With that, allow me to introduce a new series:  Share the Love

If you’ve got an anniversary or spouse’s birthday coming up or would just like to publicly display your love story- let me know!  I’ll happily post it!

For the first post in this series, I’ve asked my cousin Chelsea and her husband Joe to share their love with us.  I knew this was a good idea when I read their post and got all goosebump-y reading why they love each other- so sweet!!  I have a big, HUGE love for my cousin Chelsea- she’s super funny, sarcastic and she always takes your side in stories- no matter how ridiculous your side of the story is.  So, I was so happy she met and married Joe, who just augments all of her good sides.  Love these two 🙂  Here’s Chelsea:

Joe and I met and fell in love in the summer of 2006 in Buena Vista, VA.  I had just finished my sophomore year at Southern Virginia University, and Joe had just returned from his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We were both working as counselors at a youth camp called Especially For Youth (EFY) that summer.  I wasn’t really looking to date anyone at that time because I was preparing to go on a mission that December.  I knew that working as an EFY counselor would be a perfect way to help me prepare to teach the gospel in a spiritual and fun atmosphere.

We first met on the Saturday night before the first week of work, and hit it off right away.  We really connected (and exchanged a great deal of flirting) during a vigorous game of nighttime ultimate frisbee (with a glow in the dark frisbee…yeah, super cool).  Our first week of work included more flirting each time we saw each other.  I seriously could not help but have fun and laugh when I was around him.  He asked me out for a date that next weekend, and of course I said yes (even though I was going on a mission in December, I could still have a little fun…).

We had decided to watch the critically acclaimed “Sons of Provo” together for our date, if we could find someone that owned it.  Joe had plans to go to the Washington, DC LDS Temple with a group of counselors during the day and be back in time for our date (I stayed in Buena Vista for the day).  It turns out that they got back a lot later than he thought they would.  He felt so bad, and wondered if I would still want to go out with him that night.  I didn’t have any other plans (and I was really excited to get to know him better), so I said yeah, I’d love to.

I was talking to one of my close friends a few hours before our date, and I was telling her how awesome this Joe guy was and how I was really excited about our date.  I said the only problem was that he was shorter than me (quite a bit…I’m 6’1” and he’s 5’9”).  I quickly got over this small detail, because he was so amazing in every other way (not that I have anything against short people…).  He was never bothered by the height difference, which helped me get over it pretty quickly.  He claims that my height will give our kids an advantage athletically, which is a perfectly legitimate reason to marry someone.

Another thing I loved about Joe when we were getting to know each other was that I never had to give him a “courtesy laugh”, when he was joking around.  This was something that was pretty important to me, because I had realized from previous relationships that courtesy laughs get pretty exhausting after a while.

We began dating each other exclusively after that first date, and fell in love within a couple weeks.  We started talking about marriage pretty soon after that.  Looking back on it now, it seems kind of crazy, but it didn’t seem crazy at the time.  It was basically a “when you know, you know” situation.  He quickly became my best friend, and I wanted to be with him all the time.  

At this point, I knew I had a difficult decision to make.  Joe knew that I had planned on going on a mission, so I asked him if he would wait for me and not date anyone else for 18 months (which I knew was a long shot when I asked).  He said he didn’t think he could do that.  We knew that there were two choices for us going forward.  Either we keep dating and I put off my mission plans, or we stop dating and I continue my plan to go on a mission.  We both decided that we should pray about it, and go forward with any answer that we might get.  It ended up that the answer both of us got was that we should get married…well, there you go!  We got engaged a month later, and married four months after that (in December of 2006).

We have been married for almost eight years, and our relationship is stronger today than it has ever been (with some ups, downs, and growing pains in between).  We went through the poor college student years together, and are currently going through the chaotic and sleepless baby/toddler years.  Our love has grown and spread to our spunky three year old girl, our sweet 1 1/2 year old boy, and a steadily growing baby girl on the way (due in February).  Our humor, our friendship, and our shared faith have kept us going through our difficult times, and helped us find joy in the good times.

Chelsea:  Sorry, I’m sharing three things.  The thing that I admire most about Joe is that he can do anything that he sets his mind to.  He is such a quick learner, and has the patience to learn just about any skill that he wants to.  Learning and recalling what he has learned comes very easily to him.  This is not a gift I have been blessed with, so I greatly admire it.  My favorite part of our relationship is the sense of humor that we share.  There have been very few times in our marriage where we’ve gone through a day without laughing together.  It helps us keep things in perspective.  The last thing that I admire about Joe is that he has been willing to make changes and choices that have required great sacrifice, hard work, and humility.  He works hard to be a better husband and father every day.

Joe:  My favorite thing about Chelsea has always been her sense of humor.  In all honesty, I had never met a female who shared my own “brand” of humor.  During the first days and weeks we were getting to know each other, I remember thinking “Whoa! She’s actually funny” (forgive me if that sounds a bit too sexist, but it’s the truth).  During that time I also realized that I looked forward to seeing her.  I got excited to see what she had to say, another new experience (really showing off my machismo now).  Anyway…from that we developed an amazing friendship.  I still get excited to be with her.  I still look forward to what she has to say.  She makes me perfectly at ease and I find solace in her understanding of who I am.  And for me, that all started with her humor.