Well I am very new to this whole blogging thing (yes I know it has been around for years but quite honestly I just haven't had the time or inclination to even think about trying this before.)
Anyway, a lot has changed for our family in the last few months. This being my first time "blogging" I thought I would start this by telling our story. Some of you have been privy to all of the details and some of you have only heard small bits and pieces. To those of you who have heard it all already, I apologize for the repetition and for those of you who haven't here it is.

I started working as a Unit Manager for Richfield Rehab and Care Center (the place I have worked for the last two years) in January and since I now had an office and access to a computer again I decided to sign up for LDSsingles.com (I had signed up one time before and had a good experience so I knew in the very least I would enjoy making some new friends.)

Joe was baptized a member of the church on January 12, 2008 after a close friend invited him to church several times. He liked what was said and the spirit he felt and asked that the missionaries come and teach him the discussions. His oldest son, Joseph who was eight, was also baptized that day. Joe asked our friend Shelly (his friend at the time, but we really hit it off so I get to claim her too!) how he could meet some nice LDS women. She suggested LDSsingles.com. She bought his membership for the first three months because he was kind of whishy washy about the whole business and she picked out women that she thought he might like. I was one of many let me tell you!!

Joe sent me a message online a few days after I had signed up again. I usually didn't respond to men who were out of state because I wasn't really interested in moving out of Utah but for some reason I really like his profile and decided it wouldn't hurt to at least email him back. We hit it off and started emailing back and forth quite a lot. After a few weeks of emailing Joe asked for my phone number. I gave him the phone number and a few days later he called me at eight in the morning at work during our state survey. He says that I was not very nice on the phone but I was super busy and really couldn't sit down and talk right then. (I don't think I was rude, but I am sure he will tell everyone differently so I won't argue with him cuz I love him and it makes him feel good to be right.) I asked him to call me back later that night and I must not have been too rude because he did.

I gotta admit, that first conversation wasn't magical. It was just not as easy to have a conversation because you really don't know much about someone except what they have written about. So that lasted about twenty minutes and I got off the phone thinking "i'd talk to him again if he called but I won't lose any sleep if he doesn't" (sorry honey if you read this but you felt the same way so all is well). Well he must have known something because he actually picked up the phone and called me again the next night. Now this was the night where I really started to get to know Joe. We talked for four and a half hours that night and there wasn't a weird moment the whole time. We preceded to talk like that on the phone every night for a few weeks. We decided to meet in Las Vegas on April 12, 2008. I was going on a little mini vacation with my brother and his wife and my little sister and asked if he would consider driving to Vegas to meet in person. He said that would be great and so we met for the first time in person in the lobby of the Excalibur Casino. I was so nervous (he says he wasn't but I think he was). I was not only afraid that he wouldn't like me, but that I wouldn't like him because I had already fallen for the guy on the phone. He saw me across the lobby and walked right over and gave me a huge hug. It was perfect. I felt like we had been together for years.

We all went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then we walked back and watched the fountains at the Bellagio (i am sure I butchered the spelling). It was the best first date I had ever been on. When we got back to my hotel, my brother, his wife, and sister all went to bed and Joe and I stayed up until three thirty in the morning talking. Neither one of us wanted to say goodbye. He finally took me to my room and we made plans to meet the next morning to go to church with some friends of his that lived in Vegas. The next day we went to church and spent the day together until I had to head back to Richfield.

That was the first of many trips in that direction for me. Two weeks later I drove to Victorville to visit Joe and to meet his children and family. It was so much fun. His family welcomed me the night I drove in with open arms (Joe was working that night and wouldn't be home until the next morning). I fell in love with his parents that night! When Joe got home the next morning it was seven o'clock. I had been up for an hour because I was too excited to sleep and was all ready for the day. He called me and told me to step out onto the balcony. I stepped out and looked down and I lost my heart then and there. I knew then that I would be spending the rest of my life with him. That was a great trip. We went to Huntington Beach, I met his children (Joseph, Jacob, and Jessica, his step daughter), and I got to go to church with him. Driving away that weekend was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

Joe was the next one to make a long trip. The next weekend he brought his two sons and headed to Utah. He had a chance to meet my kids (Jenna and Ryan) and my family. It was a great weekend and I really enjoyed showing him and the boys as much of rural USA as I could. Talk about a culture shock!! My little brother, who is a taxidermist, was home visiting and had brought some of his mounts to deliver to his customers and boy did that throw those city boys for a loop!! My whole family enjoyed their looks of wonder and awe.

At this point Joe and I knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We had such a spiritual connection with each other and we really wanted me to move to California (not somewhere I ever thought I would live!). We knew that we were going to get married and wanted to start our lives together. I traveled back and forth every two weeks and it was just getting too much to leave again. I applied for my California RN license and we told our families what we were doing in May. Joe's family had seen us together so much and could see that we were made for eachother so they were on board right away. My family had a harder time accepting the news. My parents were worried about the amount of time we had known eachother. We decided to wait to get married until July and for me to move to Victorville so that me and the kids and joe and his kids could spend some normal every day time together. It was very hard for me to leave the comfort of my parents and it was equally hard for my parents to say goodbye to the kids but we did and we are all getting used to it.

I arrived in Victorville to stay on June 13, 2008. We decided that the home Joe had would fit us all for now, with a little mixing and matching, and we made it work. Jenna and Ryan share a room for now and as afraid as I was that they would kill each other, they have actually really enjoyed the closer quarters. I moved into Joe's room and he moved into the boys room (we slid a mattress under the bunk beds for him--what a trooper he was to sleep there). The wedding date was set for July 11 so Joe's mom and I set to work planning the big day. At first I thought I would just have a very small causal wedding with our parents and the family that could be there and the Bishop but we ended up inviting about thirty five guests. Joe's mom wouldn't let me skimp on anything. She said that it was my wedding day and I deserved to make it beautiful. We found the perfect flowers (tulips in July are no small feat--let me tell you) we picked the wedding cake, found clothes for the kids (I had purchased my dress while still living in Utah with my mom, my sister in law Jennifer, and my best friend Wendy--that is a whole other story full of fun!), and made sitting charts for the wedding dinner. It was so much fun and we were able to get so close and become great friends as well as in laws. I am so glad and proud to call Pat Mom!!

The big day was finally upon us. My parents came into town on Thursday afternoon (july 10) and we had a rehearsal dinner so the kids would know what they were doing and then Joe made spaghetti for everyone. That night I was ironing everyone's clothes for the wedding and made Joe try his shirt to make sure it was okay and the sleeves were about 4 inches too short. (This was at 11 pm). So we ran to Wal Mart and they couldn't do a return until the morning. The next morning Meaghan (Joe's little sister) took the shirt to exchange it and pick up the flowers. I guess something was wrong with the flowers so she had to go to another florist to get them fixed. As she was gone, Joe's dad picked up the cake and as he was leaving the store some of the cake slid down and they had to hurry and fix that as well. Meaghan finally brought Joe the shirt five minutes before the ceremony and I had to quickly iron it and had my mom give it to Joe so that I could get into my dress.

The ceremony was so beautiful. Jenna was my flower girl and looked so pretty. Jacob was the ring barer and was so excited to have his own special part in the ceremony. Joseph was his dad's best man and Jessica was my maid of honor. Ryan got to walk me down the isle. (He actually threw flowers the whole time until the very end cuz it "wasn't fair that Jenna get's too and I just have to hold you hand!?") All of the kids stood up with us for the ceremony and that made it so special. We really wanted them to feel a part of it all. Our Bishop (Bishop Sandell) gave us some wonderful counsel and did a great job with the ceremony. When I said "I do" I just wanted to shout it from the roof tops!! I was so happy.

After the ceremony we served shrimp and fruit while we took a bunch of pictures. We then sat down for the dinner. Joe's dad and my dad both offered beautiful toasts to us and then Bishop Sandell blessed the food. We served Chicken ala King, a huge green salad with all the fixins, and Joe made this huge watermelon basket full of all kinds of fruit. After the dinner we cut the cake and said goodbye to all of our guests. We then played a great big game of Gestures with both families. It was so much fun and everyone participated. The kids thought it was the best part of the day.



Joe and I left and went to dinner and stayed a beautiful hotel in Hesperia. My parents took my kids and Joe's parents took his kids. The next morning we all met up for Jenna's birthday party at our house. We got to have another big shindig again. Jenna had a great day. I will tell about that on the next blog. For now have a great day!!