On the Second Day of Christmas...

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me... a second chance at love and a proposal at the Bellagio for everyone to see.

Tonight I looked through our old photo albums trying to think of what the "2nd" day would bring me, and basically in a nutshell it's true love and happiness. Looking through the photos of holidays, birthdays, celebrations, travels, friends, tailgating, weddings, babies, pets, family, and accomplishments it made me cry a little but at the same time laugh. Wow, how we have changed! Obviously gotten older, gained some weight, different hair styles, different clothing styles, and were fortunate to upgrade from that little apartment of hodge podge items to a very roomy house with lots of extras.

What I notice the most is that in the pictures we are smiling, really smiling. All I can say is look I'm happy. About a year before I met Chad I asked my dad "when was the last time I was happy" and he said "when your mom and I were still married." My parents got divorced when I was 12, and here I was at 23 trying to figure out how to make myself happy. Certainly the decisions I made up to that point hadn't panned out. So that night when I found Chad on AOL and messaged him "how's the weather in Manhattan" was the night that I took my happiness into my own hands. It was a Monday and for the next three days we probably sent each other 2 dozen emails, with pictures, and chatted online for hours. By Thursday I couldn't stand it any more I HAD to talk to him. So I got his number and called. To hear his voice and find out how much we had in common, the friends we shared, the similarities in our families, it just all made sense. That day was April 19th, and 3 weeks later over Mother's Day weekend I flew to KS to meet him in person. All I can say is "I knew I loved you before I met you."