1. How long have you and your significant other been together? We’ve actually been laughing about that recently. It is hard to believe, but this month marks 15 years since our first date. We are awfully close to the year when we can say we’ve been together longer than we’ve been apart!
2. How did you meet? I think I’ve shared this before, but we were actually in the same class in elementary school. Coming from a small town, you pretty much know everyone. It’s hard to admit that I don’t really remember Josh until my junior year of high-school. Apparently we were both in a 2nd/3rd grade split class, but other than comparing memories, we don’t remember much of each other. I was friends with Josh’s best friend in high school and the three of us began hanging out together. Our first date was a result of said friend ditching us at the last moment. Thanks, CG. It was a happy “accident”.
3. If married, how long have you been married? We will mark our tenth wedding anniversary this August! I feel like such a grown up when I say that.
4. Where did you get married? We were married in Childersburg, AL at my home church First Baptist. Of course, ten years later there are so many things I would do differently, but it was the best day of my life. The wedding was beautiful and my mother made it everything I dreamed of and more.
5. Do you have any nicknames that you call one another? Not really. Josh’s blog name is Sweet Daddy, or SD for short, because that is what Ella called him when she was a little bitty. I would never, ever call him this out loud, but in my phone he is Antonio. It’s a long story that 13 years later doesn’t make much sense, but he worked with a hispanic construction crew and spoke spanish well and one day I called him that. Anyone reading my text messages might think I was having an illicit affair ;).
6. Name 3 things you love most about your significant other. (1) He doesn’t worry. Ever. No matter how tight things get financially, or how much we have going on, or even if there is something going on with the girls… he is always calm, always wise and always keeping me from freaking out. (2) He has big dreams. We fantasize about the house we want to build. We talk about having a house full of children. We make lists of the exotic places we’d like to visit. We might eventually check some of these things off our life-list, but even if we don’t it is so much fun dreaming them together. (3) He loves the beach as much as I do. We talk about living in Gulf Shores “when we grow up” and he looks forward to that week in June just as much as I do. That might seem like a silly one, but that beach is the home of my heart.
7. Tell us how he proposed. We were 20. Babies and didn’t know what we were doing. Only that we wanted to be together, even if we had nothing else. I was playing cards late one night at home with my parents and some friends. Out of the blue he called and invited me over. It was almost midnight and his parents were out of town. I told him I’d be over when I finished the hand. My dad joked that he probably wanted to ask the big question. We all laughed. I never considered the possibility he was right. We were laying on the couch in the dark, dreaming up dreams and giggling as usual. All of a sudden there was a sparkly diamond on his chest and I swear I jumped him. I told him I wouldn’t take it until he asked me! We laid there for hours looking at it and when I finally when home, I slept in the floor of the living room, by the fireplace, so my momma would wake me up when she made coffee that morning. She was so mad at me for not waking them in the middle of the night.
8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne and rose petals? Neither, thank goodness. Flowers are nice, but neither of us are really sappy romantics. In fact, we kind of poke fun at that sometimes (not that there’s anything wrong with romance!). To me, the best gifts are those that last, the sentimental ones. We don’t always buy gifts for Valentine’s Day — usually we DO something together as our gift instead. This will be our first year for gifts in awhile and I’m hoping there is no candy involved!
9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch? I think I’m both. I love a good fancy dinner, with high heels and a party dress. I love seeing SD get all dressed up and eating a meal in the quiet, without little girls to distract us from each other. My favorite dates, though, are usually those that take place after the bedtime routine. Little girls are tucked in their beds fast asleep, the dog is snuggled up at our feet and we’re watching TV together or talking, giving foot rubs and sneaking the girls candy. Those are real moments and I wouldn’t trade them for all the sunset dinners in the world!
10. Tell us one think you’d like to do with your significant other one day. Travel. We are currently dreaming up a big trip for our 11th anniversary. We can’t swing it this year for number ten, so we’re going to be non-traditional about it. We are hoping for somewhere neither of us has been — maybe Spain or France. Trips with my husband are one of my favorite things ever. He’s hilarious and there are always funny stories to share when we get home!
11. Tell us what you plan on doing this Valentine’s Day. We’ll be having an evening in with the girls this year. Their gifts are at their seat in the dining room and they are drooling over them already. Dinner is in the crockpot and I’m bringing dessert home. It might sound like the antithesis of romance, but nothing sounds better than an evening with my family. We’ll probably head out for a quiet dinner and a movie this weekend as a wrap up to the week.
12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine’s Day? I did forward him a picture of a necklace that I love from etsy. We’ll see how well he listens ;).
13. Give us one piece of advice for keeping a relationship strong and full of love. Spend time together. Hire a babysitter and go out on dates. Stay up late and be silly. We go to bed at the same time each night, so we can talk and laugh together before bed. Sometimes if Josh isn’t tired yet, he’ll lay down with me until I fall asleep and then get back up. The time we share one-on-one together each day is very important to me. I miss it when we’re apart; that’s my nightcap. We learn so much about each other in those few moments at the end of the day. We recap what happened that day and talk about our plans, both immediate and far off in the future. That’s the most important thing to me… make time for each other every day.
14. Show us a picture of what loves means to you.
