Happy Valentines Day Weekend!
This post is dedicated to my forever Valentine…
Our love story will always be my favorite.
It started way back in 2000 at Texas Tech University. I was a freshman walking into my very first fraternity party. You can read a little more about that here. Our eyes met and I knew it was something special.
Life took us in two different directions in 2002. Nick graduated and moved to Mexico to work. I wasn’t quite ready to settle down and decided we needed to break up for a bit. That bit last longer than anticipated and included another marriage, two kids and a divorce. OOPS.
The next 10 years would be eventful to say the least. Ultimately, they would help prepare me to be the wife I believed Nick deserved.
Looking back now I am certain God needed time to work some things out in both of us.
A lot of life happened between these two pictures.
I am so thankful for His perfect timing.
This picture is from 2012. A recently divorced mom of two young kids.
I look back at this girl and I can still feel her fear and pain. I wasn’t sure what our future would look like…but I knew I would fight like hell to give these babies the life I wanted for them. There would be no settling, they deserved the best and that’s exactly what we got…
A crazy chance encounter at a TCU/TECH football game changed my life.
Nick and I crossed paths after the game ended and our group of friends headed to a nearby bar to grab a beer and catch up. He had heard about my divorce and asked about my kids. He was respectful and so kind and I got butterflies. BUT he didn’t ask for my number.
Some time went by and I got a facebook message asking if he could take me to dinner.
The rest is history.
We spent months dating before introducing him to the kids. I was never worried about how he would be with them it was more of a respect thing between us and their dad. Neither of us wanted to introduce others into their lives until it was a for sure thing.
I was feeling insecure once about him stepping into this life with two young kids and having an infant family. I’ll remember his response forever…”Your children are an extension of you…..how could I NOT love them with everything I have?!” IS he even real?! That was it, I was a goner. My heart will always belong to this precious man.
We were married on the beach, May 3, 2014 surrounded by our family and friends. Jackson walked me down the aisle and it was perfect.
We knew we wanted to grow our little family and after a miscarriage, our rainbow baby was born.
We decided to not find out the gender and this was one of the most special moments of our lives. You can read more about Hayes’ birth here.
Nick was made to be a dad. He is patient and loving. He leads by example and always makes time for his family. I just thought I couldn’t love him any more but then I watched him become a dad.
No, our life isn’t always perfect. We argue and bicker like any other couple but I truly believe we have that once- in-a-lifetime kind of love. I pray our children find love like this one day.
I’ve said it before but Nick took a broken girl and healed her heart. Through him, I was able to see Gods love for me.
Happy Valentines Day, my love. Thank you for being you.
Bawling! Oh my goodness this was such a sweet post. I can just see the love between you guys. What a great reminder that it’s in His timing, not ours.
Jeni, your story is very inspiring as i got divorced 6 years ago and have one daughter and had/have all the same feelings you’ve experienced. I also admire paige as i know she’s much newer to the unfortnate divorce journey, however her story with Miggle is quite interesting to me. Especially how they met on a dating app and lived across the country from each other but had that wonderful connection that we all yearn for and they’ve made it work. I’m always looking for someone in like a 10 mile radius lol. i’m dating someone now and we’ve been on and off for 2 yrs but now that we’re official, i’m not so sure it’s for me so i’m struggling in this area . i just don’t know if it’s that sweet, connected love that i know is out there but at 43 it’s scary to start over. Anyway, i read this post today and wanted to share a bit with you two as well. i’m in NY and we’re currently getting 9 more inches of snow but i hope you all are doing ok in tx and staying warm and safe!
xo,
jackie
Hi Jackie! I was craving a fresh start with someone that didn’t know me or anyone that I knew. I’m very fortunate that Miggle was able to move to TX. Settle for nothing less than that sweet connected love, even if you have to start over and over and over and over. Big hugs to you and thanks so much for sharing!!!!
Aw , thanks so much paige for responding so quickly and for sharing a little more of your story too! You are very fortunate that Miggle was able to move to TX aND I’M SO HAPPY THAT THINGS HAVE WORKED OUT FOR YOU. I CAME ACROSS YOU GIRLS FROM sHAY AND sheaffer as i’m a long-time follower of theirs and i’m so glad i did! I started reading your blog when you girls started and i love it. And you’re absolutely right, i shouldn’t settle no matter how many times i have to start over. it’s actually hard for me bc i wanted to be with this guy for the 2 yrs we were on and off and compared everyone else to him and now that we’ve been official for almost a year now, i’m like ummmm is this what i still want? lol i have to figure things out but thanks again to you and jeni for being inspirations! xo
hI pAIGE! tHANKS SO MUCH FOR GETTING BACK TO ME SO QUICKLY. i RESPONDED BEFORE AND SAW MY COMMENT POST AWAITING APPROVAL. BUT, THEN IT DISAPPEARED SO i’M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED BUT WANTED TO WRITE AGAIN TO MAKE SURE YOU SAW A RESPONSE FROM ME BC IT WAS SO NICE OF YOU TO GET BACK TO ME. i FOUND YOUR AND jENI’S BLOG THROUGH sHAY AND sHEAFFER AND I’M SO GLAD I DID AS I’VE BEEN FOLLOWING YOU GIRLS FROM THE BEGINNING . i’M SO HAPPY THAT THINGS WORKED OUT FOR YOU AND mIGGLE AND THAT HE WAS ABLE TO RELOCATE! tHE THING IS, I WANTED TO BE WITH THIS GUY FOR THE ENTIRE 2 YRS WE WERE ON AND OFF BUT NOW THAT WE’VE BEEN OFFICIAL FOR A YEAR, i’M NOT SO SURE i WANT IT AS BADLY AS I THOUGHT I DID BC I DON’T FEEL THAT SWEET CONNECTED LOVE. bUT IT’S HARD TO WALK AWAY SINCE i HAD SUCH HIGH HOPE FOR US. i DO NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT THOUGH BC YOU’RE RIGHT, i DEFINITELY SHOULDN’T SETTLE AND WE ALWAYS WANT TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR OUR KIDS, RIGHT? tHANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING MORE OF YOUR STORY TOO AND I WISH YOU AND jENI ALL THE HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD! XO
BTW, SO SORRY ABOUT THE FONT/GRAMMAR ISSUES, YOU CAN ONLY COMMENT IN ALL CAPS APPARENTLY LOL
Maybe it was a case of wanting what you couldn’t fully have? Now that he is committed, you may be able to look at it with a more clear head. My therapist told me a relationship should be two things, happy and fulfilling. It really is that simple sometimes! Don’t settle! It’s ok to have had high hopes and it not be what you were thinking it would. Hard decisions suck! Thanks again for the sweet words! And people say that caps lock thing happens all the time, I should really get into the website and see what the heck the settings are for commenting.
hi there paige! very nice to see another message from you, thank you. that definitely could be it, that i wanted what i couldn’t have a bit and now that i have it i’m like hmmm really? i wanted this for so long? lol 😉 But you know what i mean. it’s just not overly fulfilling on a few levels so what your therapist said really makes sense to me. some days, i’m like, oh yeah this is good and other days, i’m frustrated, feel like something is lacking, etc. But you’re right, hard decisions do suck and i think i have to make one sooner than later so that i can see if that sweet connected love is out there for me. so nice to chat with you, thanks again for getting back to me a few times – you’re so sweet! I hope you have a great weekend!
xo,
jackie