Whenever I watch a sappy love movie or read one of my romance novels, I find myself wishing to replace the lead female. I think we all have this tendency and it's a difficult one to erase. But honestly, how would we really feel walking in Miss Elizabeth's footsteps? Or Christy's, or Jessica's, or (my most recent addition) Gabriella? All of their heroes had some fault in them that can only be constituted as "manhood". They were late, they forgot, they were arrogant, they seemed reserved, they showed no emotion, they were too needy. But of course, the happy ending always came after chapters and chapters or wishing and hoping. And yet, we are still left loving the irrepressible male lead. There's no stopping it. And something within us longs for the same sparks these fictional characters had.

Last night I started evaluating how I felt Matthew differed from these great lovers of fiction. After a lot of consideration and yes, even some pro/ con charts in my head, I honestly can say that I am so thankful for ending up with a man like Matthew instead of the other romantical giants. Yes, Matthew has his problems as well (don't worry, I think I cause most of the strife in our marriage so I know I have large faults also), but he is so kind, considerate, and loving. He constantly works harder to be the husband he should be and he always wants what is best for us- our family. He is grounded in his faith in the Lord and he never wavers from it. I could go on and on, but I also looked back over our own romance story. I sometimes forget just how amazing our journey has been.

Here's just a little snippet.

"I just got back from time with Matt Iveson. We went to the school play together. I "poked" fun with him throughout the perfomance and at intermission we went out to the plyaground. We bounced around there. The sparkle in Matt's eyes when he reached the bottom of the slide was priceless. His eyes danced and carried a gleam of mischief and joy. I love seeing him happy like that... I love him, there I said it... I want to be with him for always..." April 24, 2004

"Then the bell rang. He had to go find his brother. He stood up then offered me and elegant hand up. I accepted and when I was up his deep brown eyes looked into mine and he said, "I love you." It freaked me a bit. I recovered and was like, "Well, I don't love you!". He kind of shurgged and went to find his brother." April 26, 2004

"It's raining out. It's raining hard. Not just a slight drizzle like most days. This is a hard, cold, pelting rain. The kind of rain I always wanted to run around in. The kind of rain I always wanted to dance in. The kind of rain I always wanted to kiss in. The kind of rain where I'd run to the middle of an open field and scream at the top of my lungs, "I love this man! I love Matt!". June 23, 2004

"Dear Matt... You keep urging me to go to Liberty in the fall. What if I do? What then? Will we hang out? Will we date? Will we fall in love? Will we get married? Or was that all a dream from our past? " September 9, 2004

"But he figures we still have feelings for each other for a reason. It was cute. He was like, "Before I make myself look like an idiot, tell me how much you love and how great I am." September 20, 2004

"Matt. I can't help but smile. He is my current happiness." December 9, 2004

"Today was... WOW!... So today at 10:20 pm, Matt Iveson asked me to be his girlfriend... He asked my dad if we could date. He was so nervous... Tonight was one of the best nights of my life!... We went upstiars and looked at the mistletoe... Then he kissed me... What a night. What a beginning." December 20, 2004

"Lisa made the cutest bracelet. It has a picture frame charm on it with a pic of Matt and I in it!... Then my mom ordered me that heart key chain. The one that's slit in two. One says "Becca" the other says "Matt". December 23, 2004

Well, that's enough for now. I have three "Matt books". All but the last quote are from the first. The last one was from the very beginning of the second one. All journal entries by me on those dates. The "..." is when I skipped ahead because the in between was either too personal or too stupid to write. But yes, we have had quite a ride. And that was just up until we started officially dating! There was so much more romance after that. And of course, we are now going on 10 months happily married. So much love. And it all started on long night in London over spring break 2004. Thank you, London. We'll never forget!

Quite the romance indeed.