Happy Birthday, Chad

Today is Chad's birthday. We've missed a lot of birthdays together because of deployments or underway periods and this is one more to add to the list. I hate that we aren't together celebrating, even if it's just having cake together as a family. Chad is an amazing man and I am especially grateful for him today on his birthday.

I was reminded today about when Chad and I dated and were married and when/why he joined the church, so it seemed fitting to share that with you today.

I think most people who are reading this know that Chad and I met when we were fairly young. I was in my senior year of high school and Chad was in his junior year of high school. We dated off and on for about 2 1/2 years before we were married and were engaged for about 3 months. We definitely had our ups and downs. There were lots of factors that contributed to that. We basically came from 2 very different worlds. Although, one thing remained constant for me through those 2 1/2 years. I knew there was something special about him, something more than he let most people see. Chad wasn't a member of my church and that made things very difficult for me and my family. While Chad and I were engaged, it became even more difficult. I was talking to a friend of mine who was very concerned about this. She asked me, "do you really think that you can have a celestial marriage with Chad?" My answer was "yes" and I did think that, no, I felt that in my heart. I had absolutely nothing to base that on at the time, but I knew, without a doubt, that I could have that kind of a marriage with Chad. I knew that it was right. A few short months after we were married Chad did join the church, for himself. I'm sure there are lots of people that think that he joined because of me, but that wasn't the case. Chad told me then that when we got married and the bishop said we'd be together "for this mortal life", that he thought, "I want more than that with Cindy". And that's why when he listened to the discussions that taught that we can be together for eternity, he knew that that's what he wanted. He's made a lot of changes in his life since we've been married. I started to see in Chad the man that I knew was there all along, the one that he kept hidden a lot when we were dating. That's the man that he is today. I loved Chad the day that I married him. I knew that we could be happy and have a great family together. However, I never knew that I was capable of loving someone the way that I love him today. You know the saying, "I love you more every day", well, it's true, with every day that passes, every second that passes I love him more. We've been married now for almost 16 years and have 4 kids and he can still make my heart skip a beat with just a look. I consider him one of my greatest blessings. The Lord truly sent me an amazing gift the day I met Chad, one that I am eternally grateful for.


Happy Birthday, Amant, I love you!
xoxo