Boni Love

FROM LONG AGO
AND FAR AWAY....

LOVE BROUGHT US TO
OUR WEDDING DAY!On December 9, 1998, while working at Wal-Mart in Broken Arrow, OK, I met my husband. His roommate, Josh, introduced us; Tim tried to get Josh and me together! HAHA! The next day at school, I ran into Tim and we started talking... A LOT! Over the course of the next couple of days, Tim and I emailed... A LOT! Then, on December 13th, we had our first "date!" We went to China Star. It was yummy, but at that moment, just 4 days into knowing him, I KNEW I was going to marry him! Crazy, right? Well, we talked and talked. He asked me that day what were my thoughts about love. Talk about putting a girl on the spot. He shared his views with me: #1: no kissing until the wedding day; #2: no saying "i love you" to anyone until ready to commit to marriage. He said "Too many people say 'I love you' to too many people so that it doesn't mean anything. When I say it, I only want to say it to the woman I am going to marry!"

So... months and months of dating turned into years. When we had been dating for 2 1/2 years, he proposed! It had always been my dream to be taken in a hot air balloon- high above all the worries of life- to get engaged! I NEVER told him that... but he did it! He got this great idea and started asking my friends if they thought I'd like to go in a hot air balloon... OF COURSE they all said YES!! So, on a very warm July morning, he told me to get up early because we were going out for the day. He took me to a big open field, where we would take the ride of our lives! We went up in the balloon...it was AMAZING! When we got up as high as we were going to go, he turned me around to him and said,

FOR THE FIRST TIME,
"I LOVE YOU, RACHEL.... I WANT TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH YOU... WILL YOU MARRY ME?"

All I could do was cry... the balloon "driver" had to ask me "Is that a yes?" LOL... of course, I said yes! I so badly wanted to kiss him, but...
RULE #1 was no kissing until the wedding day!
GRRR!!

By the time we got married, April 6, 2002, we had dated for 3 years and 4 months. So many people had waited for our first kiss for SOOOO long that some people even said, "I'm coming to your wedding for no other reason but to FINALLY see your first kiss!" Haha! So, we were sneaky. Only the minister knew we were going to do this, but we got the Little Mermaid Song "Kiss the Girl" queued up in the sound booth. So, when the pastor said, "You may kiss your bride," we leaned in for the long-awaited kiss, then pushed each other away. We let the song play in it's entirety BEFORE we kissed! Everyone in the church was yelling, "Just kiss her already!" It was great fun! AND it made our first kiss that much more exciting!!

We had a full dinner and dance reception... the time of our lives! The next morning we boarded our plane to Cancun. We stayed in the Aventura Palace Resort... an all-inclusive resort... for a whole week! It was so romantic and relaxing! We loved every moment of it!

We decided to start a family after being married for about 2 1/2 years. So, just after our 3rd anniversary, July 6, 2005, we had our first son, Xander. An awesomely, amazing child! We loved being parents so much, that just 2 years later, we had our second son, Asher! After having him, we were in "baby mode"... we were ready for another baby within just a couple of months... some say we were NUTS, but we thought... ya know... we wanted 3 kids, we already had 2...we were in the baby mindset, why not go ahead and have our third kiddo close to Asher...they'd be the best of friends! So, when Asher was 6 months old, we got pregnant... our third and final baby...right? WRONG! Our third baby, that was so "perfectly" planned so close to Asher turned out to be our third AND fourth babies! I wouldn't trade our family for the world! Though at times, having the three youngest so close together is trying, I know this is JUST HOW WE WERE MEANT TO BE! Tim and I have so much to be thankful for in our little (BIG) family... our lives and hearts are blessed!
So, this Valentine's Day, as I ponder our love story, I realize how tremendously blessed I am. I have an amazing husband, and 4 fantastic children! I love my life!

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your loves!