Our story

Today marks 12 years that I have been married to my best friend.  I won't lie and say it's been all sunshine and roses, but everything we have gone through, we have gone through together and we have come out together on the other side of it stronger in our marriage and closer as a couple. 

I realized that I never really told our story on my blog: how we met, when we started dating, etc.  So without further ado....

Chris and I actually met in 7th grade when my family moved to CO and started attending the same church as his family.  But we didn't really ever talk to each other except for "hi", or the occasional razzing about the other person's sports team, till about 4 years later.  Officially we started really talking when we had the same Physics class and he sat in front of me on the first day of school.  I can still remember thinking to myself, "what kind of person wears a holey t-shirt and basketball shorts on the first day of school?".  I mean I seriously spent probably several hours thinking about, shopping for and planning my first-day-of-school outfit.  Haha - I still tease him about it to this day. But I digress.... Throughout the semester, we would talk a little about physics or church, and I couldn't believe a jock (he played 4 sports I think?) and someone so good-looking would be interested in talking to a lowly choir jock (yes we really did call ourselves that - weren't we cool?) like myself.  He was dating some girl (or so I thought) and so we were strictly becoming better friends at that point. 

Our first outing together (it wasn't really a date because Chris didn't ask me with that intent) was to go see my ex-boyfriend in the hospital.  Haha - funny story!  He was a mutual friend from youth group at our church and he had just had surgery and was in the hospital for a few days.  Chris called me up out of the blue and asked if I wanted to go with him to see this guy in the hospital the next afternoon after school.  I wasn't really excited about going to see my ex-boyfriend in the hospital, but I was excited to hang out with Chris, so I agreed.  When we got to the hospital, apparently I made some comment about how this guy and I had broke up about six months ago and Chris says right then he felt horrible.  Like, he's bringing this guy's ex-girlfriend in, as it appears, to show off that he is now dating me.  That wasn't at all his intention, he honestly just thought since I didn't have a car and since he thought we were still dating and since he was this guy's friend too that we could just carpool to go see him.  What a chivalrous, sweet guy!  (My first clue)

I figured that would be the end of it, so I wasn't really getting my hopes up and still hadn't really thought about Chris as any more than a friend.  But then the next day he called me again.  And we talked for a loooong time.  This was back before the time of cell phones or DSL, so anytime I spent on the phone was time that my parents couldn't use the phone OR the internet.  No wonder they were always limiting my phone time!  That phone conversation was when I realized that I liked Chris as more than a friend.

Our first "date" was to go see Chris' sister play a soccer game in Colorado Springs.  Except that we never made it to the game because we ended up just sitting around talking the whole evening at his house.  We had a lot in common and really hit it off.  When we first started dating we would talk for hours and hours and hours.  I wish we had that kind of time now!



Senior Homecoming - 1997

Chris and I started dating the end of our junior year of high school, so I can proudly say I married my high school sweetheart. We became very close very fast, and I think we both knew we had something special. Our senior year of high school was fairly uneventful, but I think most people were very surprised that we were still dating when we graduated.  We spent almost every minute together that we could between school, work and sports.


Senior Prom - 1998



High School Graduation - 1998

When I went up to Ft. Collins my freshman year of college and Chris stayed in Golden at CSM, we spoke on the phone or emailed almost every day.  I missed him a lot, and I can honestly say that that is when I knew he was the man I wanted to marry.  I think that year was good for us though, because it taught us how to better communicate and solidifed our feelings for each other.  I transferred to CU Denver my sophmore year and if anyone asked me, I would tell them it was so that Chris and I could get married sooner.

August, 1998 - the day I moved into my college dorm room

Chris and I got engaged over Christmas break of our sophmore year of college.  We were both 19!!  19!!  At the time we felt mature, grown-up and not at all still kids, but now as I look back, and especially when I think of our own kids getting engaged at that age, it's a little scary.  I wouldn't change a thing if I could go back and do it over though, so I really believe it was a great decision!

1999

We were married in 2000, the summer between our sophomore and junior years of college.  We did a lot of growing up as a married couple, which was maybe a little harder than doing it as a single person, but I think it also made us closer. 

Sorry for the grainy picture - this was pre-digital-camera era.

Over the past 12 years (15 if you include our dating years) I have grown to know and love Chris more and more!  I am so grateful for the man God gave me to be my partner for life.  I am a totally lucky girl!  I can't wait to see what the next 12 years brings to our lives and to our marriage!