Today is our 1st Anniversary! And what a wonderful year it has been! As we were driving home from church this afternoon, DH and I were discussing what a busy and wonderful 2 years it has been since we met. We love being married! Here is a quick run down:
- August 29th, 2007 - Jeff (living in Arkansas) initiated communication with Kibbie (living in Kentucky) on eHarmony.
- September 2nd, 2007 - Kibbie accepted Jeff's request for communication.
- September 2nd -mid September 2007 - Many many many hours of email communication transpired between the two.
- Mid September 2007 - Jeff and Kibbie talked for the first time on the phone = 5 hours!
- The following evening - Second time talking on the phone = 8 hours!!! Kibbie thinks to herself that she really likes this guy and hence begins the grin on her face for the next few months :-)
- Towards the end of September 2007 - Phone calls become an almost daily event that the two greatly enjoy and look forward to. Jeff and Kibbie both feel the Lord leading their friendship to something more.
- September 29th, 2007 - Jeff calls Kibbie's dad, and after a 2 hour phone conversation, gains permission to date/court her. Jeff immediately calls Kibbie and they are now officially in a relationship (note, they have still not met in person).
- September 29th- October 26th, 2007 - many, many, many, many phone conversations!
- October 26th- October 28th, 2007 - Jeff comes to Kentucky for a visit! He meets Kibbie's family and close friends, they go on their first date (to a delicious dinner at a nice restaurant), they celebrate his birthday (Oct. 27th), and they are thrilled to discover they like each other as much in person as they do long distance (not a surprise to either of them, but after hearing people constantly saying, "what if you guys don't like each other once you meet???", it was a relief to get the first meeting out of the way). Kibbie bids Jeff a tearful goodbye :-(
- End of November 2007 - Kibbie makes her first visit to see Jeff in Arkansas! She has a wonderful time getting to know his friends (thank you Marc and Amber for putting me up each time I came to AR!), his church, his town, his life. After a few days in Arkansas, they head for Illinois to meet up with his family at his Aunt's house for Thanksgiving. They arrive in the wee hours of the morning, everyone is already asleep (except for Jeff's younger brother Jimmy who stayed up to welcome us), Jeff heads to his Aunt's house with his brother after dropping Kibbie off with the sisters and Jimmy's "friend" Candace at the bed and breakfast next door. After falling asleep in pure exhaustion, Kibbie awakes the next morning, walks around the bed and breakfast, sees no sign of her roommate Candace or Jeff's sisters (or any other humans for that matter). She attempts calling Jeff's cell phone to no avail. She finds the bathroom, showers and dresses, tries calling Jeff again, looks around for signs of other humans, calls Jeff again, lays back down and sleeps a little longer, calls Jeff again, calls her mother, contemplates trying to figure out which of the surrounding houses is the Aunt's - decides not to go this route as she imagines the following in her head: Knock on door. Someone answers - possibly a relative of Jeff or possibly a poor confused neighbor. "Um hello, is the house where Jeff is sleeping?". The poor confused neighbor is scratching their head, trying to figure who Jeff is and why there is a girl knocking on doors looking for him mid morning on Thanksgiving Day (probably thinking I'm a homeless person trying to bum a Thanksgiving Day meal). Eventually Candace returns to the B&B, introduces herself to Kibbie, and offers to show Kibbie to the Aunt's house. They proceed to the correct house, where Kibbie introduces herself to sister #1 Stacy. Stacy is kind enough to offer to go wake up her brother. While Stacy is off to pounce upon and awaken Jeff, his mom, step dad, and sister #2 Sarah arrive back to the house from a run. As Kibbie is introducing herself to the rest of his family, Jeff stumbles out of bed still half asleep to join the crowd in the kitchen. To this day they still laugh about the fact that Kibbie had to introduce herself to Jeff's family, while Jeff was sleeping soundly with a dead cell phone at his side :-) A very wonderful Thanksgiving was had by all!
- Christmas 2007/New Year's 2008 - Jeff returns to Kentucky, meets Kibbie's older brothers and their families, and a wonderful Christmas was had by all!
- Spring 2008 - Kibbie makes visits to Arkansas every few weeks.
- May 11th, 2008 - during a hike to a beautiful water fall, Jeff proposes, Kibbie says YES, wedding preparation begins!
- August 30, 2008 (1 year and 1 day after beginning communication on eHarmony, note Kibbie had always said she wouldn't marry anyone she had known for less than 1 year!) - Jeff and Kibbie get married at the church where she grew up in Kentucky, with all of their parents, siblings, and many relatives and friends in attendance.
- August 30th- September 5th, 2008 - The newlyweds honeymoon in CO and UT, before heading to their home (mid renovation - concrete floors, wires hanging out of walls, no bathroom sinks, tools all over the place, etc.).
- The Ogans begin to settle in, work on their home, etc. They eventually get carpet, tile the hallway, build steps from the kitchen to living room, install a bathroom vanity and sinks, etc.
- Thanksgiving 2008 - Kibbie's brother, SIL, and their 2 small children come for a visit. Jeff and Kibbie do a 24 hour Extreme Home Makeover to childproof their home - plates are placed on outlets and switches, living room steps are built, bathroom vanity and sinks are installed, tools are put away, furniture is placed in rooms, etc. They are exhausted, thrilled with the progress, and have a wonderful time with their guests when they arrive. Everyone heads to TN to older brother Scott and fam's house to meet up with the rest of Kibbie's family and Jeff's sister Sarah for Thanksgiving day and a local Turkey Trot Relay race (which was a blast!).
- December 2008 - Arkansas is hit with an ice storm, and the couple enjoy having a few days stuck at home together playing games, drinking hot chocolate and tea, and making popcorn.
- Christmas 2008 - Jeff and Kibbie embark on the world's worst road trip to CO... Jeff is sick, Kibbie hasn't had much sleep, Jeff gets sicker and sicker with every mile, Kibbie is driving and getter more and more tired with every mile, somewhere in Kansas they pull into a gas station parking lot to sleep. Jeff is exhausted, sick, having trouble sleeping, and now begins getting the most voracious hiccups EVER - they won't go away, he is looking terrible, Kibbie is getting scared, Kibbie considers looking for an ER. Kibbie has a scratchy throat and her voice is almost gone. They pull back onto the road, Jeff finally gets a break from the hiccups and gets a little sleep. The motley crew eventually makes it to CO, where Jeff recovers from his sickness, Kibbie has no voice for a full 5 days, they both catch a stomach bug and spend 24 hours in bed throwing up, and Jeff's mom nurses them back to health. They are thrilled to be feeling well by Christmas Day and go on to have a wonderful Christmas with Jeff's family!
- January 20th, 2009 - Kibbie has a positive pregnancy test!
- February 2009 - Quick weekend trip to Kentucky to visit Kibbie's family and to SC to visit Sarah at BJU.
- April 2009 - Quick trip to IL for Jeff's grandmother's funeral. Kibbie's belly is beginning to grow.
- May 2009 - Trip to Kentucky for Kibbie's friends Rebekah and Josh's wedding. Kibbie's belly is still growing.
- August 2009 - Quick trip to CO for Jeff's brother Jimmy and Candace's wedding. Kibbie's belly is getting huge!
For anyone who really read all that, bless you! I wanted to give a quick run down of mine and Jeff's relationship, more for my own memories than anything else. Marriage is a beautiful thing and I am so thankful to God for placing Jeff in my life.
Jeff, you are a wonderful husband, I love you more than I ever thought possible, you are my best friend, and I'd rather be by your side than anywhere else in the world. We have had a very busy 2 years with lots of adventures, and are getting ready to embark on yet another one - parenthood! I know you will be a wonderful daddy and I look forward to the years to come and whatever adventures God brings our way. Happy Anniversary Jeff, I love you!
The ladies had a blast too!
