8 years of wedded bliss...

Today is our anniversary - we have been married for 8 years! What a wonderful adventure it has been! I am so glad to have found my best friend, my eternal companion, and the best father to our children.

For those of you who don't know, this is our story...or at least my side of it! We met in August of 1999 when we were set up on a blind date by our mutual friend Rachel Gleason (now Troughton). We had a great time, but I was so nervous that I didn't give him my phone number (oh wait, he didn't ask!). Rachel gave me his phone number and I called (it took me DAYS to get up the courage) then his mom answered and I tried to leave a message, but she was like "Oh, we have caller ID!" He never called me back! I was so sad, but then fate stepped in. He sold a car to someone who is a member of the credit union where I work, so he came in to get the check for the loan they got and we chatted. Then Rachel gave him my work number and he called - this was in November (3 months after our first date). We went to a football game, had a great time, and I gave him my phone number. Three WHOLE weeks went by before he called me again! I was dying! We went out again and had a great time, this was at the end of November. On a Sunday in December, I woke up one morning with the most amazing feeling - I knew that this day would be the beginning of the rest of my life. I didn't know why, but I felt so good and at peace. I went to church like normal and everything was fine, and that night I went to an Institute choir concert. Nate was in the choir! After the concert was over he came out into the lobby and I was talking with this annoying guy who wouldn't stop talking, Nate came up to me and was standing there and was about to walk away...I grabbed onto his arm (I think it was pretty hard!) and asked him to wait. I realized, I had to be the aggressive one - so I called him that night and invited him to my singles ward FHE the next day. We were pretty much inseparable after that. We had our first kiss on January 1st, 2000, and were engaged on June 9th, 2000 and married August 26th, 2000!