Happy 1,461 Days of Marriage Baby!

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

"Love is a symbol of eternity that wipes away all sense of time, removing all memory of a beginning, and all fear of an end."

Today Shaun and I have been married for 4 years! Sadly though, I don't get to see him today ('cause he had to work) but I did wake up to a dozen pink roses and the sweetest card. He is also taking me to Hawaii in September!

I wanted to post something that would remind me of the promise Shaun and I made to each other on our wedding day. I loved being a princess for the day and getting the royal treatment, yet the most important thing about June 26, 2004 were the words that Shaun and I spoke to one another. These were our vows...

Entreat me not to leave you
Or to return from following after you
For where you go, I will go
And where you stay, I will stay
Your people will be my people
And your God will be my God
And where you die, I will die
And there I will be buried
May the Lord do with me and more
If anything but death parts you from me

We also had a special moment where we took each others hands and acknowledged the gift that they are. When I held Shaun's hands this is what the pastor read:

Erica, these are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of your life. These are the hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams. These are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he too, feels his child stir within you. These are the hands that look so large and strong, yet will be so gentle as he holds your baby for the first time. These are the hands that will work long hours for you and your new family. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow and tears of joy. These are the hands that will comfort you in illness, and hold you when fear or grief wrack your mind. These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes; eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you.

Then Shaun took hold of my hands and the pastor read this to him:

Shaun, these are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young and carefree, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she pledges her love and commitment to you all the days of your life. These are the hands that will hold each child in tender love, and knowing when it is time to let go. These are the hands that will massage tension from your neck and back in the evening after you've both had a long day. These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times. These are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick, or console you when you are grieving. They are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness. These are the hands that will hold you in joy and excitement and hope, each time she tells you that you are to have another child, that together you have created a new life. These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams. Together as a team, everything you wish can be realized.

Thanks for the wonderful years baby! I love you!!!

If you go to http://www.theknot.com/ and enter in my name (Erica Paajanen) you can see our wedding web page and find out how Shaun and I met and how he proposed. It's still there!!!