K is for "Kevin"

This is one of my favorite pictures of him!

Bet you couldn't see that one coming, huh? Of course, the letter K, I had to give to Kevin. I really don't know how to begin this, so I guess I will start with our story. Kevin and I met on a blind date that was set up by Brittany and Michael, one of my best friends and Kevin's brother. Any of you who don't know...they are married. Now, one would think that I met the love of my life on their wedding day, but they would be wrong. Kevin wasn't at the wedding....due to a prior commitment, so we actually met later. Our first date was at Brittany and Michael's' house. They invited the two of us over for dinner and to meet. I will say that the sparks really did not fly that first night. Kevin was very nervous, though he would deny that now, and I felt awkward and out of place myself, seeing as I had never met him and had never been on a blind date before. He got my number at the end of the night, but I really didn't think he would call. He did, a couple of times, but it never worked out that we saw each other (honestly, I don't think either of us were very invested in the idea)! About a month later, Brittany and Michael invited me over for dinner and Kevin came also...we started talking and laughing and before long I knew I had been wrong on my first impression of him. We started talking and had a date the next week, this time without Brittany and Michael. I realized that I really liked him and wanted to spend more and more time with him. I waited over a month before I introduced him to my family, but I think they loved him the first time they met him. He is the type of person that you feel like you have known your whole life, even if you just met him. I remember an early conversation that we had about our relationship...we were sitting on his porch talking and I told him that I just didn't know how it was going to work...I told him that we had absolutely nothing in common...we didn't like the same things, didn't enjoy the same things...none of the same pastimes...what was there to base a relationship on? He looked at me, devastated at this juvenile statement I had made and said something that changed my life...he said, "Laurel, we have everything in common that matters. We want the same things, believe in the same things and strive for the same things out of life...to be happy, have a family and enjoy all that God has given us. That should matter more to you than if we watch the same movies or listen to the same music." That is the moment that I realized I was in love with him. He was so right...all of this time I had been looking for someone who was similar to me...not someone who wanted the same things as me. I will spare you an outline of what we want for each other and our life together, but it is spot-on the same. I knew this was the real thing.

Kevin has brought so much to my life. He is one of the funniest people I know...from dancing in the kitchen to making me laugh when I am mad...I am always smiling when he is around. He is the most patient and easy-going person that I know...and is up for anything. He even let me put a zebra print comforter in his extra bedroom!! He loves his family and mine as well and holds them in the highest regard. Sometimes, I think he worries more about my parents than he does me and I love that! He is a great cook, which is great since I am not. And most importantly to me, we have a great time together no matter what we are doing. I can have more fun with him in my pajama pants and a tshirt, cooking and watching TV or sitting on the porch listening to the crickets, than I could on a date to anywhere in the world with anyone else. He gets me, he listens to me and he makes me feel like I am the only person in the world that matters to him. I feel like I am the luckiest person in the world to have met him and to have spent a year and a half with him and pray that God gives us years to come, many more memories to make and a life to share together.

Thank you for all that you are to me and all that is to come. I thank God for you with every prayer I pray and love you more than you will ever know, Kevin.