Happy Birthday to our Family!

Today Mark and I have been married for 12 years.  In honor of the occasion, I'd like to record our "story."  And since I trust my memory not at all, I've searched out my journal from the time of our courtship to try to get the details correct.

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Our story begins in January, 2001.  I was a senior at BYU, finishing my very last semester and getting ready to apply to graduate school.  I'd been in the same apartment for 2 1/2 years and was feeling kind of stagnant.  Mark had finished his mission to Melbourne, Australia the previous September and had spent a few months at home working before the new semester started.  When he returned that January, he moved into an apartment of guys with whom my roommates and I were really great friends.  

I remember the first time I saw him, thinking he was really cute, but his roommate, Nate, quickly informed us that he had a girlfriend back in Pennsylvania.  We started hanging out gradually - birthday parties of friends, ward activities, BYU basketball games, group movies - and became easy friends.  Our Bishop called us to be ward sports co-chairs, so we had even more excuse to spend time together.  

In my journal (March 8), I wrote, "When we're together, even in big groups, we have a tendency to tune everyone else out and exist in our own little world....There are a ton of things that I love about him and, often, it's the little things that draw me in.  He is incredibly intelligent and has a phenomenal memory...He's so much fun and funny too.  Just enough sarcasm and wit to make things interesting but not so much that it's caustic or insulting...He's very caring and helpful...He's very respectful and seems to have a strong testimony and love for the Lord and the Gospel...He's dedicated and motivated both in school and in life."

Clearly, I liked him a lot, but Mark still had this girlfriend back in Pennsylvania.  In some ways, the fact that he had a girlfriend made it easier for us to become friends because there was a lot less pressure.  I remember telling friends, "either him having a girlfriend will be the best thing that ever happened to us because we got to be real friends first, or I'm going to end up with a majorly broken heart."

As the semester progressed, so did our friendship and the time we were spending together.  Soon, Mark was picking me up at work three days a week and we would go work out, then often have dinner together.  I remember the day Mark asked, "so, what are we having for dinner?"  The "we" felt significant and so did the suggestion that it was obvious that we would be having dinner together.

Towards the end of the semester I knew things between Mark and I were changing.  The differences were subtle, but they meant a lot to me.  For example, he went with me to the Senior Celebration, and spent the whole night humming, "Something tells me I'm in for something good."

My family came out for my graduation and Mark spent the whole week with us and came to both of my graduations.  My dad commented, "He seems like a nice guy, but if he hurts my daughter I'll rip out his liver and eat it with a spoon."  When Dad left, he shook Mark's hand, then reached out and patted his stomach, saying, "I think your liver's safe."

That same night, Mark took me up on campus to have a "talk." He told me he'd broken up with his girlfriend; that he'd planned on breaking up with her for a long time but felt bad not being able to do it in person, so he'd waited "too long."  And finally, we were able to be more than friends.

In June I went home for two weeks, which felt completely miserable.  The night I got back, we knew it was time for another "talk."  We went to the park and Mark asked, "So...when were you thinking?" 

"I was thinking December, when were you thinking?"

"I was thinking the same thing, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

No, that wasn't our official engagement (that came two months later), but from then on there was no question that we would get married.  

We ended up both being wrong about December.  Due to temple closings, we happily decided to move up our wedding to the day after Thanksgiving - 12 years ago today.  It was an incredible day and the beginning of our wonderful family.