as the title of today’s blog suggests, 20 years ago today was the day the earth was blessed with the birth of Paige Renee Irvine.

the past 2 years, 4 months, and 9 days have been nothing short of amazing for me, paige. to prove to you how great you are, and how much you’ve made my life a joy to live.. here’s a list of great things we’ve shared together =).
(note that my memory isn’t the greatest)

. the day we met. very atypical compared to how most people meet, the story of two internet lovers meeting in an online roleplaying game seems to fascinate just about everyone i tell the story to. we’re both such geeks, it’s no wonder we were destined for each other.

. our first telephone conversation. it’s the most nervous and excited i’ve ever been at once. i still get this feeling every time i hear you tell me you love me.

. rxbandits valentines show. in my abscense, you went to the rxbandits valentines show and mailed me a guitar pick given to you from none other than matt embree himself (my favourite musician). it’s by far the coolest present i’ve ever had.

. our first kiss. this kiss rivaled holywood tear-jerking sob story moments. we literally ran into each others arms in the airport. i remember this as the most magical moment of my entire life, and I get to relive it every time I kiss you.

. a walk around the park. the night we walked around that golf course swooning each other, kissing, talking, laughing. definately one of the most happy memories of my entire life.

. the blown tire. we both remember this happened at the worst possible time.. in an airport, an hour before the plane left. we packed up all your stuff and walked a solid mile to your terminal. i never cried harder when i saw you leave, but it’s a memory that i will always cherish.

. a week in california. opie and i came out and crashed at your dad’s house for a week. we went to the tustin marketplace, we saw spiderman, experienced red robin, and by the end of this quasi-vacation, i was so head over heals for you that i cried again when i had to leave back to texas.

. marshall moves to california. it wasn’t long before opie’s parents decided to move to stockton, and of course opie and i tagged along. with the advent of me moving to california, it was possible for us to start a real relationship.

. our first date. this also happened to be your 18th birthday. we went to the cheesecake factory at fashion island. you gave me a wonderful example of your overwhelming kindness by paying your part of the bill! (or i could just be cheap?).

. trips from stockton< ->corona. all the times i drove from stockton to corona to spend weekends at your dad’s place so we could be together. i wouldn’t trade a minute of that time spent together for the world.

. october 2002 - marshall moves to corona. god blessed us by giving me a job in corona. a small city with a non-existant tech sector. also the city you lived in. god really does work in mysterious ways.

. christmas 2002. our first christmas together. you got me the best grill i’ve ever had. it cooks the best burgers ever!

. march 2nd 2003 - our 1 year anniversary. i promised that i would be with you always, and gave you a promise ring to signify that vow. this same ring serves as your wedding ring… and I hope it will always remind you of my unwavering dedication and love for you.

. tennessee. we took a week off and travelled to nashville to spend some time with my dad and his family. it made me happy that you were so eager to meet my father, and you were very well received. thank you for being perfect.

. may 9th 2003 - wedding bells. the best decision we ever made. shauna, opie, and your dad witnessed as we vowed to spend the rest of our lives together. i truely then, and do now, love you more than life itself.

. my 21st birthday. you and opie took me to medieval times for my coming-of-age party. i got drunk as a skunk, and you took care of me like a mother does a 3 year old child. and you even got me a trogdor cake! you know me way too well, and there are lots of geeks out there who would kill for a wife like you.

. your 19th birthday. we took you out to red lobster, and you got a new kitty who’s name is Isis. i still remember how happy it made you when you got her, she is definately the 3rd member of our family.

. halloween 2003 - the queen mary. you, me, shauna, andrew, and opie. we had such a killer time in all the lame monster mazes, i can’t help but laugh.

. we move to texas. with the great offer in dallas too awesome to pass up, we moved our lives to dallas. since then we’ve only been getting better opportunities and enjoyed a much more comfortable life style with each other. i think this was probably the best decision we ever made together.

. fitting in with my family. it makes me so glad that you get along well with my siblings and mother. it was almost like a natural fit, really. my sister adores you, my mom and brother think you’re beautiful and smart, and my even chase will talk to you (which is no easy feat — I assure you).

. valentine’s day 2004. it snowed, and we built a snow woman. we also got some time to head down to the omni hotel in richardson, and have a wonderful night full of salmon, rotisserie chicken, wine, and laughter.

. the one year wedding anniversary. we had originally wanted to have our reception and ceremony on this day, but things didn’t turn out that way unfortunately. even though we didn’t do anything incredible for our 1 year anniversary, I still want to highlight that it gives me pride and a sense of accomplishment knowing i’ve been with you for a year.

. my 22nd birthday. you got me a cross necklace, an awesome mp3 player, the simpsons season 4, the buttefly effect, and an rxbandits tshirt. you helped tremendously with my barbeque party. you are so awesome, it transcends my petty attempts at describing it.

. your 20th birthday. today! i know that we’ll share many more of these together, and pray that god gives us his affection so we can learn to love each other even more than we do today. my sole purpose in life is to make you happy. i hope that, at least today.. i’ve accomplished that.