J206- Where it all began!

I am supposed to be packing up our cute little apartment right now, ( Dave is like… really? you’re gonna write a blog post right now?)… but all I can think about is all the memories we’ve had here. It’s funny how so many times we may want something different from what we have and then when we are on the horizon of gaining that “new” and “exciting” thing we have hoped for or wished for, we begin to miss what we currently have. Well maybe not exactly “miss”, but we definitely begin to see all the amazing things and blessings we have had.

I have been living in apartments for FOREVER and I’ve been dreaming of the day when Dave and I will finally be able to move into a house of our own.  But it’s new territory and while I’m excited for that day to come, (currently a week away), it means leaving what I’m comfortable with. While we’ve been packing, I have been finding so many things that remind me of our journey together from dating, engagement and finally marriage. It’s fun to look back and remember,  but it also makes me realize just how many beautiful things have happened in our little apartment. So while I’m taking a tour down memory lane, I thought I’d share a bit of our story and how this apartment is so much more than just a place to live… it WAS our first “home” together.

( see more pics of our place here)

I believe I’ve lived in this same apartment since 2011- 7 years!!! Isn’t that crazy???! Also (sidenote) when you’ve lived in a place for 7 years you accumulate a lot of things… packing has been WAY harder.  I have had so many incredible life changes while living at this apartment, and so many new adventures. Dave and I met while I was still in my master’s program at Missouri State University, and he was still on the road as a touring merchandise manager. He lived in Nashville, but because of touring had a very interesting, more flexible schedule and was able to come and visit me in Springfield almost every month. This was the first long distance relationship I had ever been in and let me just tell you long distance is hard. But I had it a lot better than most, because Dave came to town almost every month which made long distance a lot easier.  It was in this apartment that we decided to make “us” official… AND it was in this apartment that we began to date each other.  It was in this apartment that we planned numerous “home dates,” while dating and married. One of my favorite dates was when we were first dating, I believe we were 4 months in,  and Dave had come to visit me for a week. He planned one of my “dream dates”- Pizza in the living room, watching a Disney movie, and coloring in Disney Coloring books we had bought from the store. It was the cutest and sweetest date!

We had many fun dates in this apartment, then came the engagement. Dave proposed in our apartment! It was the sweetest proposal- intimate and beautiful- and I love that it happened right here in our cute little apartment.  Dave and I pretty much knew that we were going to get married soon after reaching 7 months and definitely after meeting each others’ families in December of 2012. So we decided shortly after that Christmas that we wanted to get married the following summer….Yes, we talked it out before he actually proposed. But being a professional violinist in the area and having played numerous weddings, I had seen many venues and knew the perfect one for us. Venues book up a year or so in advance, and we were looking at getting married in 5-8 months, so I knew we couldn’t wait to book the venue if we wanted to get married that next summer. We ended up calling the venue and picking a date- there were only 2 more dates the summer of 2013- we chose August 10th.  The wedding date was set, but Dave hadn’t officially proposed yet.

Time flew. It was soon April. Our wedding was a shy 5 months away, I was three weeks away from my Masters violin recital, and a month away from turning in my research paper, taking my comps and graduating with my Master’s Degree- talk about STRESS!  I had pretty much told all my friends ALL social engagements or hangout were canceled in the month of April, or until I completed all of my masters requirements.  My friend Cat, called me one evening as I was working on my thesis and reminded me that I hadn’t found my wedding dress yet, and with the wedding already booked, I really needed to try some on. While I really didn’t feel like I could leave the house and stop working on my thesis, I also new that duty called and I had to find something. * sidenote-It’s nice to have a friend watching your back.  So we set a time to go to David’s bridal that week, and I pretty much told her I could only expend 2 hours-  but little did I know that that same evening Dave would be proposing.

Behind the Scenes:

Dave had told me that he was on a tour in which he would have limited availability to talk, so I knew that we wouldn’t be talking much. Well what I didn’t know was the behind the scenes of the proposal… Dave wasn’t on a tour that day, instead he was in Springfield, he met up with my brother to get the keys to the apartment and then called Cat to get me out of the apartment that evening.  While Dave was preparing the apartment for the engagement, I was at David’s Bridal with Cat and (surprise) all my girl friends!!!  After trying on dresses and Cat being so strange (she had been texting Dave while we were out), we left David’s Bridal, grabbed some food and headed back to my apartment.

As Cat and I walked in I heard mine and Dave’s song, ” More in Love with you,” by Jason Reeves- ( GO LOOK IT UP RIGHT NOW- SO GOOD!) I knew right then… something beautiful was about to happen. I looked down and the hallway into our apartment was lined with beautiful red rose petals and candles and at the end of the hallway was Dave with more roses and the most beautiful ring. So Dave proposed right in the middle of all the rose petals, candles and beautiful lantern lights,  he had hung from the ceiling in the hallway above us.

So Dave and I officially began dating,  had numerous date nights, and now had gotten engaged in out little apartment. Fast forward a couple of weeks and a month…  I graduated with my Masters Degree and got my first big girl job!

I remember sitting at the kitchen table in our apartment the day I graduated and finding out about the Carver position. I applied for the Carver Middle School Orchestra Director position and I was in the living room, a month later, when I found out I got the position! I was so elated that I opened up the screen door to the porch and screamed into the pouring rain ” I got the Job!” It was one of the best feelings I had ever had! The beginning of August came quickly and I was about to begin that job and we were about to start our lives as a married couple.

Dating, Engaged, New job, Marriage, Dave going back to school and getting a new job, and almost 5 years of marriage- It’s all been in our cute little apartment. And even this blog- It all started right here. I know everyone probably has a place like this… flooded with so many memories and I know that wherever we go we will have another place in which we will establish more memories.  While we may not be in our cute little apartment for much longer, we will always have the beautiful memories we have made here and the growth we have experienced together as a couple and in our professional lives. Here’s to the future and all the memories we will make as we go forward in our new home.

I would love to hear your stories… Tell me about your first home or memories you have a special place you may have lived.