Moderately Newlywed Blog

Right after Danny and I got married (August 9th, 2009), Danny suggested that I start a blog to discuss all of the hilarious situations we have encountered as newlyweds. Whoops, it's almost a year later and I'm finally getting around to it. Being married to Danny is a huge blessing, I am so greatful for such a sweet, PATIENT husband who loves me despite all of my many flaws. For the last 5 years, our relationship has been characterized by hilarity. Here's a little of our history:

How we met: My freshman year of college, I was on the Campus Crusade for Christ Social Team at Missouri State University. We were shooting a promotional video for an upcoming dance party (dance parties are my fave!) for Cru. In this video, we were stopping random people in the Plaster Student Union and having them say "miraculous" things happened to them when they went to the dance party. I saw Danny, shuffling in a hurried manner, walking out of the building and I stopped him to ask if he would be in a video. He was dressed nicely because he had just left an interview, and asked what I wanted him to say. Keep in mind I had never met this guy in my entire life. Without blinking, I said "Here's what you have to say...'I was constipated for a week straight, then I went to the dance party and let loose'." Yes, I know I am classy. Danny's face grew instantly red, and he said "I can't say that!" With much coaxing, he finally delivered a hilarious performance, and it was the highlight of our promotional video. After Freshman year, Danny and I saw each other a few times over the summer because of mutual friends. I could not for the life of me remember his name, so I would greet him as "Constipation Boy". Needless to say, he just thought I was awesome. It was not love at first sight...or second, or third.

How we started dating: Sophomore year of college came at Missouri State, and Danny and I ended up as Resident Assistants in the same building. As Danny told me later, he was less than thrilled to be working with the crazy outgoing girl who knew him as "Constipation Boy". My impression of him at first was that he was a little too shy for my taste. I had come fresh out of a "year of singlehood", and was not looking for a relationship at that point. As RAs, Danny and I had to spend quite a bit of time together during training and I learned that Danny was not only the nicest guy I'd ever met, but he was also so goofy and fun. Danny learned that I was more than just a ridiculously energetic and crazy girl, and we started to spend more time together. I remember one day at fire safety training, Danny leaned over to me and said "All fire safety training aside, you look lovely today." As Danny and I began to spend more time together, I realized he was a 90 year old man stuck in a 19 year olds body. He called me "gal" and his dad "pop", wore t-shirts tucked into his elastic shorts, and stretched a ridiculous amount. I loved that he had a servant's heart like my dad. He was always doing things for other people, and he could make everyone feel comfortable in any setting. I also loved our conversations about our walks with Christ and how he prayed for our meals (without prompting!). I told Danny he was just a precious guy who deserved a sweet girl with a bow in her hair. I decided to have a 70's roller skating birthday party for my 19th birthday (because I'm awesome), and I wore a fabulous white jump suit while Danny wore a woman's polka dot blouse and red pants. Danny asked to pursue me during a romantic couple skate to a Boys to Men song. I knew I had a real gem when Danny took me on my first date. We talked for hours about hilarious childhood memories at dinner. Danny is THE most hilarious story teller, I laughed so hard I cried. Then he took me to a Japanese Stroll Garden, and we sat on a park bench talking. He said "I noticed when I picked you up that you didn't have a bow in your hair, so I brought one for you." Then this angel boy TIED A BOW IN MY HAIR! As I sat there with tears in my eyes, he told me how he appreciated my walk with Christ and how he would like to start a relationship centered around Christ with me. When I said yes, he said "I was hoping you'd say that" and whipped out celebratory bubbles for us to blow. Once again, ANGEL BOY. We ended the evening with Star Tripping (spinning around as fast as you can while staring at the stars, then stopping as the other person shines a flashlight in your face while you try not to fall on the ground). I realize we were about 10 years old, and I absolutely loved it!


How he proposed: Those of you who know me well know that I am not a patient girl. Danny and I had dated for about 4 years, and I had known from about day 1 of dating that this was a special guy who God had given me to be mine for a long time...hopefully life. One thing I love and appreciate about Danny so much is that he was patient with my impatience, and that he could stand his ground in a gentle way. Danny makes very slow, calculated decisions, and he knew how important the decision of marriage was. I may have been impatient at the time, but in retrospect I am SO greatful that Danny took the time to really seek God's timing and will in proposing. I told Danny that I wanted him to pick out the engagement ring on his own, but he said he "didn't feel qualified" to make that big of a decision on his own so he took me ring shopping. We picked out a few rings that I liked, and just about every day after that I imagined ridiculous scenarios in my head about how he was going to propose each day. The ONE day that I did NOT expect to get engaged was Halloween. I mean...it's HALLOWEEN! The holiday my parents said was "of the devil" and we avoided each year. Danny insisted that night we go to a Campus Crusade dance party. I wasn't feeling it. I had a really long day, I was tired, and since I was in graduate school, I felt too "old" to go to the party. Danny insisted (and Danny almost never insists), so I begrudgingly agreed to go. Danny created an elaborate lumberjack costume, while I threw on a yellow shirt and black dress with a crown and called myself a "queen bee". When we got there, Danny's fraternity brother asked us to be in a video for Crusade about holiday memories. Danny told me to tell a story, but I was feeling a little camera shy. Danny started telling a story on camera about his grandma "forgetting the beans". At the end, he said "Family memories are great, but the most memorable ones are those that are to come." I laughed, because I thought he was being cheesy. He bent down, and I thought he was picking up his lumberjack axe. He wasn't. He was looking at me with a little black box in his hand. He tied another bow in my hair (angel boy), and asked me to be his wife. I screamed "YES!" and we had a celebratory dance to "Dancing in September". I didn't realize until later that Danny had set up the scenario to be like the first time we met (shooting a promotional video for Crusade), and that the video was just a plot to record our engagement. Sneaky, sweet boy.

So, in short, I am so blessed to be married to a man who pursues God first and me second. He is seriously a better husband than I could have ever dreamt of. Marriage is an adventure every day. I will share some of those adventures in days to come. :)