Love Story Part II

Our story continued....

After lunch we headed to the park across the street.   At this point much flirting was going on and the butterflies were swarming.  I remember this scene like something out of a movie. Mushy. Romantic. Giddy love.

We went to the swings first and then made our away around the playground equipment,  being silly and shy at the same time.   A picnic table that sat under a tree, was our last stop.  We sat across from each other.  He asked if he could hold my hand.  So there we sat talking, while we held hands for the first time.

We talked for awhile and then he said the famous words that will always play in my head, "do you want me to keep talking, or can I shut up and kiss you?"

I had never kissed a boy before and this request came out of nowhere.  I recoiled my hands from his and then laid my head on the picnic table.  I started saying, "nervous, nervous," like some idiot.  I didn't know what to do.  He asked me why I was so nervous and so I told him that I had never kissed a boy before.  He said, "it's easy."

Then, just like in the movies, we kissed for the first time.  It was all fireworks, and I remember it like it was yesterday.

It was time to get me back before school ended because my mom was picking me up that day.  I had to be at our meeting spot on time.   We held hands as we walked back to the car, and the whole way as we drove back to school.

We didn't have any official, "will you go out with me" discussion, it just all started with that kiss. From that moment on, we were together.  The date was October 30th, 1997 and we married on October 30th, 1999, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I was in such a fog, I sort of didn't know what had happened that day.  That morning I was just excited because I was finally going to lunch with him, after waiting so long for him to ask me.  Now, talk about fast forward mode! He might of played it cool and waited two weeks to ask me to lunch, but he sure made up for that time in a matter of minutes.  That night I was able to sort it all out.  I had a boyfriend.  Now how to tell my mom! We did have this sort of rule that I wasn't to date until I was 16.  I had just turned 15 that month.   I waited a few weeks and for the right moment.  I invited Erik over and she to was instantly smitten.  She loved him!

Now, talk about making up for any time lost, a few weeks into going out Erik tells me about his dream.  We are driving in the Honda one night, after a birthday gig his band had played at, he tells me that I am the girl he is going to marry.  It's a good thing that I don't really get shocked with those kind of statements.  I just said, "oh, okay." It didn't take long for me to also feel the same way.  A few weeks later, I knew we would be together forever!

We filled up the next two years with church, graduation for Erik, band practice, gigs, movies, dinners, morning worship, coffee, a trip to San Francisco, school of ministry, ski trips, tcby, counselors at camp, trips to the coast, birthdays, family gatherings, Christmas in the mountains with his family, fishing, camping, Starbucks, Barnes N Nobles, Applebees, prom, Santa Cruz boardwalk, fights, mexico, long talks in the Honda, key lime pie at Red Lobster, dates in Ashland, concerts, mini golf, planning a wedding and of course kissing!

Sorry for the glue gunk all over these, they were in a scrapbook!

I was in the third quarter of my junior year of high school,  Erik was in Mexico with his school of ministry, and I felt the need to be done.  I went to my parents with the idea of finishing school early by getting my GED.  They thought about it and decided that if that is what I wanted, they would support me in it.  They knew me and knew that I wouldn't make a hasty decision.  It was heavy on my heart to be done, I can't explain it.  It took some effort to get me out of school.  I was a straight A student and so we had to persuade a few teachers, including my student counselor, that I was making the right decision.

It was a Thursday, my last day of school.  I turned in my assignments, that were due, along with my textbook for that class.  I said something along the lines of, "this will be my last day of school, here is my assignment for the week and here is my book."  Many of my teachers just looked at me and didn't quite understand.  Over the next two weeks, I studied for the GED test.  That next week I passed it, I was done with high school at 16, so weird!

A few months later,  Erik and I were having coffee and talking about our future.  It hit us both at the same time, why are we waiting?  He was still living at the church, finishing out his year at the school of ministry.  God had already been preparing his heart and mine for this conversation we were having.  He had a whole journal entry dedicated to it.  So he went to talk with my parents that next weekend.  He shared with them what God had been showing him and read them his journal entry. They really were left thinking, there doesn't seem to be a reason to say no!  He left my house that night with their blessing.

Because we both are not big secret keepers or big gift givers, the proposal was somewhat staged. What I mean is, I knew it was coming.  He asked me one afternoon, "so should I propose to you today?" I said, "sure!"  So we reenacted our first date.  He got down on one knee at the picnic table we first kissed at.  I thought it was perfect!

So we started to announce it to everyone and reserved the church. October 30th happened to fall on a Saturday and the church was available, again, perfect!  A few weeks after my 17th birthday I would be Mrs. Wilt.  We went with my parents a few days before the wedding so they could officially sign me away and allow me to get married.

We were married by a young pastor and friend. He was 19 at the time and he got ordained for our wedding. We still talk about how thankful we are that he was the one to marry us. A perfect fit. Thank you Tyler and Haley for being there for us and helping us start our life together!

So lots of people were talking, so fun to make people talk!  Some thought I was pregnant, lots thought I was making a huge mistake. Some probably even thought I belonged to some cult, oh, too funny. But the thing is, it didn't matter what others were saying or what others thought, we knew we were making the right decision. God was leading us. Everything was coming together in His perfect timing. We might of looked foolish to the world around us, but we don't live for this world!

We traveled moved across the country for our honeymoon.  At that time gas was .99 a gallon, can you believe it?  We took showers at the truck stops, slept in our Honda, and made it to N.Y. in four and a half days. Those are memories I will cherish forever. It doesn't matter where you are, just who you are with! But, we are still waiting to go on our honeymoon redo vacation. It will happen someday!

I can't believe it has been 11 years!
And against all odds. Two firstborns, that got married way too young.

Thank you to my friend Heather for taking all my munchkins for the night so we could get away and celebrate.  We stayed at a beautiful hotel downtown, we went to Dave and Busters and we strolled the streets of Denver.  Downtown Denver is a very interesting place to be on Halloween weekend, good times!

The only pictures I have of the weekend are from Dave and Busters photo booths!

I won big, like three jackpots!  I have been telling Erik that he needs to take me to vegas, winning is in my blood!

We had enough tickets to get four Dave and Busters glasses.  That's a lot of tickets.  These four beautiful glasses, in the end, only cost us around $40.00. Now that's a rip-off steal!  But, really you can't put a price on fun and that night was lots of fun! Especially winning 603 tickets on one play!

Yeah, I know, you're jealous!

I know this post is super long, but I will leave you with a funny story.  When we moved to New York we only had one car, so we both got jobs at the mall to make it work.  The N.Y. state law, at the time, didn't allow anyone under the age of 18 to drive past 9 p.m., without parental consent.  The DMV made me drive with a parental permission slip, signed by Erik.  It didn't matter that I was married, he was my legal guardian until I turned 18!

Link to Part 1