They met when she was young... 15 maybe? I don't remember much about them dating because, well, I was around the ripe ol' age of 7 when they met.
But I do remember that Christy loved potato chips. Or at least, I remember her sitting on Daniel's lap eating some out of the bag. So maybe she didn't like them, but only ate them once. At any rate, that's what I remember of their dating lives.
That and Christy's mustang. And that black car before the mustang. She drove cool cars, in the mind of a 7 year old, trust me.
Daniel & Spud
Then I remember when they went to Christy's prom. She wore a short purple (velvet?) dress (it was the 90s, in case that didn't give it away). My main thought during that? Her makeup is pretty, but why would she wear a short dress when she could wear a long, big, poufy, princess dress??
I think I was 9 by that time.
Christy & ... Hammer? ...Bug??
And tennis. Christy played tennis in high school. And she would play with me. I have no idea if I was any good or not. But I had a purple racquet and she played with me.
Then there was the time that a blizzard (or was it a hurricane? Opal?) hit and Christy magically managed to get stuck at our family's house. The whole family played board games by candlelight. 'Twas fun.
Daniel
And then they got married. I was 10. Wanna hear the lovely details from my point of view? Sure you do!
1) Christy finally wore a long princess dress.
2) Christy got her bridal portraits done at Kermit's (where I later got my senior pictures done)
3) They had the coolest colors any 10 year old could hope for-- my two favorite crayon colors. Teal and purple.
4) I wore my hair in a french braid with white flower clips in it because at the last wedding I went to I had tried to curl my hair with toilet paper and it worked so well that I ended up with a 'fro. I wish I were kidding.
5) I wore mascara, which my mom totally busted me on.
6) That is the first wedding where I remember vaseline being caked under the door handles. This is a cruel, cruel thing to do and should be illegal.
and...
7) Christy graduated high school, turned 18, and got married all within about a week and a half.
The last is what amazed me (even as a 10 year old) and now that I think about it, is probably what led me to decide that I was getting married before I was 20.
Don't worry, at 17 I realized that was a dumb and uncontrollable goal to set. And at 19 I was married.
I digress.
Christy had just graduated high school and hadn't even started college when they got married. But now she's a professor at a private college in Asheville. She didn't really apply for this job. The students there practically demanded she be hired for it. She had been teaching them outside of the school at a local business and when the job came open, they wanted her to fill the position.
But I remember how well Daniel and Christy always got along. How well they treated each other. And that they would always kid and joke around with each other, but were never seriously mad at each other (at least in front of the family). They were strong and steady, and they were a team. When it snowed a lot, they would shovel sidewalks for the elderly in their neighborhood.
People compared their serving attitudes to that of my great aunt & uncle, Betty & Oliver. And trust me, that is an honor to be compared the them. In the church I grew up in, that's like comparing them to Billy & Ruth Graham.
And now... 13 years later... they have an almost- 3 month old.
Christy & Rylie
I look up to that, too. Basically 13 years married before having kids. I really appreciate them doing that. It's a great comparison tool for Josh and I when people ask when we're having kids.
Daniel & Rylie
"We're following in my brothers footsteps."
Just kidding. We're only going to wait about 8 years. Maybe. At least.
So here's to a great 13 years of marriage, and many, many more to them!
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