Summer Marriage Challenge

Even though this started on June 7th, I am going to join in a couple weeks late because there is nothing I enjoy more than working on my marriage and growing into the wife God always intended Matt to have. Stop by Women Living Well blog to get the details and join in. It is never too late to make your marriage even better!! No matter how good your marriage is, God can always show you ways to bless it even more! I love that! Matt and I really do get along quite well and rarely argue....but that does not mean we should be complacent and not work at making it even stronger. I am grateful I married a man who agrees! So on to the first assignment: pictures from our dating days and enjoy recalling those days!

Matt and I met on a blind date. Truly I knew when I met him that we would remain friends if nothing else. He was already established as a dentist and had a house. I was still in college, finishing up my teaching credentials. Our first date was the summer of 1990. July to be specific. My parents and sister had gone to church camp together and since I really never enjoyed being alone in our home, we asked if Gram would come visit while they were gone. I also worked two jobs at that time to pay for school. My duel job schedule had my only day off during that week Gram visited. So Matt and I went out to dinner. He was a gentleman to say the least. He pulled out the chairs, opened doors and all the lovely treats we enjoy as a lady. I felt quite special indeed. What amazed me the most was how intent he was in listening to me and not just looking past me. After some time of talking after dinner, we decided we should continue our date. That is where I was perplexed. I knew my Gram was sitting at home waiting for me to come home on the only night I had free. Here she had come all this way to spend time with me and we had not had a chance to have any time! So, like any good grand-daughter, I asked if he would terribly mind going back and playing games with my grandma, explaining the situation. He agreed. Any man who agrees to that without hesitation is a keeper! :) We played RummiKub for quite a bit until he dismissed himself with a kiss on my forehead. He truly was a perfect gentleman and set the stage for our many dates to come.

Our engagement picture

We spent our dates at movies, restaurants, the lake, my parents house, playing cards with his grandparents, watching his friend race cars at the track and so many more. One of my favorite memories was when we took my sister and her boyfriend down to Lake Monroe to hang out on the boat for the day. We went waterskiing and had a blast. That evening, we cleaned up and went to Bloomington to eat. As we were walking, I was talking with Matt and just grabbed his hand! He still says I was the aggressive one because I made the first 'move'! Ha! I just felt so comfortable with him it felt like I had always done just that, walking down the street holding his hand. My sister and I giggled about that for quite awhile and she will bring it up from time to time just to be silly. Within two months of dating, we knew we wanted to get married and he proposed. I will never forget that special day. It is so funny how just when you stop looking, God will bring what you need to your door! I know that is true in our married life today as well. He has continued to do the same in the way He brought our family together...but that is for another day!