Our Story

I've moved around a lot.  I've lived in Oklahoma, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Florida, Illinois, and Washington. 

When I was 21, I moved to the Chicago area for no other reason than to be roomies with a good friend from college.  I had no job, little money, and a little Saturn car that somehow made the road trip from Oregon to Illinois.  I stayed in the Chicago area for 2 1/2 years which surprised me since I was extremely homesick the entire time I was there.  I finally sold my furniture and my little Saturn and moved home to Oregon in the fall of 2004. 

Christmas 2005, 5 months after we met

A month in to job searching I got a call from a recruiter who worked for the same company I had just left in Chicago.  She wanted to know if I would be interested in doing the same thing I had been doing in Chicago, only I would be doing it in Seattle.  I hesitated.  I just got home after being away from home since my freshman year of college and I really didn't want to leave.  But, I wasn't really sure of where to go next and since this position was just a temporary fill-in for a girl going on maternity leave, I agreed.  I packed up again and headed north, this time in my parents' Toyota Avalon.  I stayed with friends of a friend for the first month or so, then moved in to an Extended Stay hotel.  I missed home (and having a stove) and would drive the 3 1/2 hours to Portland every single weekend.

February 2006, Kerry Park in Seattle

The temporary job ended up becoming permanent when the girl decided not to come back from maternity leave.  I was happy to have a more stable income and health benefits, but I realized when I accepted the job that I was, for now, "stuck" living away from home again.  I missed my family and I missed my nephew who was 1 at the time.  I moved in to a more permanent housing situation but still drove home almost every weekend.  I still didn't know hardly anyone up here and on the weekends I did stay, I would go for runs and veg on the couch.

Us on our honeymoon in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Finally, I decided I could at least use some company to show me around the city.  I got a Match.com account and was amazed at the response.  Apparently, if you were a woman with a Match account you got bombarded.  I did.  I don't even remember how many email responses I got but it must have been between 30-40 every couple of days.  I didn't want to take all of the effort it took to write each person back.  The majority of the emails went straight to my "deleted" items, while few were responded to and others loitered around in my Inbox until I decided if I wanted to respond or not.  I went on dates with 2 guys from the site but both fizzled out after a couple of months.  One of the emails that loitered in my Inbox was from a guy who sounded very well-spoken and sweet, but his photo was from far away and from the waist up, which made him look short and scrawny.  I left his email in my Inbox because it was one of the few that wasn't creepy or over-the-top...just very low key and sweet.  I never got around to responding.

Us in San Diego, March 2007

Six months later, I had a friend named Mary who I knew from church camp when I was a teenager.  She was getting married and invited me to her bridal shower.  She and I went to church together and she told me a couple of times about a guy named David who had just gotten out of a long relationship but she thought we would get along so she wanted me to meet him.  People had often tried to set me up before and either it was a disaster or it never happened.  I smiled and nodded at Mary but never said much about David.  Mary pointed David's sister out to me at her bridal shower.  She was taking pictures and I thought she was pretty.  Apparently, she and Mary were working together to get David and me to meet.  I found out later that she showed David the pictures she took of me and he nodded and smiled at her the same way I did at Mary.

Us.  Wrigley Field, May 2008

Fast forward a couple of weeks and it's Mary's last Sunday at church before she moves to another state with her soon-to-be husband.  David, his sister, and his sister's husband come to our congregation to see Mary for the last time and so that David and I can meet.  I have no idea that they're going to be there.  I had been at an air show the day before and was tomato red from a sunburn.  I remember he got up during services (which he never does) to use the restroom and he passed by me.  I remember thinking how cute he was and that I wanted to meet him.  I didn't know it was the David that everyone kept telling me about.  We went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant and his family jokes about the fact that David's sister practically interviewed me the entire time.  David thought it would be cheesy to ask for my phone number at that time, and he knew he would see me at Mary's wedding the following Saturday so we parted ways.

I called my Mom before I got out of the parking lot and told her I had met a really cute Christian guy.

This will get a lot longer if I keep giving every single detail so I'll summarize.

Us on our 1 year anniversary trip to New England, October 2007

He asked for, and got, my phone number at Mary's wedding.  We hung out as friends for a couple of months while I dragged my feet to commit and he tried very hard to win me over.  I was an idiot, but I finally wised up.  I think it was because I knew that when he and I got together, that was it...he was my forever.  That, and I was dating someone else at the time.  I dropped him like a hot potato once I actually made up my mind and the rest, as they say, is history.

Oh, and it was him.  The email from the really nice "short, scrawny" guy.  It was David (all 6'3" and 190 lbs of him).  He was fresh out of a long relationship and decided to try the online dating thing.  He emailed a total of 2 girls on Match and one of them was me.  I guess God decided we deserved a second shot.  I'm sooo glad.

He proposed on Tax Day, ironically enough (he's in Finance).  He did it surrounded by my parents, sisters, and their husbands.  It was perfect.  Here's a picture right after I said "yes".

We were married October 2006 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club - the same place Tiger Woods won his unprecedented 3rd consecutive Amateur title.  I used to be proud of that fun fact regarding our wedding site.

We had a beautiful, gorgeous wedding.  My mom worked so hard to make every detail perfect and I love her for that, especially since I was still living 3 hours from my wedding site.  It was all wonderful.  Every single thing.  I know my neck is funky in this picture but I love our expressions because it shows how happy and excited we are to be getting married. 

Happy Valentine's Day, my love!