3 years and counting...

Today is me and Matt's 3rd anniversary! It's hard to believe that it's been that long. It's gone so fast and we've done so much together! There are so many great memories I have to look back on. 2 trips to Cedar Point with his family, 3 New Year's together, (my first new years kiss on the 2nd!:)3 Christmases, summers that I've spent a week at a time with his family, trips to the movies (lots of trips to the movies, we're kinda movie-holics lol)shopping trips together, birthdays, even a day after Thanksgiving that both of our families spent together, a Pacer's games, trips to visit some of his extended family, a day spent almost entirely on either 4-wheelers or jet skis.
Matt came into my life at a very crucial time. I was about to experience alot of life changes, and he was there to hear my frustrations when things got sad or hard. He was there (and has continued to be there) on nights that I was crying because I missed my mom. He listened as I talked about life after high school. He helped me get through some hard things, by being the joy that was in my life no matter what. Then he was there for my milestones; my 18th birthday, graduation...that's all I got so far.:)
My friend Miranda and I joke that we can't remember a time before we started dating:) And in a way that's true. Matt has become such a big part of my life! Even with us being long distance, he is on my mind all day, everyday, he's the one I look forward to talking to everyday, the one I want to share my joys and sorrows with and whose opinion I respect. He is not only my fiance and the one I love, he is my friend and I am so thankful for that.
I sometimes think about what I will tell the children that we pray God will one day bless us with, when they ask me how I knew there daddy was the one for me. I'll have to give them the answer I found so cliche everytime I heard it: "I just knew". (who knew that one would turn out to be true!) But I'll also tell them how I knew. It was because of things like: he made me laugh, he let me know he cared about how I felt, he was there for me, smaller things like that. But there were bigger things too. Like old crushes suddenly didn't matter anymore, other guys didn't seem that appealing, and a big thing I'll always remember, is I just didn't and never have wanted to be with anyone else from the moment we started emailing. I know it's rare that a nearly 17 year old and a 19 year old can stick out a long distance relationship for this amount of time. But that's another way I knew that we were meant to be. We kept sticking it out. Being apart only made us want to be together more. I think that says something.
I remember the day we officially became a couple so clearly. We had gone to the movies and then to eat at Cracker Barrell. As we sat there talking, he asked if it would be alright for him to tell people I was his girlfriend. My heart flip flopped! Of course I said yes:) We have been Matt and Nicole, me and him, the two of us, ever since. From that moment, my heart became his more and more with every passing day. But I don't know if he really, really knows, that from the moment we started emailing, my heart had gone to him and only him.
I have loved every minute of being first Matt's girlfriend and now his fiance. And I have loved him more everyday.
Thank God for His perfectly orchestrated plan!!!
3 years and counting...:)