Fall '04
posted by Westphals @ 1:25 PM
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Our Story
Saturday, January 14, 2006
2004
Vienna, Austria - May '04
Brews in Vienna pub with Greg who worked at United Nations
Dublin, Ireland - May '04
Honolulu, HI - Jan '04
posted by Westphals @ 11:55 AM
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2001
Co-Ed Bachelor / Bachelorette Trip to New Orleans - great time!
Afternoon fun @ Pat Os
Afternoon brewskies in Leavenworth, WA
Outside fun as we travel to Mt Rainer
posted by Westphals @ 10:44 AM
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Friday, January 06, 2006
Our Story
Everything major milestone in our relationship centers on family member birthdays...
Met: 5 September 1998 (Chris's brother's birthday)
Engaged: 17 July 2000 (Chris's mother's birthday)
Wedding Date: 7 July 2001 (Chris's uncle's birthday)
Baby Due Date: 5 December 2005 (Chris’s 40th Birthday)
Things We Enjoy
Traveling
Spending Time with Friends & Family
Home Projects (renovating & decorating)
Chris and I met at an unlikely place and time in both our lives. We met through an ad he posted on Yahoo Personals in 1998. Chris’s ad was very straightforward and was free of “fluff” and self-promotion that most ads contained. This was appealing to me. Apparently, I was the only one who had the guts to respond to his ad.
As I read the ad today, all I can say is “wow.” I must point out Chris’s ad and my response both tell how neither of us is seeking a long-term relationship. Who would have thought my responding to this ad that I would find my future husband. What a wonderful journey it has been. To go on our first date, Chris left his visiting brother at home alone. With a complete stranger (me), Chris agreed to go see a band that he had never seen nor heard of before while his brother was sitting at home on his birthday. He was willing to go out and experience something totally new and different -- new band and new women.
The “blind” date began at a bar near my house. The introductions and conversation flowed naturally. Within 20-minutes of my meeting Chris, he had programmed his telephone number into my cell telephone. We went to see a Louisiana band called “Cowboy Mouth.” Little did I know, Chris had gone to college at Tulane University and was in-tune with this New Orleans type of music. It was a great date that ended with him asking me for a good night kiss which no man has ever done before in my entire life. By the end of the night, I had surmised: this guy is handsome, tall, smart, and a gentleman. He is worth keeping. We have seen Cowboy Mouth in concert five times since our first date -- two times to on the anniversary of our first date.
Strangely enough, it is as if we had been looking for one another all our lives. Although the personal ad allowed us to meet, our paths had crossed many times before. Chris and I worked for the same employer. He had left just before I started to work there. He then went to work in an office building where I worked for five years. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. We are from the Washington DC where employment options are vast. The likelihood of two strangers meeting and having worked in the exact consecutive places is very unusual. It is as if I was searching for him because I was essentially following him from place to place. Well, the good news is that I finally found him.
My belief is that we never met before this phase in our lives because the time was not right for our relationship, but the time is right now. We are two people we know who we are; we respect and accept the differences in our respective personalities, cultures, and outlooks on life. Chris and I compliment each other like peanut butter and jelly. Where he is weak I am strong and vice versa. Even though we are distinctly two individuals there is this "oneness" about us and that is our spiritual bond. Our relationship is fulfilling. It is full of love, laughter, exploration, understanding, support, commitment, and passion. We are blessed to have finally found one another!
The Proposal
Chris proposed to me on July 17, 2000. Chris's proposal was not a staged event which made it a very special and memorable event. I'll set the stage for you. He had chartered a boat for his company's summer outing. We sailed from Annapolis, MD to St. Michael’s, MD. During the trip, Chris and I did not spend much time together because his role as host involved a lot of schmoozing which I thoroughly understood. So, I was left alone to talk to Chris's partners, employees, lawyers, accountants, etc. Each time he and I would reconnect on the boat, we would get compliments about what a great couple we made. This was a long day on the water and one full off lots of cocktails (for Chris that is). To the point where I became the designated driver. During the one-hour drive home, Chris passed out -- literally. Not in my wildest dreams would I have never imaged that this would be the night he would propose marriage. NEVER. When we got back to his place things got very intimate, and I was getting ready to light a candle. As I turned around, almost simultaneously, Chris fell to his knees in front of me with an open ring box in hand (and I was like OH...SH*T). He said, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I want you to be my wife and the mother of my children. Will you marry me?" Instead of just answering “yes.” I said, "Well, you know I've been married before and engaged before. I have to be certain that your proposal is true and that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together." He said, "I know and I am sure of what I want because I love you so very much.” Then I said, "Yes, I will marry you and be the mother of your children. I love you." The rest is rated X and lasted way to long to describe here. Anyway, it was a magical night, and as I sit here and write this, I know I have never been happier.
Our family has grown to include our son, Fletcher, and each day our relationship and love grows and we become stronger. I couldn't imagine my life without Chris or Fletcher.
posted by Westphals @ 12:17 PM
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