Our Story

In the Beginning:

 Mike and I met, or started talking in March 2008. We actually met on Myspace believe it or not. Some of you might laugh, but I'm very thankful. We talked for a while over emails and then we graduated to instant messaging to phone conversations and finally after several weeks of "talking", we decided to meet for a date.

Our First Date:

Our first date was April 7, 2008 - I remember the day very vividly. I drove to Douglasville and met Mike at his house. When he opened the door it was an instant WOW for me!  His big blue eyes made me melt. I had tried to prepare myself for this moment because I had seen pictures of those eyes and that sparkling smile, but to see it in person was a whole other story. We went to dinner at Monterey’s Mexican Restaurant. After dinner we went back to Mike's house to watch the movie 300, one of my all time favorite movies. This was TOTALLY against my dating rules (Rule: never go to his house or let him come to yours until you REALLY know this guy) but for some reason I felt very comfortable with him and knew I would be ok.

Moving in together:

After much consideration, Mike and I moved in together in February 2009. I had always told my self that I would live with someone before making the commitment of marriage. That way I would know the TRUE person. Some people can put on a show while they are around you, just to impress you. But when you actually live with them, they tend to let their true self out. Fortunately, as most of you already know, Mike is one of those guys, what you see is what you get!  He is the same person you see everyday, meaning he doesn’t put on a show for anyone. He is the greatest guy I’ve ever met!

Aruba:

Mike and I have been on a couple of local vacations together but always with our children. We’ve always wanted them to share in the fun of a family vacation. But this past summer we decided that WE needed a vacation, just for the two of us. Mike asked me if there was one place in the world I would like to go, where would it be? … And I said Aruba!  I’ve heard so many great things about the island and really had always dreamed of going. So being the great boyfriend (at that time) that he is, he made it happen!  He worked hard all summer at his 2^nd job (Lawn Lord Landscaping) to help pay for the Fairytale vacation. Little did I know, Mike had a 2^nd motive to this vacation then just a getaway for the two of us. He had it all planned out that on our 2^nd night there he would ask me to be his wife! 

Proposal:

It was a beautiful day in Aruba and Mike told me that he had dinner reservations at a nice restaurant and that I was to dress nice and be hungry. We got there at 5:00 PM. Walking up to the restaurant we were a little concerned with our dress code, because the outside of the place was very “beachish” with a spray painted VW Beetle out front and a boat at the front door. Once we went inside it was a totally different atmosphere, very romantic and very classy. All of the tables were in the sand right on the beach, some even in the water with the waves crashing around your feet. Mike had a special table reserved right in the corner of the table area with no one blocking our view of the beautiful ocean and the sunset that was about to be upon us. I have to admit I was very jealous that he didn’t get a table in the water… I found out later he had a very good reason for a table in the sand. Once we sat down I saw a beautiful arrangement of roses that he had ordered ahead of time for me in the center of our table next to the “Reserved” sign. This told me that he had put a lot of thought into this dinner.

As you can imagine at 5:00 PM in Aruba it was very hot and the sun was kind of baking me on one side, so Mike, being the gentleman that he is, switched chairs with me during our meal. Dinner was amazing and very fulfilling. We had just finished eating and the sun was finally setting creating one of the most spectacular horizons I’ve ever seen!  There was something very magical about it. After the plates were cleared Mike asked me if I would like my seat back, me be completely oblivious to the situation told him no, I was fine. He got this puppy-dog look on his face, now I'm thinking, "boy he really wants his seat back", so I told him that if he wanted to change back I was ok with that, you could see that this pleased him because his mater plan was coming together. Now we would be in the perfect position for pictures.

After noticing how beautiful the sunset had become, I told him that I would love for the waitress to get a picture of us with the sunset in the background. Once she made her way back to our table I asked her if she would take a picture of us and of course she was eager to oblige. Right after she took our picture I was reaching for the camera and Mike asked her to hold on to it for a moment, I saw him getting out of his chair, I thought maybe he wanted to be closer for the picture. But no, he then got down on one knee (now I know why he didn’t get a table in the water) and said these words…. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this, I love you very much!  Will you marry me?”  I was choking back the tears as I gladly said YES! This was a very big deal for Mike, he doesn’t like to be the center of attention and not only is he proposing to me in a restaurant, but he’s doing it on one knee, the waitress is taking pictures and of course everyone around us is ohhh’ing and awwww’ing!  Once I accepted they all started clapping with excitement. For him to go through all of this planning, embarrassment and overall genuine chivalry for me definitely proved to me (once again) that he is my Knight in Shining Armor and this is the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with. He has always been willing to put me and the girls before himself and we would do the same for him. He is and will forever be my BEST FRIEND! 

To be continued… Our story will continue until, “Death do us part”