Hello Texas, Good Bye Mom..

Here we come Houston!  Mike received a job transfer during the spring of 2007 and we immediately put our house on the market.  We had been trying to start a family for a few months and it hadn't happened yet.  His career was going great and we were able to take a fantastic trip to Cabo San Lucas.  (little did we know that we had come home with a super special souvenir)

 

Shortly after returning from our trip, Mike's mom lost her battle with MS and Cancer.  She passed away on April 12, 2007.  We were not able to make it to Florida in time to kiss her good bye. 

 

After the I do..

My husband and I were married on October 1, 2004 at the Don CeSar resort on St. Pete beach in Florida.  We returned from our honeymoon to our condo, Golden Retriever puppy (Samantha) and our full-time jobs.  I was an Assistant director at a 97 bed Assisted Living facility and he was a Chemical Engineer for a small Engineering firm.  Our parents had moved out of state the prior year.  My parents moved for a new job in Alabama and his to a retirement community in Florida.  We began to feel like our roots had been lifted.  My husband began the search for a job in Florida to be closer to family.  In November, he interviewed for a job and did not get it.  A few weeks later, the same company called him to interview him for a job in Louisiana.  Yes, Louisiana!  He returned home from his interview the day before my 24th birthday and told me that they had offered him the job on the spot.  We immediately put our condo on the market and began designing our new home in the south.

 

The move to Louisiana had many ups and downs.  I had decided to get out of the health care field and look for a career that was less depressing (losing residents so frequently) and more flexible (no more 14 hour days..).  I decided to go to McNeese State University to get my Masters degree in Teaching.  It was a wonderful experience that led to several friendships that are still blooming today.  During our time in Louisiana, we had our first hurricane experience (Katrina & Rita), lost a puppy and traveled abroad for 3 weeks.  Our 3 years there was busy to say the least.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although we loved our experiences in Louisiana (most of them), we were ready for a change and a place where we could raise a family.  Mike was able to get a transfer within his company for a job in Houston, Texas.

The Story of Us

This blog has been 17 years in the making. Well maybe not the blog but the family and the story of us.  My husband Mike and I have been together for 17 years.  We started dating when I was a sophomore in high school.  Sounds crazy, right?  Well neither of us could have predicted it or where this journey would lead us.  My husband was raised just outside of Annapolis, Maryland in a town called Severna Park.  He was a 'good boy' who played golf and enjoyed being an only child.  I was an Army brat, born and raised.. well almost everywhere.  I was born in Kansas, then lived in Germany, Panama, Tennessee and eventually Maryland.  That is where our story starts!

 

I still have braces...AHH!



I met my husband on a blind date with one of his friends.. he was with another girl.  As the gentleman that I learned he is, he not only treated his date to dinner, he treated me as well.  When we left the restaurant and we were hanging out in the parking lot, he offered me the warmth of his car to defrost my toes.  Did I mention it was a bright red sports car?? ;-)  The rest of the evening,  I was smitten.  I could not keep my eyes off of him. I can't quite say the feeling was totally mutual.  Although we began hanging out, I sensed he wasn't quite connected.  We parted ways after a few weeks and remained friends.  Shortly after, I caught wind (from his mutual friend) that Mike had decided to drive to Tennessee to visit a friend of mine that he had gotten to know.  Upon hearing about this, I did what any rational 16 year old would do, I screamed like a crazy person at them and began to get interested in one of his friends.  After his return from the 'completely innocent' trip, I knew I was still interested.  We began talking again but my parents were not convinced.  By the way, he was 18 at this point and a Freshman in college.  To say my military father was not happy would be an understatement.  As most people know, the best way to win over a father is through the mother.  Mike began to talk to my mom and even brought her flowers for Mother's Day.. she was sold.



 

 

 

 

That is when 'our' journey truly began.  Mike immediately became my best friend.  He was there to pick me up from school, help me with my Calculus homework, or bring me Haribo gummi bears.  He was always there for me.  I had moved so much that I never felt a long-term connection, now I had one, a REAL one.  I was in love!   I soon realized that he needed me as much as I needed him.  After meeting his parents, I discovered that his mom was sick.  She had MS (multiple sclerosis), a debilitating progress disease in which your body attacks the myelin sheath.  It was attacking her spine and she was rapidly becoming paralyzed.  It was heart wrenching to see.  Through the many trials she went through (from attempted suicide, to losing the ability to feed herself, to just plain losing hope) we all bonded.  His family became mine and we formed our own.  Our relationship continued on through a deep depression and many difficult times.

After 8 years of dating, at the age of 23, we got engaged.  Mike loves deeply but not always outwardly.  Our engagement was more of a 'lets get married' than a 'down on one knee, pop the question' kind.  None the less, we began the wedding process.  Our original plans of a large 250 person, golf course wedding were scrapped for what we really wanted.  We were married on October 1, 2004 at the Don CeSar resort on St. Pete beach with 32 of our closet family and friends.  It was beautiful.