Our Story - Part 1... (From Jenn's Point of View)

I think from the time you're a little girl, every girl dreams of meeting her prince and having him sweep her off her feet, carry her away, and live happily ever after with him. I know even my niece, who's only four years old, talks about her prince and how one day she'll marry him. I was just like any girl, well for the most part. Before I tell our story, let me give you a little bit of background on my own story....

I'm the youngest of three kids. I have one older brother, Joe, and one older sister, Steph. As kids we were like any normal kids. We played hide and go seek outside, we played pee wee sports, we beat on each other and tattled on each other. When I was younger, I was a tomboy. Well, at least from the outside I was a tomboy. I loved to do what the boys did, yet at the same time I still liked to do what the girls did. One moment I'd be playing in the dirt and playing baseball, but the next minute I'd be playing Barbies with my sister and our friends. Even though I may have appeared to be a tomboy from the outside - playing in the dirt, wearing my brother's clothes, and playing trucks with the boys - I was still a princess at heart. I dreamed of the day when I would meet my prince charming. I dreamed of dressing in a white dress and having my daddy walk me down the aisle to marry this prince. I dreamed of the perfect fairy tale, where my prince would take me away and we would live our happily ever after together....

As I grew up and went into high school I grew out of my tomboy stage. I still wasn't a girly girl, but I was no longer a tomboy. In high school and college I was BOY CRAZY! And crazy doesn't even begin to describe me. I was obsessed with boys, obsessed with finding my one true love. I had little regard for the fact that I was still young, and that none of the boys in school were what I truly wanted. In high school I was pathetic (if that can even describe me). I liked a different guy at least every month and studied that guy so that I knew everything about him. I laugh about it now, but also admit that it was crazy. Despite liking all of these guys, I never dated. I wasn't the kind of girl these guys wanted. I have to say, probably my most ridiculous high school moment with a guy was at the beach with my best friend Erica. We seriously must have checked out a dozen guys at the beach - one of them being a particular lifeguard. That poor lifeguard got "studied" more that week than probably any other time in his life. It was pathetic. Anyways, once high school was passed and I started college, I was still boy crazy (just ask my roommate). I didn't like nearly as many different guys in college, but I liked enough. My poor roommate had to listen to me talk about them all the time, and I probably drove her insane. Anyways, there was a particular guy who I had my heart set on in college for a long time. I was convinced that God wanted the two of us together and that we'd get married. However, God had a different plan. Through a series of difficult events, he showed me that we weren't meant to be. He had different plans, plans that I couldn't even fathom at the time. It was at this point that I told God that I was giving up on guys. I was going to be content to be single for then because I didn't want any more heartache....

So there's the background... that's where I was at the end of 2006... but, moving on....

...So I gave up on the whole guy thing in December 2006. I told God, "that's it" for guys. No more right now. But God had a slightly different plan (just slightly). January 2007 comes along. January 18, 2007 to be exact. I was at college hanging out with friends. My friends Eddie (who I'd known for a couple years) got a new roommate. Eddie and his new roommate, Josh, decide to come over to the dorm that I was living in and play games with myself and several other of our friends. Eddie wanted to introduce Josh to everyone and help him get to know us. Eddie had told us (my roommate and me) a little about this friend already - Josh was 20, he lived about a half hour from school, he was a Marine, he had a girlfriend. So I knew at that point, since I'd given up the whole guy thing and this guy already had a girlfriend, that all I wanted was to be nice to this new roommate of Eddie's and potentially be his friend. So the two of them come over to play games with us.

So we play games. I remember that night distinctly. We were playing Apples to Apples and Dutch Blitz. While playing Apples to Apples I couldn't help but notice the smile on this new guy's face. I also couldn't help but notice his bright blue eyes. He seemed kind of quiet, yet at the same time he seemed to be a "bad boy". But I couldn't get him out of my mind, of course he was sitting across the table from me so that didn't help much. I kept saying to myself "I'm done with guys, plus he has a girlfriend. Stop thinking about him!"

Fast forward a few days. This Josh guy leaves for Utah to visit his girlfriend. I think about him all weekend, which is pretty bad since he's with his girlfriend. My friends all ask me if I like him because of the way I'm acting, I deny the fact. Looking back, I was just in denial because I figured there was no point in liking this guy since he was taken and I was done with guys.

Fast forward a few more days, January 31st. I'm talking on AIM to Josh. Josh tells me that he sees something in me and he likes me. I don't know what to think. I'm ecstatic! Finally, I like a guy and he likes me back. I sit there wondering, can this be a God thing? (Within this time, Josh breaks up with his girlfriend. Note: I didn't cause him to break up with her, it was something that had been coming for awhile.)

February 11th - I take Josh home to my house to introduce him to my parents and family. They get along wonderfully, which makes me smile! While we are there, Josh asks my dad for permission to date me.

February 12th - Before dinner, Josh comes to the dorm I live in and brings me flowers. On the way to dinner he asks me if I would be his girlfriend. Of course I accept the invitation. I'm ecstatic!

We started our relationship together right before Valentine's day and were both very excited about it. Here are some pictures from our early days of dating....

The two of us hanging out watching a movie together

Spending time together in the lounge of my dorm

Hanging out together with friends (and probably playing DDR)

Together after cutting our friend, Eddie's, hair

Less than a month after we started dating, March 9th, Josh was sent overseas with the Marines for three weeks. I think this was the hardest three weeks of my life, yet the most rewarding. During those three weeks I was apart from the guy I liked, worried about him, trying to focus on school, and at the same time trying to find ways to get to know him better. A friend pointed out at this time that over half the time we had "been together" as a couple, we had spent apart. During this time I dreamt about him and thought about him alot. I also did a lot of praying, praying that God would show me if this is the guy he wanted me to spend my life with. After all, I had gone into this relationship with the intentions that I was only going to date a person if there was a serious possibility of me marrying them. I didn't want anymore heartbreak. During these three weeks God gave me so much peace and I feel that during this time God showed me that Josh was the man I was going to spend my life with. I was at complete peace about our relationship together.

Josh came home in April after three weeks apart...

It was so great to be back with him and to be able to get to know him better in person. However, we had a little over a month to be together at school before it ended. I feel as though this month continued to draw as closer to each other as a couple. There were so many conversations that lasted hours, dates out together, and time spent with friends and family that helped us learn more about each other. I had come to love so much about this guy, so much more than just his smile and bright blue eyes. I loved his honesty, devotion, desire to have a family, direction in life, his way of accepting everyone, etc.

In May, the end of the school year came. Josh was asked to carry the American flag at our school's graduation. I attended the ceremony to see him.

After graduation, we both had to head our separate ways to our homes (which are two hours apart) for the summer. The summer would prove to be a growing experience for both of us...

-Jenn