Celebrating 4 Years of Marriage
Freddy and I are celebrating 4 years of marriage on Saturday, and it feels like just yesterday we said “I do!” These 4 years have been filled with so much love and I’m so thankful God brought us together. I thought it would be fun to share the story of how we met all those years ago!
Freddy and I were both Young Life leaders at local high schools while we attended college. He was living in Palm Desert, CA at the time and I was living in LA. It was April of 2011 and my Young Life Area Director invited me to attend a regional leadership retreat for the weekend at the YL camp Oakbridge in Ramona, CA (just outside of San Diego). On the drive up, my area director and his wife were joking about how this leadership weekend is also known as “student wives weekend” where leaders meet their future spouses. I laughed and just figured it was another one of his typical jokes--I didn't think anything of it. Low and behold I actually met Freddy there and I specifically remember us meeting the first night of the weekend in the club room—we were partners in this game we had to play. He was soooo cute! After that we went back to our respective cabins. The next morning he invited me and my friend to sit with his leadership group for breakfast. We talked a bit but breakfast was pretty short and we had a jam-packed day ahead. I saw him again briefly at lunch, but it wasn't until later that night that we got to talk more.
A musician who was with us at camp was putting on a small concert for all of the leaders in the club room, and I remember sitting with my friend in the front row. I saw Freddy and his friends join us in the front row...on the other side of the room haha. But as the room started to fill up with people he kept inching closer and closer until finally he was sitting next to me. We laughed and talked throughout the concert, and we walked out together and talked some more outside before heading back to our cabins. I think we were outside for almost an hour just talking, not realizing how much time had passed! I had crazy butterflies in my stomach and I always remember climbing into my bunk bed that night, putting in my headphones and listening to Taylor Swift's "Enchanted" on repeat until I fell asleep. The lyrics echoed in my head, "The lingering question kept me up 2am who do you love I wondered til I'm wide awake ... This night is sparkling don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you ... Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you."
The next morning we woke up to snow (which was crazy to see in April in Southern California!) and after our morning quiet time it was time to head home. Freddy found me before we all had to leave, and I knew that I didn't want this to be the last time we saw each other or spoke. So what did I do? Gave him my number, obvi! He was taking to long to ask me for it so I had to do something! We texted most of the ride home and as they say, the rest is history! I certainly wasn't expecting to meet the love of my life that weekend at Oakbridge, and it's always been a dream of mine for us to go back there together and see the place we met. I love remembering that weekend and it still feels so vivid in my memory; I truly was enchanted to meet Freddy and I love how God has continued to weave our story and bless our marriage. Happy 4 years my love!
