I believe in love. I believe in romance. I believe in happy endings. One of my favorite things to do when I'm getting to know someone is to hear him or her tell the story of how they met their significant other. I luv seeing the hearts in their eyes as they reflect on the moment. I appreciate getting to learn more about them, their relationship, and how they became to be.

My husband and I met in 2005 in the place that “you’re not supposed to meet your husband.” We met in a club in Hollywood, CA called Forbidden City on Vine and Hollywood Blvd.  My husband’s version of the story is that he “knew when he saw me that night that I was his wife.” We exchanged numbers and talked here and there after that night.  We eventually set-up a date and time to meet for lunch.  The day and time came and I never heard from him! He stood me up!! I was shocked and my ego was bruised.  I had never been stood up and for it to happen with some random guy I met in a club, I was really upset.  I called him and confronted him on the situation.  He apologized, shared that he was working, lost track of time, and totally forgot.  During this conversation, he was talking but all I heard was blah, blah, blah, blah, blah….. Once we ended the phone call I made up my mind that I would delete his number and just be done, because “no one stands me up, the nerve of him!” "Who did he think he was?" In less than a week after that incident he emailed me and apologized again and shared that, “his mother taught him that if he really wants something to go after it.” He went on to share that he wanted to know if I was open to go on at least ONE date with him; no strings attached. He expressed that if I didn’t enjoy myself we would go our separate ways from there with no hard feelings. I initially took my sweet time replying back to his email and agreed to go on ONE date! (Yes, yes I do still have that original email from him.)

A couple weeks later we went to dinner.  He was a total gentleman.  He picked me up from my house and brought me back home safely.  He opened all car doors and restaurant doors.  We ate; we laughed, and spent time getting to know one another.  At the end of the night he walked me to my door, tightly hugged me good-bye and left me with a Valentine’s Day gift. He shared that since our date was near Valentine’s Day and since he “forgot" about our original date that he wanted to apologize once more.  Again, he was a total gentleman and never tried to “make a move”, so that made me feel very comfortable around him.  One thing I learned about him that night is that he went to college with many of my close friends from High School.  I immediately called a couple of those friends after my date with him and started investigating this man!  All of my friends that knew him from college had all good things to say about him. This new information made me comfortable enough to accept another date with him.  We went on dates here and there, nothing consistent, but each time we had fun and he continued to be a true gentleman. He never made a move to kiss me, he never made a move to be physically intimate with me; we just spent time enjoying each other's company.  As time went on life happened and we eventually lost touch for two years.

In 2007, we reconnected and began to hangout as friends. We had a lot of fun together and the time spent was genuine and without pressure.  During that time he worked his way into my heart and I started seeing him as my Best Friend. One day during my commute home from work God said to me, “He is your husband.” I heard it and I knew God would not lie to me, however, I had a difficult time believing it, because I was not in love with this man at the time. At the end of 2007 we began to date more exclusively and moved towards dating and not just “hanging-out.” During our two-year dating anniversary, in 2009, we took a vacation to Cabo, Mexico and my man got on one knee and proposed to me.  I cried. I said, “YES!”  And I thanked God for blessing me; for blessing us.  Our two-year dating period was not always smiles and laughter, but each time I wanted to call it quits I remained faithful to God’s word that this man was my husband, so instead of giving up I kept going.  The both of us entered into a relationship with baggage, as many of us do, but the good in him continued to outweigh the bad, so I continued loving him as he continued loving me.  We were married in 2010.  I can wholeheartedly say that I married my Best Friend! I am married to the man that God has designed just for me and me for him.  We had our son in 2012, we had our daughter in 2014, and we are expecting our new bundle of joy in May 2016.

He loves me regardless of my past, regardless of my flaws; which makes me love him more. The way he loves me renders permission for me to be vulnerable and it allows me to just be me.  Loving someone for who they really are and being loved by someone that really knows who you are is truly a blessing and the best life-time Valentine's Day gift I could ever want or ask for.  My husband is an amazing father and leader of our household and family, which makes me love him more.  We have fun together, we laugh together, we joke, and we pray together.  We operate as a team. I am his rib, his helpmate, and I am so grateful that God has blessed us with one another!

How did you meet your loved one? I would luv to hear your story! You can share your story with me and others using the hash-tag #AndThenTheyWereMine. I have also invited others to share their story as well.  You can find their stories about how they met their loved one by using the very same hash-tag #AndThenTheyWereMine on Instagram.

Thank you to my friend Kristin for helping me come up with this shared creative hash-tag #AndThenTheyWereMine!