I am trying to figure out how all of this works :) I have had several people ask the typical questions:
- how did you meet
- when did you meet
- when are you getting married
- how did he propose
I have decided that with everything going on in our lives, we would start a blog so everyone know's what's new in our lives. As of today, a lot is new. I cannot wait to keep everyone up-to-date on the happenings in our lives.
So, here is our story! Enjoy :)
HOW DID WE MEET
We met in April, 2009 on www.ldssingles.com Paul was the first guy I had exchanged more than 10 words with. We continued chatting from April through the 1st part of July and due to some unforeseen circumstances, we lost touch. Although we (temporarily) lost touch, we never stopped thinking about each other... what the other was doing, were they ok, what's new in their life, etc. Then in January, 2010 Paul sent me a friend request on Facebook. I remember like it was yesterday... I came home from work and logged onto FB. I saw the request and my eyes shot up at my sister Emily and I said "Paul sent me a friend request". The only thing she could think to say was "Virginia Paul?????". The next day Paul and I spent the majority of the day exchanging text messages and the day after that, he sent me a text asking if he could call me. I was ecstatic :) I got off of work at 6:30 p.m. and I believe our 1st conversation lasted 3-4 hours. Between January 21st (the day he called me) and February 4th, we spent hours on the phone getting to know each other. Ironically, I had lost my job in Idaho so we had plenty of time to talk. I ended up having to call Sprint and buying more minutes. I went through 700 daytime minutes in 4 days. It was well worth it.
On January 25th Paul booked my flight from Idaho Falls, ID to Richmond, VA. It was a crazy time in my life because I was not only packing for my trip to Virginia, I was packing to move back to Missouri. I had been offered a job the Saturday before and had 4 days to get everything ready to be loaded in my u-haul the day I flew back to Idaho. It all came together, and on February 4th, I left Idaho and flew across the country to see Paul. I wish I could say that the trip was smooth sailing... but it wasn't. It was long! I flew from Idaho Falls, Id to Salt Lake City, Ut and then to Richmond, Va. The rough waters did not end once I hit Richmond! They had just started. As soon as the plane landed in Richmond, I went into a full blown anxiety attack. I could not breath, I lost feeling in my feet and I was shaking so bad, everything I had in my hands fell onto the floor next to my seat. This poor woman next to me did not speak any English other than "are you ok, are you ok" (with a thick Chinese accent)...... My only reply was "No". The thought "what am I doing" kept going through my mind. This was a 5 day blind date. Was I crazy. I did the life saving, put your head between you knees, and was able to get my breathing under control. I called my sister as soon as I was able to and she talked me through the rest of it. I am pleased to say that the anxiety passed and as soon as I got off the plane and saw Paul, life was amazing. All of my fears of "what if we don't like each other" vanished. I knew we were going to have a great 5 days together.
It was a blessing from above that we enjoyed being with each other as much as we did. I say this because Charlottesville, Va (I should say the ENTIRE East Coast) got foot after foot of snow. I thought I was leaving the snow behind in Idaho. Oh NO! That would not be my luck. I believe it snowed almost 3 feet while I was there. Everything we had planned to do while I was there was tossed out the window. We did try to get out once to go to Walmart and as soon as we got to the store, we realized... IT WAS CLOSED. We had a great time though. We sat around and watched a lot of Cops (a personal favorite), World's Dumbest and whatever else that we could laugh at. We did a lot of laughing. February 9th, I flew back to Idaho Falls. After Paul dropped me off, I called my mom and told her how sad I was that I had to leave. I knew from the moment Paul picked me up on the 4th that there was something about him that I was going to like. Little did I know, there was a LOT about him that I would LOVE!
Not long after I flew home, I knew that Paul was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. To a lot of people, our relationship has moved VERY quickly, but to me (us) is seems right. On March 19th, I drove to St. Louis and picked up Paul. Little did I know, he had something amazing up his sleeve :)
THE PROPOSAL
On Saturday March 20th, we drove to Nauvoo, Il. I grew up in the Nauvoo Stake so going around town and seeing all the little houses/shops was not new to me. Paul had never been there so I thought it would be a lot of fun for him to see Nauvoo for the first time with me. Little did we know.... mother nature would be stubborn and give us a horrible mixture of rain, snow and wind to play in :) After stopping in Hannibal, Mo for donuts (yummm) we made it to Nauvoo around 11:00 (I believe). We parked the car, I grabbed the umbrella and off we went. Although the temp in the car said that it was 31 degrees outside, the wind made it feel so much colder. We walked across the street to the temple and Paul got his camera out so he could take a couple pictures. Across the street from the temple is a statue of Joseph & Hyrum Smith on their horses. We walked over to the statue so Paul could take a picture from a little further away. The entire time I was thinking "I love this city, but dang... it's FREEZING". I did not dress for the weather! Paul and I walked around the statue talking about how bad the weather was but how beautiful the temple was. About a minute later I looked up and saw a beautiful Blue Heron flying above us. For those of you who don't know this. The Blue Heron is my very favorite bird. I love spring and summer because they usually are only seen when the weather is warm. That bird is such a sign of peace and good luck to me! Anyway, I stared at the bird and got the best feeling inside. As I kept my eyes on the Heron, I told Paul to look up. He did and I said "Do you see my Heron, I can't figure out why it's flying in the snow, it's a sign of good things to come though". At that moment, Paul said "Speaking of good things"... I looked back toward him and he was dropping to one knee. As he opened the ring box he said "Will you, will you marry me". I honestly think it if I was not so dang cold, I would have cried!!!! I was so excited. I replied "Of course I will". He stood up and I think I squeezed the life out of him. I could not have been happier. It may have been cold and wet and I may have looked like a drown cat, but it was the most PERFECT moment of my life. He's the most amazing thing to ever happen to me!
THE WEDDING
We are getting married on July 9, 2010 in the Washington D.C. LDS Temple. We are planning a reception on July 10 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Wedding plans are coming along very slowly, but coming along nonetheless. My mom is making my dress and I wish I could put into words how excited I am by the dress I have picked. I think it fits my style and personality to a T. I hope it turns out as beautiful as I imagine it will!
I don't have much else to update everyone on..... give me time and I am sure there will be plenty to tell!
OUR HOUSE
Something VERY EXCITING happened today!!!! Paul signed the mtg papers on our very first house. I cannot explain how excited I am knowing we will already own a home when I move to Virginia. I am beyond excited to see it next week. The house is in Palmyra, Va. Just outside of Charlottesville. It's close enough to the police station in C'ville (where Paul works) but far enough away so we both feel we have distance between us and the city. Several people have asked about the specifics of the house. Here is some info.
4 bedrooms
2 bathrooms
2,200 sq ft with an unfinished basement
fenced in backyard (perfect for a dog)
Hopefully this is a house that we can grow in and live in for a long, long, long, long time. I can't stress the word long :)
I hope everyone appreciates this 1st post. If there is anything you want to know, just write a comment :) I will do my best to keep the blog current with as many pictures as I can.
