how I met my husband

This is our first photo together in 2006.  He did not like me as much as I liked him! 

Kelly's topic this week is How You Met Your Husband!  

Whoo hoo, I love telling this story!   

One fateful day in September of 2005, a girlfriend invited me over to visit her new apartment and watch Monday night football with some friends.  She told me that she met a new teacher at school (Justin briefly taught high school for a year and a half and decided it was NOT for him.  Ha!) and he was nice and cute.  Yeah, yeah, yeah I thought.  Well Justin showed up and we talked and such.  The next week we both showed up and talked some more.  This became a weekly event for a small group of us to get together and watch football, which eventually turned into Sunday and Monday night football with a little Grey's Anatomy thrown in for fun.  I tease him that he was there to meet girls and not watch Grey's.  

We continued this for months and I started to really like Justin because he was a super nice guy.  We started a bible study together in February and I thought man I really like this guy, but I wasn't sure how he felt about me.  We started hanging out just us two, but it was really only as friends.  One day I decided that I had had enough so I got brave and kissed him!  We've been together ever since....

But since every story must have some drama, here goes.  Justin was scheduled to go to basic training for the army that May, but then he came down with mono and couldn't go.  He was rescheduled to go in June but then something happened with his records and they pushed him back to July.  In July he broke up with me (I like to call it something that would happen in a Rascal Flatt's video).  We were sitting on his couch when he broke the news that he didn't want to be with me.  That is the couch in the very same living room that we hang out in now.  Anyways, he left for basic training and I was crushed.  (Jason Whitlock I know you are reading this and laughing at my "basic training" era!)

While Justin was at basic training I started to slowly get letters from him.  I believe it was seven letters to be exact.  The letters started off friendly enough, but as they progressed I could tell that he regretted his decision to end things between us.  Ironically, when he was there he was given one phone call and he ended up calling me on my birthday no less.  In his last letter he asked me if he could take me out again when he got home.  I wanted to say no, but my heart was saying yes!  

When he got home he sat me down and told me that I had a few options.  I could be his friend or be his girlfriend and he really hoped that I picked the latter.  We got back together and have been together ever since!  He is a wonderful guy and I feel so fortunate to call him my husband.  I feel that all of the setbacks in our relationship and his leaving to go to basic training really did help us in the end.  Love you Justin! 

Here are some pictures of our journey.  Please enjoy my many hairstyles and weight fluctuations! 

Sometime around Christmas 2006

2007 (I should not slouch!)

2007

2008

Engaged!  May 11, 2008

Our engagement party 2009

Wedded Bliss June 13, 2009