22 Years of being Married to my best friend

 July 29,1989 at 3pm... I was walking down the aisle to become Mrs. Dana McGraw...a day I(we) had been dreaming about for years and planning for months.  Our wedding day was filled with love and laughter along with a little bit of drama...kind of like our life would be in the years to come.  Love that day meant...marrying the man of my dreams, the man who could make me smile and turn any situation around as long as the two of us were together!The one who made my heart skip a beat the minute I saw him no matter how long we had been a part from each other. The man who shared my dreams of traveling, owning a house and one day having a big family...The man who today has been my husband for 22 years and has far surpassed my wildest dreams as a husband, father, friend and the love of my life. Laughter...well, if you were there you would remember that I had a hard time saying my vows...I started laughing and could not stop... much to the ministers dislike surprise.  In fact, it took several attempts from the minister repeating the vow to me before I could fully get it out...good thing Bill was confident that I wanted to be married! I am pretty sure that the people who were witnessing the whole thing had never laughed so hard at a wedding before that day! Laughs at Bill's hair...which to this day we still laugh and marvel at the fact that NO ONE told him his hair looked like a rooster!!! Laughs in the limo as I tried to shake the bird seed out of my veil and it went everywhere for the entire trip to the reception. Laughs at the reception as we enjoyed the party in our honor.  Laughs on the way to the hotel that night when we had to make an unexpected stop at my parents house in the pouring rain because I had forgotten my contact stuff and we were leaving for our honeymoon early the next morning.  Drama...the morning of the wedding realizing that the slip that went understand my wedding dress had not been brought home from the Bridal boutique with the dress...and they did not open until after my pictures were supposed to start!  Thanks to my Aunt Joyce for getting the impossible job done!  Drama as I walked into the reception and the manager of the country club told us that the cake had basically fallen apart  but "Don't worry we got it all straightened out!" Drama when I took one look at the cake and realized that it was not the cake I ordered...Drama when the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down which meant no outdoor photos on the golf course or by the river... In the end it all made for a great day and some unforgettable moments that we will treasure forever.

I look at these photos now and I think....YIKES we were just babies!!! At 22 and 23 years old we were just out of college and ready for the rest of our lives to get started...we could hardly wait for the next chapter to begin...Now, 22 years later, I wish time could slow down cause the chapters in our lives are going so  quickly... I think, no... I know... I am not enjoying them nearly as much as I should be.

 Here we are 22 years later...still excited and happy to be married...Life is still full of love and laughter and drama (some days more than others) and many of our dreams have been realized. We have five beautiful kids, we live in a lovely home and we have traveled to many states and several countries.  Today I believe that we understand, a little bit better, what true love really looks like...sticking together in the darkest of days, telling one another that no matter what we have each other, big and small sacrifices, doing things just because we know it will make the other persons day a little bit better and most importantly...unconditionally loving the other person...no matter what.

 Bill is an incredible husband and I am grateful to God for bringing us together.  I am blessed to have this man by my side and I hope to spend the rest of my natural life making sure he knows he is a precious gift to me and the kids.