How we got here

Mark & I met in the spring of 1998. We bumped into each other in the crowded halls of our high school. He was a senior & I was a junior. The dispute about who hit whom is what started our relationship. I said that he was traveling too fast & not looking where he was going. He said that I did not merge out of the classroom fast enough to accommodate traffic. Whoever ran into the other doesn't matter - a friendship began.


We began dating in July - shortly before Mark headed off to Trinity. A year later, when I was ready for college, I followed him there. [That is my parents' story...in my mind I decided on Trinity after a cheerleading practice where a stunt went wrong & I ended up with a 3 bar bruise on my leg (Trinity's logo) - obviously God wanted me there & not at Hope...but what are the odds of getting an anchor-shaped bruise? Looking back - Trinity had Mark. Hope was 2 1/2 hours from Mark. Easy choice.]

We had a wonderful time at Trinity - met wonderful friends, were able to take advantage of being close to Chicago & of course, fell more in love. But, never being one who liked being away from home - I missed my family. I made it two years. No one was more excited than Mark was when I was accepted at Hope. It would be difficult, but we had already done one year in separate states - we were confident that we could do another.

Mark's senior & my junior year of college was one of my favorites. I was home with my family, going to a great school & spending most of my weekends in Chicago. It was the best of both worlds. I was also - planning a wedding. Mark graduated in 2002. We were truly blessed & Mark had a teaching job lined up for fall.

August 2, 2002 was the most wonderful day. We were married. I remember a bit of panic as I met my dad at the back of the church. I suddenly wondered if this was the right thing to do. As fast as the words went through my head - I had a clam. Mark was waiting for me at the end of the aisle. Everything was going to be fine - I was marrying Mark.

Fast forward almost 6 years. We are expecting our first baby in about a month. It is SO hard to believe - it's gone so fast and been so much fun. It's been a wonderful adventure. I never thought that I could love Mark more than I did on our wedding day. But I was wrong. The last 6 years we have grown up so much. My mom has always said that she grew up with my dad. I now understand what she means. They were 19 when they got married Mark & I were a little older 21 & 23 - but we still had a lot of learning & growing to do. We've done that together. Not that we have fully grown up & we've made plenty of mistakes - but I had no idea what an amazing man I was marrying. He's a hard worker, loving, kind and I am excited to see him take on his new role as 'Dad'. Also, given the fact that Mark does not have much experience with babies...I'm sure this will prove to be quite amusing as he learns all the 'fun' things that babies do.