Four Years of Bilss <3

Wow what a great day May 26th was, it was mine and Lipe's fourth anniversary. I just have to say that I do not know what I did to deserve such an amazing man, but I truly have been blessed. Lipe is such an inspiration to me and knowing that he is my eternal companion just makes it that much sweeter. I am truly thankful to my heavenly father for blessing me with this wonderful man who is an amazing husband and father. He came to this small town not knowing much about anything here, he did not have a job and he followed his heart and the spirit, and I am so thankful that we both followed the promptings from our heavenly father and listened to the answers to our prayers. I prayed for many years for him and the same for him. It was so hard being a single mom and trying to raise three kids, trying to date and trying to find that one person that would not only love me but my children as well. There were many lonely nights and many many prayers, I did not want to be alone, but I also knew that the person I chose had to know that it was a package deal. I met alot of people but none of them felt right for me and my family.

In March of 2005 I received a message on my LDS Singles page from him, he was so sweet. He told me to give him a call. I believe this was on March 16th or 17th I cant remember the exact day. I did call him and immediately we hit it off. We began talking to each other for approximately three to four hours a couple of times a day. When your twelve hours apart, and "dating" over the phone, it is nice because you don't have to deal with all the physical aspects of a relationship, so it really gave us a chance to get to know each other. We were so comfortable talking to each other it was like we were long lost friends (ha which i truly believe we were..:) :)so approximately a week and half, yes that's what I just said, A WEEK AND A HALF, he told me that he loved me. I had some crazy emotions because I was like, you cant love me after a week and a half, you don't even know me (I didn't say that to him, that's just what I was thinking), but then I was like oh my gosh, I love him too. It just didn't seem right, you hear about these kinds of stories, but I was in it and it was CRAZY. He was so stinkin cute when he said it though, it was like a 13 year old kid saying it for the first time, basically we were talking at about two in the morning, my kids were all at their dads house, so I was home along, lying in Kyli's bed and we were talking normally and then as we were saying good-bye he said really fast and nervous " I love you" and then he hung the phone. So yeah I was pretty much lying there going "did he just tell me that he loved me?" and then part of me going "Naw, he just didn't say that" and it was back and forth and back and forth. I just needed to tell someone but there was no one to tell. How could he know that.

About a week later we were both having some very strong feelings for each other. At that time I was not endowed so I could not go to the temple, but he was. We made a deal that we would not speak, write or communicate with each other for three days and that we would take that three days and fast and pray and he would go to the temple, we would ask our heavenly father if this was the direction that we were both supposed to take. Oh man, did I miss talking to him. He had already become a huge part of my days, and I looked forward to talking to him (btw it was usually from midnight to around four or five in the morning after he got off from work, and then I had to be to work at 7:30) but it was totally worth it. I missed him, I prayed and I fasted and I knew then in my heart that we were supposed to be together. I was nervous and scared, and to tell my family "oh by the way, I met this guy on the internet two weeks ago, and we fell in love and were getting married", ha yeah how do you tell your family that and them not look at you like "girl you are desperate, and you need some counseling".

Well at the end of the three days, we both felt very strong about this. At that point we seriously began to talk marriage, and remember that we had not met yet, this was all based off talking, e-mails and pictures.

Around the second weekend of April I was working at the Winslow Invitational Track Meet and it was a beautiful and hot day. He called me and I was standing by the long jump pit when he officially asked me to marry him. I told him that I needed to meet him one time and I truly believed at that time, when I could look into his eyes, I would know and I could give him an answer. I wanted to jump for Joy and again I needed to "tell someone", so the first person in my sights was Janice Stewart who was scoring for the long jump, so yeah, Janice got to share my news with me and she was pretty much clueless, but she was very supportive.

On the morning of April 26th it was a Saturday and I was at a little league baseball game for Cooper. Lipe called me on the phone and basically he was hanging out with his Uncle David and that they were kinda bored and that his Aunt was in Tonga, so they were just cruising around. I asked him if I could talk to his Uncle. He gave me the phone and I basically told his Uncle that had asked me to marry him and that I truly felt in my heart that this was supposed to happen, but that I needed to at least meet him. I then asked his Uncle if he would drive him to Winslow that day so that we could meet. He told me that he would talk to Lipe about it and they would call me back. They called back a while later and told me that they would come to Arizona and that they would leave around four or five that afternoon. Oh my gosh, I was so excited, I was finally going to get to meet him. I went home and began to clean my house and that night went to a wedding reception for a friend. I did not sleep all night in anticipation for meeting him. He called me around four in the morning and advised me that they were in Page and they would be at my house in approximately three hours. It was Sunday morning and the boys were with their dad, but I had Kyli there with me.

When the vehicle pulled up in front of the house, my heart stopped. Remember I said that once I saw him and looked into his eyes that I would know. Well I was exactly right. When I opened the door his Uncle was standing in front of him, I hugged him and thanked him for bringing him to Arizona. Then his Uncle came into the house and Lipe and I stood there looking at each other. He was amazing, beautiful and those beautiful brown eyes of his just melted my heart. I could see his kindness, his spirit and I knew in my heart that he was going to be my husband. I could see this aura around him of a person with a strong love for the gospel and I knew that he was a man of god and I loved him. We spent twelve hours together that day. I did not want him to leave. He asked me again that day to marry him and I accepted his proposal. His Uncle who had once been a Bishop, counseled us and he was amazing. Both of these men had such a strong spirit and love for the gospel.

Needless to say that one month later, on May 25, 2005 Lipe came to Winslow with my brother and sister-in-law for Chelsea's graduation. We went to Holbrook that afternoon to get our marriage license and our first real meal together as a couple was at Romo's. I worked the graduation that night and the next day we were married in my moms back yard.

Two months later I found out I was pregnant. In December of that year I went through the Temple and then in March of 2007 we were sealed together for time and all eternity. Each day it seems as though our love for each other gets stronger and stronger. He is a father to all of our children and the kids accepted him right from the beginning.

I am truly blessed to have this amazing man in my life and thank my heavenly father for bringing us together and for giving us the gospel as a tool, and especially for the knowledge that no matter what, we will be together forever.