A few months before meeting Justin, I said a desperate prayer to God. I can remember so vividly being on my bedroom floor crying because I was such a wreck of a person. I so badly wanted to be in a relationship that I often settled for way less and reeked of neediness. My prayer to God was to help me be okay being single. That I believed in my heart that He wanted me to be married, but that if He wanted me to be single, I was okay with that but would need His help. I surrendered.

I met Justin one evening with friends and really really wanted to hang out with him more, but God was VERY clear with me that night. He told me to wait. He said that this man would be in my life for a long time, but not today. I didn’t know if that meant he’d be a good friend, business parter, or what, but I listened.

In the next 8 months, God did some major reshifting and I did not see Justin that entire time. Interestingly enough, he had seen me and tried to get my attention, but I didn’t notice. It wasn’t time.

It started with a random email which led to a Facebook friend request and then a phone call. We talked on the phone for the first time in January 2009 and have talked almost every day since. It took one 3 hour phone call to know we were going to get married.

We joked about having a big family, but never thought we’d be entrusted with four of the most amazing people on the planet. We love our wild crew and the big personalities of each. (Seriously, where did they get such big personalities?!?!? Not one wallflower, God?) They are each unique and beautiful in their own way and seeing how they approach the world is humbling, hilarious, inspiring, and sometimes downright crazymaking, but we have fun and pray we are raising them right.