The start of something new

If there's one thing that I've always been sure of, it's that I want nothing more in this world then to get married and have kids. If I can only accomplish one thing, that's what I want to do. Ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of my wedding day. You have no idea how many times I have run through in my head how it would go. I am always watching wedding shows and specials to get ideas. I love GOING to weddings. I just feel happy when I'm at one. But as much as I have fun planning and thinking of fun little ideas, it wouldn't be perfect without my Prince Charming. None of it would be worth it if he weren't the one standing up there with me.

A little over 2 years ago, I found him.

In February 2008, I was doing a paper for my Writing class in college. It was on a recent trend that had become popular. I chose internet dating. So I did some research. I went on match.com, chemistry.com, and of course, the ever popular eHarmony.com. Now, I have always bashed these sites because I thought there was no way an internet program could REALLY match you up with the love of your life. Regardless, I decided to fill out the profile so I could get more information on how the thing really worked. It was a very detailed process. At the end of it, they send you some matches. They don't slam you with a million matches either; I got seven. I was allowed to look at their profile but I couldn't see their pictures or talk to them without subscribing and of course, there was no way I was going to do that. I wasn't looking for love...I had just got out of a relationship that I really thought was going somewhere, only to find out he was cheating on me the whole time. I wasn't really in the mood for boys, I guess you could say. So I got my statistics and logged off. I checked my email the next day and found an email from eHarmony stating that the next 3 days were going to be a free communication weekend. Soooo, my curiousity got the best of me and I logged back on to the dating website. I had a few messages and decided there was no harm in reading them. I started talking to this one guy: Tony, 21, from Durango, CO. I had never even heard of Durango before. But after reading his profile, I found we really did have a lot in common. So I told him to find me on Myspace and we could talk there. Kind of cheating the system, I know, but it was the only way I could keep talking to him. Well, we talked online for the rest of that month, then we started texting. At the end of March, he randomly called me for the first time during his lunch break. I was totally surprised and not expecting it and so I held the phone for a minute, just staring blankly at it. I knew I had to answer and I'm so glad I did. Immediately we could talk like we'd known each other for years. He had to eventually go back to work, but he called later that night. And every night after that without fail. He would always wait until after 9 PM (10 PM his time) so that we could talk for free. We would talk for hours. We had amazing conversations. He ended up getting time off from work and he told me he would be driving up to Oregon, a place he'd never been to, to meet me, a girl he didn't know. Except..he DID know. With how much we'd been talking, it just made sense to finally meet. He came for a week in June. He met my best friend and my family, we went to the beach, we went to the skate park where I could fully see him in his element.... and the rest is history. Now I don't slam eHarmony anymore. It's like I put my PERFECT guy down on paper and they gave him to me...plus so much more.

The night that he first arrived in Oregon, we went to the Olive Garden, my favorite place to eat. There was no awkwardness, no lapse in conversation. Again, it was like we'd known each other forever. He made me laugh like no one ever has. He was so funny and had me in stitches nearly every second. But the thing is, he's also really sweet. He remembers the little details about me. And when he does something for me including those details, he just makes me melt. A month before we met, he sent me orchids, my all time favorite flowers. I never tell guys that though because I know they are expensive and I feel bad if they get them for me. He asked me one night on the phone and I told him lilies, which are really my second favorite. I think he sensed something though and he proceeded to call my best friend on the subject, knowing full well she probably knew what my favorites really were. And of course, she had no problem telling him, and lo and behold, orchids arrived the next week. I could not have been more excited.

Well after him coming to Oregon for a week, I knew I wanted to see where he lived. So I went to Durango the week after he left Oregon! I had so much fun exploring the small town and meeting his wonderful and accepting family. I went back home thinking it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Tony and I talked a lot on the phone about me potentially moving there and if it could really work. Well, we dotted our i's and crossed our t's and made it happen. He was to fly in on August 9th and we would drive back with a moving truck. Kimberly and I went to pick him up at the airport that Saturday in August. We went back to the house and packed everything in the truck. He then told me he had a surprise for me. He said it was a birthday present (since my birthday was the 6th, just a few days before). But I hate opening gifts in front of people (don't ask, it's just a weird thing of mine), so I was really hesitant. And stubborn. It took me a long time to finally go to my room, where he said it was located. He basically pushed me and had me reach out my hand behind me to grab whatever was on the bed. I did and when I brought it around, it was an empty ring box. It took me a minute to figure out why I was holding it, empty, when all of a sudden, he was on one knee holding the ring up to me, telling me the didn't want to go back with his girlfriend, he wanted to go back with his fiancee. I, of course, said yes! My best friend knew all along and her and her boyfriend at the time, Addison, came over immediately to congratulate us. We then got together with all my friends and went to dinner so that I could say good bye to them and we could announce our engagement. The next morning, we took off for Durango, ready to start a new chapter in our lives.