"I Love You" was just the beginning of a week in Kansas that would change our lives. Despite what many of our friends think, Nathan and I had no inclination that we would be married just seven days after my arrival in Kansas. We had talked at length about having a big wedding with all of our friends and family present once he returned from this deployment to Iraq. We had never mentioned getting married before he left. It wasn't ever part of our plan. God's plans are so often not our plans. His ways are not our ways, and we learned that in a big way on the last day of December 2005.
Once we arrived at the farm on Christmas night, there was a great deal of anticipation for the week ahead. We had not seen one another for four months and we were excited to finally have a bit of time together again. I was anxious to meet the rest of Nathan's family and friends and to see all that Augusta, KS had to offer. (Anyone who has ever been to Augusta, KS would have laughed at the previous remark!) I woke the next morning bright and early and had a nice cup of tea while I chatted with Nathan's mom, Karen. Nathan was still asleep on the air mattress on the living room floor in front of the Christmas tree. His sister-in-law, Robyn, was asleep with her son, Shadrach, in Nathan's room upstairs. I gently woke Nathan, excited about our observed Christmas day festivities. There was so much to look forward to, so much more than we even knew.
We spent the day together as a family, opening presents, sharing stories, and getting to know one another. Members of Nathan's extended family came out to the farm to enjoy a Winzer tradition of homemade soups on Christmas day. It wasn't long before one of Nathan's best childhood friends arrived at the farm and we headed out to the timber to shoot. If you know anything about midwestern farm boys, you know that they love guns and they love tromping around outdoors shooting those guns. If you know anything about me, you know that I equally love tromping around, shooting guns. On December 26th, Nathan learned that he had finally found a woman that he could share his passion with. He looked on with great pride as I lifted the rifle and hit my targets. He smiled the biggest, that's my girl, smile when I held up two dead squirrels for a Kansas photo op. To this day, Nathan loves to zoom in on that photo and point out that I had a perfect french manicure wrapped around those dead squirrel's tails!
I still say that the first day in the timber sealed the deal for Nathan and he knew then that he could spend the rest of his life with me. The truth of our experience is that we love the simple things in life and those things are our priorities. Spending time with friends anf family, enjoying the outdoors, getting dirty in jeans and boots, these are the things we love. Nathan and I are at our best when we're taking things as they come and we're in our element. My favorite picture of us displays the two of us standing under a big tree in the yard. Nathan has two rifles slung over his shoulder. He is wearing jeans and his dusty old Wolverine boots. He has a gentle smile that shows his handsome looks. I am next to him, smaller and shorter, in my favorite jeans and as fate would have it, the same dusty old Wolverine boots, many sizes smaller. I am loosly holding my .357 Magnum in my hand and it rests just along side my leg. We are about to jump into the beat up old truck behind us and roll out into the Timber for another day of target shooting. In fact, we're headed for the "ol' shootin' trailer", a broken down trailer that sits out on the farm that the boys have long used for target practice. That picture tells a story that has no words. It tells of the confidence that we both have when we're together. It tells of how sure we are of one another and of our relationship. That picture tells of a love that is solid and unbreakable. It is a picture of two old souls who have been searching for that one beloved who will complete the circle, who will share this life. That picture says everything I ever needed to know about the man I would marry. That holiday week told us both everything we would need to know to say "I do".
The last week of December 2005 changed everything for Nathan and I and started us on this road that leads to so many unknown joys and so many unknown sorrows. We walked into our time in Kansas hoping to solidify our growing relationship and we left Kansas as husband and wife.
