8 Weeks.

The time has come when this wedding has shifted from months ( I remember saying, oh we are getting married in 8 months! And it seemed so so far away) to days (once we hit the 100 day mark, that was definitely something to celebrate and everything got a lot more real then) and finally, we have come to rest on weeks. I know weeks are greater than days, but considering we can now say we are getting married in E I G H T weeks, it is no longer real...it is amazing and gives me buttferlies and nervous dreams every day.

I think this is common for brides, all swept up in the glory and fantasy of their wedding day. To just constantly focus on the wedding and the details and get sidetracked away from what the day itself actually symbolizes. So today, with exactly 60 days, or approximately 8 weeks until our wedding, I'd like to tell you all about the man I am going to marry...and how special and wonderful he really is.

Joshua started out as this adorable little pumpkin:

 

Now that I have his "grown up" face memorized, looking back on him as little one just makes me all tingly inside. He is just so full of sweetness here. And, though I know this about Josh already...his baby pictures just backed up the theory that he can be quite...serious...at times. 

As he grew up, he was blessed repeatedly with the gift of brothers and sisters. 2 baby brothers and three baby sisters. Josh is the oldest of six. One of the things that melts my heart the most about him is how fiercely protective he is of his younger siblings. Josh is definitely not a fighter. He does not walk around with that cocky attitude most men with that amount of muscle do, just trying to start a confrontation. Quite the opposite. Josh is very quiet, pensive and dare I say? Sensitive. Sorry baby, but I am just tellin' the truth! He sometimes just waits on the sidelines, watching, thinking, planning...but a few times I have seen him hurt or mad enough that he would go in, fists flying. Every single time it was because someone had hurt me or one of his siblings. 

  

Joshy also has a playful side. A very silly and mischievous twinkle comes across him, like the look you see in the photo above. These are the moments I am not so thankful for those 5 amazing siblings he has, because he tries to "wrastle" me into submission the way he does to them. It never works. Ne-ver. :) You see, I am a middle child and I will resort to childish measures to get out of being tickled or held down against my will. And I am a pincher ;) Either that, or I will cry that he's hurting me until he lets go. 

  

See that look of mischief? Tell me that's not the same look from up above. 

Even though he gets a *little* crazy sometimes, Josh treats me like an absolute treasure. Before Josh came along, I did not even know what that felt like. To be honest, I was a little bit of a lost cause when Josh and I started dating. I went from being a naive little girl to a woman thrust into the adult world way too fast. My naivity was shattered during the brutal divorce of my parents when I was 17 and the loss of my first "love" around that same time. Josh picked up the pieces of me. Told me to stop looking at the negative and stop going on about how life was not fair. He brushed me off from that fall from grace, stood me up and supported my full weight until I was able to stand on my own two feet. 

Once he had gotten me to the point of independence, then he started showing me what a relationship should truly be. Understanding, nurturing, fun and romantic. Josh is all of those things. He sweeps the hair from my forehead when he kisses me goodbye in the morning. He pulls me tight against him if he can tell I am getting frusterated ever...right before the tears start to fall. He holds my hand everywhere we go, even while he is trying to drive a stick shift Toyota Tacoma. Without fail, if we are on a date, he holds his arm out to me so I can walk in my precarious high heels, he opens the car door for me and pulls out my chair. He tells me to use my "filter" when my potty mouth comes out in front of my mom, because "that's just not ladylike" and he loves me anyway when I tell him I don't need a damn filter. He is the epitome of everything I have ever wanted in a man. Strong and sweet. Wise beyong his years and heart full of his own struggles. He will one day make the most amazing daddy. 

When I look into his eyes, which are the most amazing color of slate gray mixed with emerald green, I just cannot imagine my life without him. He saved me. He sturdied me. He let me grow alone, but stood there waiting to catch me if I made a wrong step, which I have many times. He loves me unconditionally. And he is not afraid to defend me against any naysayers there are in this world. Like me, Josh has a stubborn streak...and to hear him come to my defense might be the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. Our relationship is not perfect. Who's is? But its real. Real sweet. Real amazing. Real passionate. Just Real. And I cannot wait until October 1, 2010 at 3:00 pm when I get to walk down the aisle to his open arms. 

I love you Joshy. Forever and Ever, babe.