Courtney's Birthday!!!

Today is Courtney's birthday. Happy Birthday my sweet darling! Wow you are now as old as me! 33 yrs have flown by. We've only been married for 7 yrs and it feels like I've always known or been with Courtney. He is an amazing man! Let me explain...

Before we met my niece Chloe (5 yrs old) would constantly ask me "when are you getting married" since I saw her a lot this question was constantly coming up, so instead of getting anoid of the question I finally asked her "hey will you pray for me that I'll find my Prince charming" well she did but not only would she pray for my "Prince Charming" before bed she would pray this everywhere she was and soon my nephew Ethan (3yrs old) was praying for me too! even during the evening meal time.

During this time I was doing my internship training as a Medical Assistant and my friend Lori set us up on a blind date. When we first went out my mom looked through the window and said "Annemarie, I feel like he has a very kind spirit about him". When my mom says stuff like that you just listen because she is always right every time! when we were driving away he was talking a lot about his dad and I didn't know if his parents were divorced and so I asked about his mom and he told me that she had died in a car wreck when he was 15 yrs old. Normally when you hear about someone you don't know who dies you feel bad but I can't describe to you fully how I felt it was as though I had known her and she had just died. I had to keep telling myself not to cry because I'm sure Courtney would have thought I was a bit odd to be crying about something that happened 15 yrs ago. But what happened next changed everything for me, he said matter of factly, "I know I will see my mom again" and as we started to drive up on the freeway it was though I feel her presence really strong and I had the thought come to me that she was helping us get together. After Courtney said that I knew in my gut that I wanted to be with someone who had that kind of great faith and strength. Courtney is truly a rock of faith and testimony.

Soon in Dec., the 5th date came and that was our first kiss, WOW!!! He's the MAN!!! Then in January he finally told me he LOVED me after he got back from his interview to Boston Univ. Things just happened quickly and he proposed in March 11, 2001 at the Logan Temple after we went to a session there. We were sealed at the Logan Temple and then we had the funnest road trip to Boston (driving through NY, listening to U2 and getting lost when we got into Boston, meeting many of the greatest people of our lives and building lasting friendships).

During these 7 yrs getting know Courtney better, I've come to a conclusion that my niece and nephew truly got their prayers answered because Courtney is such a gentleman and he's so fun to be with He is my Prince Charming. I have never heard him swear, EVER!!! and he's so calm and gentle to me even when I'm not. The only vice he has is Warcraft and Lord of the Rings games and that's only once a week, so how bad could that be? What an incredible father! He has been able to bless and name our children and to give them healing blessings when they've been sick. He loves our children so much. He is always reading a story to Andrew at night and building a train with him and helping Andrew do sommersaults. When he walks through the door at night, Abbey is B-lining it for him and she gets so excited to see him and she gives him lots of hugs and kisses. It makes me love Courtney all the more when I see him with our children and the love they have for one another.

Courtney you truly are my Prince Charming and you will always be. There is no better person for me than you. Courtney's greatest desire is to be close to our Heavenly Father and so he strives to do everything in his power that will bring us closer to that goal.

I LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING!