3 years and counting...

Three years ago today I married an incredible man. Our story, on the other hand, started in May of 2001. We were introduced by my good friend Lisa. Duke had been working on a motor for her and her then husband (who does not even deserve mentioning by name...I have other words for him). Lisa had been telling me that he was a really nice guy and to my recollection, one day while he was at her house we were briefly introduced. At that time neither of us thought much of it.
We were then re-introduced at Howie's in St. Stephen on a Wed night while I was there watching Lisa's team play volleyball. Duke had stopped in for a bite to eat after working on their motorcycle and, for some reason, the one thing I remember is his smile. Anyone who knows Duke, knows that he does not flash a huge, toothy grin all too often as he is self conscious of his teeth. But I remember his smile.
One night soon thereafter, we discovered that we had more mutual friends than we had realized because we both ended up at an after bar party at Keith and Kris'. Let's just say that night I was in "rare form" and at the end of the night, fell asleep on the couch, only to wake up with a black leather coat covering me up (and NO, not just a black leather coat! All clothes we ON!) and Duke sleeping on the floor with no pillow or blanket. What a gentleman! At that point I knew he was a keeper. We exchanged numbers and then he gave me a ride on his Harley back to Lisa's to get my car. We then started talking on the phone for hours on end and hanging out more and more. I guess you could say "the rest is history" but I prefer to say:
The rest is our legacy.
Fast forward to July of 2004. Duke and I were delighted (and surprised) to find out that we were expecting a baby in March of 2005. Grant Alan was born on March 15th and we couldn't have been happier. Then, on Valentines Day 2006, Duke surprised me with an engagement ring while we were at dinner at a little place in Avon called PJ's Supper Club. With no need for a long engagement, we were married at the Trobec's Event Center in St. Joseph on November 25, 2006 at 5:00 pm. The wedding was beautiful and we were surrounded by family and friends. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day (minus a little incident in the morning involving vomit but I'll spare you the details!). In February, 2007 we were excited to find out that we were expecting baby # 2. Audrey Mae was born on October 29, 2007. We were elated to have both a son and a daughter to love, teach and grow alongside.
For the most part, a good portion of the rest of our story is documented right here on this blog. As for the parts you may or may not have missed, I thought it might be fun to show you the slide show that Lisa put together for our wedding. She did such a great job (I can't thank her enough) and it brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. Be forewarned...it is 4 songs long so grab a cup of coffee or what have you, kick back, relax and enjoy the show!

**Make sure to scroll all of the way to the bottom of the page to pause the music player before playing the slide show or you won't be able to hear the slide show music.**

***Change of plans! Sorry to disappoint but the slide show wouldn't load for me so I'll have to try again later. If I can't get it to load, I'll add some photos from our wedding day later tonight ***

Honey, if you are reading this...Happy 3rd Anniversary!!!!!