Our Love Story

I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, From Mrs. To Mama, to post about Gracie Rae's love story.

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Marc & I have been together for 10 years!  March 8, 2002 was our first date & the beginning of our love story.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

We actually met on the dating website match(dot)com.  I moved to Las Vegas in June 2001 where I got my first job as a dietitian.  After applying everywhere & being told time after time that I needed more experience, a hospital in Las Vegas finally hired shortly after graduation.  I decided that I would move there for a year, gain experience & then move back to the PNW where the rest of my family lived.

Fast forward to Valentine's Weekend 2002.  My older sister, Sarah, was in town visiting.  We were watching TV one night when a commercial for match(dot)com came on & she suggested that I give it a try.  Seeing as I had not met one nice guy since living there, I thought what the heck?  It actually wasn't that easy to convince me to sign up.  After much persuasion I reluctantly agreed, if and only if, she signed me up, set up my profile & contacted some guys for me.  She did & the rest is history.  Well not really.  I met a few duds at first, but shortly after that weekend, Marc emailed me, we talked on the phone for a few weeks, and on March 8, 2002 we went on our first date.

After dating about 6 months, I kind of had a freak out moment.  I loved Marc but was struggling with staying in Las Vegas.  All of my family lived in the PNW & I knew if Marc and I stayed together, we would ultimately stay in Vegas (he was born & raised there and just about his entire family lives there).  And I definitely knew that I didn't want to stay in Las Vegas forever.  So I did the unthinkable & broke up with him.  It didn't last long though.  A few days later I quickly came to my senses, realized what a wonderful guy he was & how much I loved him, and we got back together.  I wasn't willing to give up the love of my life just because I wasn't living in my ideal place.  It was the BEST decision that I ever made!

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

We got married on June 26, 2004 so it has been 7 1/2 years.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We got married at the Catholic church that Marc belonged to & his mom works at.  St. Thomas More is a beautiful church & we were married by two priests, one of them being a dear friend of Marc's family Fr. Steve Thoma.  We had around 200 people at our wedding & we were so thankful to share this special day with all of our family & friends that we love so much.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

We usually call each other babe.  It is very rare that we use each other's first name.  I only call him Marc if I'm mad at him. :)

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

* I LOVE that he adores his girls and is such a wonderful father to them.

* I LOVE his work ethic, drive & determination at work.

* I LOVE his laid back personality & that he always knows how to make me laugh.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

April 20, 2003.  His words: 'I was going to take you up to Red Rock, go for a hike, find a romantic spot, and propose to you at sunset.'  Unfortunately those plans quickly changed when the weather got nasty & we had a horrific hail storm.  So instead, we decided to go to our most favorite restaurant in the whole wide world--Cheesecake Factory.  The wait was ridiculously long, and everyone was squished together like sardines inside since it was pouring raining outside.  We were huddled up next to this fake tree (I only remember the tree because it kept hitting my head/face & getting in the way) and Marc kept looking at me.  One of those stare in the face, awkward moments, were you kind of get uncomfortable.  He didn't say anything at first but then started talking to me about getting married and said to me 'what would you do if I proposed to you right now?'  I said 'you won't' and then I asked what he was doing because he was fiddling with this belt loop.  Well, unbeknownst to me, he had tied the ring to a string (which hung down the inside of his pant leg) & tied the string to his belt loop.  When I asked what he was doing, he was trying to untie the string to get the ring out.  And before I knew it, he was down on one knee asking me to marry him!  At first I just looked at him in shock, looked at everyone staring at us & whispering (is he really proposing??!!), and then quickly said YES!  We kissed & hugged and then ran outside to call our parents!   

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

Neither, but that is by my choice.  He used to buy me flowers a lot, and while I love them, I hate how fast they die!  I feel like it is such a waste of money.  So instead, he occasionally buys me my all time favorite treat--chocolate!  Or ice cream!  Or anything sweet for that matter!  He definitely knows the way to a girl's heart!

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Definitely a pop a movie in & relax on the couch kind of couple!  But since having kids, that doesn't happen all too often.  Between getting up early, working long hours, & traveling a lot for work, the ole' man is usually in bed by 9:00pm.  Ha!  So we usually just watch TV in bed together.  

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

We would love to buy a second home (or timeshare) in Hawaii!  We always talk about when we retire & the girls are all grown up, how nice it would be to go to a sunny, warm spot during the awful winter months.  And Hawaii would be on the top of our list!  

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

We haven't even talked about it yet...until now.  I just asked Marc (as I am typing this out), what are we going to do for Valentine's Day?  He said that he thought we could go out to dinner, so could I call the babysitter & see if she is available.  Guess I better get right on it when I'm done with this post! :)

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Nope.  A quiet dinner alone with hubby will be PERFECT!

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Communicate & keep each other a TOP priority.  Having children, I can totally see how the spouse can fall to the wayside.  You are so busy tending to your children, making sure they are fed, bathed, & taken care of, not to mention keeping on top of the housework, laundry, cooking, etc. it can be so easy to forget about your spouse.  Communication & keeping your spouse #1 are very important in keeping a relationship strong, and two things that I try to work hard on (and sometimes struggle with) in my marriage.

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

{The 3 loves of my life!}