About "Texas Girl..." This is my love story.

This is J speaking...

Occasionally my dear wife gets on this blog and mentions me in a particularly good light. She mentions something "sweet" I must have done or mentions me "warming the seat" for her in the night/morning. While I do appreciate the glory and attention, who wouldn't? any of you who really know me, know that I am not always the most peachy fellow. I'm prone to complaining, saying dumb things, and probably being too nerdy about trumpet stuff all the time. Well, allow me to expound a little about our story and some of the reasons why I love my sweet A so much...

We met each other our freshman year at BYU. In fact, A was the first girl I actually remember meeting (and probably was the first). We met as I was waiting in her dorm lobby for a bishop's interview. She came over and talked to me. We never really dated each other before I went on my mission to Brazil, but I really wanted to. I can't lie. I gotta be honest. I guess you could say that we developed our friendship and in hindsight, that was the best thing we could have done. In the end, we're best friends and it's so wonderful to pass through life with your best friend.

On my mission, my 2nd to last area was in a city called Uruguaiana. It's a rural border town with Argentina. It was a great city and is full of great memories for me. One of my memories is reading my weekly email at an internet place across the street from the chapel. I got an email from A that told me she was going to serve in the Houston Texas South Mission. I quickly dubbed her "Texas Girl" to my fellow zone members and realized that day that she was who I wanted to marry. You couldn't do any better than her. Hasty I know, but I somehow knew it would happen and believed in that once I returned home. Since I had joined the church, missionary work and missionaries were very important to me. I knew that I wanted to serve a mission, and I also knew that I wanted to marry someone who also had served one. A and I had talked a lot while she was preparing to serve and I whole heartily encouraged her to serve. Although I wanted her to have that amazing experience and I knew she could help many people, there was also that dream of marrying a returned missionary in the back of my mind... It worked.

I love A so much.

A cares about people. If she speaks to you, you get the feeling she loves you, cares about you, and is genuinely focused on you. She understands people and loves them. She was raised to be hard working, honest, loyal, steadfast, and faithful. She has pioneer stock in her that shows itself in powerful ways. For example, when C was born, A just bit down and bore the pain. Never complaining (which she very rarely every does anyway), she endured and when it was time to push, C was out in 3 pushes - 10 whole minutes. That was incredible! She has the ability to sit by me, talk me through things, bestow genuine support, and truly be a rock in my life.

A is a great mother. She teaches our little girl the same values that make her special. Thus, our little C is becoming a wonderful little girl because her mother, that she loves so much, is just simply wonderful. Writing about C is a whole different post, but one that probably will be even schmoopier than this one...

My A is my dream girl, my Texas girl, and my love. I am so lucky that she finally relented and allowed me to woo her. I must also acknowledge her amazing parents. When A was coming home from her mission, I secretly wanted to go visit her before we started school that fall. I agonized for weeks about even asking her if she would be willing to allow me to come to her home and hear her speak at church, etc. I had countless talks with my good roommates trying to muster the courage to ask her, and then her parents. To make a long story short, A's mom sent me a Mission Impossible style email inviting me to come and visit. I was a complete shock to their family as A had never even mentioned me to her parents. But, I'm sure secretly hoping it wasn't actually real, they allowed me to visit them, get to know them, and start to love them also. J and T (her parents) are so generous and loving to me. I do feel like their son and that is wonderful.

Ok, this is was a long post and I realize it's really just me writing personal things for nobody's benefit but my own. But, I got home from an opera rehearsal tonight and my sweet wife is here sleeping next to me. She waited up for me to tell me about her night and how C did. She also wanted to hear how the opera went and how it's going this week. Even though she really was so tired. That little bit of sacrifice made the night worth it. I love her and want her sweet goodness to be known to the world.

So, as you see... Sitting on an occasional cold toilet is the absolute least you can do for the one you love... especially when that one is the amazing A, my "Texas Girl."