Our Love Story

With Valentine's next week, I'm sharing our "Love Story"

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

We have been together since August 2005

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Stephen is actually one of my brother's best friends. He has been around our family for almost 15 years, but we never really "noticed" each other. It was at my high school graduation party/Brother coming home from studying abroad where I "noticed" Stephen. He had come to our house for the party, and WOW! He had been lifting weights and got glasses! After I saw him, I asked my mom "have you seen Stephen?". She's like well yeah I've seen him, and I said "No, have you SEEN Stephen?" So I spent pretty much the whole summer before college trying to talk to him and hang out. Anyway, we finally started hanging out (pretty much non-stop for a week) after I moved to college and the rest is pretty much history. 

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

We have been married since November 2009

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We got married in the church where I grew up, East Side Baptist in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and our reception was at Hardscrabble Country Club. It was a decent size wedding, I would say. It was perfect! 

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

No! Not really our thing! Hah

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

Confident, hardworking, and passionate about life

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

I LOVE our proposal story. It's kind of long! 

I have been to NYC several times but I have always wanted to go at Christmas time. So in December 2008, my step-grandmother Lynn took me. We left early Wednesday morning and spent the day just roaming the city ending the night with a wonderful Italian meal and going to see the Rockettes. We had a really late night, so on Thursday morning Lynn let me sleep in and take my time getting ready. Unlike other trips with Lynn, this one had no schedule which is extremely not like her. On Thursday, we spent the whole day just shopping around. We had originally planned to go to the tree at Rockefeller Center, look at the lights in Central Park and the window displays on Fifth Avenue on Friday night, but all of a sudden, Lynn decided we would go on to the tree Thursday night. As we are looking at the tree and continuously walking back and forth around it, Lynn suddenly has to use the bathroom but tells me to stay outside and wait for her. When Lynn returns {which took forever}, she says " I heard there is someone out there that you will want to see." So as Lynn is literally pulling me, I look up and see Stephen walking towards us. I start shaking because I knew there was no other reason for Stephen to surprise me in New York City. After Stephen told me how much he loves and cares about me, he gets down on one knee and proposes! Of course, I said YES! THEN, he tells me that not only has he flown to NYC, but my mom, dad, brother, Ashley, and other grandmother were there!!! We ended the day with a wonderful dinner at The Four Seasons! 

Every time, I think about our proposal, I just smile! This was the greatest surprise of my life, and I didn't have a clue it was coming!! 

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

Flowers - no teddy bear though - Hah! 

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

I'm going with sunset dinner on the beach for two reasons.... We did this on our honeymoon and it was FABULOUS! and we don't watch movies! Stephen enjoys them, but I can't stay awake. Seriously, I'm out within 15 minutes!

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I would say that we would love to go to Germany to visit where his mom is from and do a trip to Israel with our church. 

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

We got a babysitter and had a nice dinner at Mahagony's Steakhouse. 

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Nope, a night out without a baby was good enough =)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Always keep the Lord first and communicate

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

I love this picture from our wedding day because it demonstrates the love between Stephen and I. Then the cross {which Stephen made for our wedding} is the love that was shown to us by Jesus Christ which is the greatest love of all. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
John 3:16