"We get it! You love him!"

I am sure my friends and family are SO tired of hearing about how much I love Luke, and how blessed I am. I am really sure they are. I might be tired of hearing it too, if I was in their shoes. Well, I'm not when it comes to my sisters and my mother. They all married wonderful men, too. Kristina's hubby is one of the kindest, most hilarious guys on the planet. Not one single person doesn't love Danny. My eldest sister, Lydia's husband is extremely hard working and completely dedicated to my sister and their daughter. He teases my sisters and I, but he does it out of love. My other older sister, Rebecca's, late husband was a very sensitive and caring soul. He was a troubled guy with a troubled past, but the more I hung out with him towards the end of his life, the more I saw his loving, tender side. He was also a HILARIOUS guy with a goofy disposition.
There was a time, however, when I thought I would never be married. I remember the day I turned 20, something inside me just clicked. Before then, I had never wanted to be married or have children. I wanted to be a famous actress/model and show the world that you can be famous whilst keeping your morals and traditions. But, when I turned 20, all of a sudden, a different fire was lit under my hiney. I wanted to get married, and have 8 kids! Well, maybe not 8, but I wanted babies!!! I was living in Utah, away from those I loved the most, and all three of my sisters were married. Lydia had been for awhile, Rebecca had just married the year before, and Kristina got married the Summer of 2006. My baby sister...married...before me. People might think I was jealous, and I was for a little bit. Noe because she rubbed it in or anything like that. But, because now I was the only one left, and with no prospects. In fact, my self confidence had been so shot by a series of experiences and people in college that no one wanted me. Oh sure, they all said I was beautiful, but beauty only takes you so far if you don't have the confidence to back it up. So, I wasn't jealous. Just depressed that I might not ever get to wear the fancy white dress and marry a man who loved me more than air. But, I held out hope that Heavenly Father would send me this cute, sweet, tall Mormon boy who never did any wrong in his life. That' s what I thought I wanted. Then came Luke. HA.
Luke was raised Mormon, but strayed away after a series of very unfortunate and horrible occurences in his life. He began to do all the things we were told as church members NOT to do. I have known him since we were 12, (another story), and had a huge thing for him. He did not return the feelings until he saw me again when we were 19. Apparently, I got really, really good looking, (I thought I looked the same.) It would take him 3 years of trying to court me and me turning him down before I gave him a chance. He has a tattoo, but he was going back to church, was cleaning up his life and was trying to integrate the things that used to make him happy back in his life; God and the Gospel. When I decided to give him a chance, I was surprised at how I felt right after saying I would date him. Pure and utter relief! I felt like this was it! I am done looking! And, guess what? I was right! I have never once regretted my decision to date him, marry him or have children with him.
Luke is my rock, my main support system. He is the strongest, most intense person I have ever met. It can be intimidating to people who first meet him, but it's one of my favorite things about him. He worships the ground I walk on; not in a weird way, of course. But, I feel safe with him. I know he would die before letting anything happen to me or Finn. He says things about me to people without being shy of his sensitive feelings. He kisses me and holds my hand in public. He compliments me daily and always tells me loves me. I know God was up there, laughing His face off when I was asking Him if I would ever find someone to love me. He was probably thinking, Hold on, Liz! He is getting ready for you!
In short, (HA), I know people probably say ENOUGH ALREADY! when I talk about how blessed I am to have Luke. But, I feel I owe it to God to say thank you over and over again for giving me such a blessing that is my husband. So...thanks again, God!