how we met
When I was in high school, I may have made some bad decisions like many young women trying to get attention they may not have been getting at home. I by no means thought that some of those decisions and life choices would bring me the happiness I have today.
Joey and I met through friends I met while I was in high school. Thanksgiving 2009, I was out for a night on the town and ran into those old friends that I hadn’t seen in years. There was a new face in the group that was so funny, always smiling and laughing. After that we began to talk on BBM (blackberry messenger… bring it back!) and I asked him to come out to karaoke one night with me and my friends (I wanted to see how he was outside of his group).
That was in February of 2010 and from that moment and I saw what I already knew and felt, this guy is awesome! We dated and fell in love. During that time, my dad came back into my life after 15 years. Joey and I had been dating 6 months and I moved to Chicago not knowing if my relationship with him would last the long distance but I knew I wanted to get to know my dad so it was a decision I had to make.
how they asked
We were able to see each other several times during the long 9 months I lived in Chicago but I knew Joey was going to be my husband one day. We survived the distance and were stronger than ever. He proposed to me on the beach on Hilton Head Island on June 8, 2012. It was our last full day there and I was really hoping to get engaged on that vacation. I felt like he was going to do it and he waited till the last day to make that dream come true. We were walking down the beach and I could tell he was a nervous wreck. He was looking around and waiting for it to thin out so he didn’t have an audience. I know he probably said some very sweet things but I just got lost in the moment as I saw him get down on one knee and whip a box out of his pocket! I started crying and got “yes” out somehow! I couldn’t stop staring at my ring and at the man who would be my husband.
I had a lot of trial and error when it came to relationships before and things that I learned from each were to never compete for your partners love, name calling is a NO, and find a man who treats his mom with respect. Joey never raises his voice to me and he never has to his momma. We don’t call each other names to hurt each other. He loves me as much as I love him.
I won the lotto in the in-law department. As I am not close to my parents for reasons that I can’t control, God gave me what I needed in Joey’s parents! We married on 10-11-12 in a private ceremony at a beautiful Baptist Church in the oldest town in Tennessee, Jonesborough, and used this session with Jessica to celebrate our fourth year of marriage!
