Hello friends and Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend, the weather actually warmed up here in Cleveland and we enjoyed some time outside. It was wonderful, the Winter just didn't seem to want to leave us this year!
To all of you still reading my blog, thank you! It's been busy here and again, blogging seems to be taking a back seat to pretty much everything these days. However, I really wanted to participate in the Love and Marriage series that a few of my long time favorite bloggers have put together. I feel that focusing on a strong marriage is so important, especially with kids, and I thought it would be fun to write a few posts about Jeff and I. After all, Jeff and I were the focus of this blog in the very beginning!
The first post in the Love and Marriage series is all about how you began as a couple and to share your history. I have talked a little bit on the blog about how Jeff and I met but wanted to give you in the depth scoop for those of you who may not know!
Jeff and I met in the Fall of 2000. I was 26 and he was 27. I had just left a two year job with Ernst and Young that involved a hectic daily commute to downtown Cleveland and a lot of client travel to other areas of the country. I was really looking forward to a job where there was little travel and I didn't have to pay every day to park!!! I was also entering a time in my life where I wanted to be more settled. I enjoyed my early twenties as a new college grad and loved the lifestyle as a single, career gal. I spent a lot of time shopping and hanging out with friends and felt myself finally growing up and longing for a more simpler lifestyle. I decided to leave my job at Ernst & Young and was hired by Progressive Insurance as a Corporate Accountant. I was really looking forward to a new beginning in my career with a new company. Little did I know that it would also be a new chapter in my life for other reasons!
The first day of my new job, my co-worker took me on a tour of the building and introduced me to all of the individuals that I would be working with. One of those people that I was introduced to was Jeff! I specifically remember meeting Jeff that day. He was the total package: good-looking, smart and successful. I thought he was simply adorable and remember looking at the picture of the baby girl on his desk. I also found myself looking for a wedding ring on his hand as he shook mine, hoping the baby girl was not his. Sure enough, no wedding ring and I later found out that the baby was his new niece. The funny thing was, I already had a boyfriend so I was surprised that I was so drawn to my new co-worker anyway.
The first day of my new job, my co-worker took me on a tour of the building and introduced me to all of the individuals that I would be working with. One of those people that I was introduced to was Jeff! I specifically remember meeting Jeff that day. He was the total package: good-looking, smart and successful. I thought he was simply adorable and remember looking at the picture of the baby girl on his desk. I also found myself looking for a wedding ring on his hand as he shook mine, hoping the baby girl was not his. Sure enough, no wedding ring and I later found out that the baby was his new niece. The funny thing was, I already had a boyfriend so I was surprised that I was so drawn to my new co-worker anyway.
Over the next few months, I had gotten to know several of my co-workers. There were a group of us who were unmarried, in our twenties, and enjoyed going out for happy hour after a long work week on Friday's. Jeff would often be a part of that group and I got to know him a bit through working together and at happy hour. I found myself becoming more and more interested in him. It also helped that my current relationship was not going well at all and it was only a matter of time before I decided to end it. Looking forward to living the life of a single girl again, I focused on my career and renting an apartment with my sister who had recently graduated from college.
A few weeks after breaking up with my boyfriend, Jeff had stopped by my cubicle to chit chat like he normally would and out of the blue asked "Can I take you to dinner this weekend?" I was completely blown away, so shocked that I asked "What?" Not that I hadn't heard him, it was just my natural reaction of both shock and disbelief. So he repeated himself and asked me again. Little did I know that he had been interested in me too and was just waiting for me to break up with my boyfriend. To this day, Jeff still gives me a hard time that I made him ask me out twice. He was so nervous, asking me the first time was hard enough! He told me that he thought I was buying time to come up with an excuse to turn him down which was so not the case! Ha!
Jeff and I had a wonderful first date and were together ever since. We both shared the love of Cleveland sports, trying out new bars and restaurants, skiing and traveling. This is a picture of Jeff and I at a rooftop bar on top of the Palm's Casino in Las Vegas. We loved traveling together and spent a lot of time planning fun little trips for us to take. Jeff and I also shared similar values and how important our families were to us. Needless to say, Jeff and I had a wonderful time dating. A little too much fun. We dated for almost four years before we FINALLY got engaged on my 30th birthday in 2004.
Jeff and I were married on August 27th 2005. It was a long time coming but so worth the wait!!! It's hard to believe we will be celebrating 8 years of marriage this year. Life with two kids is crazy but wonderful! Marrying Jeff has literally made all of my dreams come true. A few of my favorite memories of our marriage so far is building our dream home in 2007,
the birth of our daughter, Jillian, in 2009 after three years of infertility,
and the birth of our son Nicholas in 2012.
I am living the life I have always dreamed of. Although life does not always go according to plan, I can truly appreciate how everything came together in God's time.
If you are interested in participating in this blogging series of Love and Marriage, please visit here to link up.
Have a wonderful week!
