How our story began...

Matt and I met on a blind date orchestrated by my brother-in-law, David Nelson, back in the summer of 2000. Matt and David were friends from college and Matt had just moved back to Houston from Dallas to coach with David at Westfield High School. I was living in an apartment with my friend Robyn and working at KPMG doing audit work and studying at night for the CPA exam.

When David called to see if I would be interested in going on a blind date with a friend of his, I thought, why not? Little did I know it would change the course of events in my life!

The day of the blind date, I was recovering from a cold and had completely lost my voice, so I could barely croak out "hello" when he arrived to pick me up. He was tan with a broad chest and had beautiful blue eyes.

He opened the door to his Chevy Blazer and let me in. We went to Dave & Busters to eat and play games. We had a great time and he made me feel comfortable, despite my croaky voice, and I noticed his good manners and respect he gave me. It was like a breath of fresh air.

He called to ask if I wanted to go out again and I said yes. I accompanied him to his cousin's wedding, where I met the entire family, with the exception of his mother who was not able to attend. It was obvious to me how much he valued family and placed a high priority on spending time with family.

On our third date, we went fishing at the Register's lake, and went out with friends in Houston until late that night. As they were leaving our apartment, I mentioned to him that I planned to go to church the next morning, and they were welcome to come if they wanted. I didn't really expect him to show up at church the next morning, but he did! He and his friend came, and I was impressed! It showed me that his faith was important to him.

Three weeks after we met, I was sent overseas to work in Belgium for a month. During that time, we talked every day and grew even closer despite the distance and time zone differences. It was in Belgium that I realized he was the "one."

We continued to date for another year, and he proposed to me on Good Friday in 2002, on our way to the Shell Houston Open (the last year the tournament was held in the Woodlands). We ate lunch at Landry's and had parked along Grogan's Mill. We were walking in the trails heading towards the tournament when he said, "Hey, I've got something for you." When I turned around, he held up the ring, and the rest was history...

Silent Night

Tonight on the way home from school, #2 serenaded me by singing "Silent Night." He was so proud when he finished and had a big smile on his face and twinkle in his eye. It was one of those moments where I wished time could stop and I could just cuddle him and give him a kiss. However, that is not the ideal situation when I'm driving in traffic on 1960, so I had to settle for seeing a glimpse of his sweet face in the rearview mirror.

#2 has such an independent spirit and is so smart and caring. I see his leadership qualities already, even though he is only three years old. He is the "boss" of the boys, and has no qualms about telling the others what to do or not do. Matt and I call him "El Jefe." He has even taken to threatening spankings if his brothers are not doing as he directs. I always remind him that he is not the mommy or daddy and cannot spank his brothers, but the hard thing about it is that he is usually right on track about what he is telling them to do! For example, when riding in the car, #2 will admonish #3, "We don't suck our thumbs. Take your thumb out." If #3 does not comply, he threatens, "#3, I'm going to give you a spanking. Take your thumb out now!" Matt and I crack up about it in the front for a few seconds before we correct him, and also ask #3 to remove his thumb yet again.

It has been said that your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness. One downside to his independent spirit is that he contradicts EVERYTHING, just for the sake of contradicting. We tend to butt heads about the smallest things, from which shirt to wear to whether I should have turned left instead of right (even if the place we are headed is to the right). I guess stubbornness runs in families, because I know I have a hard head, and Matt has a hard head as well, so our boys are doomed! :)

Back to School

Now that the Christmas and New Year's holidays are over, it is time to get back into the groove of waking up early and getting out the door to school in time. While I shudder at the thought of an annoying alarm clock blaring, I have truly enjoyed the time off - it was refreshing. There were some days were I was productive and was able to cross some projects off my "to-do" list, such as painting #1 and #2's room (thanks to their coloring on the walls), but there were other days where we just chilled in our pajamas all day as a family. We hosted a few get-togethers with family members and friends, which we have been intending to do for some time, but the "busy-ness" of everyday life always seemed to preclude us from following through. Also, I was able to have the time to work on a tribute photo book for my husband's grandmother, a gift for her 90th birthday. I enjoyed visiting with her to get funny stories, find out how she and her husband met, where she grew up, her 11 brothers and sisters, etc. in addition to looking at hundreds of photos. I'm so glad I did that because now I have stories to pass along to my sons and their future families about her and her life. Below is a link to her photo book:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0BcNXDRmyYsXHA

Matt worked on a DVD of photos for her that includes MANY more photos than what I included in my photo book for her, and all of the family sent him the pictures they had, so it was really a collaborative project from the whole family. He did a great job, and I think Nanny was pleased with the book and the video, which was played at her 90th birthday party on Saturday.

Overall, I feel incredibly blessed by my husband, children, family, friends, career, and coworkers. Looking back, I had no idea the journey that God has taken me on would be better than I could have ever asked or imagined.