Thursday, June 19, 2014

Ten Years Ago: Our First Date

2004
I wrote this a while back for a shutterfly book I made for Fred, I wrote all about us and our first date, how he proposed, our wedding. Since it's our anniversary I thought I'd share the story of our first date 10 years ago! I like to relive this special moment, the beginning of our love story. Here it is, once upon time:

Fred and Nancy were both 16. Fred was a greeter at a small church. Sunday mornings he would greet people outside coming into church, but he would always wait anxiously for one special person. As a gold van pulled up to the building Fred's heart would pump faster and his palms would get sweaty. There he would see Nancy coming out of the van with her family. He would politely shake everyone’s hands but shaking Nancy's hand was his favorite because he secretly liked her. He didn’t know at that time but she also liked him.

One day at church Fred bought a WWJD bracelet for Nancy. He handed it to her and shyly walked away. She didn’t know that Fred had bought this bracelet specifically for her and since he quickly walked away, she thought he was handing them to all the people at youth group but he was trying to show her that he liked her. Later he befriended Nancy and he would take his friends to church to show them the girl he secretly liked.

As Nancy and Fred became better friends they would talk on the phone all the time and wrote letters to each other back and forth. It was obvious that they both felt the same way for each other, so Fred asked Nancy on a date.

Nancy asked her parent's and they agreed to let her go with him to the movies but she had to take Mercedes her foster sister that lived with them because she could not go alone so Fred took his friend Richie to also accompany them. 

At the movies Fred paid but Nancy had a coupon, her thriftiness surprised him and made him like her even more. Then the couples separated, Fred and Nancy went to watch Tom Hanks', The Terminal. They sat next to each other both with hope that they would hold hands but they were too shy to make the first move so with joy and excitement they gladly shared the armrest. 

For dinner they had Del Taco, it was Fred's favorite but he was too nervous to eat his food. Nancy was very hungry so he offered his fries and she didn't hesitate, she ate them up! Fred's love for her just kept growing so he knew what he had to do next.

That night Fred built up the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend. Richie and Mercedes took a walk while Fred and Nancy sat on the bed of his truck. It was a June summer night with a chill in the air. Fred lovingly offered his cardigan to keep her warm, she accepted. Fred was unlike any other guy she had ever met. He had her heart.

It was time to take her back home so they got in the truck to pick up Mercedes down the street. As they were driving Fred finally said what he'd been wanting say to her all night, "Will you got out with me?" Nancy replied, "Where?" He then made himself clear and with embarrassment explained that he wanted them to be girlfriend-boyfriend. The question caught Nancy off guard, this was their first date and she didn't expect Fred to ask her to be his girlfriend so soon. She was speechless but pleasantly surprised!

At that very moment Fred pulled up to Mercedes and Richie. Nancy got out of the truck, she opened the door to let Mercedes in. Fred was panicking not sure what Nancy's response was going to be, he got out to let Richie in and forgot to put the breaks on! When he realized the car was slowly rolling away he quickly jumped in the car and slammed on the breaks and the door on Nancy's side swung and hit her from the impact!

Fred was so embarrassed and felt like a failure. He had just made a fool of himself in front of the girl he loved. Nancy was nervous to respond because as much as she wanted to say yes, she was not allowed to have a boyfriend. Her parents had agreed to let her date until her senior year in high school, she was barely going to be a junior that fall. 

Fred walked Nancy to her front door unsure of what she was going to say. They paused at the door and Nancy explained she had to wait a year before she could have a boyfriend. She wasn't saying no but she was saying wait. Fred loved Nancy and was willing to wait for her until she was allowed to date. He admired her willingness to honor her parents and wanted to do the same.

For a whole year Fred and Nancy were friends, they got to know each other and loved hanging out together, their love for each other grew and grew. That next summer before Nancy's senior year of high school her parents gave them the blessing to become girlfriend and boyfriend. 

And 5 years later they married and 5 years after that they celebrated 10 years of love and had 2 babies! 

I love you Fred, I love that you still offer your cardigan like you did that day, I love that these last 10 years have been the best years of my life. We've gone to prom, celebrated high school and college graduations, got engaged, got married, relocated states, got a dog, started careers, suffered miscarriages, bought a house, had two beautiful boys, we're kinda broke but rich in love and blessings and unbelievably happy! The Lord has been good to us, we don't deserve it. May our marriage always point to him and may we glorify the Lord together in all we do. I love you handsome. Happy 5 years of marriage and 10 years of love!
2004
2005
2006, Senior Prom
2007, He Proposed!
2008
June 19, 2009
2010, 1 Year Annversary
2011, 2 Year Anniversary
Fall 2011
2012, 3 Year Anniversary
Our first child is born, July 25, 2012
 Spring 2013
2013, 4 Year Anniversary
Our second baby born, November 11, 2013
June 2014, Ready to celebrate our 5 Year Anniversary.
I love you handsome, thank you for the best 10 years of my life!

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