man of God to bring me back to Him. and blessed be his name, there you were. babe you are my everything! i still feel so undeserving of you at times….i am so thankful for your love, your friendship, your wisdom in our marriage and in our lives, and now i am so excited that YOU are going to be the daddy to Josiah…I cannot wait to see where this adventure takes us.

I LOVE YOU! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!