Happy Anniversary

Brandon and I have been married 12 years today. And what a ride. We went out to dinner last night and were reminded of one anniversary we spent eating Pipeline pizza on the floor of our apartment because we were getting ready to move. 'We all have to start somewhere', he says. From where we started to where we are today is simply a miracle.

The summer of my 14th year, my family moved from Missouri to Maryland. We were not excited for this move. But as children, we really didn't have a choice. We moved into our little townhouse and were immediately introduced to our ward. After a few short months, we found a house and moved again. This time into a great ward with lots of youth. My mom worked for a member of the church and his children soon became good friends of ours. I was invited to many of their summer activities. One of which was a Youth Conference. As we settled camp one of the priest stood on a picnic table to outline the events planned for the evening. I was sitting at this particular picnic table and was getting aquainted with some of the YW. They told me about this priest of 16 that had a great sense of humor. They told me that if I were to tie his shoelaces together that he would think it was hilarious and be good natured about the attention. So being the rebel I was...I tied his shoelaces together. He noticed them at one point but forgot to make a mental note. When he was finished addressing all of us he jumped off the table and fell to the ground. Brandon fell hard for the 'new girl'.

I remember one day a bunch of us were playing basketball. Brandon's brother was standing in the street, the basketball hoop was on the garage. He said, 'If I make this shot Brandon is going to marry Staci.' We all laughed, for more reasons than one, but quickly became silent when he made the shot. Not thinking too much of it.

Brandon's family moved to California at the end of that summer. I was asked to write him a letter once and we kept writing for 6 years. All throughout his mission and all my boyfriends, he'd add, until we met up in college. He was at 'Ricks' and I was going to BYU. After years of writing, Brandon became my best friend. He knew more about me than I had let any guy know. Six years will do that. When I realized how much he meant to me we decided that he needed to come to Utah to see if things could work out. We'd never dated so that was something we needed to try.

We were married in the Washington, DC Temple today...12 years ago and the rest is history. 12 years of history. I look forward to many more.

There are so many things I love about Brandon. One of the most important is that he makes me feel completely safe. In every aspect there is to feel safe...it's always with him...wherever we are. I love him so much. There isn't a day that goes by that I thank my Heavenly Father for bringing him into my life. What a blessing it is to have someone like him to love. Happy Anniversary, Brandon. I love you.