My amazing wife of 6 years

Wow,

6 years ago Jill and I were just about to start our journey together as husband and wife. We had dated for 3 1/2 years before I had finally gotten my act together and asked her to marry me.

A short 4 months later we were at the chapel of camp san luis about to say I do. The day was december 19th 2004, a mere 2 days away from the official beginning of winter. Unlike today, which is a wonderful day to stay inside and cuddle up next to a fire in order to stay out of the rain, 6 years ago there was not a rain cloud to be seen. It was a very crisp fall day which allowed us to take pictures outside.

I remember how surreal it was when the music (played by family and friends) started and the doors at the back of the chapel opened to the most beautiful woman in the world, my wife to be! The music was an instrumental I had heard on a surf movie (Fernie Apodaca and others from the Shelter soundtrack for those who care). Every time I hear it my mind and emotions go right back to that day with me standing as my beautiful bride walked down that aisle. Our ceremony was traditional, with the exception of the 500 carat diamond paperweight that I tried to pass off as Jill's wedding ring.

After the ceremony we took more pictures before heading over to the officer's club where the reception was just starting. We had soooo much fun at our reception.... so much that some might have even thought we were either crazy or drunk. The funny thing is I don't think Jill drank anything, and I only had a glass of wine. Our family and friends danced, laughed, danced, and ate our way through the evening with us. I love that we had sooo much fun dancing out our own wedding. We both look back to that day and are continually blown away by how blessed we were to have such a celebration to kick of our marriage. Our families and friends did so much to make that day special for us. Jill had put so much work into making sure that everything was not put off to the last minute, which allowed us both to truly enjoy that day. For all of you who know Jill, you know she is able to get things done. This is something that amazes me and I hope will rub off on me more and more!

Since that day years have come and gone, with a cat, a dog, a house, a kid joining our ranks. As I think about those six years I am overwhelmed with how lucky I am to have my best friend in the world as my wife. She puts up with me and my many quirks and dysfunctional ways in a loving way that I don't deserve. How she is still able to laugh at my attempts at humor is something that astounds me. Memories of camping next to trains, living next to trains, moving out to a vineyard where the trains followed us... Hmmm, I have never thought about this train theme in our lives. Anyways, that will be another discussion at some point. Back to my wife. We had the absolute best time in the world travelling for 2 months around the south pacific. Paradise living in Huahine, rainy day hikes in Moorea, minivan touring in New Zealand, hotel hopping in Vanuatu, and returning to my childhood home in Papua New Guinea all were made special because I was able to be with Jill.

The end of that trip marked the point at which we started adding to our family. Our son came in September of 2009 to deprive Jill from sleep for 8 months. He is soooo extremely lucky to have her as a mother. There have been many hard things about having a son but Jill has continually impressed me with her ability to love him through all of the sleepless nights, diaper rashes, and tantrums (both his and mine). Now I have the privilege of seeing his face light up at the sight of his mom. She is so fun, loving, caring, and wise with how she interacts with him. He knows he his loved beyond his imagination by his mom and that is such a gift to me.

So how do you truly let your wife of 6 years how thankful, grateful, and in love with her you are? I don't know. I do know that no matter what I do it will never really match how amazing she is.

I can say that it has been such a great journey thus far. Jill has been and continues to be the love of my life, my best friend, the mother of my children, my confidant, my better half, and I want you all to know how lucky and blessed I am!!!