Always and Forever!

No new card to show in this post...well maybe a few sneak peaks of what is to come in my etsy store when I open up again on Monday.

This post is to tell you why today is a special day.

Right off, today is Matthew and I's 9th wedding anniversary!!!  9 years!!  I think about that number and wonder if it's right...no way we have been married 9 years..but yet we have been through so much that 9 years makes sense.

Matthew and I met my junior year of high school at a banquet for our Vocational School.  He was the guy that I'd seen around at my church youth group, on sport pamphlets being recognized for setting soccer records, the one that I always hoped to see heading to the bus and would usually be the one who almost knocked me over rushing out the door.

But I'm a shy girl.  All I could do was look, hope, wonder...
That banquet on April 24, 2002 set it all in motion.  We went on our first date the Friday after and I fell head over heels.

Three months after we met, he moved to Seattle, WA for college.  Our relationship was built over a 2500 mile distance for almost 9 months.  It. Was. Not. Easy!  But man, if someone sticks with you for 9 months, only talking on the phone and webcams!....ok let me explain something about that...I had dial-up internet...and not good dial-up either.  So my connection didn't always last and would often cut out on us in our middle-of-the-night conversations.  But we did our best.

It was hard.  I hated it.  He came home for Christmas and that was it till May.  I almost gave in...several times.

But this is what makes Matthew so amazing.  He always knew (and still does) when I needed help, how to make me smile and laugh, how to lift my spirits and make everything right again.  I knew I couldn't let him go.  So when he came home that summer, I married him!

We've had a crazy 9 years.  Moving from Michigan to Washington right after our wedding.  I worked while he finished college and we lived in a tiny apartment with 2 of our darling cats-Storm and Cloud.  We bought a car and a house in the same year.  Made it a home.  And then I pushed him to pursue his dream job at Ubisoft which moved us from Washington to Montreal, QC.

I've moved from one coast to the other with Matthew, and after all the excitement, all the craziness, the change, the adventure, the struggles, he's still the one that makes me feel complete!  And I would do it all over again as long as he is by my side.

I love you Matthew!  Always and Forever!
Happy Anniversary!
<3 Emily

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