Happy Valentine’s day!! Today, it’s my turn to share OUR love story. Hope you enjoyed reading the love stories of some very special people in my life in Monday’s post, here. In these often troubled times, it can be refreshing to cast aside all our worries for a day, or even just a few minutes and to concentrate on what’s right with the world. Hope you will enjoy reading this post as much as I am enjoying reminiscing and writing it. Welcome!
Our Love Story, 02.2018
When I first typed the title of this post, I left off the date. But later went back to add it. Wanted to be sure to indicate that this is only a part of our story, and the story of our love to the present. I look forward to many more days, months and years of life and love with my PC. God willing.
May, 2003
As I have mentioned before, we met through Match.com. Both of us were a few years out from difficult divorces. In many ways, we were both still a little raw. Just beginning to open our minds and our hearts to the possibility of trying our hand at love again.
My Prince contacted me with a message. Being an old-fashioned, back woods girl from Tennessee, it was my policy to let the guys reach out to me. And when I read PC’s perfectly punctuated and correctly spelled message, and saw his dreamy photo, I was instantly enchanted. The photos below are our Match.com profile pictures, terribly pixelated but the only ones I have. My heart still flutters when I see my Prince.
Our first date was on a Thursday night. We met in the Applebees parking lot before going in for dinner. And both commented, simultaneously, on how blue the other’s eyes were! Ha!
After a few marriages that had ended badly, and false starts back at dating, I decided to just put all of my baggage right out there on the table for PC to consider. I wanted to be upfront and not waste his time or mine. Surprisingly, he didn’t jump up and run out the door, although I don’t think he really saw us going anywhere either. But he said I was easy to talk to and reminded him of a girl from his high school in Ohio.
When we said goodbye, I expected at least a hug. But was quick to discover my Prince is very conservative when it comes to PDAs. So I hugged him. Had to see if we ‘felt’ right together and we did. The next day, he asked me to a movie for Saturday and our relationship began.
Fall, 2003
Most of the summer after we met, PC was attending a training course with the Army in Tuscon, Arizona. We switched into long distance dating mode. His daughter and son were with their mother for two months, and my girls were old enough that I could travel to visit Paul now and then on weekends. By the time he returned home and his children came back to El Paso from Iowa, I was pretty smitten.
Slow and Steady
We continued to date over the next few years with several hiccups along the way. Early on, I was ready to step things up. But with family responsibilities and issues with children, I realized it was better that we take our relationship slowly, one day at a time. For once in my life, I was thinking with my head and not just my heart.
Over the next few years, PC’s children moved to Iowa with their mother, my daughters graduated from high school and started college. Brennyn moved out of the house to live with her future husband while studying nursing. Lauren carried a full time pre-vet course load and worked 40 hours a week at a vet clinic, so she was busy creating her life.
Spring, 2007
PC retired from the military in March 2007. After 23 years in, it was a huge adjustment for him. Luckily, he was able to find a job with the Department of Defense doing work very similar to what he had been doing in the Army. A year or so before, he had purchased a house several miles from my little house and we had begun seeing more of each other through the week as well as on weekends.
Our Proposal
I think it’s only proper that I answer the same questions about our proposal that I posed to my guests in Monday’s post. So here goes.
- How did you meet? Answered that above, Match.com then Applebees.
- How long had you been dating when he proposed? About four years.
- Did you pick out the ring? Yes. We used to like to meet up and walk McKelligon Canyon together on Sundays. Sometimes we would pack snacks and the Sunday paper to read at the top of the hike, then walk back down afterward. On one particular Sunday, we were walking down the mountain and back to our cars when Paul broached the subject of engagement. He mentioned something about it being time to pick out an engagement ring. I was instantly thrilled and terrified. I loved PC but was so scared of potentially making another mistake. Sadly, in my marriage to the girls’ step-father, I had learned that love isn’t always enough to keep a relationship together. We did go look at rings and picked out not only an engagement ring but a wedding band, too! Yikes!!
- Describe the proposal. I think PC would probably have been okay with just giving me the engagement ring that day he bought it but I wanted a surprise, and a proposal. And I wanted to be absolutely sure we were both ready for this big step. I asked him to keep the ring and wait awhile. One of my favorite past-times most of my adult life has been looking at houses. Dreaming of the day when I would have a house. And I did buy my little house in the fall of 1991. My Prince and I had enjoyed looking at houses together when he was shopping for his first house. And a few years later, we started shopping for a dream house that would be ours together. One late afternoon, we were snooping around an open house with no intention of buying it but just checking it out. We walked out onto the master bedroom balcony to admire a lovely Franklin Mountain view. All of a sudden, my Prince began talking about marriage. Yup, he was proposing.
- When did you realize what was happening? Did you have any idea ahead of time? I didn’t realize what was happening at first and certainly had no idea ahead of time that that day was the day! I remember he said “I may not be able to buy you a big house like this one with as grand a view as this one has but I will always try my best to make you happy.” Then he pulled out my beautiful engagement ring. And were those stones ever sparkly. The time was right.
- How long have you been married? This July 11, we will be married 10 years. We kind of have two wedding dates. Crazy for a couple that was pretty darn gun-shy about getting married and took 5 years to get there. We were married by the Justice of the Peace in July 2008 then had a marriage and house blessing on September 28, 2008. I really consider that our wedding day. And we have been blessed ever since.
10 on the 10th
For this month’s 10 on the 10th post, Erin at Perfectly Port Family suggested we share 10 favorite memories with our spouse. Please be sure to stop by to read her sweet post. Somehow, I got kind of mixed up (ha, like that never happens!) and thought we were supposed to share 10 photos from our favorite memories together. So, I asked PC to pick 5 and I picked 5. And here they are.
And a Giveaway
Right before Christmas, I was looking for activities we could do when the kids visited for the holidays. I discovered a little game called Vertellis and ordered it, here, to play with the girls and their PCs. The mission of the Vertellis company really spoke to me, “With our initiatives we want to bring people closer together, stimulate time offline and help them realize their dreams.” [source] With my 2018 Wellness goal of unplugging from technology by 9 p.m., playing Vertellis sounded like the kind of activity I could sub in place of screen time.
[source]
We played the game the first time on New Year’s Eve with Lauren and Francisco, while eating dinner at a Chinese buffet. Doing so encouraged us to enjoy some deeper conversations than we probably would have had and gave us an opportunity to share some of favorite memories from the past and our dreams for the future.
Today I would like to give one lucky reader their own Vertellis game in hopes of inspiring the same kind of rich conversations with those you love. Please enter the giveaway by clicking below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Your Turn
Would love to hear from you. By clicking on the Rafflecopter link and by sharing your love story in a comment below, you will be entered to win Vertellis. Happy LOVE month!!
Hugs and kisses,
Daenel T.
What a sweet story. I enjoy reading/listening to “how we met and married” stories. They’re always so fascinating and each one is just different.
And, yep, I did enjoy reading the other love stories as well. Thank you for sharing such a fun post.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Love stories, even sad ones, are the best. I have to admit that the frogs I kissed served a purpose in giving me daughters (Frog #1) and providing a father-role model for my daughters as they grew up (Frog/Tadpole #2) and they led me to PC. I will always be thankful for that.
Metra
There are details here I never knew! You guys are so sweet and I love your love story!! Happy Valentine’s Day! Xoxo
Metra ❤
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for being a part of our Valentine’s posts on the blog and for being here for me this week. Enjoyed having you visit and getting to know Mark better. It was fun sharing our love stories on the couch last night. XO
Danielle
You have the sweetest story. I love it. And you both have beautiful blue eyes (I may be partial to blue eyes). I love how even though you picked out the rings, it was still totally a surprise. Happy Valentine’s Day!!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, sweet friend. I am worried about you. Are you guys ok? Hope you can get some rest this weekend. When do you have your February holiday break from school? Did you plan a getaway? XO
Natalie
Thanks, Leslie, for sharing your beautiful love story. I enjoyed reading your Monday’s post as well. Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your PC!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Natalie for visiting. The love story posts were fun to share and write. Shouldn’t wait til Valentine’s to do something love related again!!
Loretta Sayers
Wonderful post! I met my husband on Match too. Loved reading about your journey.
Much love to you dear!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, sugar foot, for coming by and leaving a comment. I want to try to do more love related posts throughout the year. Crazy to wait for February 14 to share the love. Big hugs!!
Laura
This is such a beautiful story! I loved reading it and I am so glad you shared it! Happy Valentine’s Day to you both!
Laura
I actually met my husband in Algebra 2 in high school! We were friends for a few years and then started dating our senior year of high school. We found out we were going to the same college and he asked me on a date (finally because apparently we had crushes on each other for a few years)! We got engaged our freshman year of college and married once we graduated from college 3 years later. The rest is history! 🙂
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Wow, what a great love story! How precious that you were eyeing each other for two years before you started dating. I love that. And what a beautiful life you have together. So glad you guys went on that first date. XO
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, baby girl!! Want to write more about love in the other eleven months!!! Will make that a goal. Sure enjoyed seeing the photos of your girls side-by-side. Twinsies!!
Nikki Gwin
I love that you included your Match.com photos! So cute. And seriously, Dennis did the same thing to me on our first date…. laying a lot of “stuff” out on the line and he did scare me. Even though I began to wonder “what am I doing here??”, I was determined enough to find out what makes this guy tick that I stuck it out.
I loved reading this and seeing all the pictures.
🙂 gwingal
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I am SO GLAD my blogging journey led me to you and your blog. It has been fun getting to know you and I feel like we have a number of commonalities. Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
I think I laid it all out there for PC just because I was tired of meeting guys and getting interested and then having it fizzle because I had too much baggage. Decided to just cut to the chase with my Prince. And he didn’t run!!!
Gail
Enjoyed reading your story Leslie. You look ideally suited! My story is similar, we met on a singles holiday! But he is pretty unromantic so we don’t do anything on Valentine’s Day.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Would love to hear more about your love story. Have you guys done the love language test before? I wrote a post about it a million years ago, maybe I should revive that post. I think there is a lot of truth to the test and its results and it helped me realize how PC receives/interprets love.
PC
I reckon we may as well do another 10 years, then reevaluate, eh? 😉 xoxo
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Yay!!! Another ten years. I am in.
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
I’ve been waiting for this post for awhile!! So sweet. I find it so interesting how some couples wait awhile and other get married right away. I think the timing was perfect for you both, though… just with the kids being older and more on their own and it is hard and a little scary to dive into another marriage. I just loved all of the photos you shared of you two throughout the years! I really can tell by all the stories you share on here that you and PC are madly in love and are so good for each other!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Awwww, Thank you. Yes, it was super scary going back into a marriage. And the first months were a little iffy. Just because we were both so nervous and so used to living on our own for a number years. But it all worked out.
Leanne | www.crestingthehill.com.au
I love a happily ever after – and you both sound like you deserve one. I’ve been reading the different posts on the blog hop and really enjoying them. Co-incidentally I have a post coming up on Feb 26th about my love story – it will be our 35th wedding anniversary and it seemed like an ideal time to write about us. Nice to see I’m in good company 🙂
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Looking forward to your Love Story post next week. Congratulations on 35 years. That is an amazing milestone. How you celebrate in a grand way.