Today is the day!!!

....March 28, the day that Jessie proposed to me 8 years ago!  Nope, no baby yet!  :)

Jessie and I first met in November of 2002.  My sister, Amanda, and I were heading to First Tuesday at Seacoast and accepted a last minute invite to the fair with a group of friends from Faith Assembly.  I noticed him right away, and tried to talk to him, but he was soo quiet!

Jessie is on the far left and I'm in the center in the tan sweater (Nov. '02).

In December, I came home to Charleston for holiday break from my masters program.  There was a group of us from Faith that got together quite often.  I definitely had my eye on Jessie, but again, he was soo quiet....so I observed a lot and whenever I could work my way into a conversation with him--I did.  I didn't know he was just as interested in me.  Through that short time of about 3 1/2 weeks, Jessie and I got to know each other better as our "group" was getting together at least every other day.  He was all I could talk about...when he wasn't around. :)

Fast-forward to our New Years Eve party 2003.  The party was a blast with such a great group of friends!  At some point Jessie and I ended up in a conversation on the apartment balcony that lasted for what might have been a couple of hours.  All I know is when we came inside, nearly everyone was gone.  We talked about everything from family, to morals, our spiritual beliefs.  The next morning I went over to my parents house to help take down Christmas decor and I told my mom, without a doubt, that I was going to marry Jessie!  Little did I know, Jessie had told his mom the same thing about a week before.  God had definitely prepared our hearts for each other leading up to this very moment.

Jessie (top right) and I'm right next to him (Jan. 1, 2003). 

I came home just about every weekend over the next semester.  I remember that I told Jessie "I love you" before we ever went on our first official date.  Those are words I had never told anyone other than family before.  And even at the time I said them it was because I was so overwhelmed and couldn't think of anything else to say until I told him how I felt.  Our first date was January 15th, he came up to Columbia to take me out to dinner.  We dated over the next couple of months and talked all the time, racking up some serious cell phone minutes!

On March 28th, I drove into Charleston after a late afternoon meeting, stressing to get ready quickly for our date.  I threw my hair up, and borrowed an outfit from my friend & sister's roommate (umm..but she wasn't there to ask...sorry Erin).  We had planned to go to dinner and a Broadway show that was showing at our local Performing Arts Center.  

Ready for our date (March 28, 2003).

The show was amazing, and dinner was very good.  I had no idea what was in store.  I learned later that poor Jessie had hardly paid attention to the show because he was so nervous and kept checking to make sure the ring was still in his sock where he had hidden it.  I was also unaware that he had visited my parents days before our date and asked my dad for my hand in marriage.  We left the show and he acted nonchalant, like, so what do you want to do now?  He had already planned to go where we were headed...to Folly Beach by the pier.  We went for a walk, when he turned and got down on his knee and read a poem he had written to me that ended with asking me to be his wife.  

My entire life, I wanted to be a wife and a mom.  I wanted to be with someone who shared the same values that I did.  Someone who I could grow with and love and support and have as my best friend--forever!  Someone who had a giving heart, compassion, ambition, and prioritized his love for the Lord and family above everything else.  Although Jessie and I had only known each other for less than 4 months, I knew in my heart of hearts that this was the man that God wanted me to be with.  I knew he was the man that I wanted to be with!  So, of course, I said YES!!!

We were married in September of that year.  And the story between then and now is one to be written and one that we hope will inspire and encourage others in their lives.  We have 2 beautiful girls and a healthy baby boy who will join us just one week from today.  God has demonstrated His grace in our life together.  Our Faith has grown tremendously.  Our love for each other has grown deeper.  And even though we have only scraped the surface of what is in store for us in our life together, I can honestly say that I love my husband more now than the day I first told him those words, more than the day he poured his heart out in his proposal, and more than the day we exchanged our vows. 

ps: I linked up with Miscellany Monday today.