Our Story (Part 2)

Hello all! I signed on to post some new pictures, since I've actually taken some this week. However, my camera connections are not cooperating, so I will try again later. To answer a recent question, we are working on a name. I think we have the final one, but my stubborn husband will not let me release it, nor will he confirm that it is, indeed, *the* name. I'm working on it :) I will give you two hints though: it is has been in my top 5 (maybe 3) list of favorite girl's names forever, and the initials would be AKJ. Feel free to take a guess in the comment section, but only if I haven't told you the name for sure :)

Since I don't have a whole lot of other news, I guess I'll wrap up "Our Story." Although, I hardly got any comments from the last one, so I'm afraid I may be boring you all. Sorry if I am - I'll quit babbling and get to the ending.

So, in May, I went to Hawaii with a family who I'd known and babysat for forever. The kids were older, so there was very little work involved in the trip, and lots of fun! None of us were ready to come home when the trip was over. While we were there, the mother, Jamie, told me about a really sweet guy she'd just met at an engagement party. She knew his mother, named Christa, very well through her kid's school, and his twin brother was getting married soon. I gave her permission to pass my number along, but wasn't sure if anything would ever come of it. I thought it was interesting that his mother's name was "Christa." That is the name I'd planned on naming my first daughter since I was a kid, but I'd never met a "Christa" before. I was trying to get away from thinking that every first date could lead to a wedding, so I brushed the coincidence off, and focused on the trip.

I didn't hear from Cline for months. His twin brother got married that summer, so everyone was pretty occupied. Jamie told me she'd had second thoughts about setting us up, but just felt a little voice telling her to do it. By the time my phone number got from Jamie to Cline's mother to Cline, it was late summer. We played phone tag during the month of August, and finally set up our first date for August 30.

We met in our hometown and went to see "Open Range" followed by dinner at a local Italian restaurant. He was very cute, and conversation was very easy. We stayed at the restaurant until they closed, just chatting away about anything and everything. It was a perfect night, until the end, when Cline ended our time together by saying, "that was fun, maybe we can do it again sometime."

Whhhhhaaaatttttt????? Every girl knows that is a polite way of saying, "I'm not going to call you. If I see you around, then great, but I'm not planning to make an effort." I was devastated, and called Jamie the next day, in tears, to tell her about miserable failure that was the evening.
I spent a couple of days starting to wonder what I was doing wrong, that a nice guy like Cline wouldn't want to see me again. Meanwhile, Cline was at his house, eager to call me. He was about to pick up the phone the very next day, when his "younger, cooler" brother stopped him, informing him that he would appear desperate if he called so soon. Cline waited 2 days on this advice, and I returned home from a movie with my roommate to find an encouraging message on our machine. It was late, so I waited until the next day to return the call, but we talked nearly every evening and went out every weekend after that.

One year and 8 months later, we were married in our hometown. Our rehearsal dinner was so much fun and perfect for us - a 50s sock-hop theme at the school his mother works at. There were great decorations, floats and sundaes, and even a live Elvis impersonator! It was a blast, and I wish I could relive that whole evening without the pre-wedding jitters.

The actual wedding was at a beautiful chapel at his former high school, and our reception was across town at a beautiful college campus. The flowers were in full bloom. There was a cold front that day, but I didn't notice because of all the adrenaline. My bridesmaids all look like they're freezing in my pictures, though! We took a great honeymoon cruise to the Western Caribbean - a first for both of us. It was perfect, and we hope to do another cruise one day.

Well, I'd better run. Lots to do before Christa wakes up. Have a great day, and I'll try to get some pictures up soon.