Love Story Sunday

Jenny

2010-07-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the movie Enchanted? I love it. I especially love this part. I could watch it constantly and be totally fine.
I have a really great husband. This song from Enchanted always makes me think of how I know Jeff loves me. So, here it is...

-When I'm feeling emotional (which is way more often than I'd like to admit), Jeff simply asks,
"Is it something I did?" Once he knows he's cleared of any wrong doing, he says,
"Is this one of those times you want me to just leave you alone?" or
"Do you want me to hold you?" or
"Can I do anything?" He's getting really good at knowing exactly what I need.

-After those emotional times when my eyes are puffy and I've finished the ugly cry (we all do it occasionally, right?), he says,
"You're so gorgeous. I love you so much."

-He brings me flowers. Particularly brightly colored Gerbera daisies which happen to be my very favorite. He doesn't do it just on my birthday or anniversary...it's just whenever. He totally surprises me randomly.

-Whether we're going on a date or just to the grocery store, he opens the car door for me. And the door at the store or restaurant or wherever else we go.

-He will do anything I ask him to do. Even if he just sat down and I ask him to get me something. He doesn't even complain about it. My favorite is when I ask him to clean the bathroom or the floor. His reply is:
"Of course I will. I don't think it needs to be done, but I will do it for you."
Good job, husband.

-In the winter, I often go outside to my car being cleared off. I hate scraping the windows of my car.

-I pretty much hate any car maintenance stuff, so he will also take my car to get the oil changed, car registered, put air in my tires, etc. if I ask him to.

-Jeff is patient. The most patient man I've ever met. He always waits for me and doesn't get mad because I'm always running late.

-He always says cute, cheesey, things. They're usually made up words to a well known song and it happens often and I love it. He also gets crafty and makes me cards with sayings such as,
"Like flowers that grow, such is my love." True story.

-He tells me he loves me. All the time. We have not had a single day where it has not been expressed multiple times.

-He takes the garbage out and puts dishes away. Those are two of my least favorite things to do. The entire 1 1/2 years we've been married, I've taken the garbage out maybe 5 times.

-He works full time and goes to school at night to support our little family and let me not work while I finished grad school.

-He is kind, compassionate, sensitive, funny, loving, gentle, so great with kids, random, and so perfect for me. This list could go on and on and on...
I feel so blessed every day when I wake up next to this guy and realize I get to be with him for eternity. Jeff is the most amazing man and I can't imagine my life with anyone else.
***
Jenny!! She's the total hero of the day! I was so happy to get this email from her, although it didn't surprise me because that's just how awesome she & Jeff are. Thanks for helping keep this blog alive....by a thread!!

I love, love, LOVE this list!! Jeff is a "real man" (as Dr. Laura would call him), and those are sometimes hard to find! In Oregon, my cousin and I were talking about how we snagged ourselves "real men" and how lucky we feel. Jeff & Jenny are and always will be two of our most favorite friends ever. Thanks again!

Sharing Your Story

2010-06-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

If you want to share your Love Story, send me an email at woodfamily23@yahoo.com WITH YOUR STORY. I will post stories as they arrive. I have received several emails from interested people, but no actual stories from them. So I'm starting a new method....just email your story up front! If Sunday rolls around and I have a story, I'll post it. If not, then no story.

You can email your story in one of two ways:
1. Attach your story in a Word document. Attach each photo seperately, and I will put your post together.
2. Type up your story in Blogger and click the edit html tab at the top right of the post. Copy and paste all of that into an email. I will then paste that into a post, and it will turn out just how you typed it. This is obviously the easiest for me, but either way will work just fine.

So now it's up to YOU, my lovely readers. Send those stories and keep Love Story Sunday going! Thinking about and writing up your Love Story is a great way to share it with your family and children. I have had several love story posters comment to me about how FUN it was to re-visit those moments and feelings with their loved one. I think it brings you closer to put yourselves back in that time and place of falling in love. During week Eight when I shared my own story with Nate, the whole week I felt so nostalgic and really fell in love with that cute boy allll over again!!

**Note: I will be out of town next Sunday, June 13. If I have a story, I will try to get it published, but it might be a day early or late, depending on when I can get to a computer. Thanks!!

Week Twenty One ~ Emilie

2010-05-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

The best first date...EVER.

Let me preface this with some background information about myself. I had a boyfriend in high school for three years. Yes, that's right, three straight years. We broke up near the end of my senior year, and I went crazy with dating after that. However, there was a problem. Guys hardly *EVER* asked me out. I had to do the asking and chasing and what have you. I've even paid for a few first dates. I never thought I would have done that, especially when I consider how shy I come off to some people. Anyway, back to the point. I was *so* very sick of having to pursue guys, and just wanted a guy to pursue me for once. I mean, come on, I couldn't be *that* bad could I?

Then comes Bryan. We met through a friend of mine, and boy did I love seeing that tall dark handsome man with an awesome smile (did I mention he was tall?). After we had met, he asked me out on a date. I was ecstatic that he asked me on a date. A GUY asked ME on a date. It was a miracle. He asked me on a date to go to a concert. At first I was very hesitant about this (no, not because I'm deaf :), because the last concert I went to was awful. It was Rage Against the Machine, and it was just not my cup of tea. So much pot, smoke, swearing, flashers, etc. I demanded to be taken home after the first song was performed by Rage (I suffered through the awful opening act of Gangstar). So you can just imagine how scared I was to go to a concert. Then Bryan told me which band it was, Jars of Clay. It couldn't have been a better choice. I love the band (still do), and it was very much a clean concert.

Another thing I was nervous about...it was a double date. I've never gone on a first date that wasn't a single date...meaning my first dates were always just me and the guy. A double date was actually making me nervous. Imagine that. Anyway, along came October 29, 2002 (the date was October 30, 2002). I'm so nervous and excited about this date that I cannot stop talking about it with my mom. So...we go shopping. We went shopping for a first date outfit. I still remember what I bought (a green shirt that ended up being dry clean only, and sort of was hippyish. I miss that shirt, but it's long gone). I have never bought new clothes just to look good for a first date before, so I knew that I was already kind of smitten with this guy. So I got all ready, get all dressed up, smell good, put my make up on, etc. He comes and knocks on the door. I open it and there is Bryan. Tall, dark, handsome....and with a FLOWER. He is the *only* guy who ever brought me a flower before going on a date. I knew he was a winner already.

So off we go. The other couple drove in a separate car, so we had some time alone to talk before the concert. I have no idea what we talked about, but I loved it and was just on cloud 9 the entire time. We went to the concert, and I learned that Bryan has an amazing voice. Trust me, I did not sing. You do not want to hear a deaf person sing, no matter how noisy a concert may be, you still don't want to hear the deaf person sing. I just remember that there was this lady next to me who was...REALLY into the songs and the concert. It may have been mean, but it made us laugh like crazy, cause it was just pretty insane. We stood up, clapped, boogied, he sang, we laughed, had fun. It was honestly an incredible time. The one thing that did not happen that I wanted to happen...was holding hands. Yes, on the first date, I wanted to hold hands. I was just that crazy about him already. I found out later that he wanted to hold hands too, but wasn't sure if it would scare me off. I KNEW I recognized the nervous back and forth movements of his hands trying to decide if he was going to hold my hand or not. I was very tempted to grab it, but decided to be a lady, especially since he was treating me like one (and I was loving it!).

Then we got into the car to meet up with the other couple to get some ice cream at leatherby's in Provo. We had fun talking in the car. Again, I have no idea what we talked about, but it was fun, I laughed a lot and just loved being with him. As we're turning off of University Parkway into the Leatherby's parking lot, he almost hits the freaking road sign! I still choose to believe that it's cause he couldn't take my eyes off of me since I was so hot that night. I also told him this when it happened, and he, every so smartly, agreed with me. The ice cream was fun, but I didn't like having to share my attention with two other people. I just wanted to be with Bryan. Sadly, the date had to come to an end as I had to go to class the next day and needed some sleep.

He drove me home, walked me to my door and.....gave me a hug. I loved/hated this. I wanted to kiss him SO bad, but I knew it was the first date. But I really did not want that hug to end. It was a rare thing to be in the arms of a guy who was taller than me, let alone a guy who was taller than me AND that I was starting to go crazy for. We said good night, and I was just on cloud 9 all night long. I called my mom and told her about the date, etc. It was just that awesome. It may not seem like a big deal to other people, but honestly, this was a date that I was never going to forget, and never will.

And an added bonus!
10 things that I absolutely love about Bryan, and 10 things he loves about me.
What Bryan loves about me (I'm quoting him word for word here):
1. I love that you're klutzy.
2. I love how you mix up your words.
3. I love how you always kiss (I'm a darn good kisser).
4. I love that you found something that you love to do.
5. I love, how many is that? 5? (I said 4), oh.....I looovvvee.....how patient you are with me.
6. I love your humility when learning new things.
7. I love how passionate you are about the things you believe in.
8. I love that we're a good match for each other.
9. (Are you not going to say anything about my body?) That's not something I love ABOUT you, (insinuating that physical appearance is sexy, but it doesn't really make me who I am...he's good :) ). I love that you gave us a second chance (that's a whole nother story).
10. I love that you don't like fruit (sorry folks, it's true).

What I love about Bryan:
1. I love that he supports me in everything that I do.
2. I love that he gives me big bear hugs, and literally squeezes all the air out of me.
3. I love his voice. I may be deaf, but I can tell it's a good voice.
4. I love his passion for music/singing.
5. I love his passion for other cultures and languages. It makes life a lot more interesting.
6. I love that he's tall. Much taller than me.
7. I love that he's such a good father to Kiernan.
8. I love that we can still talk about everything and nothing. It seems like we never run out of things to talk about.
9. I love that he knows how to laugh about my klutziness instead of being embarrassed about it.
10. I love that he puts his foot in his mouth all the time about me (ask him about the time he called me a walrus....or tubby). :)

*****
First off....love Leatherby's! Haven't been there since before my mission though...way too long! And I love Jars of Clay too! I haven't listened to them in awhile, I should bust that out.... Concerts are so much fun...becoming one of my and Nate's favorite splurges. (Another reason we'd LOVE to live near Nashville!) And how can you not like fruit? Have you not eaten a fresh raspberry?? Watermelon? Peaches? Pears? Oh yum....you're missing out, girlfriend!! Take a trip up to Oregon and pick some blueberries or blackberries fresh off the bush. Heaven.

The hand-holding thing is hilarious....Nate & I still joke about that. The nervous movements, so funny!! Sometimes when we're watching a movie, he'll put his hand right next to mine...you know, like in middle school or something. We're nerds. But you remember...you'd spend the entire movie analyzing in your head if he was trying to hold your hand or not! Dating is so funny to look back on once you aren't doing that anymore!
Nate gives good hugs too. And he totally ran a stop sign in Salem when we were first dating....maybe I looked hot that night too?? Those were fun lists to read....maybe we'll make lists too, if I have another no-story week....although apparently Nate can't keep things "appropriate" when I try to get his input on anything, ha!

Be sure to check out Emilie's first Love Story in Week Two HERE!

Thank you my dear for sharing another story with us! Hope you're enjoying your sunny vacation!! Ya'll need to let me watch Kiernan again soon so you can go out!

Week Twenty - Becca Jane - Engagement Story

2010-05-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

See....this is what happens when people don't sign up...you get to hear more from me! Be sure to go back to Weeks Eight & Eighteen to read the beginnings of my Love Story, if you haven't already. And please, please....SIGN UP! Otherwise this blog will end...because even though Nate & I have a fabulous relationship and love story....I don't know if I can think of enough for the rest of the year!!

***
So we got engaged on October 28, 2004. After school, I drove up to West Jordan. We had looked at rings the week before, but I wasn't sure if or when he was choosing a ring, and definitely thought it would take longer to order and arrive. So we went out to eat at a cheap Italian resturant (Fazoli's....yeah, we are poor!). Nate asked if I wanted to go walk around the temple grounds. I was slightly suspicious at that point, but still just assumed that the ring couldn't have been ordered and sized and ready so soon. And there was no box in his jeans pocket! It had been raining all day, sort of rare for Utah. I loved it though because I just love rain. So we drove over to the Jordan River temple. We parked and slowly started walking around toward the front of the building. Nate didn't seem nervous, so then I started wondering if maybe he wasn't going to propose that day. I just assumed he'd be acting sort of nervous....I know I would have been! I was nervous myself! So about halfway around the building, it stopped raining. We got to the front, where there are gorgeous gardens and a fountain.

We walked over to the fountain, and suddenly Nate held out both of his fists and said, "Pick a hand." It was in his right hand, and I picked that first. I was soo excited to see my ring, it was gorgeous! In his sweet, quiet voice that I honestly noticed about him in Korea, he asked, "Will you marry me?" I gave him a big hug and said Yes. The ground was soaking wet, so he didn't get down on one knee....but in all honesty, I'm glad he didn't. There were lots of people coming and going from the temple while we were there, and I seriously hate attention and people looking at me. We were in our own little moment, and I'm glad the people around us didn't realize what was happening. Nate & I are the exact same in that aspect of our personalities, so it was perfect for the two of us. So anyway, I said yes, and then I was all flustered and couldn't remember which hand to give him to put my ring on! The ring fit perfectly. I absolutely love it and wouldn't change anything about it. It's a 1/2 carat princess cut solitaire diamond and you can see the diamond from all angles. It looks like this, but it's a solitaire.

Well anyway, so after I put my ring on and gave him lots of smooches, we looked out over the valley and suddenly the rain clouds all broke and blue skies peeped through. Suddenly a HUGE rainbow stretched across the entire sky. It was gorgeous, and I couldn't believe it. And it was just such a beautiful gift to me from my Heavenly Father on my engagement day....a confirmation from Him that I had my man. Nate was my gift, my blessing for being patient and obedient, and I have felt that confirmation every single day since.
I love you, Nater!

Okay, so if you remember our little interview from Week Eight....I tried to do another one and pretty much got the same results:

Do you regret proposing to me?

No, why? Do you? Do you think I'm chunky? (this is only funny if you've seen the dude hippo on Madagascar 2!)

Were you nervous when you proposed?

Yes. Who wouldn't be?

Did you think I was going to say no?

No.

Why did you propose at the temple?
Cuz I'm a corny Mormon.
Were you bummed it was raining so you couldn't get down on one knee?
I didn't want to get down on one knee, I didn't really want to do the traditional thing. Sorry.
That's okay. It was perfect.
We looked at 3 rings, how did you pick my favorite?
I could tell by the twinkle in your eye when we were looking at them.
Yeah, okay.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about me, our marriage or our relationship?
Can you re-phrase the question? Um..it's been the best 5 years of my life. And that's an innapropriate question, I can't answer that with a 3 yr old in the room.
Okay, nevermind. Geez!

Week Nineteen ~ Marie

2010-05-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Him: Stephen

Her: Marie

Our Love Story: His story…….Her story

Since they seem to be somewhat different, I thought we should tell it like we saw it happen.

His story: The singles in Tooele got together once a week to play games and socialize. So I decided to go and see if all these singles got together to complain about their sad lives after being divorced. I went the first week and there were a few singles and it was okay. They told me there were several other who were not there. So I decided to go again the next week. I was sitting there playing games and eating chocolate. When this cute blonde from across the room comes over and asked if she could sniff my chocolate. I wasn’t sure if that was a pick up line or not so I let her sniff my chocolate. She later would throw candy to me and then come over and sniff it. She was beautiful and fun. I knew I better go next week to see what would happen next. She asked me to come out in the hallway of the church so she could talk to me. So I played it cool and leaned up against the wall with one foot up as to look cool and tease her. We talked and planned to go to an upcoming dance with other singles. I loved the chase for love.

We later went to the dance at SLCC on Saturday night. She was with this guy and his mom. I finally got the courage to dance ask her to dance. I went up and grabbed by the hand while she was standing next to the guy she came with and took her out on the dance floor. They played two slow dances. The first was a James Blunt song. The second was a Keith Urban song. During the second song, we fell in love. I couldn’t help it because I had this beautiful blonde in my arms and her arms around my neck. The dance was over and I went and sat on the couch wondering what was happening. How could I have feelings of love for Marie, I barely knew her. We met later at Denny’s and all I could do was sit by this cute blonde and wonder if she had feeling for me. When we left Denny’s she gave me a hug and said in my ear “Call me.” I didn’t even have her number when I got home.

Then on that Sunday morning I got a call from Marie. I hadn’t even gone to bed because I couldn’t sleep and I hoped she would call me and she did. I was in love and didn’t know what to do. We talked for quite a while until I was late for church. At the end of the phone call I wanted to shout out “I love you.” I went to church and after church I called her again. During church I decided I would call her to go on a date. I asked her when we could go out. She was available on Tuesday. We went out on our date and it was wonderful shopping for dishes in the Wedding section of the store. I hugged her several time that night. At the end of the night I invited her over for ice cream. Of course I kissed her. We then had a date on Thursday at my house because my son Noah was staying over night. Marie was great with my son Noah. I was falling head over heels in love for this woman. It just felt right to love her. She would take my breath away every time I saw her.

So 29 days after our first date we got married. She is the love of my life. She has made my life complete. She is the first thing I want to see in the morning and the last thing I want to see when I go to sleep at night. I love you forever babe. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. Thanks for taking my breath away!

Her story: There was this guy that all of the single ladies called the “church guy”. We called him that cause he was this sweet and innocent man. (so we thought). He would act all cool and taunt me with chocolate at singles night cause he knew I was watching my weight and wouldn’t eat it, just sniff it. He would never ask me out. No matter how I flirted with him, he was so frustrating. We went dancing a couple of times together as a big group and he would dance with all of the other girls but me! I was about to give up on this cute guy when all of a sudden he came walking across the floor and took my hand. (I was holding the hand of the guy who had brought me to the dance at the time) and then he led me onto the dance floor. I thought who is this guy. Well we danced the first slow dance then my favorite singer of all time Keith Urban came on. So I smiled and Stephen thought I was smiling about him so he slid his arms around me way tight. Then he stared at me the whole dance with those beautiful eyes. All I kept thinking was “oh crap, I am falling in love”. Well after that he didn’t talk to me the rest of the night! So after the dance and after we all ate at Denny’s I went up to him to hug him goodbye and said call me. HE DIDN’T CALL! So I was mad, who does he think he is dance with me like that, make me fall in love with him, then not call! So I called him and I soon forgot I was mad and we talked for hours! When we went to say goodbye he kept hesitating, I found out later it was cause he wanted to say I love you. I thought it was cause he wanted to ask me out, which he didn’t! That night he did call back and ask me out. We went to Olive Garden and then to the mall to walk around. He took me to pick out dishes in the wedding section! Who does that? Then we went and bought ice cream and went back to his place. He showed me pictures of his ex wife. Once again, who does that and on a first date? And he didn’t kiss me at the end, I kissed him. He kept taunting me ‘leaning’ towards me, getting right up in my face then nothing! So yep, I kissed him. Then are you ready for this…..he told me that he had a rule about asking the same person more than twice in a row on a date. Who does that? Tells a girl on the first date that you have a stupid rule so don’t get your hopes up for a next date. So, you guessed it, I asked him out next so he didn’t break his rule. I had to do all the work, but to tell you the truth it has been worth it and more! This guy (as soon as I hooked him) promised to love me forever and asked me to marry him on the 4th date and 29 days later he did just that. It totally freaked out my kids. My youngest daughter and her fiancé was in Boston visiting his family and I called her and said so what are you doing this Friday when you get back into town and she said why you want to go to dinner? I said sure we can go after the wedding k! And we did, we all went for Chinese food after the ceremony. Is that true love or what? It has been 3 ½ years since that night and it has been the most amazing feeling to know that somebody loves me that much and I love him back. I know he always says that I am the one who takes his breath away but to tell you the truth, before Stephen I didn’t know what breathing really was.

The real love story is…..Marie and Stephen found each other after 40 years of searching. Stephen has 3 children Nick 17, Noah 12, Chloe 12 and Marie has 2 children Kasie 25, Kamie 24. We found a way to mix together children and families. We are still waiting patiently for clearance from the General Authorities for us to be sealed together for time and all eternity. We recently became the very proud grandparents of Kaiah our sweet little girl and we have a precious grandson on the way who will be a part of our family in August. Being parents and now grandparents is truly what love is all about. For us, not only sharing each day with each other but with our children is what love is all about for us. True Love means believing, trusting, forgiving, unconditional, honesty, friends, and never giving up. Knowing that someone LOVES YOU BACK is all that anyone needs to live. (well, that and chocolate!)

*****
Marie is Nate's aunt. And she is one of the million reasons that I feel SO lucky to have married into this family! I have always admired her cheerful personality and love being around her. Stephen is one of the kindest people I know, and we love Kasie, Kamie & Kaiah so so much! Thank you for sharing your great story! True love is so wonderful....no matter when it finally knocks on your door!!

This was so much fun to read! You guys are so cute. Haha, Marie, I can just picture you flirting with him....trying to get his attention! "Who does that?"...that cracked me up too! And sniffing chocolate...I remember Marie sniffing cookies one year at Christmas, too funny! I really love you guys!

Happy Mother's Day Marie....and to all of you wonderful mothers and mothers-to-be out there!!

Week Eighteen ~ Becca Jane ~ Our First Two Weeks

2010-05-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

You can see the story of how we met HERE.

So here's what happened next.

After our first date on September 18, 2004, I remember hugging Nate after the football game. I was really happy and knew I was definitely intrigued by this guy. But I still wasn't sure if it had been a real date, or if we were just mission friends hanging out. That night after he drove home, he sent me an email and asked me if I wanted to go play tennis sometime. I just smiled.... of course I did! Overall with Nate, the best thing about him was that I didn't have to do anything. He did the asking, the initiating, the calling.... I LOVED not having to analyze his moves or wonder if he would call or if there were other girls. It was such a relaxing feeling to just sit back and be pursued! People ask me how I knew I was going to marry him and how to know if it's the "real deal". My answer is this: "The relationship is easy. It just works. No games. No worrying or wondering. It just works and nothing stops it or gets in the way."

So a week later, I drove up to West Jordan. He met me on his driveway looking all fine again... (if you read my last post about him, I'm quite smitten with his hot-ness). I remember being soooo nervous to play tennis with him because I had not picked up a tennis racket in 5 years. I played in high school, but I was never that good, it was always just for fun. So we drove up to Copperton and played for awhile. I was awful. He was not. To this day, I'm convinced he let me win when we played a match. There is no way I really beat him! But he insists that he was playing his best. I don't believe him because in all of the times we've played since that day, I've never won again!! After tennis, we went back to his house and watched Bourne Identity. I think I met his mom and one of his sisters that day too.

I think due to work & school, we had to wait another week to hang out. That next Friday was our mission reunion for the Korea Seoul West mission. We made plans to meet up early to hang out and then go together to the reunion. I think that was a really long week! I couldn't wait to see him again! We met up in American Fork, had dinner at Wendys, and we stopped at Target. Nate knew I loved John Mayer, so he bought me his 2nd album. Good move, Honey. Listening to those songs still takes me right back to these weeks with Nate. We also had to buy something to take to the reunion, but we were both cheap and lame, so we bought these 88 cent cookies that looked like cheap Oreos.

So...the mission reunion cracks us up. Still. Only one of our mission friends knew we were "hanging out". We hadn't talked about our "status", and I honestly wasn't sure what we were. Should I tell people we're dating? Is he my boyfriend yet? What if I tell someone we're dating and he thinks I'm just a good friend? What if he tells someone we're dating and I say we're just friends and then he hears that and stops calling? Oh my poor mind! We pretty much stuck together like glue during the whole thing. It was so much fun because we're both so comfortable around our mission friends. At one point, we were sitting at a table with an elder that we both knew. Right in front of Nate, this elder turns to me and says, "So Warner, you dating anyone?" I know I turned bright red, and I didn't answer right away. So I just casually put my arm around Nate and said, "Well, kind of, I've just been hanging out with one of my best friends." Haha! I didn't know what else to say!

I know I already posted this, but here is us at the reunion:

Well, after the reunion, we took our 88 cent cookies (I don't think they had even been opened, ha!) and decided to take a walk around the Mt. Timpanogas temple (the reunion was just across the street from the temple). In Korea, it's really common for people to link arms when they walk, so I linked my arm through Nate's. About halfway around the temple, he grabbed my hand. Yay! We went back to the cars, and I didn't want to leave him! Ever!!! I wanted him to kiss me, but I knew he was nervous, so we just said goodbye.

The Mt. Timpanogos Temple

(also the place where we were married)

The next day, I drove up to West Jordan for the Saturday session of General Conference. We snuggled all during the sessions. In between sessions, we played tennis again, and we also took his little sister Megan with us to the animal shelter to see the cats and dogs. It was so fun playing with the cute kitties....and we talked about how we want a big dog someday. That night, I REALLY wanted him to kiss me....I was tempted to just make the move, but I wanted him to initiate it. So I went home falling really in love, but still smooch-less.

The next day, he drove down to Salem for the Sunday sessions. More snuggling. In between those sessions, we took those 88 cent cookies over to Salem Pond and fed them to the ducks, haha! I also gave him a big kiss on the cheek, and he says that after that, he "knew that it was safe to go in for the kill" (his words, he's standing in the kitchen and just said it!!). After the 2nd session, my dad pulled me aside and told me how highly he thought of Nate and how happy he could tell that I was. After that, I knew I was going to marry this boy! So we decided to take a drive up Elk Ridge to "watch the sunset"....but really I was just going to kiss this boy because I couldn't stand it anymore!! So we drove up, and I didn't really know where to go to get a good view of the sunset, I hadn't been in that area very much. So I ended up just stopping in front of some random person's house on a dead end street. We both got out, walked to the back of the car, and both went in for the kiss. Finally!! And then we started laughing hysterically about how our first kiss was in front of someone's house who was probably watching and wondering why there were strangers kissing in the street. Then we drove around for an hour and started quoting Napoleon Dynamite, and I was laughing so hard that I had to pull over. Fun day. "Tina...come get some ham!!"

The next day, I drove up to West Jordan after school to watch Napoleon Dynamite...he hadn't even seen it yet. After it was over, we sat there in the movie theater as the credits rolled and Nate told me he loved me. I told him I loved him too, and then we laughed all over again about how random and weird we are! I love us!

So yeah, that was a whirlwind weekend!! We went from a matter of "are we dating?" to saying I love you in just 4 days!! It was awesome though. We were (and are) just so happy together and so perfect for each other. He is exactly the kind of guy I always pictured myself with. We still just laugh together and never have to explain our weird-ness to each other. We get it. We're still best friends.

Week Seventeen ~ Merilee

2010-04-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

I've Finally Found Him...The Perfect Guy!

That's right, I've finally found the perfect guy. When I say perfect, I mean perfect in every way. He's a sensitive guy, not afraid to cry if the timing and circumstances move him to do so. He stays up and listens to me talk late into the night, without judging me, being annoyed, or interrupting me to give his opinion. He cuddles up to me whenever I feel lonely and never pushes me away. He appreciates the food I make for him and lets me control the remote. He's got perfect, blonde curly hair, smooth skin and a smile that could knock your socks off. I could just kiss those chubby-wubby cheeks forever and ever....Oh, did I mention that he's 6 weeks-old and the sweetest baby you'll ever see?

This is Lucas J Michael, LJ for short. He joined our family in a rather unconventional way, following in the footsteps of his two older sisters. Here is the quick story of our family. Josh and I met 10 years ago. We fell in love quickly. One of the things I loved and still love about him is the quiet way he seems to understand me. Before he proposed, I mentioned that it would be hard, if not impossible for me to have kids. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “We’ll figure it out.”

Four years later, we adopted Mikayla, with those long eyelashes that can manipulate her daddy into almost anything. I remember perfectly the day that Josh and I stood in an empty hospital room, waiting and wondering what she would look like. Would we know her? More importantly, would she know us? Then, for the first time in my life, a young, brave girl and boy placed their precious baby in my arms. With tears and grief on their faces, but love in their hearts, they asked us to raise her as our own. I don't know how to describe the feelings of humility, gratitude and faith I felt at that moment, but I do know that the questions disappeared when I looked into her face. I knew she was mine. I knew I was hers.

Gweny, our little random blonde child...the one I have to remind myself was NOT adopted. The day I found out I was pregnant with her, the tears of joy, relief and worry started and didn’t stop until she finally joined our family. Gweny is a blessing. I am happy to have her. She is the sunshine in our home. She hides nothing in her love and emotions.

Now, this little guy...

For the second time in my life, a courageous young woman placed her baby in my arms. What joy! I think of the special bond I have with her and am so grateful to know her as I do. The world would be a better place if more of us had her selflessness, love, and goodness. He is perfect in every way. I say that now because I know that I won’t always be able to say it, (although, as his mother, I may never change my mind). Years from now, his teenage eyes may look at me with feelings of betrayal or anger, but for now, they gaze up at me with love and trust. His heart, which one day may have feelings of bitterness, jealousy, and sorrow, is now the purest and most innocent that it will ever be. He’s got so much to learn, so many places go, the whole world ahead of him. So, for now, I will enjoy those sweet, innocent gazes and coos and smiles. I will enjoy his perfection.

I love my family. My Josh, my prince, is everything I dreamed of as a little girl. I love him so much. I love my children. Each time I look into their faces, my faith in Heavenly Father's eternal plan for us is renewed. I love my family more than I can express. I am truly, truly blessed.

*****
Is anyone else in tears? I know I am.... Beautiful family.

Merilee is the best friend I've ever had. Eleven years ago, we were randomly put together as roommates in the dorms at Ricks College. It didn't take long for us to realize that we are practically sisters. We were inseperable for the next year going through college. As we both graduated and went seperate ways, we stayed in touch, I flew to Colorado to visit her, she flew to Utah for my mission farewell. I was there when Mikayla was sealed to her and Josh. She threw my baby shower for Allie. We've been through a lot together.

We're also the weirdest people ever....we laugh at EVERYTHING. In college, we started a "Laugh List". We'd jot down everything that made us laugh, all of our inside jokes. I think by the time we were done at Ricks (only a short 1.5 years), our List had over 700 things on it. And it's only grown over the years as we've hung out. I think we're up to 900 or so?? When we lived in different states, we'd call each other and each pick a random #...we'd find that number on the List and then we'd laugh hysterically over whatever it was. Most of the things on it, we can't explain to other people. When Josh first met Nate, me and Merilee were collapsed on the floor laughing about something, and Josh turned to Nate and said, "I've learned to just not ask with those two."

We both live in Utah now and get to hang out once in awhile. LJ is the most adorable baby you'll ever see, I love him so much. Gweny never stops making us laugh. And Mikayla and Cameron are great friends. She used to call him "Crammon"....and it's a nickname that we still call him. Speaking of nicknames, Merilee & I also have them for each other (I'm actually having a hard time referring to her as Merilee). We haven't called each other by our real names in over 10 years. But they are SO retarded and definitely impossible to explain to anyone else. But I'll just say that Josh and Mikayla both do NOT call me Becca.....and Cameron & Nate both do NOT call her Merilee. In fact, I don't think Cameron knows her real name, and I know Mikayla doesn't know mine. Even my own mother doesn't call her Merilee. Too funny.

Erm....thanks for sharing this with us. I love you and your adorable family like my own. Thank you for your example to me. I have learned so much from you over the years. BFF.

Wow, that was long....almost longer than the Love story itself! Sorry!

Week Sixteen ~ Heidi

2010-04-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

HIM: CHRIS

HER: HEIDI

MARRIED AUG 19,05 IN BOUNTIFUL,UT LDS TEMPLE

CURRENTLY RESIDE IN SARATOGA SPRINGS,UT

CHILDREN/PETS:

HYRUM (3)

6 FISH AND A TURTLE

WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT ATTRACTED YOU TO HIM

"I love a guy in glasses"..lol it was love at first sight!

HOW DO U SPEND YOUR FREE TIME

Heidi: WHAT FREE TIME...I LOVE TO BAKE W/MY LITTLE GUY, DOING ANYTHING OUT AND ABOUT W/MY LITTLE FAMILY, love crafts, sewing, scrapbooking, photography

Chris :Putting together models, Fishing,Golfing, Waterfowl Hunting, playing w/Hyrum

WHAT IS SOME MARRIAGE ADVICE:

COMMUNICATION IS KEY, HAVE PATIENCE, EVEN WHEN YOU THINK YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH.

LOVE STORY: Her Version
WE LIVED IN THE SAME APARTMENT COMPLEX MY FRESHMAN YEAR OF COLLEGE, WE WERE IN THE SAME SINGLES WARD, BUT WE NEVER REALLY MET UNTIL MY ROOMMATES SET US UP ON A "BLIND-DATE" AT LEAST IT WAS FOR ME. WHEN MY ROOMMATES CALLED ME (OVER CHRISTMAS BREAK) TELLING ME ALL ABOUT THIS RETURN MISSIONARY (FOR 6 MONTHS PLUS) I WAS TOTALLY THINKING HE WAS SOMEONE ELSE. THEY TOLD ME I WAS TO WATCH THE GRUDGE, WHICH I HATE, HATE, HATE SCARY/HORROR MOVIES. BUT WITH A CUTE GUY WHY NOT RIGHT? SO ON THE DAY I DROVE BACK DOWN TO SUU, JAN 9TH,TO BE EXACT, I MADE SURE I WORE MY FAVORITE OUTFIT, STOPPED BY MY BOYFRIENDS HOUSE TO SAY GOODBYE, AND PICK UP SOME HOMEMADE JERKY (I KNOW IT'S MEAN, BUT IT'S TRUE I DID) I was so excited to get back my apartments and meet this "amazing guy, who I thought it was..) So we went down to his apartment to watch the pirated version of "the Grudge" and I purposely,w/roomates persuasion, sit on the love seat (where only two can sit...lol) and watched the Grudge, which i really don't remember any of it, except someone stood up in the middle of it and walked out(because it was Pirated). We ended up holding hands....oh cute I know..lol ONCE THE MOVIE WAS OVER WE WENT UP TO MY APARTMENT AND FINISHED WATCHING "A CINDERELLA STORY" WITH OTHER ROOMMATES. ONCE THAT WAS OVER EVERYONE SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR... I AM SURE ON PURPOSE... AND WE JUST STOOD THERE... AND ENDED UP KISSING. My roomates kept saying, "What if you were the only person he's kissed and he would only kiss the girl he was going to marry..." I'd have to say I was a little nervous about that at first, but that didn't last long.
OUR OFFICIAL FIRST DATE WAS THE NEXT NIGHT DANCING UNDER THE STARS/STREET LAMP WHERE CHRIS WORKED.
BY THEN I KNEW WE WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED. ALL MINE & HIS ROOMMATES WOULD KEEP MAKING BETS ON WHEN WOULD BE ENGAGED, AND ONE MONTH AND 10 DAYS LATER (FEBRUARY 19TH) WE WERE UP VISITING MY FAMILY, AND CHRIS SNUCK INTO MY ROOM (AT LIKE MIDNIGHT) AND ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM! I STILL DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS on purpose so i would say yes.. but it worked! BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF HAPPENED A LITTLE QUICKLY HE WAS NOT ABLE TO GET THE DIAMOND IN TIME, SO 2 MONTHS LATER (APRIL 23) WE WERE W/MY FAMILY AND WERE IN ST. GEORGE AND STOPPED AT THE TEMPLE, WHICH IT HAD BEEN RAINING ALL DAY, BUT STOPPED FOR THE SHORT TIME WE WERE ON THE GROUNDS, WHICH HE ASKED ME AGAIN,I SAID YES AND HE REPLACED MY OTHER RING, W/MY DIAMOND! WHAT A GREAT BIRTHDAY PRESENT TO MY MOM! (SHE WAS SURE EXCITED)
FOUR MONTHS LATER, AUG 19TH,05 WE WERE MARRIED FOR TIME AND ALL ETERNITY IN THE BOUNTIFUL UTAH TEMPLE! WHAT A PERFECT DAY IT WAS, weather was great, Sun was shining, made it sooo perfect!
A YEAR AND 1/2 LATER, (Jan,4th) WE WERE BLESSED W/OUR LITTLE GUY HYRUM! HE IS SUCH A JOY AND BLESSING! HE KEEPS US ON OUR TOES!
FUN FACT: We like to get temple kissing silhouettes we currently have ones from: Provo, Mt Timp, Hawaii, St.George, Bountiful & N.Carolina!
*****
(Sorry about the caps/lowercase....I'm working on getting that re-typed...)

Wow, I love the temple kissing picture idea! Very cool! Thanks for sharing your story!! Dancing under the stars....SO adorable!

We met Heidi and Chris a few years ago when we both lived here at the U. They moved away awhile back, and we really miss them! Cam and Hyrum were cutie little friends. You guys need to come visit!!

Stay tuned for next week's Adoption Love Story! And PLEASE sign up! I don't have enough of my own Love Stories to fill up the year, haha!!

Week Fifteen ~ Jenny

2010-04-11T06:03:00.000-07:00

Him: Jeff
Her: Jenny

Where do you currently live?

Cinder block palace in the U of U student housing

Children:

Not yet.

When/where married:

December 20, 2008; Salt Lake Temple

What is your best marriage advice?

Show appreciation for each other. Pray together. Go to the temple. Laugh with each other. Talk to each other. Make sure your spouse is your priority. Spontaneously do little things to show your spouse how much you love him/her.

What first attracted you to him?

We were hanging out with a bunch of people one night and we all ended up talking about marriage and stuff and how people say it’s so hard. (Marriage is such a constant thing that is just hanging over your head when you are older than 21 and single and living in Utah…) Jeff said something to the effect of, “When I get married, I don’t think it will be hard because I’ll be married to my best friend.” It wasn’t an instant “I’m madly in love with this guy and want to spend the rest of my life with him” thing, but more just a “that’s cute. I bet he’ll make a girl very happy one day.”

How do you like to spend your free time together?

We like to just veg. We’re both gone a lot during the week and so when we get to be together, we just want to be with each other. We’ll play games or watch movies. We don’t go out as much as we used to because it’s nice to just spend quality time at home together. And we’re poor.

How did you meet?

We were both attending a singles branch (yes...branch. Right in the middle of SLC). One Sunday night in April of 2008, we each decided to go to branch prayer. I went because the guy who was hosting it is a little (ok, a lot) crazy so I couldn't wait to see his house. Jeff went because he was being supportive of activities or something.

Anyway, I got stuck talking to this girl who doesn't stop talking. Ever. So as soon as I could get a word in, I kindly encouraged her to share her life story with the person sitting next to me. Jeff was talking to my friend Emily and I rudely interrupted with an inappropriate comment. Realizing that I'd never actually talked to Jeff, I said,

"Sorry. I have no censor."

Jeff: "Me either."

Me: "Great. Wanna be friends?"

Jeff: "Sure."

Love Story:

Let me just give you a little background on the things I swore I would NEVER do because I mocked people that did these things.
1. I would never marry someone if we hadn’t known each other/dated for at least a year.
2. I would never get married in the winter. Way too cold. I would definitely never get married over Christmas break. Seriously. Who does that? Just wait until the end of the school year. It’s not that hard.
3. I would never meet someone in a singles ward (even though that’s kind of the point) because it’s too cliché.
4. I would never have a reception in a church cultural hall. Too cliché once again.

Now that we’ve been married for just over a year, I laugh at myself and have accepted the fact that everything I say I’ll never do, I end up doing.

After our initial meeting, we exchanged phone numbers so we could be friends. We ended up hanging out 2 or 3 times that first week (always with my group of friends). We hung out at church and then our hanging out gradually grew to almost every day of the week.

When we first started dating, I was pretty dumb about the whole thing. Jeff would want to be with just me for a date, but I didn’t know so I would invite other people. Later in May he called me one night and asked if I had plans the next evening. I said no. He asked if I wanted to go to dinner. I said, “Like a date?” He said, “Yes, Jenny. I want to take you on a date.” He was nervous. It was cute.

So, we went on a date. Had a delicious dinner. Went back to my place to watch a movie. Didn’t get very far in the movie before we were distracted with other, um, activities. Following these other “activities,” I said something stupid like, “So, does this mean you’re my boyfriend now?” He said, “Uh, if you want me to be.” A few days later I went on a trip for nearly 2 weeks. We talked several times while I was gone and I started missing him because we’d been spending pretty much every day of our lives together for the last month.

I came home from my amazing trip and he had gotten a spare key from my roommate so he could leave flowers on the table for me. Gerbera daisies. My favorite.

He came over. We went to lunch. It was kind of a nervous “what do I do” moment because I didn’t know how he actually felt and if he was just being nice or what. We continued dating and had a good time. Fast forward to late summer.

August 16, 2008. We go to a sealing at the Bountiful Temple for some people in our branch. One of the workers asked if we were married. Nope. Then he asked if we wanted to be. Jeff nodded his head. Later, I brought that up because I wanted to see what Jeff would say. He said, “Yeah. I want to be married.” In my not so cool way I say, “To me?!” Duh, Jenny. He said, “Yes, to you. I’m in love with you and I’m assuming you feel the same way.”

We talked about when we would get married. I was starting my first semester of the MSW program at the U and said that would kind of interfere. He said it would have to be December or May. I said May because of all my issues surrounding December that I mentioned above. December was too soon. I mean, we’d only known each other for 4 months. We can’t get married yet! Jeff was very patient and told me that he would wait as long as needed for me to decide and we would get married whenever I was ready. I thought about things and realized that we shouldn’t put it off any longer. I mean, once you decide to get married, why prolong it? Right?

September 23, 2008. We got officially engaged. Jeff was super cute and creative with the proposal.

He left me cute and cheesy notes in my car, on my bed, around the house, etc. for a few days. We went to the temple on Tuesday September 23rd. It was great, but I was also a little anxious and preoccupied because I knew the proposal was coming soon, but I just didn't know when. After the temple, we drove up behind the capital where it looked out over the city. Jeff gave me some more cards then said he had something for me, but I had to get out of the car.

Finally! The anticipation was killing me. He took out a very nicely wrapped box (with wrapping paper that matched some of the cards) and handed it to me. Inside was the 100th card that said, "Jenny, I love everything about you. I want to spend the rest of my life and all of eternity with you. I love you. Will you marry me?" Underneath the card was the ring. He got down on one knee and popped the question. My response? "ABSOLUTELY!"

Then I put the ring on myself because I was so excited. He said, “Um, can I put the ring on you?” Yes. Yes you can. So we did that part over again.

We hated being engaged, but everything worked out so easily and fell into place that it made me realize just how right this whole thing was. Our wedding day was freezing cold, but beautiful. We absolutely love being married and wouldn’t change anything!

So, sometimes it's ok to be totally inappropriate and let those comments fly. They might get you a spouse.

*****
If you were to ask Cameron who his favorite people are, besides his Aunt Megan and Sharpay from HSM, he'd probably say "Jenny & Jeff!!" All four of us absolutely adore these two. Allison loves to play with them...and she usually doesn't like to go to other people. Cameron brings them both up in casual conversations all the time..."Mom, I love Jenny." We just really feel so so lucky to have them as our neighbors and friends. They're the kind of people who I secretly wish we hung out with more, because they are seriously just that cool. That said, hey guys, our place, brownies again, Sunday evening??

Not to mention....notice the Oregon State sweatshirts they are wearing?? Scores them a gazillion points in my book any day!!

Okay Jenny, so your list at the beginning....the things you swore you'd never do....SAME LIST here! I was the exact same way! And I did all of them, except #3 (well, kind of #2, but not really). And looking back, I could care less!! At the time, having my reception at a cultural hall was really annoying to me, but my mother was planning two weddings within 5 days of each other, and the last thing I wanted to do was stress her out more than she was! But now I don't think anyone even remembers our reception, and those details just don't matter anymore!

You guys are hilarious....I loved your little conversations "Does this mean you're my boyfriend now?" So funny. I can just picture it. I love that you were able to attend the temple together while you were dating. Not a lot of couples get to do that, and I think it adds a whole other dimension to the relationship. A very vital dimension that brings a lot of spiritual maturity.

Thanks for sharing your story!

*****
Okay, we need more people to sign up!! Here are some creative LSS ideas you could share:
~How did your parents or grandparents or great-grandparents meet? (I'd LOVE to hear some awesome stories from those sweet couples who still hold hands in their 80's....)
~How has having children strenghened your marriage?
~Best vacation you two have ever taken?
~Funny/Romantic First Kiss stories? (mine and Nate's is hilarious...to us...it wouldn't be funny if I tried to type it up though...you had to be there!)
~Best gift he/she has ever gotten you?
~How has your relationship grown since you've been married?

Also, feel free to invite your friends/family. Email me at woodfamily23@yahoo.com if interested.

Week Fourteen ~ Sarah

2010-04-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

Him: Mike

Her: Sarah

Married: April 28, 2007 Las Vegas, Nevada LDS Temple

Where do you currently live?

We live in Salt Lake City, UT. However, we will be moving this summer...not sure where yet.

Children: Camille (almost 21 months)

What was the first thing that attracted you to him?

His face. I love Mike's blue eyes and the way he smiles at me. He also just seemed like a really nice guy. (That assumption was correct, by the way.)

How do you like to spend your free time together?

We like to talk, laugh, cuddle, watch movies, go golfing, go on walks, and read together.

What is your best marriage advice?

Be selfless and forgiving. Always make time for each other.

Our Love Story:

One night I was hanging out with my friend Charity. We were freshmen at BYU, and she lived down the hall from me in Deseret Towers. Charity got a call from her older brother Zach inviting her to come over and watch a movie at his apartment that night with a bunch of other people. Since I was with Charity, she asked Zach if I could come to, and he said yes. Honestly, I don't even know exactly even when this happened, all I know is that it was either the end of January or beginning of February 2006. I guess this night didn't seem that important at the time.

Anyway, Zach and his girlfriend came and picked us up. Charity and I were pretty excited to go hang out with older guys who lived off-campus. We were more than half done with our first year in college, so we were tired of going on dates with boys who were really immature and going to leave on missions soon anyway. Plus, Charity had told me before that her brother had some cute roommates.

Well, we got to Zach's apartment, and I was a little disappointed. He only had one cute roommate, and he dressed weird. (This was Mike.) We still had fun watching the movie and hanging out though. Afterward, everyone played Mario Kart, and I basically just sat there. I was shy, and I hated playing video games. Also, the couch smelled gross, and my clothes smelled like it. I definitely had mixed feelings about the night (cute boy who dressed weird but seemed nice...) but I didn't think anything about it for a while.

Fast forward a few months...

At the beginning of May, I moved into Campus Plaza. Yes, this is the apartment complex where Mike lived. I had decided not to go home for the summer even though I wasn't going to take any classes. I decided to just stay in Provo and work. I had no idea that Mike was staying for the summer too.

When I moved in, the only person I really knew was my roommate Emily. But we also had met Zach's roommates. (I keep saying Zach's roommates because by this point he was engaged, so Zach wasn't really in the picture.) Anyway, Zach's roommates (Mike, Sam, and Javier) started inviting Emily and I to hang out. As time went on, I realized I caught Mike at a bad time back in February. He wasn't a crazy dresser after all. He was really nice, and I always found myself laughing every time we hung out.

Pretty soon I had a big crush on Mike. But don't forget that I was pretty shy. Anyway, my roommate Emily is the farthest thing from shy. She wanted to help move things along, but I didn't always want her to. Emily would always find reasons to go down to Mike's apartment. I always ended up going too so that I could make sure Emily wouldn't say anything too crazy. I was just so shy, and I always felt so awkward showing up at their door for no reason.

Anyway, one night in June Mike came by my apartment to return a bowl or something. Emily and I were sitting with some other girls at our kitchen table talking. For some reason J-Dawgs came up. If you didn't go to BYU, J-Dawgs is a popular little hot dog stand just south of campus. It was right across the street from our apartment complex. I said that I had never been there, and Mike said that he hadn't either. Then Emily (remember, she isn't shy at all) says to Mike (in front of everyone), "You should take her sometime." I was instantly embarrassed, but luckily Mike didn't miss a beat. "What are you doing for lunch tomorrow?" he asked me.

Well, needless to say, Mike and I went on our first date to J-Dawgs on June 16, 2006. Our date only lasted thirty-five minutes! I didn't know what to think! When Emily came home that day, she immediately asked me how my date with Mike went. I told her that I didn't even know since it was so short. I couldn't tell anything from a half-hour date, so I was just worried and nervous about that night. (I forgot to mention, when Mike had come by my apartment the night before he had invited me and Emily to go with his ward to the Manti Pageant the next night.) We were going on a two hour drive each way with Mike that night, and I was so scared.

Anyway, I took it as a good sign from everyone else that night when they had me sit in the front seat. Poor Emily was in the back seat with Charity and Javier. (Javier was one of Zach's roommates, and yes they ended up getting married too.) Mike and I talked the whole drive down to Manti, the almost two hours that we saved seats for friends before the show, and the whole drive back. By the end, I was feeling more confident about this whole thing.

To make a long story slightly shorter (sorry this is really long), Mike held my hand for the first time on July 6, 2006, kissed me for the first time August 4, 2006, and got engaged February 3, 2007...a year after we first met at the movie night. We were married 12 weeks later. Luckily Mike was a slow mover. (There was no way I was ready for things to move fast. I was only 19.) Oh, and we live happily ever after!

*****

Ooh, that Camille...I LOVE HER! She is my FAVORITE!!! I don't know why. She just melts my heart, and I want to just eat her up. I practically beg Sarah to let me babysit her just so I can read her books and give her gummy bears and snuggle her to pieces. 'Camille' is actually one of my favorite names....so elegant and adorable at the same time. But I don't think I can use it...Cameron & Camille...Cam & Cam! Maybe we'll just have to set them up one day...plus, the two of them share a birthday (July 9...but 2 years apart), so it's already in the stars...right?

Okay, enough of my giddiness...Sarah & Mike are awesome, and I'm SO sad they are moving this summer! Sarah & I run together in the mornings (unless one of us cancels, which happens too often, mostly thanks to sick kids and SNOW IN APRIL!!) She is so fun to talk to, we share a lot of the same opinions and ideas about life and family. I really hope we stay in touch.

Thanks for sharing your story! HAHA...I loved how you were tired of dating immature guys who were leaving on their missions soon...hilarious. I remember that feeling!!! I'm shy and hate video games too....this is why I love you, Sarah! Maybe we were supposed to be sisters? Does Mike want to come play Friday night video games with Nate? Anyway, thanks again for sharing your Love Story!!

Happy Easter Everyone!

***And please let me know if you'd like to share your Love Story with us! Anyone is welcome, even if you don't know me. Stay tuned...coming up on April 25 is a wonderful Love Story about adoption....I can't wait!!!

Week Thirteen ~ Missy

2010-03-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Him: Casey

Her: Missy

Married: August 1, 2003

Mt. Timpanogos Temple, American Fork, Utah

Where do you currently live:

Omaha, Nebraska

Children:

Riley, Age 5

Ryan, Age 3

Cooper, Age 10 months

What is the first thing that attracted you to him?

It was the way that he always put others first. He is a great listener and was always willing to be there for people when they needed someone to talk to. I also liked that he could throw farther than me :)

How do you like to spend your free time together?

We both really love playing sports and we like to watch movies together. We are also pretty geeky and love to play video games together :) On my first birthday after we got married he got me a Gamecube. It was perfect!

What is your best marriage advice?

To always put each other first. Have fun together. Say “I love you” everyday!

love story:

Casey and I met while we were both attending Brigham Young University. We lived in an apartment complex called The Elms. We kind of knew each other just from seeing each other around our building and we were also in the same ward. The first time we really spent time together was during the summer of 2002. Casey had invited me to go and see a movie that was being shown outdoors at a High School football field. We went with a large group of people, and I remember spending most of the time with his roommate. I had fun with Casey, but we didn’t start dating right away. Casey and I became pretty close friends, but he and I continued to date other people. I remember always being able to talk to Casey about anything, and he was always there for me. My whole summer was spent hanging out with Casey, yet we never dated each other until just before school started. Our friendship continued to grow until we realized just how much we meant to each other. I knew that I loved him and he would always be my best friend. We started dating in September and dated throughout the whole school year.

engagement story:

We got engaged the summer of 2003. I remember going with Casey to look at rings. That was so fun! We looked at a lot of different stores and I tried on a lot of different rings so we both could get an idea of what I liked. I was excited for the “official” engagement but I didn’t know when he was going to propose.

Casey made plans one day to take me to Salt Lake for a date at temple square. We both dressed up nice and he took me to eat at the Garden restaurant in the Joseph Smith building. I just knew he was going to ask me that night! We had dinner, we walked around temple square, then he lingered at my doorstep when he dropped me off at my apartment...but nothing. No proposal. I was so mad, haha {not really}! The next day he took me to a park for a picnic. We ate lunch and talked, then we went for a walk. We stopped on a bridge and he got down on one knee. I was so excited! He got out the ring, and then it slipped out of his hands and fell into the river! We both ran to the side of the river to try and find the ring. That is when he took my hand and got down on his knee. He pulled out the real ring and asked me to marry him! He’s lucky I said yes, j/k :)

Our life together:

We spent the first two years of our marriage in Utah. We had our first child, Riley, in October of 2004. When Riley was about 8 months old we moved to Omaha, Nebraska so Casey could attend Law school at Creighton University. While living here in Omaha we have had two little boys, Ryan and Cooper.
My life with Casey has been amazing! He is a wonderful father and husband. It seems like I love him more now than I did when we first got married. I love being married to my best friend and I’m excited to see what the future holds for us!

*****
Missy is Nate's older sister....so that makes her my sister too! And I love her and Casey like family! I remember when I met Missy, she was VERY pregnant with Riley! Nate & I went to visit them in the hospital when they had her, and I will never forget watching Nate hold baby Riley.

I'm going to brag about Missy for a moment... She is gorgeous. Like insanely gorgeous. The entire Wood family is.... Missy is also just plain awesome. She threw javelin for BYU....we got to watch one of her meets....and she was awesome even after having a baby!! I don't think I could even lift a javelin, let alone chuck it further than the rest of my competition!! She's an amazing mother. Her children are her life. I truly look to her as an example. And finally, she's a smartie pants....she designed her own blog background/accessory site, so be sure to check her out at Lilly Puff!

Haha, I don't think I'd heard the fake ring story! That's hilarious! Casey is awesome. He's a lot of fun to talk to and laugh with. Love you guys!! Hope we get to see you SOON!!!

Week Twelve ~ Lesley

2010-03-21T07:16:00.000-07:00

Meeting a guy is always difficult, finding a husband is...not sure what word to use there. I'll leave it up to the readers Becca. Our story begins in January of '89. I had just joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints a week before and was going to my first YSA conference at the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Stake Center. Just a note, I thought when the missionaries said stake center I thought they meant STEAK center. Needless to say, I prepared myself for an evening of chowing down. What a surprise I got when I found out there were no steaks but a "get-together" of young people my age. Just for the record, I was studying for exams while investigating the church and didn't really pay attention to the name of buildings, lol! Anyway, the Friday night of the conference, I was asked by some random person to draw Prince Charming and his Princess because that was the theme for the weekend...finding your Prince or Princess, aka, eternal companions. Now let me jump right in here and tell you a little something about myself so you can understand my thoughts on the whole "fairytale" idea. I was a 23 year-old university student and a single parent to a beautiful 3 year-old little girl. I was determined to make my own way into the "big, bad world". I had dreams of buying my own home with no intentions of getting married or having anymore children. I also wanted to be financial secure by the time I was 35. Okay, so those of you who know me, go ahead and have a good laugh right about now. For the ones who don't, you'll understand as you read on. Anyway I was right on track and then I became a member of the church. That Friday night at the conference, a young man came up to me in the empty cultural hall, introduced himself as Darren Fraser and asked what I was doing. I didn't think much of him and barely gave him a glance. Little did I know that, that was a very difficult thing for him to do since he was very reserved. He asked if I was going to the dance the following night, at which I replied, "I wasn't sure"(I had a boyfriend)...fast forward to Saturday. The missionaries had found me a drive and so off I went to the "Ball". There were no words to describe my reaction when I saw the nondescript young man from the night before. He was HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!! Apparently he had just returned home from Hawaii where he had finished serving a mission the year before and had gone back to date all the girls he couldn't date while on his mission, lol...YEAH, you read that right. Let's just say he got my attention. I forgot in that instance that I had a boyfriend and thought only of getting HIS attention. I did what any woman would do under the circumstances, I made my self noticeable. I stayed within his sights the whole night and made sure he could see me talking and laughing but not quite within hearing distance. Before the night was over, I had the last two dances with him and he had asked for my phone number. That was the start of a beautiful friendship. I still had a boyfriend and Darren had some sort of understanding with a girl in Hawaii. He lived an hour away from me so whenever he was in town, we would see a movie, strictly as friends. Sometimes my boyfriend babysat while we went out. I know, I know, CRAZY! During this growing friendship, I became more involved in the church, learning more about it and made the commitment to be married in the temple. So much for my well-laid plans, lol! I remember telling my mom that I would be getting married in the temple and that she had to prepare herself to be able to go. I was the only membor in my family. As time went by, I also realized that my boyfriend and I were going no where fast and decided to end our relationship. We had been together for 2 years and even though we knew it was going to end it was still rather painful. I remember crying and called Darren just to talk to someone. It was the first time I had ever called him and to this day couldn't tell you why I did. During our phone call, we were experiencing a really bad storm and sometime after my conversation with Darren I received a phone call from him letting me know he had tried to drive out to see me because I was so upset but it was too stormy and he had only gotten halfway and had to turn back. This is just a small insight into the kind of man he is. Anyhow, he then told me he would be coming to see me in a couple of days because he had something serious he wanted to discuss with me. I was a little worried after that. The day arrived and I was pretty nervous, though not sure why. Needless to say I was shocked when he propsed to me and YET, I found myself saying YES! This was only 5 days after I had ended my last relationship. Thank goodness Darren took one look at me and told me that he couldn't accept an answer right away. I had to pray about it first. He then left my home and I didn't see him again for 3 weeks. During that time I prayed faithfully and still, I didn't receive an answer. I was actually freaking out at the thought of hurting my friend by rejecting him. Sometime after three weeks, I received a phone call from him telling me he was coming to town. I started to panic...what was I going to do? Not long after, I heard the doorbell and with dread, dragged myself to let him in. I actually thought of not answering it but being a coward wasn't my style, so I squared my shoulders and mentally prepared myself. I opened the door and took one look at him and fell, "truly, madly, deeply" in love with him. Corny I know, but totally true. I had received an answer to my prayers and again said yes when he asked a second time. We became engaged and started dating immediately. I learned many things about the man who was to become my best friend and husband. I remember him telling me that if I ever felt for any reason that I could not go through with the wedding, even if it was at the Temple doors, I was to tell him because he didn't want me to do something I wasn't sure of. He patiently answered all my questions and even taught me to love the game of hockey, lol! I remeber telling him about my childhood which had not been pleasant for me and about my life before joining the church. I thought he would have changed his mind about marrying me but instead he told me how he knew that person didn't exist in me and the woman he was marrying was the person he had been waiting for all along. Eight months was a very long time, too long it seemed. However we were married December 04, 1990 in the Brampton, Ontario Temple. For so long I had told myself that I never wanted to be married and have more children but that all changed when I chose to take a different path and follow the Saviour. That path led me to this moment, one I hope I'll never forget. This year will be our 20th wedding anniversary and in the space of those years, we have raised 6 beautiful children, celebrated many milestones in our lives. We look forward to reaching more of them in the future as the children grow up. Life has not always been a walk in the park for us especially with having such a large family. However we have trusted each other and our strong faith to get us through the difficult times. Marriage is not an easy thing and it's not always the popular choice these days, but life has been fuller and more meaningful than if I had been raising my child alone with a secure income. I couldn't have asked for a better friend, father or eternal companion. After all these years he still waits for me to sit down and take the first bite of the meal before eating his. He open doors for me and surprises me with flowers he picks himself. While I was pregnant, he only missed one doctor's appointment with all our babies and when I craved ice he would bring me home snow cones after work, even if it meant leaving all the windows down and no heat in the car(I was always pregnant during the cold months). As of 3 months ago, we were blessed to have had our first grandchild welcomed into the family and so now we begin another chapter in our lives. The real secret to marriage, is to constanly fall in love over and over again as if it's the first time but with the same companion.

*****

Thank you Lesley!! Those pictures are CLASSIC, and they totally made my day! Awesome. Darren looks like the lead singer from an 80's band, haha (even Nate agreed with me on that one)!! No wonder you were so smitten!

Lesley is easily one of my most favorite people I know.....and we've never met! Over the past few years, we have logged hours and hours of emailing, FB chats, bloggy-ness, and webcam chats. So fun! For some reason (that I still don't really understand), we clicked and became close, close friends. We have talked about things that we don't talk about to other people. I can't count the number of times that we've both said, "You know what, I've never told anybody this before...." For whatever reason, we trust each other like that. We know things about each other that only our hubbies know (haha, my lips are sealed, Lesley!). We have had amazing conversations about the Gospel. We've cried together. When I need advice or am having a hard time with something, I immediately go to Lesley, and she always knows JUST what to say. I look up to her so so much. I love you, Lesley!!!!!

Your family is gorgeous. You have such a beautiful life, and I'm so glad you have a husband like Darren. Someday I will meet you both, and I can't wait!

2010-03-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry LSS readers.....no story this week!

So I'll just give those of you who have signed up a reminder to get your stories in to me EARLY! I send out reminder emails the week before, but it's always safest to get your stories to me as early as you can so we don't have a week with no story again....sad!

Also, our list is getting shorter....so please be sure to let me know if you want a week!! Otherwise you will just end up hearing more from me!!

So....just to give us something to read, leave a comment and tell us: How long was your engagement??

Week Eleven ~ Erin

2010-03-07T00:02:00.000-08:00

Him: Brandon

Her: Erin

Where do you currently live? A basement apartment in Sandy, UT

Children: Aiden 2 yrs. old, Lucas due April 5th

When/ Where Married: Aug. 20th, 2005 Salt Lake Temple

What is your best marriage advice?

Pray together and laugh together a lot!

What first attracted you to him?

His enthusiasm for life and the fact that I finally found a guy in whom chivalry was not dead!

How do you like to spend your free time together?

LOL, honestly we spend our free time sitting side by side at our computers...When we aren't doing that we are usually cuddling or watching a movie together.

How did you meet?

On a blind date set up by our friend Adam.

Love story:

Her version
Once upon a time there was a young damsel in distress named Erin Ferguson. She was in distress because even though she went on the occasional blind date, there was not a single boy who would ever ask to take her to lunch, dinner, or out on a date. You see, she was distressed because she thought college to not only be a time of study, learning, and homework, but that it also ought to be a time for dating, meeting new people, and inevitably at some point meeting a knight in shining armor to carry her away on his white stallion. Little did she know what the road ahead held for her...

Our young damsel had a few months previous, run into an old friend named Adam at the Salt Lake Temple baptistry. It seemed odd to her to see her friend in this setting because previously he had been a drum circle, doing my own thing, kind of guy. Nevertheless, the two started to keep in touch with one another on a somewhat sporadic basis and one day she e-mailed him saying, "If you know any cool guys who'd like to go on a date with a fun girl, let me know."

Well Adam e-mailed her back and said, "The only cool LDS guy I know that is single is my roommate Brandon good man, your age, and a return missionary from the Chicago Mission… I should hook you up if you want to sometime!" And that is exactly what happened. The fair damsel asked Adam to have his roommate call her (she refused to call him because she had always made the most effort in past relationships and was tired of it.) so that they could plan a date to Pioneer Theater's production of James Joyce's The Dead .

Here is where our knight in shining armor, Brandon, enters the plot. Brandon called our damsel on February 16, 2005 to make arrangements for their date. After this call our damsel wrote this in her journal, "I had a lot more on my mind but a boy called and it was a good talk and everything else faded into the background a bit and so I am going to go to sleep with this feeling of anticipation forth right in my mind. :) Goodnight. Brandon seems cool."

Our knight called again a few nights later on February 20th and our damsel then wrote this in her journal, "I spoke with Brandon again today. Very cool guy thus far. Outgoing, friendly, funny, personable and I get the sense, just an overall good guy. Brandon Wilhelmsen. Kind of funny, I was waiting for Adam to call me with Brandon's # and he called instead and when I was thinking of asking about church he asked first...Also, I was thinking about mission stuff on our first call and never did and he just brought it up which was cool and I'm trying not to have any expectations or get excited about his coolness. I mean, I guess I'll see how things go on Tues. eh? Oh another thing too, I was going to suggest ice cream or cocoa after and he beat me to it! Bah, though I ought to have asked if I should bring money. I will just in case I suppose. Anyway, I'm not over-analyzing I just think it's cool. I also think it's pretty awesome that he's so outgoing and like, ah, open. We'll see, we'll see. Perhaps Adam does know me well enough to match me up accurately, eh?"

As you can see, even after two phone conversations our fair damsel was amazed at the ease with which she and our knight communicated. She tried not to get her hopes up too much, but needless to say she was already intrigued.

Well, the fateful night when our damsel and our knight met was on Tuesday February 22, 2005. Our knight arrived before fair Erin's sister, and her sister's date, which left a bit of time to talk one on one. They talked easily, and any awkwardness that one might expect on a blind date, was simply non-existent. The knight in shining armor was fun company and as he opened doors and paid for their after dinner treat our damsel's curiosity grew and she became even more intrigued then she had been previously. To top it all off, the knightinvited the damsel in for a bit of a show and tell. His show and tell made the damsel smile because of the enthusiasm and excitement of the knight.

At the end of the evening our valiant knight took away all question of whether or not he enjoyed the evening by saying, "I'll definitely be calling you again." The result this comment had on the damsel in slightly less distress, was that it made her smile from head to toe, not only as she drove home, but also on into the next day. :)

After this evening our damsel and knight spent time together about once a week, and they continued to correspond by cell phone, and e-mail. The fair damsel enjoyed the knight's company more and more each time they got together and everything little thing she learned about him amazed her more and more to the point where she was in disbelief. Why you may ask? Without fail each time she talked with the valiant knight she found out one more quality, belief, or personality trait that the knight had was similar or exactly like what she wanted in a man. He even had some of the more nit picky traits that while the damsel knew they would be nice to have, were probably not very likely. Chick flicks? Traveling? Similar music taste? Willingness to dance? Knows spanish? Is more childlike than not and yet knows when to be serious and responsible? Wow! Not to mention that she had finally met a man who is a hopeless romantic? "Oh my goodness!" she thought, "this has to be too good to be true! It has too! There's no way this could really be happening." Nevertheless, there right before her very eyes, slowly but surely, our knight was showing her that the man she had dreamed up and dreamed of, but didn't think truly existed, stood right before her very eyes.

Now normally, our fair damsel would be full of worry, fear, and doubt by this point, due to past experiences in her life. However, this time she seemed to know that everything would work out if she just trusted her heart and brought the Lord in as a major player in this relationship. She also felt like Heavenly Father was guiding both her and her knight to ensure that this whole thing went as smoothly as possible. As a result, our damsel kept inviting the valiant knight to activities and as she did so a crush developed and started to grow. :)

Then one memorable day the fair damsel and valiant knight exchanged a series of text messages in which they expressed how great they thought the other was and the next evening on April 7th, 2005 our valiant knight asked our fair damsel if he could call her his girlfriend. She said, yes, and was very giddy! :)

A couple of evenings later on April 9th, 2005 our valiant knight told our fair damsel (no longer in distress) that he loved her and she didn't return the thought. She did however write the following in her journal, "Brandon told me that he loved me tonight. :) I thanked him and explained why I couldn't say it back just yet and explained my deep care for him." He didn't have to wait too long for our fair damsel to return that love for she did so in an e-mail on April 12th, 2005.

Our fair knight and damsel no longer in distress shared their first kiss on April 13th, 2005. Which put the hugest grin on both of their faces! When our damsel got home she wrote the following in her journal, "Oh my gosh sakes! :) He kissed me!!! :) He asked, "Would it be alright if I sent you home with a goodnight kiss," and I said, "Yes," and he KISSED ME! :) Two times! Do you know what? It was such a nice gentle good kiss too and I am grinning like and fool!! :) It is all, every part of it, almost too good to be true and yet, it is true. Every fairy tale bit of it! From beginning to now."

Well, admittedly by the time our fair (and now giddy) damsel met the valiant knights family on April 23rd, 2005 she was in LOVE! Utterly! And she adores her knight with all her heart. So the rest as they say, is history, and our fair damsel and valiant knight will ride off together on his white stallion and their happily ever after will just be beginning.

His story:
Once upon a time there was a youthful knight named Brandon Wilhelmsen. This young warrior was frustrated because he saw other nobles with their shining armor and the fair damsels they attracted. Brandon was well versed in the precepts of chivalry, but had thus far failed to find a suitable damsel to romance and seek marriage with. Maybe the reason lay in the types of ladies he met. Some were too plump, too tall, too short, or too distressed - but more that this, there was never a strong connection with any particular damsel.

Also important to this story is Sir Brandon's young squire, Adam Weiss. In his years as a page, he spent time being trained through a program called Peace Trees. There he associated with many young women who were to become active, beautiful, and noble women. Adam met Sir Brandon while in the graphic design program at Salt Lake Community College. They found a friend in each other and eventually became roommates. Through this time, Sir Brandon would comment to Adam that this date or that date went bad and explain his frustration that though he had shined his armor, no damsels seemed to notice.

One day Adam received an email from Erin Ferguson, one of the damsels from Peace Trees. She asked if he knew any cool guys who might be willing to go out on a date with her. Adam recommended Sir Brandon as a worthwhile option. True to the form of chivalry, the damsel asked that Brandon call her. Adam called upon Sir Brandon, saying that there was a girl available for a blind date and asked if he would like to go. Brandon replied that he would like that. Squire Adam told him, "Good, because I already told her that you are excited!"

Sir Brandon sat on his bed in the evening of February 16th, 2005. He began dialing Erin's number, silently praying that he would not sound nervous and that this damsel would be charming and fun to talk to. During the conversation, the two nobles planned their date to Pioneer Theater Company's production of James Joyce's The Dead. Brandon thought that her voice sounded cute and hoped that she had a face to match. Our young knight was impressed with her based on the ease that they talked. They ended their conversation, and Brandon fell back on his bed, feeling excited about the prospect of a new girl for him to get to know.

The night was February 22nd, and our hero stood before his mirror, freshly showered and dressed. He smiled slightly, partly because he had done his best to look dashing, and also because his excitement for the evening's date was almost tangible. He left his house and made his way to Pioneer Theater. Upon arrival, he saw very few people and decided that he would wait inside the building for this young woman. As he browsed the several paintings that grace the walls of the hall, he spied out on the front steps, the figure of a blonde-haired girl. He thought, "This must be her!" He wanted to give her the impression that he had just arrived, and so he exited a different door and walked a short way around to the front. Walking toward her, he called out, "Are you Erin?" She replied that she was and they began to talk. She was short, with glasses and a pleasant smile. Ok, truthfully, her smile was infectious, and Brandon had a hard time not being interrested immmediately. "Best to not look too eager," he thought. Erin's sister arrived with a friend and the four entered the theater. The play was short, and what it lacked in depth, it won back applause for the Irish dancing and witty humor.

Following the entertainment, the company went to eat at Village Inn. This damsel was silently impressed at Sir Brandon's willingness to pay for their ice cream, and how he began to open up and show his personality. After some friendly conversation, Erin suggested that she drop Brandon by his home, as his 'stallion' was confined to the stables. Her intention was to say goodbye and give in to sleep's call, but when Brandon invited her to "come in and say hi to Adam," she couldn't refuse. After all, he had been a gentleman, and seeing an old friend would be welcome. What ensued was pure silliness. Brandon offered to give a short tour of the house, and while leading her through, couldn't hold back his enthusiasm. He showed her his drum set and guitar and played a bit for her. He played a song from a favorite CD for her. He even showed off his Samurai sword. After all this show and tell, he walked her to her car and bid her goodnight, with the assurance that he would call her. Throughout the evening, Brandon had paid special attention to open doors and be as charming as he could. He was sure Erin had enjoyed their date.

For the next month and a half, Sir Brandon called on this young damsel as often as occasion would permit, and the more he was near her, he began to see new, wonderful attributes that made her irresistible. Her smile was infectious; her eyes sparkled, and her laughter would float softly on the breeze and could illuminate the darkest corner of any room. He began to see her as more than a casual friend. Brandon had been dating several people up to this point, and began to eliminate the other young ladies so that he could focus on courting Erin. By doing so, our valiant knight had set in motion a series of events that would lead him swiftly toward a happy life with a beautiful woman.

Then, on April 6th, these two young nobles told each other how great they felt the other was through a series of txt messages. Sir Brandon was becoming especially enamored with Erin and was feeling so comfortable near her. He was aware that her plans for life would take them different ways, and though all they had was a friendship, this young knight could not bear the thought. The next evening on April 7th, 2005, after a very nice, long talk, Sir Brandon asked Lady Erin if he could call her his girlfriend. She gladly accepted the gesture, and the two were quite giddy.

Brandon knew that he needed to let Erin know of the fullness of his love, and told her on April 9th. The courage of this brave warrior was tested when he said, "Erin, I love you." This damsel answered, "Thanks!" Normally, a young knight would be discouraged; shaken, but because of Brandon's patient understanding nature, he held on for dear life. Luckily, Erin proclaimed her love in an email three days later, much to Brandon's relief. The day following that, The couple shared their first kiss. You might be looking for details, but a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell! Since that time, Sir Brandon and Lady Erin have fallen deeper and more hopelessly in love. The two will eventually marry and share a legendary life and love together. This is the stuff dreams are made of.

*****

Brandon is right....Erin has one of the best smiles ever! I met these two when we moved up here to the U. They moved shortly after we got here, but Nate & I have always remembered this sweet couple and their adorable little boy! Thank you for sharing your Love Story!

I love your marriage advice to laugh a lot! Nate's sense of humor is one of the first things that I liked about him, and he only gets funnier! I think laughter in a marriage is completely vital to staying best friends and keeping it fun.

Miss you guys! Erin, good luck with the delivery of your baby coming up, I'm sure he'll be a cutie pie, just like his big brother!

Week Ten - Steve

2010-02-28T00:02:00.000-08:00

Him: Steve

Her: Andrea

Where do you currently live?

We live in Sandy, Utah and have been here for almost three years. Since our wedding we have also lived in Provo Utah, Tucson Arizona, and Mesa Arizona.

Children/Pets?

We have three kids, Andrew (6), Ella Rose (4), and Ivy Lucile (2). We also have a Yellow Lab named Daisy.

When/Where did you get married?

We were married in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple on December 17, 1999. We just celebrated our ten year anniversary!

What was the first thing that attracted you to him?

When Andrea first met me she thought I was nice, soft spoken, and cute.

How do you like to spend your free time together?

We like to go on dates and since the last year we have done a good job of getting out together about once a week. We both like good food, so we enjoy exploring new restaurants together.

What is your best marriage advice?

Andrea recommends respecting one another and to not be selfish. I think it is just important to be kind and to make sure you show your love to her by the way you treat her. Make her feel like the most special person in the world. I also recommend having a really good babysitter.

Love at First Sight

In college I played bass guitar in a band with two of my really good friends. We were called the Truffledogs. We wrote our own music and also did various cover songs. I was having a blast and we actually got pretty good. For a while we were playing shows almost every weekend. It was awesome and still one of the most memorable times of my life.

I had a friend I met in a class named Ryan and he wanted to throw a house party to kick off the start of winter semester in January 1999. He asked the Truffledogs (along with some other bands) to play at the party. Meanwhile he invited everyone he knew to come to his party including Andrea and her roommate, Rachel.

We played the show and it was awesome. It was actually one of our first real shows and we were pretty excited about how we did and how much everyone seemed to enjoy our music. In addition to being really happy about how well we played, I remember noticing a cute girl in the back of the room dancing to our music with her friends. I remember thinking her smile was incredible and that she looked so beautiful with her short hair cut, her dark-rimmed glasses, and she just seemed to have a really cool manner and style. We didn’t really talk at the party, but right after we played I had to wash my hands in the kitchen because I had some blisters on my fingers that were actually bleeding (from rocking out so much). We had some sort of exchange there that I don’t clearly remember, but I think Andrea or Rachel made some comment about my fingers and I just kind of smiled. I don’t think Andrea made any special note of me that evening, but I thought she looked like someone I would want to be friends with.

I asked my friend Ryan about her a few days later and I just told him I thought she seemed like she would be really cool. We talked about getting a group of people together to do something just so I could meet her. We didn’t want to plan an official date, so we planned to have a bunch of people go down to some hot springs to swim and hang out. Ryan called Andrea and Rachel and I guess he was being kind of funny saying things like “we need to hang out and do something…you know me, you, Steve…” and Andrea and Rachel were like “why does Ryan all of the sudden want to do stuff with us” and “who is this Steve guy”. I think he was even more transparent about my interests in meeting Andrea, but I don’t really know the details of that. So we planned a group trip to the hot springs, but honestly everyone else we invited bailed on us and it ended up being just Rachel, Ryan, Andrea, and me. Andrea accuses us of telling them it was a big group going there to trick them into this “date”, but whatever, that’s not true.

Before the trip to the hot springs (or hot pots as we call them), as a typical musician I was constantly writing songs about things going on in my life and in my mind. Since this cute girl from the party was on my mind, I wrote a little song about her. I guess word got out to Ryan and even eventually to Andrea (before we even officially met) that this guy wrote a song about her. I have no idea why she wasn’t creeped out by the whole thing, but I guess she was okay with it.

We went to the hot pots and had a really fun time. I remember Andrea being so funny, fun loving, laid back, nice, cute, and awesome. She sat in the front seat while I drove and we talked the whole way down there and back after we swam around in the hot pots for a few hours. I don’t know what she thought of me, but I have heard her say several times she thought my legs looked really skinny in my swim shorts. When we got back we said good-bye, but I can’t remember if we made any plans to stay in touch or anything like that.

That next week I stopped by her apartment unannounced, but she wasn’t there. I remember that being kind of a bold thing for me, but I really thought she was cool and I guess I didn’t mind taking a few chances. I talked to her roommate Rachel for a while and as we were talking Andrea came home. I just remember her walking in the door, she said “hi” and just walked by to another room. I guess she was embarrassed, but also excited. She did come out and talk after a few minutes, but I don’t remember much else about that visit.

I think within a week I called her and asked her out on our first official date. I picked her up and we had dinner at Macaroni Grill. It was magical being with her. I was shy and nervous, but I also remember being so comfortable around her. We talked and drew pictures with crayons on the white paper tablecloth at the restaurant. After dinner we watched a movie together and held hands for the first time. I took her back to her apartment and on the way I told her about the song I wrote about her and played a recording of it for her. By this time I knew she already knew about it, so I figured it was okay if she heard it.

Click HERE to hear a recording of the Truffledogs singing Steve's song for Andrea. (This was also performed by the Truffledogs' lead singer, Joe, at their wedding reception.)
After this first date we started doing stuff together several times a week and I guess officially started dating pretty much right away. We had a lot of fun dating and getting to know each other. We were engaged in August of that same year and married in December. And that’s pretty much the story about how this whole thing went down.

Ten years later, I think my relationship with Andrea is as magical as the first time I saw her dancing at the party (oh yeah, I forgot to mention we have that on video). She is the most wonderful person and marrying her has been the greatest thing in my life. We continue to grow closer together as we figure out this crazy life and this parenting thing together. I love her more than anything and can’t imagine life without her.

******

Steve is my older brother (see the resemblence now, don't you!). I love that he was the one to tell the story this week. Thanks Bro!

Wow, weekly dates?!? I'm impressed!! Imagine how much stronger all marriages would be if everyone was this committed to dating their spouse. Steve, I'm sure your children will remember watching their mom and dad date all through their childhood years. It will make them have stronger marriages when they grow up. Just like I remember Mom & Dad going to the Portland temple every month. I never quite understood what they were doing at the time, but it left an impression on me.

I love Steve & Andrea. They have always been a wonderful example to me. They are amazing parents, and I have never seen them treat each other with anything but love and respect. Aww, the Truffledogs.....I was a senior in high school during all of this..... They mention my name and my sweet job at Taco Bell in one of their songs, haha!! I used to tag along to these parties, and I thought I was pretty cool hanging out with college kids!! (I wasn't cool at all though....just the nerdy groupie who helped carry equipment and was insanely infatuated with the band's lead singer, Joe! Oh the memories.....)

I got to spend time with Steve's kids a few weeks ago while they took a cruise for their 10-year anniversary. Drew, Ella & Ivy are smart, beautiful, funny and just great kids. I loved getting to know them so well that week. I have always admired Andrea as a mother, and I hope to be half the mother she is!! I have always looked up to Steve. I know I used to bug him growing up, but hey, as the baby of the fam, I guess that's what I'm entitled to do, right??

Thanks again, Steve, for taking the time to write this. It was fun to change it up with a guy's point of view!!

Week Nine ~ Kari

2010-02-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

Her: Kari

Him: Spencer

Where do you currently live?

In the cinderblock palaces. We love it.

Children/Pets:

We have butterflies in our house right now.

Savannah Grace is 4 yrs. old and Moirah Mae is 5 months old.

When/Where did you get married?

July 26th, 2003 in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple.

What was the first thing that attracted you to him?

This is a long story, but the short of it is…he had hair that was stick straight, messy and standing on end one night at FHE and no glasses on. I think it was the combination of his hair and his gorgeous blue eyes that made me have butterflies inside. Later, before we started dating, he shaved his head (completely bald) and I still thought he was hot.

What is your best marriage advice?

Always have open communication. Communicating means not only being able to talk to each other and discuss things, but also being able to listen to each other without giving advice.

How do you like to spend your free time together?

Hanging out in bed at night when the kids are in bed watching our favorite TV shows online and eating ice cream or popcorn.

Our Love Story:

There are a lot of little things that lead up to us getting together, however I’ll just tell you about the first 13 days.

Day 1: First date to a friends surprise birthday party at Applebee’s. We went to another friends house afterwards and on the ride there I said, “I would love to spend more time with you.” Spencer said, “So would I.” Next we went to Spencer’s house and watched Sphere and just hang out cuddling on the couch. He took me home at midnight but didn’t leave my driveway until 5am.

Day 2: Went grocery shopping for things to make tin foil dinners for the next day. Got ice cream and ended up watching Serendipity instead of making tin foil dinners. Listened to the Serendipity menu music for nearly 4 hrs. while we sat on the couch talking until 7am.

Day 3: Went to work with only 2 hours of sleep in 2 days. After work we went to Moab to go 4 wheelin’ with a bunch of friends. Spent half the trip cuddling in the back and sleeping. Went on one of the trails until 3am. Tried to sleep in the car afterwards.

Day 4: More 4 wheelin’ while listening to Spencer sing to Dave Matthews. It was adorable. More cuddling on the way home. Got home super late. Got about 5 hrs. of sleep.

Day 5: Went to my mission companions homecoming talk. Went to dinner at Spencer’s sister’s house. His niece whispered in my ear, “ I think Spencer wants to kiss you.” I giggled because he kissed me 3 hrs. in to our first date. Went back to my house and read out of a book called ‘Teaching by the Spirit.’ We knelt in prayer together. The spirit was so incredibly strong. Spencer asked me when I thought was a good time of the year to get married. I responded I always thought that July was always a good time. He said he always thought winter was a good time. (He’s an avid skier.)

Day 6: Family home evening with the ward.

Day 7: Volleyball with the ward.

Day 8: 2nd official date. Dinner to The Cinegrill in SLC (we lived in Utah county.) Fun conversation on the way.

Day 9: Decided to take Spencer home to meet the family. Left at 5pm for an 8 hr. drive. Such a fun trip.

Day 10: Played games and hung out with my family.

Day 11: Went to church and got a bunch of stares and questions from the members. Spencer is sweating the whole time knowing that he has an important questions for my dad. My mom just comes out and asks us over dinner if we are heading towards marriage.

Day 12: Family home evening with the ward. Lots of stares and questions from the members.

Day 13: We were supposed to go to the temple for the last session. Spencer called and was running late so he picked me up and we went to Magleby’s for dinner instead. Afterwards we decided to go play volleyball since we always did that on Tues. nights. We were still dressed in our church clothes so when we got there I went to the bathroom to change. When I got done I was expecting to get started playing. In the gym there were about 50 people just standing around. I didn’t understand why no one was playing and getting things going. It was already 10pm. I head up by the net hoping to take charge and get the show on the road. One of the guys on the other side of the net says that we need to get started but he is wondering what is on the net. He flipped it over and tied to the middle of the net with a purple ribbon was a diamond ring. Spencer untied it, knelt down on one knee and said, “Kari Lynne will you marry me.” I of course said yes. He hugged me. He was shaking so bad. I was shocked. I knew that I loved him and wanted to marry him after day 4, however I didn’t think he was going to ask me so quickly. He had my ring custom made by a friend’s dad that made and sold jewelry from his home.

That was the first 13 days of our relationship. We were engaged for 4 ½ months. We knew each other for 7 months before our first date and looking back we saw many times when we feel we were slowly coming together but didn’t realize we had those feelings at the time until after we got together. I get butterflies even know as I think back on those first 13 days. They were exciting, scary, exhausting, and the most fun I’ve had in my life. Now we have been married for almost 7 yrs. and have 2 beautiful girls.

******

Okay, I have lots of little comments. I'll try to be brief:

Yay for cinder block palaces! These apartments are old and ugly, but wow, talk about meeting some of the BEST people ever. We love living here too!! We wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now. And yay for Dave Matthews! I heard him in concert once......I think what kind of music a guy listens to says a lot about him. Am I right? Totally. Nate & I spent a lot of time talking about and listening to awesome music when we were dating. He bought me my 2nd John Mayer CD only a week after our first date, good move on his part!!

You guys have butterflies? Like real ones? We'll be over this afternoon to see them! :)

13 days!!! I thought my engagement was fast!! Well, when you know, you know, right? Love it! And he tied the ring to the net.....it's perfect! Way to pull off a surprise, Spencer! Were you even able to focus on the game after that?

Kari is such a wonderful friend. She cuts all of our hair, and I love talking to her about motherhood. She is an amazing mother and a wonderful example to me. Her daughters are easily the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. It's just unreal how gorgeous they are.

Thank you Kari! I LOVED your answer to what attracted you to him! All of my blog readers are probably sick of me talking about how hot I think Nate is. But I just love hearing wives & husbands talk openly about their attraction to their spouses....especially as the years pass. It makes me smile and reminds me the true love is forever and never has to fade!!

Week Eight ~ Becca

2010-02-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

I thought since it's Valentine's Day, I'd have Nate & I share our Love Story! I feel like my blog is a non-stop gush-fest over Nate, so I'm going to have HIM answer the beginning questions for our post. You hear plenty from me already!

Him: Nate

Her: Becca

Married: February 3, 2005

Mt. Timpanogos Temple, American Fork, Utah

Two Children: Cameron (age 3)

Allison (age 1)

Our little interview, done on 2/7/10 as I plopped down on the sofa next to him:

B: Hey, will you answer some questions for me?

N: Sure.

B: Describe our marriage in one word.

N: Groovy

(I immediately crack up......)

B: What's the first thing that attracted you to me?

(we both laugh....cuz we met as missionaries!)

N: Well that's an inappropriate question.....just kidding. Um...it was your eyeballs. Just kidding. Seriously, it was your eyes. Then your bum.

B: Oh geez, maybe this was a bad idea!! Next, what's your best marriage advice?

N: Say 'I Love You' every day.

B: Oh that's good!

N: I love you.

B: I love you too. Next....What do the two of us like to do in our spare time together?

N: (suspicious smirk....his eyebrows shoot up....)

B: No, not that....

(maybe this was really a bad idea!!)

N: We never do anything productive together.....we spend hours and hours watching seasons and seasons of 24 and LOST.

B: Haha, you're so right.

N: And we like to play tennis, when we find the time.

B: Okay, that's it. Thanks dude.

Okay....moving on!!

So here is the story of how we met. I think it would be fun to hear BOTH of our versions....but today it's just mine:

Nate & I were both called to serve in the Korea Seoul West Mission for the LDS Church.

Me as a missionary:

Nate as a missionary:

We both arrived in Korea in the summer of 2002, but didn't meet for a year. When Nate first got to Korea, he was assigned to an area called "Boh-ng Chun". There are usually 8-10 missionaries in an area. There, he became good friends with another girl missionary (called 'sister missionaries') because they both served in that area for 7 months. Meanwhile, I was in other areas, and I didn't know either of them. Every few months, all of the missionaries would get together for a big conference, so we all knew everyone's names, but unless you serve in the same area, it's not likely that you'll get to know everyone.

(If you aren't LDS or would like to know more about missions, click HERE....I hope I don't confuse anyone with all of this mission talk!!)

Here is all of us....can you find me & Nate?
I'm in purple, 5th in from the right.
Nate is 3 rows above me, over one to the left, kneeling. He's the one in the suit & tie.....ha! We got to wear traditional Korean dresses for Christmas, it was really fun.

Anyway, fast forward about 8 months to Spring of 2003. This sister missionary, who had served with and become close friends to Nate, she transferred over to my area, and we became companions (missionaries always work together in pairs of 2). She would go on and on about "Elder Wood" and how awesome he was and what a wonderful missionary he was.

June rolled around, and Nate's birthday is June 2, so my companion suggested we get permission to take the subway to Nate's area and visit him....she also wanted to see some of the families she had worked with. So on June 2, 2003, we rode the subway a few stops. "Elder Wood", his companion, and a lady who they all had just baptized, met us there. When I first saw him, I didn't think anything.....I mean, we were missionaries, I wasn't trying to check out the elders or anything!

We decided to go to Pizza Hut and bowling. I ended up sitting across from him at lunch, and I remember looking at him and sort of being hit with this feeling of: "Wow, he is a really decent guy." I thought he just seemed so nice and funny and sweet. We had a really fun afternoon. I'm a horrible bowler, and Nate tells me now that he thought it was adorable that I was so bad! He got a few strikes that day, cuz he rocks. We also all got stuck in the elevator leaving the bowling alley, it was funny (and kind of scary, cuz I HATE elevators almost as much as I hate airplanes!).

Nate trying to pry open the elevator door!!

So this is the fun part: That night, I wrote about our day in my journal, just like I did every night on my mission. He did the same thing. Here is what we wrote about meeting each other.

Becca's Mission Journal - June 2, 2003:

"Today was a fun P-Day. Today is Elder Wood's 20th birthday, so Sister Pink & I went to BuCheon! We hung out with their convert, and Elder Mattingly was there. I had never really talked to Elder Wood before, but he is absolutely a gem. I just loved the crap out of him - he's hilarious! He's really shy and reserved, a lot like me, actually. But he kept making these funny faces and saying these hilarious comments."

Nate's Mission Journal - June 2, 2003:

"We went to the station, and we met Sun Kyeong there, and Sisters Pink & Warner. Then we ate at Pizza Hut! They sang a song for me. It was great! Then we went to the bowling alley. It was great fun! Sister Warner is so cool! I'm really glad I got to meet her. She is so hilarious."

Can you believe that? Straight from our journals, I swear!! Yeah, I called him a 'gem'....I'm a nerd.

(By the way, P-Day means Preparation Day...once a week as missionaries, we had one day where we could dress down, do laundry, grocery shopping, sight-seeing, letter-writing, etc)

Here's proof:

So six more months went by.....we still never got assigned to the same area. I think it's safe to say that we

both maintained a really high opinion of each other, but really never thought anything of it. We'd talk at Mission Conferences, but that was about it.

I went home 6 months later, and Nate still had 6 months left. He claims he thought about writing me after I left....but he had heard through the grapevine that I was dating someone, so he assumed I was long gone. He was very wrong!!

Fast forward to June 2004.

Nate comes home. He dates a little. I'm very single. I date a little. I had sort of forgotten about him.

In July, that same mutual friend of ours invited a bunch of friends out for Korean food. I lived in Salem, Utah and Nate lived in West Jordan, Utah...about an hour apart. She invites both of us. I arrive before Nate and am just hanging out. Suddenly Nate walks in....um, hello Mr. Gorgeous! I immediately had butterflies. All I can say is that in the year since we last had hung out, he had really grown up. He was SO HOT. We weren't missionaries anymore, so I was free to check him out all I wanted!!! So check him out I did...

We sat across from each other again. We talked and laughed a lot....but he didn't know I was single. And I thought he was WAY out of my league and assumed he'd never date me. (I was having some self-esteem issues at that time!) Afterwards, we sort of lingered outside the restaurant. He says now that he wanted to hug me, but was too shy. We go our separate ways.

A few weeks later, this same friend forwarded me something that Nate had emailed her.....so I copied his email address and wrote to him. This gets fun because we have saved all of the emails we have ever sent from this point on! They are hilarious. Anyway, so I wrote him and was just all casual and "mission-buddy"-ish. After a few emails, we quickly learned that we were both very single. I still thought he was out of my league, but we set up a day to hang out in September.....me, him, and our friend. The three of us, haha! The day before we were supposed to all hang out, our friend cancelled. I assumed the outing was off....but Nate emailed me and asked if I still wanted to do something with just him.

YES!!!

September 18, 2004:

Nate knocks on my door (he drove an hour down to my house). I open it, and he's just so gorgeous, standing there smiling at me. I still remember what he was wearing and just how yummy he looked. We went for a walk in the park, lunch, a movie, dinner, a BYU football game, talked nonstop about our adventures in Korea.....our first date was 9 hours long!

We were engaged 6 weeks later. Yep. The details of those 6 weeks are pretty fun too. But that'll be for another Love Story Sunday.

Here's an email that Nate sent to our friend about 2 weeks after we started dating:
"Things with Becca and I are just perfect. She is sooo awesome. The best! I just want to say thank you, cuz without you I don't think Becca and I would be together. I'm glad you invited me to eat korean that one night. It's kinda interesting, but that night changed my life. If I didn't go, I wouldn't have seen Warner, and she wouldn't have e-mailed me and we wouldn't be together. Thanks! I'm just soo happy!"

A few dating pics:

I obviously didn't know this pic was being taken....but Nate looks ridiculously HOT, I think!

Feeding stale cookies to the ducks!

At a mission reunion, about a week after our first date.

Click HERE to see a few of our wedding photos.

Happy Lover's Day!
Go smooch your honey....I know I'm going to!!

Week Seven ~ Kristi

2010-02-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

Her: Kristi

Him: Matt aka Hot Husband.

Current Status: Married

Where do you currently live? We live in a far far away land. It's a fly in only isolated spot in Northern Manitoba.

Children/Pets? We got us one kid....

This is Isaiah....or Cute Kid as I usually refer to him on my blog.

No pets! I'm allergic to them. This is going to be a fighting battle for my entire life I can feel it. The cute kid loves dogs!

When/Where did you get married? We got married July 10 2004 in the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple. Here it is....isn't it pretty!?

How did you meet? Well I can't be sure of the exact date. But we've been kicking it since we were at least in nursery. So that would make us 18 months old. I've known Hot Husband my entire life. I remember him sitting in Sunday School on his chair...not uttering a peep. He was a little chubby and he'd fold his arms and was super reverent.

The LOVE story: This story has two sides. You'll get mostly mine and some of his as best as I can tell you. This love story was not love at first sight. Unless you thought we've been together since birth. After college I moved to my hometown. At the time I wasn't active in my church but after some time of being home and a really fabulous friend (Hi Keah!) I started going again. Of course Hot Husband was there. He was always pretty thugish...big....muscles....with a sort of Brooklyn accent. He was Matthew. I've known him my whole life. Everyone else called him Matt....but not me....he was Matthew.

A group of us hung out for the summer. I sorta got to know him then as more of a friend for the first time in our entire lives that we knew each other. He was planning to serve his Mission (with our church for those of you out there that don't know what that is) in the Winnipeg Manitoba Mission (ironic that it is the province that we now live in) and I was just going about my life. It was a fun summer of just hanging out. I didn't really feel like the two of us hung out a lot one on one. Just in group settings. I mean I've known the guy my whole life right? No biggie. At the end of the summer my friend Keah and I moved back to Halifax so I could start my career (in Graphic Design) and she could finish school and Matt headed off on his mission. He wrote to Keah and I (though I noticed most of the letters were directed towards me) throughout his mission. He even phoned a few times. And no, he wasn't suppose to do that. But he was having a hard time and later after he was done his mission he confessed that those phone calls helped to keep him going on his journey rather then give up when he had wanted to on some really hard occasions. Ironically throughout my teenage life we had similar friends but never really crossed paths. One of these mutual friends used to tease me the entire time he was gone that I was going to marry him when he got back. I was like um "HECK NO!" like I've known the guy my ENTIRE life that's just tooooo weird. AND I didn't think that he really liked me that way (that much). I really did NOT think of him in any other way then...well that's Matthew. Matthew, the boy that I've known since I was a baby. Honestly....it sorta grossed me out. It was like he was my brother in a way.

Matt returned home from his mission and we started to hang out. A lot. And I really liked him. As a friend. I felt comfortable around him. He was nice. I'll even admit that when I went to greet him at the airport (because he phoned to make sure I'd go) he came out of that door and I had a little bit of butterflies. I quickly was like UMMMM NOT! And brushed that thought aside. To me we were friends. But a few conversations of Matt TRYING to be discreet revealed to me that I think he really may be starting to like me. Christmas was the first time he told me that he liked me. Already sort of knowing this I tried to play dumb. I wasn't sure what to do. How to feel. What to think. All I knew is that I loved hanging out with him. I trusted him. But I hadn't begun to think like that about him. It weirded me out. On top of that I had been through a couple of break ups that really turned me off of finding love for a bit. I wasn't sure if I was good at picking a good guy for me. My response to that was that I hadn't thought of him that way....but I knew that I liked hanging out with him and that I thought we should just keep going and see where it progresses. Matt wasn't used to this sort of response. He took that as the "friend" card and did what any SANE guy would do. He moved to across the country to Calgary. YEP....YEP he did! The weeks leading up to this sudden decision to move to Alberta we hung out a lot. I started to think about him as a prospect. And the night before he left....he gave me a real hug. Not the "slap on the back buddy" hug he normally gave (he wasn't a physical flirty type of guy) but a full on melt your heart hug.

And I had butterflies.

I remember him going out the door and then buzzing me from the doorway area of my apartment. And he was like....just saying good-bye again. I asked why he was going. And he said he didn't know. After he was gone a few days he sent me an email. He asked if he had screwed up his chances. I replied no. And that was the end of it. He never mentioned it again. UMM what the duke??? That was it?? After he completely stopped the pursuit, I quit him! Now we still talked. We were still friends. Normally at this point I'd have quit him completely. I'd have done whatever I could to make him not like me. But it was different with him. I really cared about him. He's just that kind of guy. You respect him. You like him. You laugh with him. You just can't be mean to him.

A couple months later he came home for his brother's wedding. I went to the reception and him and I hung out a bit. And after some catching up and jokes he finally blurted out.... "So are you gonna give a brother a chance or what?"

And I said.........wait for it.......... no.

Just no.

He lived in Calgary. He left. I hadn't thought of him that way. (Though I did think of him sometimes....wondering....) I just couldn't see it. Even though his plans were to move back in the fall. I had closed that chapter. I later found out that this actually made him tear up to his family after our conversation. They thought for sure I was going for it. Then they began to think maybe I was playing him at this point. But I wasn't. I wasn't playing any game. I just was being honest.

A few months later, after having been laid off of my job I moved back home to my home town again. Matt got word of this....and decided he was going to come home early. I didn't realize then....that it was for me. That he moved home to try to win me over. ME! In his mind he later told me, "I knew you wouldn't have anyone to hang out with so I figured you'd be hanging out with me and you'd finally come to your senses." LOL! So we did. We hung out. I didn't jump on the band wagon. I wasn't into it. Until...one day he just stopped calling me. I was like "What is his problem??" The next time I saw him I got like....all flirty. Sheesh talk about text book dating guide. Ignore the girl and she'll come running. He had given up. Until I started to flirt a bit.

Fast forward a few days now....we're at a dance at our church. We're dancing. He asks, as his LAST attempt to get me to agree to try this. "Are we going to be just friends forever?" And I said, yeah...I think we'll probably be friends forever.

You're probably thinking right then....that's when I agreed. That I said something EPIC and it was the perfect moment. But it's not. I told him to "hold the phone" so to speak....and I ran and gathered a few friends for a conference. I asked them what I should do where I still felt so uncertain about my feelings. (I'm a very indecisive person) My friend Celine finally said....what are you going to do if you let him go and someone else gets him? How are you going to feel? The rest of the girls were like....just say YES already!

I went back to dancing with him for a second time. And he started in blubbering that he doesn't want to pressure me blah blah....and I said...."OK!" And he keeps going on. And I said...."I said Okay!". And still he's going BLAH BLAH....

And finally I was like "MATT, I said Okay."

He was a bit in shock. Trying hard not to smile too big. It was weird at first. It was hard to make that switch. But something changed....history was made and a future was started.

Five months later we were engaged.

What was the first thing that attracted you to him? Well from reading the story you can see it wasn't a first attraction sort of thing. But the first thing that gave me real butterflies was that hug. My hubby is big, warm and has the best hugs on the planet. I wanted that hug forever.

{Yes - that's the hug in action.}

How do you like to spend your free time together?

Honestly we love to watch movies and TV series together. We also love going for walks and drives around the city (when we live in one) and while we live here in the wilderness we like to go on family ski-doo rides or quad rides. In the summer (here) we like to go to the dump and see the bears eating diapers. That's for reals. We live a weird life right now. But I think anything together is good. OH but my favorite I think is when we'll have an impromptu chat. Like, if I go to bed before he does he'll come in to say good-night and we'll have a good chat. Or this will happen in the morning when the boys have let me sleep in and come in and wake me up and we jump (well THEY jump) on the bed. This may also get a good chat in. You know....the simple things.

What is your best marriage advice?

Put each other first. If you love each other and take care of your relationship you'll be better parents. You're kids will grow up and leave you someday and you'll want to still love and be friends with the person you've spent all those years with. You're kids will also learn to love this way. And focus on the 80% that is good in the other person rather then the 20% maybe not so good. We're all growing. We need to be compassionate and compromise.

Engagement Story: Since this LOVE STORY is getting UBER long I'll try to keep this short.

That day....Christmas when he first told me he liked me. He had taken me to the beach. And yes it was cold. We live in Canada for crying out loud. But he hadn't seen the beach in a loooong time so we went. Fast forward...

When we were dating....on Valentine's Day (I know CHEEEESE - loves it) we were visiting his family in P.E.I. I knew he was going to ask. His family was giving it away left right and center. (Oh yes y'all were!) And I was getting nervous. I didn't know how he was going to do it. But I knew he wanted to go to the beach. So I had a feeling he was doing "our thing". After prying me away from my now sister-in-laws, he took me to the beach. {And yes...it was cold then too}. And he just did it. He went down on one knee, while I was looking at the ocean and I turned around and asked me to marry him with the cutest face on the planet. Trying to act like I didn't know he was going to do it...

I said YES.

And I have to say....there is no other person that is more perfect for who I am and for me....then he is.

Before Matt came home from his mission...I had said a prayer. I prayed that maybe I needed a different way of finding the one that I was suppose to be with. No word of a lie. I asked for someone that would work for me. That maybe I wouldn't want at first. That would be persistent. That eventually I would really end up wanting to be with. It wasn't until after we started dating that I remembered this prayer....and that I had prayed for this story of ours TO THE TEE! I think it was Heavenly Father's way of telling me...showing me that he listens and answers prayers. And it was His way of helping me recognize that this was the one.

Funny how that works out huh?

Perfectly.

******

OH I just LOVE the full-on melt-your-heart hugs that you mentioned! Nate gave me one of those after our first date, and I knew I was just done.....stick a fork in me, cuz I was smitten!! And I really love how you had to have a little girlie conference before you answered him at the dance, why are we like that?!?

Kristi & I are 'bloggy friends', as I like to call it. We only know each other via the wonderful world of blogging, but I have really just come to adore her! Can you see why? It's pretty obvious!! We 'met' nearly a year ago when we discovered that both of our sons have an adorable love of sign language! I have also guest-blogged over at her fun blog, and it's just funny how you can really become friends this day and age! I have several 'bloggy friends' who I feel just as close to as any of my 'real, tangible' friends!!

THANK YOU Kristi for sharing your stories.....gorgeous pictures too! I love your hair in your wedding photo, so so elegant! And cute kid....he's a yummy one!! You should re-name him "Yummy Kid".

Be sure to check out Kristi's blog....it's a keeper!! :)
And stay tuned for a special Valentine's Day Love Story......next week!!!

Week Six ~ Ashley

2010-01-31T00:05:00.000-08:00

Her: Ashley

Him: Andrew

Married July 15, 2004 Salt Lake Temple

Children:

Dallin (3.5 yrs)

Claire (6 months)

What is the first thing that attracted you to him?

The first thing that I was attracted to was how well he listened to me when I was talking, good eye contact

How do you like to spend your free time together?

When we have free time we like to do fun outdoor things like camping, and swimming, and late nights after the kids are in bed we like to just watch tv/movies together

What is your best marriage advice?

My best marriage advice would be to realize that you cant ever change your spouses bad habits... just learn to live with them!!!

Engagement Story

Andy called and invited me to go downtown and eat dinner at "The Garden" restaurant at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I didnt seem suspicious because it seemed just like any other date we may have gone on. It was February and very snowy outside that night. We headed down and I was excited to eat a yummy meal. As we headed upstairs we noticed it seemed a bit deserted and as we arrived at the restaurant we saw the sign that said "Closed for remodeling". We were sooo bummed (and hungry). We cant believe we had come all this way for nothing.

Well since we had such an amazing view of the temple from the window outside of the restaurant we decided to stick around up there for a minute and hang out. We talked for a bit, and then Andy gave me a hug. This is when I noticed him sort of trembling... I started to get a bit nervous myself wondering if what I was thinking in my mind was really about to happen. Andy proceeded to tell me "how much he loved me" and all that good stuff and then he got down on his knee and proposed!!

It was beautiful, we were all alone in such a peaceful spiritual setting which made it perfect. I was soo excited to see my ring because he had it custom made for me. I had an idea of what the setting was going to look like, but it was more beautiful than I had imagined.

After I got myself composed we headed back to our car. We were obviously still hungry so we talked about what restaurant we wanted to go to. I suggested my favorite.... TGI Fridays, but was quickly rejected. Andy then mentioned Chili's which I wasn't really feeling because we had just gone there the week before... but he was insistant. I was kind of bummed actually that Andy wouldn't let me go where I wanted, but quickly got over it. As we headed to the restaurant I called all my family and friends in the car. We arrived at Chili's after battling the snow storm, around 8:30 PM. Man, I was sure starving by this time, and was so anxious to get in and eat. I was in such a hurry that as I walked in the restaurant I failed to notice the 15 or so closest family and friends waiting in the foyer. It took me a minute and then I realized that they were all obviously there to surprise me and celebrate in this wonderful event. I thought, how did Andy get a hold of all these people to come here.... we werent even supposed to be eating dinner here.... then I figured it out.

Andy knew all along that "The Garden" restaurant was closed but he wanted an excuse to bring me down to the Temple without being too suspicious. He made arrangements for our family and friends to meet at Chili's hence why he shot down my TGI Fridays suggestion. Anyway, there was no other way I would have wanted to celebrate our engagement then with all of our amazing friends and family. Andy really thought this one out!! It was perfect!

******

Ashley, thank you for your Love Story! All that talk about all those yummy restaurants made me hungry!! I love how he arranged for your favorite people to celebrate with you!! I had a tough time choosing which pictures to use off of your blog because your family is SO adorable!!

I've known Ashley for a few years, I used to babysit Mr. Dallin when he & Cam were younger. Ashley & I share a common love of Cafe Rio and talking nonstop about our cute kids!

Our upcoming list of Love Story Sundays is getting longer....leave a comment/email if you want to contribute! Anyone is welcome!!

Week Five ~ Noelle

2010-01-24T00:05:00.000-08:00

him: andrew

her: noelle

married: june.26.2008

salt lake temple

reception: cactus & tropicals

What is the first thing that attracted you to him?
Despite the fact that he initially reminded me of the rapper Eminem, I loved his eyes and his rock solid [8 packed] football body. (Luckily the DrewPac/Eminem-esque gangster in him has evaporated over the years...) I have to give credit to football though, because that is the reason we met in high school.

How do the two of you spend your free time together?:

Watching movies & going to restaurants - we love Tocano's and B&D burgers and of course NETFLIX!

What is your best marriage advice?

Write a list of goals you want to accomplish as a couple - goals that can better your relationship. Writing it down serves as a visual reminder that both parties are trying to improve themselves, and ensures that you never forget what you are striving for.

Love Story:

The {best} and {worst} phone calls from my future husband.

Drew and I started dating halfway through our Senior year of high school. He went to Skyline and I went to Highland, but we met through some mutual friends (who had met at a student government party before one of Drew's football games.) After graduating high school, I ended up going to school at Utah State and he stayed home that first semester to prepare for his mission.

He was called to serve in the Chicago South Spanish speaking mission and left in October of 2005. It was nice to be up at school while he was gone and at least be somewhat distracted with schoolwork so that I didn't think about him all the time. (Although, he will claim that I was distracted by much more than schoolwork, but we won't get into that.)

About two weeks after he left, I got a phone call around 1am. I was woken up abruptly by my cell phone and jumped out of bed to silence it before my roommates woke up. I [blindly] held the phone right up to my face (since I didn't have my contacts in.) The phone said "Call from: Wojo" my stomach dropped. This call = worst phone moment.

A thousands thoughts ran through my head. He was still in the MTC. Or at least, he was supposed to be. Did he really sneak his cell phone into the MTC? I really bet his mom wouldn't have even noticed that he took it. Is he planning on mailing it back to her as soon as the payment for the month is up? Is he really that rebellious (or in love) that he is calling me from the MTC just to hear my voice? Did he get kicked out and now he's calling to tell me that we can be together? AAAAH!

I was literally sick to my stomach and didn't know what to do. But like every lovesick girl would do - I answered it (duh.)

"Uh....hello?"

Muffles
"Hello!!??"
A TV? [What the...?]
"Hello? Drew??"
Click

I didn't really fall asleep, but kept thinking about it all night long. The next day I got a call from Drew's mom.

"Noelle, I am SO sorry about last night!! I had Andrew's phone in my purse ever since we dropped him off at the MTC and I never turned it off. I must have accidentally dialed you since you were the last person he called."

Me: "Oh..heh heh... uh... no big deal [lie]. I knew it couldn't have been him anyways."

FLASH FORWARD to November 2nd 2007 after two years of weekly emails [never missed a week. Okay, I lied, I did miss one week, but he did too] where we have the best phone moment.

Drew got back from his mission on a Friday afternoon. He was being released at 5pm that day, so I planned it out just right so that I could leave Logan and drive right to his house to see him. I didn't know exactly when he was going to be getting in at the airport, so I just waited patiently until I heard from him. I was driving down I-15 and I heard my phone beep. I looked at the screen: "New text message from: Wojo." That's right, his parents never de-activated his phone. Same number. Same name in my contact list.

I opened it up... "Hey...." So simple, yet so AMAZING!! We text back and forth for a little bit and he broke the news that the stake president was stuck at work and he couldn't be released until 6. Frustrating, but okay. I had lived two years without him, what was another hour? [I found out later that the reason he text me first, was because he was too scared to actually call and talk.]

I sat at my sister's house in Salt Lake for over an hour waiting to get the "go ahead" to meet up with him. He called me and just said, "Alright...come on over..." It was so....familiar. It really just felt like a normal phone call. Kind of like a "Oh hey, I'm home now, come over whenever" type of normal friendly conversation. Though this was not normal.

I ran through my head exactly how I wanted everything to go. I even sat out in my car for about 5 minutes when I pulled up because I had this dream of him walking down the driveway and I could run up into his arms. Meanwhile, he was spying on me through his front window, and didn't know why I was taking so long, so he decided to come outside and get me.

He walked down the driveway and I got out of my car and walked up to meet him. (I felt like "the run" would be too cheesy.) The smiles on our faces were SO GIGANTIC I cannot even explain. He gave me the biggest hug and we just stood there in each others arms. It was the best feeling in the world. My stomach was floating, my thoughts were on cloud 9, I had goosebumps all over my body and I didn't want to let go. Ever.

Thoughts were running through my head on whether or not I should kiss him. A few weeks prior, I was having a conversation with a RM at my work who advised me NOT to kiss him because he will be "weird" and will need "time to adjust." Not having any brothers/sisters that served missions, I didn't know what this "adjusting period" was supposed to be like. Apparently this period is non-existent for the Wojo family because...

I looked up at him and thought, "eh, what the heck." We kissed. It was glorious! It was like having a second-first kiss - a feeling that I thought could never be recreated with the same person, but here it was happening with this guy that I loved. Drew can attest to this - I was extreme anti-PDA before his mission... but here I was kissing this boy on his very public driveway!

We spent the evening chatting, watched a movie with his family, went for a drive, and played at a park. Later that weekend, my family and all our friends came to hear him speak at his homecoming. This was a much better experience than his farewell! (Which I cried through the entire thing while laying my head on my mom's lap while she attempted to tickle my back and calm me down... even thinking about it right now makes me tear up - it was the worst feeling ever to send him off.)

Drew's homecoming talk 11.4.07

After all the glitz and glam of "being home" wore off, our feelings were the same. It all seemed so normal and so right. I made up my mind right then and there that I wanted to spend forever with this boy.

What you probably don't know about Drew is that he is a hopeless romantic. For our engagement he sent me around Salt Lake on a scavenger hunt to a variety of places that were our "firsts." Of course that is a completely different story of it's own, but some of these places included:

First Date: Century 16 (Phantom of the Opera)

First place we went after his mission: Donner Trail Park
First place we met: A friend's basement
First Kiss: Pete's Rock

There, on top of Pete's Rock overlooking the Salt Lake Valley, Drew asked me to be his wife. I, of course, said yes!

******

Aren't they just the most beautiful couple!! They live right across the stairwell from us.....I'm sure they just love hearing Cameron's tantrums....and me yelling at him, ha!

That was so much fun to read! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the "driveway scene"....where they saw each other after his mission. SO cute! Right out of a movie!! Made me all giddy!!

Thank you Noelle! You'd better stay in touch after our cinder block life cuz I want to see what your babies look like, haha!

Week Four ~ Meghan

2010-01-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

Her: Meghan

Him: Peter

Married: August 10, 2007

Children: Danielle, age 1 year

Best Marriage Advice:
I would say communicate and tell each other you love one another as much as you can.

Love Story:
I may be biased on this statement, but I think Peter and I have a great love story. It has all kinds of twists and turns that can make a person go crazy.

We met at the end of our junior year in high school. Peter and his friend Bryan has gotten their parking pass revoked from school (which I believe was from skipping) and had to park at the Burger King down the street and walk. After school one day I was walking to my car in the parking lot and Bryan called my name. I turned around and saw him there with some guy (I honestly don’t even remember looking at Peter when I first met him). They wanted a ride to the Burger King so they could get their car. I said sure. Peter hoped in the back seat of my two-door Acura and it was a little tight. He managed. Bryan sat in the front and I honestly can’t remember even acknowledging Peter. What a terrible person I am. Or maybe I was just 17 and going through a stage. Who knows. I was currently dating someone, but a few weeks later…we broke-up. I went to Bryan’s one night to talk about it because I was pretty down. Peter was there. That is the first night I noticed him. Maybe it was because he was so sweet to me and massaged my shoulders. I’m a sucker for a massage. But I think it was because he was so dang cute. To me, Peter is one of those guys you dream of going out with but maybe you don’t because he has some stinkin’ hot girlfriend that is just so much better than you in every way. At least that’s the way I looked at it in high school. But, little did I know, he was new at the Woodlands High that year also. We were new kids so we didn’t have tons of friends like some of the others. It was that night that I really started to like Peter. We continued to hang-out multiple times through the summer. Note: I had about 2 or 3 close friends try to move in on him. One of them tried to kiss him. Turns out she really wasn’t that great of a friend.

We had started our senior year and drove to school together. He didn’t have much luck getting a parking pass considering his past experience with one. On September 3rd, 2003, he asked if I would be his girlfriend. We were hanging out in some parking lot after I had gone to the tanning beds (bad, I know) and he had gotten his Jeep all dirty going off-roading. These were his exact words…dead serious… “Will you be my girlfriend?” Ha! Isn’t he the cutest? We spent the rest of our senior year together and going into college.

Peter introduced me to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. Mormons) and baptized my parents, brother, and I. It was a great day considering it happened September 3rd, 2004. (One year after he so willingly asked me to be his girlfriend) Peter and his family were such a good example to me and my family. Peter and I were on top of the world and so in love! I was going to school at Texas A&M University when Peter was called on a mission for our church. He was going to be serving in San Jose, Costa Rica. It was bittersweet. It was so fun to see him start on this new adventure in life and exciting to know that he would be sharing the gospel with others, but sad at the same time to see my best friend leave. We hugged goodbye and I cried my eyes out as I watched him leave for two whole years. We were allowed to write letters, but no phone calls or e-mails. We were positive that we were going to be getting married when he came home.

Peter and I went a good year with writing letters steadily. We were still madly in love and couldn’t wait to see each other. We had gotten over the hump and only had one more year left. It was a few months after that year mark when our letters started to dwindle. Peter had been called as an assistant to the mission president and became VERY busy. A new mission president was called and him and his companion were training him. I didn’t hear from him much. For the first ten months of his second year out, I received two letters. I didn’t really know what was going on so I continued to write, but knew I needed to prepare for the worst. I started to date more. I began to date a nice young man who we will call Jeremy. We got very close and over a short 3 months and started discussing marriage. My parents came into town to meet this guy that I spoke of and thought he was very nice, but still wanted me to wait for Peter to come home. They told me I would always wonder about Peter if I didn’t wait. Me, being kind of frustrated with Peter, told them that we were through and that WE ALL needed to move on from that. So, we made plans for Jeremy to come visit my family over Christmas break in Indianapolis. November rolled around. I met my family in Chicago for a long weekend to be sealed as a family in the Chicago Temple. I loved that day. It was PERFECT! Everyone that loved and supported us came to view the sealing. This included Peter’s parents. It was so nice to see them. I hadn’t spoken to them in a long time and when I walked into the sealing room, the first person I saw was Peter (Peter Jr’s father). Even though my Peter looks mainly like his mom, there are strong characteristics of his Dad that shine through all the time. That day in the sealing room, it looked like the same person. Throughout that wonderful day, I thought about Peter a lot. On the plan ride home from Chicago to Texas I couldn’t get him out of my mind. I went back to school and everything returned back to normal. A week or two later, I received an e-mail from Peter. I was in shock when I pulled up my inbox and saw his name sitting in there. I immediately got butterflies in my stomach. He told me he had heard of my family’s sealing from his parents and wanted to congratulate us. (Turns out, his mom had sent him a picture of us from the sealing). I guess he thought that he was the only one growing up out there in Costa Rica and that I was still the same person. Turns out I wasn’t. We e-mailed back and forth for a few weeks. Mind you, Jeremy was still planning to come out to spend time with my family over Christmas break. My roommate asked me if I was going to tell him and the e-mails with Peter. I told her I didn’t need to. Peter was just a friend. Peter actually had a different girl writing him. She was a sister missionary that was in Costa Rica but left to go home when Peter still had a year left (Right about the time I stopped hearing from him).

Later, Peter asked if he could take me out when he got home. I told him I wasn’t sure and that I was dating someone and we might be engaged before he got home. It’s kind of funny that in my mind I was about to be getting engaged but I was telling someone else that I wasn’t sure about a date. Sure looks like I shouldn’t have been getting engaged. We left it at that.

Jeremy came home over Christmas and asked my Dad’s permission for marriage. My dad said yes, even though he wanted to say no. Hmmm…wonder why. My parents wanted me to wait for Peter, but knew they couldn’t make me. They told me they were concerned that if my dad said no, I would be very upset. So we went about life and Jeremy was planning a proposal and I was SO utterly confused. I thought I wanted to marry Jeremy, but I also thought I needed to see Peter. But then I would think about the other girl he had waiting and think about the fact that he stopped writing me and I thought that maybe it was too late. Maybe we just weren’t meant to be together and we were kidding ourselves with the whole fairy tale story we were creating.

Well, it happened. Peter came home. My parents flew out for his homecoming so I of course also needed to go. I wasn’t planning on going until I found out my parents were. I thought, if I am supposed to see Peter, I will, but I wasn’t going to make the effort. Jeremy was surprisingly okay with it. He thought that I was just going to go say hi to an old friend. I drove up to Houston to pick my parents up from the airport and we were on our way to the hotel when Peter’s mom called my mom. (Turns out they were scheming little ways for us to meet up the whole time.) They had planned a big dinner out that night and wanted us to go. My mom asked me if we could. (My mom was asking for my permission because she thought I might flip.) I did, but still said sure. Then, Peter’s mom told my mom that he was going to come to the hotel to see us. OH CRAP! I wasn’t prepared for all this. I thought I was just going to say hi at his homecoming talk and that would be it. I ran upstairs to the hotel bathroom to fix myself up. I was a wreck. Don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous. I went down to the lobby with my little brother because I couldn’t stand it. We ran into his Grandfather Huntsman in the lobby and were chating with him when Peter walked in. He was SO cute and a flood of memories started filling my mind. Since his grandfather can be quite sly also, he somehow got us to leave the hotel together, just the two of us. And took my little brother by the shoulder and escorted him back upstairs so we were alone. (Our families clearly had it all figured out). So there we were, together at last. I was telling Peter that I honestly got to a point thinking I would never see him again. He was gone for so long that I thought he was just going to live forever in Costa Rica. We shared some good memories and Peter tried to flirt with me. He was a little rusty, but it was adorable. Feelings were coming back and I was in heaven. We spent the rest of the day together and had dinner with our families and it was just like old times. We ended the night with a kiss, a kiss that was a long time coming. Oh how wonderful it was to be back in Peter’s arms. Wait a minute, what’s happening here?

Then it happened. I realized I had a boy back at school with a ring!!! It suddenly got VERY complicated. Oh, and Peter had that other girl too. Could this be a soap opera or what? I’ll give you the shortened version of this considering I really don’t like to relive the stressful details of this part of my life. This is a SUPER long story, I know. Peter went out with that other girl and realized it wasn’t going to happen with her. One broken heart. I told Jeremy it also wasn’t going to happen. Another broken heart. (And a ring to return). We clearly fell back in love and wanted to spend time and all eternity together. We just had to break a few hearts in order to do it. I think it was totally worth it. We realized awhile ago that Jeremy was just what I needed at that point in my life and that girl he was talking to was just what he needed at that point in his life. We don’t regret anything. It is perfect the way it is. Heck, we got to fall in love all over again. And we’ve been doing it every day ever since.

*******

Yet another awesome Love Story! Thank you Meghan! You're so gorgeous. Like just ridiculous beautiful. I love that you ended up with the same boy who introduced you to the Church! What a special and eternal blessing you will always share!! And yeah, that sounds like some fun drama......glad it all worked out in the end.....your fairy tale ending!!

Meghan & I got to know each other towards the end of our pregnancies. Allie and Danielle are only 1 week apart!! The baby girls have been cutie little friends out on the playground all last year, but sadly, just like Tiff......people graduate and move on!! We miss you guys!!

Next week is going to be good.....I haven't read it yet, but I know it'll be a fun one cuz they are an awesome couple!!

Week Three ~ Tiff

2010-01-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

Her: Tiffini

Him: Matt

Married in the Salt Lake Temple

Children: Olyvia, age 23 months

What is the first thing that attracted you to your spouse?

His hands, Her eyes.

How do you spend your free time together?

Writing, reading, and playing with our little girl.

What is your best marriage advice?

No matter what, keep your priorities straight. First the Lord, then your spouse and family. And everything else will find its place after the first two are taken care of. Communicate to make sure both sides feel like they are truly where they need to be when it comes to your priorities.

Love Story:

The first time we said I Love You

From the first time he held the door open for me and I told him 'Uh, I got it." I knew I wanted him to hold every door open for me for the rest of my life. The first time he held my hand and I pulled it away, I knew I would never want to hold any hand but his. The first time he kissed me and I responded with " I really wasn't ready to do that." I knew I would never want kiss anyone but him.

Now you might be reading this and thinking, 'What a fickle silly
girl', and you are right which is why I deserved what comes next.
After all his (in his eyes) failed attempts to woo me, he wasn't sure what I wanted. I however had never been more certain of anything in my life... I loved him. It only took me a few more days after the realization that I loved him to conclude that I would marry him in a heartbeat, if he were to ask me.

Days went by after my realization and I waited and waited for him to express what I obviously was feeling, praying that I wouldn't have to be the first to say it. Minutes passed like hours, hours like days and well you get the point, I'm not a patient person. Finally one day,during one of our many hang out/dates I decided to ask the question all men try to avoid. "Uh Matt" I looked up at him, fluttering my eyelids in an attempt to be adorable. "Um... How do you feel?" A confused look struck his face, followed by "Uh fine I guess." I looked deeper into his eyes, "No um, l I mean about me?" And if I had thought he looked confused before, there was no way to explain his expression now. Silence followed, and once again, seconds passed like minutes and minutes like hours until finally he responded with "Well... I really love... hanging out with you."

Ouch. Not happy with that response I decided to make the situation more awkward and continue sitting in silence. Until finally he spoke again. "I mean I love being with you, I love your laugh, I love your hair, your face, and I mean I think... I might be in love with you." His voice trailed off.

Frustrated that I didn't get the answer I wanted I looked him straight in the eye, sadness distorting my face "You think? You think? Well...I know. That's all I'm saying."

That next Sunday I was awoken from a peaceful nap by a phone call. It was Matt. He had called to tell me that he had just spoken with his Bishop. (What a strange thing to call for, I thought.) He went on to tell me that he went to speak with his Bishop because he was in need of advice. He told his Bishop that he thought he might love this girl, but was afraid to tell her until he knew for sure that he did. He didn't want to say it unless he knew it was absolutely true. His Bishop asked him what his thoughts were of this girl. Matt told him he respected her and thought she was amazing, someone he loved to be with. So how do you feel? The bishop asked.

The phone went silent when he reached this point in the conversation. "Tiff, I was really just calling to tell you, I love you. I really do. I just love you."

The first time my husband (not at the time) said he loved me was over the phone! And it was the most romantic thing in the world to me. We were married and sealed three months later in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity. We have since had a beautiful baby girl and will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary this June. I'm so grateful for a husband who I know loves me. And I am grateful for the knowledge that we both have, that as we draw closer to our Savior and Father in Heaven we can draw closer together as a family.

*******

Aww....true love!!!!! Thank you Tiff! You're a really good writer!! That was one of those stories that made my heart flutter and gave me goosebumps......like a really good love scene in a movie!! And that top wedding photo......gorgeous.....I love how happy you look!!! And I love your marriage advice. It's so true. And it's obvious that you and Matt are true to that.

I met Tiff when we were both serving in the Primary Presidency awhile back. I just love her to pieces....and that adorable little girl of hers! I miss you, Tiff! That's the sad thing about living in student housing......people move on.

Thanks for yet another great Love Story!! Stay tuned for next week's story.....and be sure to let me know if you have one to share!!! This is turning out to be so much fun......I just might have to print this up into a book at the end of the year. 52 Love Stories!!!

Week Two ~ Emilie

2010-01-03T09:15:00.001-08:00

Her: Emilie

Him: Bryan

Married October 7, 2005

Salt Lake Temple

Children: Kiernan, age 13 months

What is the first thing that attracted you to him?

His smile, eyes and height. (I'm tall!)

How do you like to spend your free time together?

Relaxing and watching movies/tv shows.

What is your best marriage advice?

Communication is the key to everything.

Engagement Story:

It was the night of Thursday, March 23, 2005. Bryan lived in Salt Lake City, and was going to the U of U. I was living in Provo and going to BYU (how we met is a different story :) ). We basically only saw each other on the weekends because of our school/work schedules, and took every opportunity we could to see each other. Before that night, Bryan and I had just had a fight, so I was mad at him (to this day, we did the majority of our fighting when we were engaged than any other time together....I'm pretty sure it will always be that way). I was in Salt Lake City for a work related thing, and was supposed to go see him that night. Since I was pretty darn mad at him, I had called to let him know that I was going straight home, and to let him know that I was still mad at him. He begged and begged me to come to his place that night. I finally gave in, and went over to his place. I went up the stairs to his room with my arms folded, and he was on the phone with either his mom or his best friend. After about five minutes, he got off the phone, and said "let's go for a walk." Keep in mind, this is Utah, and it's now 10:30 at night. I thought he was insane, but still tried to be such a girl and did anything I could to not say a word.

So we went down the stairs and out the door. I walk past his car in the driveway, and start walking. I go a few feet before realizing he was no longer by my side (this is mostly due to my hearing loss :) ). I turn around, and he's getting in the car, and we had the following brief conversation: "What are you doing? (me)" "(Bryan) Getting in the car." "Why?" "Because I'm going to drive.....?" "But I thought you said we were going for a walk? "We are, we just need to drive there first." I let out a huge exasperated sigh to make sure he knew I was very annoyed by this. I get into his side of the car and climb over to the passenger side because the passenger door is broken. As we're driving, I'm sitting there, with my arms still folded and refused to talk. This was very difficult to do because I hate surprises, and proved to be too difficult towards the end of the drive. I asked where we were going, and when he parked he said "you don't know where we're going?" "no, why else would I ask?" "You don't recognize this place?" "No" "good." Insert another annoyed sigh here.

So we get out of the car, and we start hiking up the side of a mountain. It's cold, 11:00 at night, in Utah, the day after it had just snowed. All the snow had melted and the ground was *very* muddy. Towards the end of the hike, our shoes looked like this:

This did not help my mood at all because I had happened to be wearing my favorite shoes. I never did wear them again after that hike, they were too muddy. The mud even went all the way up to my knees because it was splashing everywhere.

We get to the top, and I *really* do not want to talk to him. I ask him where we are, he tells me that it's Ensign peak.

At the top, there's a railing where you can lean against it and take a look at Salt Lake valley. I went straight to the railing, and did my best to ignore him, and looked out for awhile at the beautiful sight.

After about five minutes, I finally turn around, even more annoyed that he hasn't come to put his arms around me yet or tried to resolve this major issues I was having. I turn around, and find him on the ground, on one knee. The following conversation ensues:

"(me) What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"I don't know, why are you down on your knee?"

"Because......"

"Well, get up, it's dirty down there"

"No, I'm fine"

I go to try and pull him up.

"no seriously, get up, it's muddy"

"No, I'm fine" as he gives a really big smile as I'm the cutest thing in the world.

"No bryan, get uh........oh."

I quickly realize what he was doing, and finally shut my mouth. I think by this point, he was trying his best not to laugh as he knew I might just blow my top if he did laugh. He then proposes and says something along the lines of the following:

"Emilie, this is the spot where Brigham Young came up here and started planning Salt Lake city. Emilie, this is where I would like to start my life with you, will you marry me?" I, of course, said yes, and every ounce of my anger had disappeared and was very happy. In all the excitement, I stuck out my right hand for him to put the ring on. He smiles, and tells me to give him my other hand. I do so, quickly, and pull him off the ground and give him a big old kiss. Needless to say, he was forgiven for whatever had made me so angry that night. I do not have a picture of us from that night because by then it was probably close to 11:30 and I still needed to drive back to Provo and get some sleep before my classes the next day. He then drops me off back at his place, and I called my parents. I drove back home and woke up my roommates and showed them my ring.

The next day, I think I let just about the whole world know I was engaged. It was awesome :)

I later found out that he was actually planning on proposing the next day over dinner at Samba Grill, but when I had called, he could not wait. I don't blame him, as I had been waiting 3 months for him to propose! He had asked for my parent's permission the week before right before my harp concert, and had gotten the ring shortly after. Everyone did a great job of keeping that from me so that I would be surprised when he did finally propose.

******

Emilie & Bryan are one of our most favorite couples to hang out with here at the U. I have been babysitting little (big) Kiernan for about 8 months now, and we just love him. Thank you for sharing your story!! So funny.....I can't picture you two being mad at each other!! And I love how you gave him your right hand for the ring! I remember when Nate proposed, I had to pause for 2 seconds to think about which hand to give him!! Maybe you can share the story of how you met in another Love Story Sunday!

Week One ~ Laura

2010-01-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

So here we go with Week One of Love Story Sunday! It was an easy choice because this might be my most favorite story ever!! I love it!!

Be uplifted & enjoy!

Her: Laura O'Hearon
Him: Jeremy Dunford

Current Status:

Engaged!!

Where do you currently live?

I live in Halifax and he lives in Ogden, Utah (lame!)

Children/Pets?

(Kind of a pointless question for our engaged couple, but still fun to see the response!!)

We have no kids but we will someday, but they will be no-name brand kids. We don't agree on any names, ever. I doubt we'll have pets. We think they are an expensive nuisance. We'll see though.

When/Where did you get married?

It will be hopefully sometime in August 2011 but we haven't set a date yet! We will get sealed for time and all eternity in the Portland, Oregon temple. It's so beautiful.

How did you meet?

He was a missionary here and we met right before he got transferred out of here. It wasn't until after his mission that we got to know each other better. He thought I was full of it when we first met and I thought he was nerdy looking. So nice.

What was the first thing that attracted you to him?

He ate at our house twice while he was a missionary and he always played the piano for my Mom. She loves it and so did I. He is incredible and it always put me in a reflective, spiritual mood. His music is beautiful.

How do you like to spend your free time together?

Just together, holding hands or cuddling; being close to each other because we are so far apart most of the time.

What is your best marriage advice?

Do it in the temple so it lasts forever :)

Engagement Story:
December 24th at like ..3am, Jeremy finally gets here. After waiting almost 5 months and being delayed by 4 hours at the airport we were finally together again :) Despite how late/early it was, Jeremy told me he wanted me to set my alarm on my phone for him so he would wake up at 7:30am. At 7:30, the alarm went off and he came to the room I was sleeping in with this card in hand. Waking me with a kiss, he said good morning and I sort of rolled back over thinking he was crazy. Then, after much persuasion he got me to read the card. Inside was a note telling me how happy he is to be with me and that he loves me and why. Just cute stuff :) Then he wished me a happy '12 days of Christmas Eve' and went back to bed.

Not thinking much of it, I got up, ate some breaky and showered. A little while later he got up and Kathy showed up at the house. In her hand was a card (a Karen card as I could tell by the design, just like the first one) but all over the front was stuff related to Kathy and her family. Inside her card/envelope thing was a note to me with a memory and reasons why she loves/why I'm important to her. I'll admit, my eyes got a little watery but no tears.

Then as we were going outside to say hi to the kids in the van before she left, Michelle shows up at my house. I clearly wasn't expecting to see her but in her hand is another card. I found out later she wasn't expecting me to be outside, so I understand now why she was so like 'ahhh' when she saw me out there. She handed me her card and went on her way, declining my invite to come inside. In the kitchen, I read the notes inside her envelope from her and Vanessa.. and I cried, being so overwhelmed with love from so many people.. and I was only at 4.

Then, I knew Karen was coming over and when she arrived I wondered if she also had a card. She visited for a bit before handing me a card and heading on her way. Karen, I later learned was the biggest secret keeper on this whole scheme. On her card again, was things that relate to her, things I think of when I think of Karen. Macbooks and ribbon. At this point, I clued in that 2 weeks before she had asked me questions about what reminded me of each person in our family. She said it was for the family video. So much for that.

Then, Jeremy and I went out to do some errands for my mom and to work so I could do show and tell with all the girls who have heard so much about him. When we got home, Mom proceeded to hand me her card and I went in the living room to read it. My eyes again got watery but I held back the tears. All I could think was "when did I become so soft?" I hadn't cried so easily for happy reason in a long, long time.

Jeremy has this minor obsession with asking me to play piano with him even though he knows I don't like to. He is so amazing and talented where as I pretend I have piano talent. I just don't like to play with him because he's so good and would just make me look bad. Anyway, when he asked me to play with him that afternoon, I declined his offer as usual and disappeared upstairs to my room. On my computer was another card, from Dad. Thats when things got messy. My Dad isn't one who ever shows affection towards me like some Dads do. I don't remember a time where he's ever told me in those 3 simple words that he loves me. Not only did Dad tell me how happy he was the day I was born because he knew he had another beautiful baby girl (I can feel my eyes watering again as I recall this note..) but he told me he loved me and just wants whats best for me. It was like my heart burst with tears because it was one of the best things I could ever get. If I died right now, I would die happy just because my Dad told me he loved me. So, yeah, I cried by myself for a good 5 minutes before Jeremy came upstairs. He hugged me and then we just played some mariokart together.

For anyone who knows my family well, you can probably guess who this card is from. Mike and Keah arrived part way through the afternoon and joined us in the living room while we were building. When we were all finished Mike handed me his card. X-box. So Mike. With everyone around, the tears fell down my face (gah, so embarrassing) being touched by the words of Mike.

Then after a much needed nap, Dad ordered some chinese food and the 6 of us (Mike, Keah, Mom, Dad, Jeremy and I) gathered around the table and ate up the goodness. When supper was done we went upstairs to get ready to go to the nativity show over at the Stake Center. I was checking some stuff on here when Jeremy told me he wanted me to listen to a song. The song was Canon by Dax Johnson and he told me to come sit on my bed while I listened. That seemed weird to me but I did it anyway, laying down with a blanket partly covering my face. He told me to listen to the song and think about all the nice notes I got from people today and how I felt. I didn't quite do that though, because I was too busy thinking 'I hope he proposes, BUT DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED IF HE DOESN'T.' When the song was over he pulled me to the end of my bed so I was sitting across from him and he asked me how the song and all the things people said to me today made me feel. I was a little choked up managed to say 'loved and important' and that I was told things that I don't get told often enough that mean a lot to me. Then Jeremy proceeded to hand me this envelope.

Inside on the piece of note paper all it said was LAURA. . . Feeling a little anxious at this point (because what else could I feel?!! seriously!) I break the silence and say "oh sweet, it says my name." He then proceed to tell me that the people who gave me notes all throughout the day are people who love and have brought me to this point of my life, and that he wants to take me from here. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

It was one of those moments that I have never been able to imagine in all my day dreams.
When I day dream, often times I get so lost in my thoughts that I can actually feel what it would feel like to be in the moment. It's nice when you miss people and want to imagine giving them a big hug, because when I dream of it I can feel it too. Not quite as good as the real thing, but a good feeling none the less. Anyway, I could never imagine how I would respond either. Obviously I would say yes, but how would I say it. Would I say something dumb? Would I say something smart? or would I just say yes?

I just said yes.

I am glad that we are going to get married for eternity!

- The Future Mrs. Dunford :)

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Sigh....wasn't that adorable?? Laura, thank you for sharing your story with us! That'll be a tough one to follow!! I'd been thinking about doing this Love Story thing on my blog for awhile now, and when I read yours, I just knew it was the perfect one to start with! I love you to pieces, and I can't wait to give you a big hug on your wedding day!!

Stay tuned for next week's Sunday Love Story........

What is Love Story Sunday?

2009-02-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

Introducing..........LOVE STORY SUNDAY.

Every Sunday will feature a new couple and their beautiful love story.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints wrote the Proclamation to the Family. It shares beautifully what we believe regarding families. My favorite part says:

"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

The sanctity, importance, and basic structure of the family is being attacked more than ever. Divorce rates are high, immorality is the norm and almost encouraged, infidelity is swept uner the rug and children aren't growing up in secure families where they are taught they have a mother and father who love each other.

Love Story Sunday is all about couples who are rising above the statistics and the degradation of the family unit. They aren't letting selfishness and evil into their homes and families. Instead, they are growing together daily in love and respect, and doing all they can to keep their families safe and eternal. My hope and vision for Love Story Sunday is for each of us to be inspired to keep our family relationships at the very top of our priority list and to be reminded about how wonderful true love is!!

If you'd like to share your love story, leave a comment or email me at woodfamily23@yahoo.com. Your love story can be how you met, your first date, how he proposed, your wedding day, or just an average day in your marriage.....anything you'd like!!