Throwback Thursday: Us

We met at Snow College, a small town school about two hours south of Salt Lake City, in the fall of 2007. At first, I wasn't interested. Phil was pretty quiet, but when he did talk it was usually about sports. Not that I don't like sports, but they aren't really my thing. I came to the conclusion that he was just a dumb jock and didn't think much more about it.

As time went by though, we started spending more time together as friends, and before long he asked me out on our first date (a story I will have to save for another post). The more I got to know him, the more I liked him. He wasn't any of the stereotypes I had categorized him in, but instead just a really nice, really good guy.

I actually had a goal not to date anyone that semester because I would be graduating in December 2007 and then spending the next five months in St. Petersburg, Russia. I didn't want a long distance relationship. Not only that, but I had always hoped to serve a full time mission, and didn't want anything to interfere with that goal. But, I couldn't quite bring myself to end things completely with Phil. We decided to keep in touch while I was in Russia and then see how things were when I got back.

It was hard. I missed him so much, and I knew that I wanted us to be together.

After Russia I moved back up to Utah, to be close to Phil and to work and look into continuing school at the University of Utah. But my desire to serve a mission was still strong. Sometimes I tried to ignore it, sometimes I just put it off, thinking I would deal with it when I actually turned 21 (the age requirement at the time for young women to serve), sometimes I though, I knew that it was what I was going to do and I just needed to accept it.

After dating for another 4 months, Phil got more serious and one night brought up our future and marriage. In that moment I knew that as much as I wanted to be with him, I needed to serve the Lord. The very next day I started the paperwork and by the middle of November 2008 I had received an assignment to serve in Spain.

It was painful to leave Phil. My heart ached for him. I thought of him every day that I was in Spain, but I never once regretted my decision. I knew it was the right thing to do, for both of us. One of Phil's best qualities is his loyalty. I knew that he truly cared about me, but I also knew that if he met someone else while I was gone, it wouldn't just be some floozy thing. He wouldn't play around, he would be serious and it would be right. Knowing that made it only sweeter when I came home and he still wanted to be with me.

We didn't waste any time. We were married 3 months after I returned home from Spain, and have never looked back. All the time we had to spend apart has only made our time together sweeter. How lucky I am to be part of us.