Happy Birthday, Mike!

I was 18 when I first saw Mike, across the grass at a freshman orientation event at BYU. He was wearing an old blue Halley's comet tee (that is still somewhere in our closet- I can't bear to throw it away) and a backpack. I saw him and he smiled.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that we actually met, at the Fall Fling. (The same night, coincidentally, that my sister, Leslie, met her future husband, too. The stars were aligned for us Parker girls that night!)

As silly as this sounds, I knew there was something special about him the moment we met. It's like my heart recognized his and I was bound to him right there on the sidewalk. (We don't need to talk about how my sorry, fickle heart sort of forgot him while he was away on his mission in the arctic tundra of Alberta, Canada for two years.)

The good news is, he is mine, and I am his, and this life we have together is better than I ever dreamed it could be.

Mike might seem quiet and reserved, but he's not really. He is clever and so witty. He has a relatively stressful life, and there is a lot of responsibility weighing down his handsome shoulders, but he bears it well. He is good at his job and he maintains a positive attitude despite the challenges of his days, all while managing to make the rest of us laugh. Life at home is so much better when he is around.

Happy Birthday, Honey!