OUR STORY

Some of you haven’t met Paul or me yet!  Some of you may not even have been aware that I moved to California.  Although we didn’t think that much of it at first, our friend Eric calls our meeting “serendipitous” 

In the fall of my last year of college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, my friends (and awesome bridesmaids) Erin and Mel asked me if they could pick me up on their way to Chicago for Erin’s birthday.  All four of us girls stayed in our friend’s tiny studio apartment!

On the second night we were there Mel and I were trying to go to a different club (brats) than Erin and Candace.  At the last minute, we decided our friends were more important than dancing.  So we went to a bar called the Apartment.  We started dancing in the middle of this massive, sweaty crowd.  A random guy made his way through the crowd and tapped Mel on the shoulder.  He asked us if we wanted to go to the VIP room.  Of course we went.

Once inside, Paul and I started talking.  His friends and he had been running the VIP room all night. Neither him or I remember the first time we even looked at each other, we were just all of a sudden side by side…..

Starting to sound like a typical bar hookup?  That’s where it gets interesting.  Paul was in Chicago for work training.  He was a Consultant for Accenture and was learning about his new project.  He claimed to have an amazing penthouse suite…. and after hitting it off all night asked me to go back with him.

Even though I wanted to go….I said no and told him what I would explicitly NOT be doing with him, and Erin, Candace and Mel escorted me out.  Paul text messaged me throughout the night and I remember asking him for his address, I don’t really remember why.

We talked a couple of times on the phone after that, mostly about God and what I should be doing after college.  I also thought about him on Christmas, and sent him a message.  Sometime in January Paul lost his cell phone, and all of his numbers.  Going through his emails he found the one he sent me with his address.  He emailed me and we started talking again regularly.  

In the midst of my serious planning to move to Sydney the following fall, Paul jokingly told me he could fly me out to Los Angeles.  Any of you who know me well probably aren’t surprised I said yes immediately.  I felt good about the decision.  I remember telling my mom that I was just really excited to hang out with a positive, put together guy and that I thought good things would come of it.  When my mom expressed no doubts about me going (and that Mel was going to California at the same time)  I knew it would be fine.

It was a fairytale!  The day I was supposed leave, I snuck out of lecture to get to the airport.  Paul had gotten me a window seat.  So far so good.  I was kind of nervous going to get my bag.  Paul showed up in a green Ireland shirt. He immediately escorted me to his car and told me we needed to hurry to be on time for dinner.  I called my mom to tell her he was really nice.  Paul took me to a comedy club…. that night, after 6 months of knowing of each other, I started to fall for him.

This wonderful man had the WHOLE WEEK planned out.  We did something really fun every day.  He took me to all the pretty beaches and we went to Magic Mountain to ride rollercoasters for my birthday.  The second night I was there he asked me to be his girlfriend.  I said yes without even considering any of the implications.

I went back to school for one month to graduate.  He visited twice, once to help me and my family move me out of my apartment. 

One week after I had been home in Minnesota, he flew out again to drive with me and my stuff to California.  No, I did not have a job or a plan… and I was seemingly foregoing my whole Australia idea.

After a fun and difficult summer…..

I know both Paul and I were uncertain about where we would go together.  Somewhere during the time that Paul doubted us his friend Colin mentioned the importance of resisting evil thoughts.  That statement still helps us now.

Paul proposed to me on the shore of Long Beach on a random weeknight when I was totally not expecting it.  He let my ring drop out of his sweatshirt. I thought he stepped on something and hurt his foot! Such a perfect spot for a girl who’s wanted to be near the ocean her whole life…

Now Paul and I are pretty involved in our awesome, and kinda edgy, church in Costa Mesa, California.  Paul is working feverishly with some pretty amazing men on their company, Reasonable.  I am working at an event planning company.  My current title is Creative Project Manager… as I design really anything that needs designing for my company.

 We love God, and know that the future is very, very bright.  We are so excited to be in the presence of all of you, the dearest and most important people in our lives, in only 2 months!!!

So this story is completely told from my perspective!  Maybe Paul will post his side.