. . .in sickness and in health . . .

young and in love, stefan and i started the grand adventure of marriage by moving to a small college town – four hours from our family . . .and support.

straight out of high school, with a six-month old, and our “love,” we arrived at our new life . . . a bit clueless.

the first years . . .they were hard.

lots of adjustments.

lots of compromise.

the first years were eye-opening.

we learned a lot . . . about ourselves . . .about each other.

i didn’t think my lasagna was ever going to be as good as stefan’s moms.

i don’t think we were quite prepared for the “next morning.”

I want you to meet a family. A family that I am so blessed to know.

I don’t know if they knew what “the next morning” was going to look like, either. I think, though, that they thought like every other “just married” couple . . . that life from here to there was going to be perfect.

I think that when they were announced Mr. and Mrs. O’Conner, they saw only marriage bliss in their future.

I think they may have been like a lot of other married couples and thought that in sickness and health meant when they turned 80 . . .

over the years that stefan and I have been together, we have had to learn to love one another in different ways than we did when we were high-school sweethearts.

we had to learn to trust each other in matters that were more important that “teenage love triangles.”

we had to learn to make decisions that were more difficult than where to spend our afternoon when we were ditching school . . .

marriage is an adjustment.

learning to love is sometimes difficult.

The O’Connor Family has had to learn all of that too – every married couple does.

Erin and Tracy have had an extra burden to carry, though.

Shortly after they were married, health trials came their way.

Trials that made life extra difficult.

Marriage, in the beginning, is hard.

Marriage with extra baggage is even harder.

These two . . .

This amazing couple took their vows seriously, though.

In sickness and in health, I am yours.

Sixteen years later, it was a privilege to be with their family and watch their deep love for one another spill out not only to each other, but to their son.