I met Tory in February of 2001. He had just finished school and got hired on by Micron the previous September.
We met through the institute on Valentine's Day, and found out that we were living in the same apartment complex!
Our friendship grew and we started to date!
Looking back now, I see that so much of our courtship was centered around the temple... at that time in my life I was preparing to go through the temple for my own personal ordinances and went there every week. When we first met Tory helped me move into my apartment and was imminently impressed that I was decorating my walls with temple pictures. We saw in each other the qualities we were looking for in an eternal companion. We went to the temple together often.
In May, 2001 He proposed to me. We had just finished a late temple session together, and before we headed home He wanted to walk around the temple grounds. Since the gates were closed and locked... I saw no harm in squeezing through them to look at the fountain... (we weren't gonna hurt anything...)...We fit! He sat with me on a bench then got down on one knee and presented me with a ring and asked if I would marry him!
I said yes! To my surprise He had already asked my dad's permission, so when we went to share the news with them they already knew!
It has been a wonderful 12 years. I couldn't have imagined someone could love me so much! Tory is an amazing, dedicated, and loving man who gives everything he has to his family and his Heavenly Father.
We have 4 beautiful children... They love their dad! He's such a good dad!
Tory and I each had a members of our families on missions at the time of our engagement. Jeremy was due home in August, and my sister Anna was due home in October (I think), and My brother Derek had another year to go. Tory hadn't seen Jeremy since before his own mission, (being almost 2 years apart, they missed each other by a few weeks between Him coming home and Jeremy leaving!) so we decided to wait for Jeremy. Anna got permission to come home a little early, so we waited for her to, but Derek was going to have to miss it!
We were married on September 15, 2001. It was only four days after 9-11 attack. because all the flights in the United States were grounded my florist had to pull some strings to get me the flowers I wanted at my wedding... I didn't even notice! They were perfect.
Flights grounded also meant a delay in our honeymoon... Tory had planned to take me to Hawaii. Lots of family members were concerned about us "Leaving the Main Land" at a time like this and wanted us to change our plans! Tory wouldn't have it... I'm glad. We were married on Saturday and flights were grounded until Monday. We were supposed to be in Hawaii on Sunday but one day less was better than nothing.
We basically had the island to ourselves. Tourists had cleared out and Oahu seemed almost deserted compared to its normal state. Just us and the locals!
Ten years went by, we celebrated our anniversary and then a month later Tory got sick. I almost lost him. The two years that followed were some of the hardest times we had face yet. It took twice as long for him to heal from his Paracarditis than what the Dr's predicted.
I thank my Heavenly Father everyday that Tory is still here with me! I can't imagine what life would be like on this earth without my eternal companion by my side!
I'm grateful for these last 12 years, and I'm excited for the many year to come! We are so blessed. I love my Tory.
Thanks for being you!
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