Til death do us part

It was six years ago today that Angela Alcorn became Angela Stump and Dan Stump became...the luckiest guy on the planet. Just kidding. If I were to iron his shirts like any good wife should do, THEN he would be the luckiest guy on the planet. But I have to remind him every once in a while that I'm not super-wife. So ironing is out.

Back to my love story. We've never had the gushy, whispering-sweet-nothings-into-each-others-ear type of relationship, as many of you can attest. Our nickname for each other is not honey or darling or schnookums, it's dude. Seriously. But I can guarantee you that our love goes just as deep, probably deeper, than the couples we make fun of for sitting on the same side of the booth at a restaurant while the other side remains empty.

I was looking through some old notes I'd saved from when we were dating, (because even though I fell asleep during Sense and Sensibility, I am, after all, still a girl) and I found this one, which made me smile. This was written on a piece of paper torn out of a spiral notebook, on Valentines Day of 1999, shortly after we had started dating (we were seniors in high-school). This will give you, my dear reader, a better idea of the way our relationship has always been:

"Ang--Even though I think Valentine's day is a pitiful holiday, I guess we get a chance to spend some time alone together so that makes it decent. The other night all the guys were talking about their girlfriends or the chicks that had enough talent to go out with them, and I realized that no one is even close to you. Don't get a big head or anything, but as far as I'm concerned you're head and shoulders above the rest. Deepening our friendship has truly been awesome, especially spiritually. I pray often that we will continue to strive for purity and that our relationship will be pleasing to God. I hope our relationship is as fun for you as it is for me. The last 3 months have been a blast and I know there are many more good times on the way. Later, dude."

That's my man. I don't think I got a big head, but I am confident he still thinks I'm head and shoulders above the rest. And we HAVE had more good times, more than we ever could have hoped for. And there are still many more on the way.

Daniel John Stump, you are my knight in shining armor, my prince charming, and I'm your princess with the glass slipper, and we'll live happily ever after, yada yada yada. God sure knew what he was doing putting the two of us together. But all joking aside...

I love that you constantly make me laugh. I love that you do the dishes when I'm just about to pull my hair out. I love that we have fun just being with each other. I love that you are a great father and a true example of a godly man to our boys.

I love you, dude. Happy anniversary.