In the beginning there was man and woman and it was good

My media-specialist neighbor has been working on her blog for awhile now. She just delivered her first baby (a boy) 6 days ago and tells me she decided to set up a blog for him. She also mentioned that she had been working on a slideshow of her and her husband because she thought it a nice way to start the blog. I, shamelessly, hope to copy her. The difference? I have no idea how to make a slideshow in anything other than iPhoto or Power Point and no idea how to get one from there to this blog. I am hoping that one of my blogging genius friends will show me how to do this and that I can add it to this post later. (If you are reading this and 1)consider yourself a blogging-genius friend and 2) do not see said slideshow, please comment or e-mail...I obviously need help)

In case the slide show never happens, here's our early days in a nutshell. I think most of the people who know us know the details, so I'll be brief. (It's ok if you are laughing at that notion) Truly, how do you sum up our last 10 yrs of togetherness in a post (without a slideshow)?

We met through a mutual friend in September 1999. DH was in grad school taking a class I had taken the year before. He was chatting with said friend in the hallway. True to form, I offered to tell him what I could recall from some info that was going to be on an upcoming exam. We chatted, we went back to studying. We met again at mutual friend's house, hung out a little, I called DH by the wrong name all night, (twice, really). The following weekend, I was driving home from visiting my Dad, it was pouring rain, and I was trying to study notecards while driving (NOT recommended). At some point I was distracted by pathetic thoughts of loneliness and "why-am-I-still single"ness. I promised myself to do a better job of giving the next guy a chance. I drove straight to school for more studying and met mutual friend in the hallway. She told me DH wanted my number. A few days later he called, I had exams coming, but had planned to go with friends to a local dive to see Soul Miner's Daughter. DH said he'd like to join us. I spent the next month confused, excited, frustrated, and giddy as DH called or visited. In retrospect he was being a gentleman and we were getting to know each other. I'd never spent much time on that part of the ride before, but I'm glad we did. On October 27, 1999 (27 is DH's fav number and he wanted to be sure to remember the date), DH made it official by asking "will you be my girlfriend?" It was very sweet, a little middle school, and very DH.

We dated until I graduated in May 2002. There were more trips to Soul Miner's Daughter (later Jennifer Nettles Band), lots of laughing, cooking together, some ballroom dance lessons, lots of studying together, and Thursday night TV (Friends, Will and Grace and ER anyone?). There was also plenty of me being psycho, but this is my blog and we'll leave those details out. DH put up with a lot of my growing up and was as steady and faithful as they come. He asked me a lot to marry him and I told him a lot that I would not answer that question if he meant it hypothetically. He asked how he was supposed to know it was ok to ask if he didn't know what I'd say. I told him that if he didn't know what I'd say, then it wasn't time to ask. In June 2002, I moved to another state to further my training. DH and I did the long distance thing for 3 yrs. The original plan was for him to follow me the next year, but plans changed and he decided to start another 4 yr program at school. He drove three and a half hours to see me almost every other weekend for three years. We grew and matured more as a couple in those years. We probably talked more while apart than when we had been in the same town. We started thinking about what our life would be like together.

On June 26, 2004, I came home from working about 30 hrs with no sleep to find a skirt, two tops, and a pair of shoes on my bed with a note saying to choose an outfit and meet DH at a local garden. Truthfully, I thought it was sweet, but REALLY wanted to go to bed and REALLY did NOT want to shower and shave my legs to wear that skirt! Still, it had been a fantasy of mine to come home to such a thing and the excitement took over as I got ready. I arrived at the Reynolda Gardens to find DH and a picnic under a tree. He played our favorite songs and we had a gourmet lunch. I really thought this sweet gesture was the whole plan for the day...other than my nap. As lunch drew to a close, he changed the music to "Letter to Memphis" by the Pixies, then transitioned to "Come Away with Me" by Norah Jones. He held signs (think old-school INXS "Mediate" video) with the lyrics he adapted to fit our story. The next to the last sign said "Come away with me" as Norah sang it, then the last sign said "Will You Marry Me?" Behind the last sign he held the ring. I, of course, said "yes!" and we were married on June 11, 2005.

The last four years have been great. My work has been a disaster; DH's work has been the challenge we expected it to be. Through those struggles we have grown and matured even more. Last year we began to make plans for having a LO, and on January 31, 2009, we found out we are! This spring has been a blessing of release from many of my work demands and a pregnancy that has gone great. So, as we start this blog for our little guy, things look pretty rosy. In the month that it has taken me to write this post, I have found that there are few of our pictures on the computer. I had forgotten that our early days were before the digital camera craze! I don't have that many pics for a slideshow, but I'll try to throw in a few. I figure if you're still reading this, you deserve a few laughs at our changing faces over the last decade. If it works out, I hope you enjoy!