Once upon a time...

This post might be a bit cheesy and very gushy, so if you can't handle it you should still read on anyway.
Also, Adam knows that I'm writing this and has given me permission to share the embarrassing stories.
On December 7th, 2013 I was set up on a blind date by my cousin Libby. I know what you're thinking, this is going to be another post about one of Jessie's awkward blind dates. No, not this time. This is the tale of a blind date that actually turned out to be amazing! I know what you're thinking "An amazing blind date, that's impossible!" Well I will admit that it was a little bit awkward, because let's face it, blind dates are almost always awkward, but it turned out for the best!
It was a snowy day and I headed down to my cousins' house because we were doing a double date. I got there a couple of hours early so I could hang out with my cousins for a bit before. Eventually my date showed up and Libby introduced us. She told me how she had first met Adam. I won't be able to do justice to Libby's retelling but this is the less dramatic version:
One day when Libby and Ethan lived in Indiana, Ethan was deathly ill with the flu. Libby had been calling around to different members of their ward to find anyone who could give Ethan a Priesthood Blessing, but no one was available, so she prayed and when she opened her eyes she noticed a couple of elders walking past her house. She went to them crying out "Elders, elders I need your help!" So she brought them in and had the greenie who had just arrived into the mission field the day before give Ethan a blessing, and within a few days Ethan was healed. Adam was the greenie who gave Ethan that blessing.
After I was told this story, Libby went on to tell Adam how patient and caring I was when I had to help take care of my grandma. Her story was of course very dramatic but it seemed to work on Adam.
For our first date we went and saw Thor: Dark World then went back to Ethan and Libby's and had dinner and played games. It was a fun date, but a bit awkward because we were both nervous and as much as I love Ethan and Libby they only helped make it more awkward, especially at the end of the date. We said goodnight and that was that.
The next day I text Adam and told him that I had a good time and would like to get to know him better. After a few texts back and forth he called me and asked me out on a second date.
Our second date was the following Wednesday. He came and picked me up and we went to City Creek Center and ate dinner at Kneaders. Then we walked around the mall and Temple Square for a couple of hours. It was a bit chilly outside but I honestly didn't really notice because Adam and I had a lot in common. We probably spent a good hour talking about Doctor Who alone. Now a few days earlier I had won a couple of tickets to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on opening night. I was originally going to take Ethan with me but since Adam and I had such a good time on our second date I thought I would invite him to come with me. So on the drive home I asked him if he'd like to go with me.
So that Friday we went to see The Hobbit together. Now during the movie I was hoping that he might try and hold my hand so I had it resting nonchalantly on my leg so that it would be easy to grab. Throughout the first half of the movie I could see him trying to build up the courage to grab my hand but then he would chicken out. About half way through the movie he finally just went for it and grabbed my hand. Then we held hands for the rest of the movie. After the movie he took me back to my house and we sat and talked for an hour.
Sunday we were invited to my friends Kymn and Russ's for dinner. Then on Tuesday Adam brought me a rose to work. The receptionist at work brought it out to me. It was so funny because she came out and told me to close my eyes, so I did. Then when she told me to open them she had placed a rose in front of me and said that a very cute young man brought this for me. I got teased by everyone at work, but I didn't care because I was enjoying every second of it. As soon as I was off I called Adam and thanked him for it. That Friday he came over to my house and I made him dinner and we ended up watching White Christmas together. The next day he took me out to dinner then we went to The Piano Guys concert at the Energy Solutions Arena.

Sunday December 21st Adam took me to meet his family, and I don't just mean a couple of people in his family, his whole family! Two weeks after our first date he took me to meet five of his siblings and their families as well as skyping with his brother's family in Maine and his parents who are on a mission in Germany. Needless to say I was very stressed and nervous about this. Luckily his family was very sweet and very welcoming. Adam's sister-in-law came up to me at one point during the night and told me that I was beautiful. It was a very interesting night but it wasn't bad at all, and luckily I love his family.
The next week I went home for Christmas I was distracted because Adam and I were continually texting. When I headed home the day after Christmas, Adam came over and I made him dinner and we did a puzzle while watching a movie. As we were working on the puzzle I spontaneously asked him if I was his girlfriend. He looked at me and said "Yeah, I think you are." We had decided that we were officially dating.
The next day we went to Ethan and Libby's place to spend some time with several of my cousins for the holidays. It was a fun weekend with family and our first overnight together! Don't worry nothing happened, except me falling asleep on the couch while we watched TV.
For New Years Eve we were invited to Kymn and Russ' for a party. There were a few of us there and we had lots of delicious food and played lots of fun games. Midnight came around and we were distracted playing a game that we didn't realize that the new year had already begun. Around 2am Adam and I left. I was dropping him off at his house when he decided it was time we finally kissed!
Now to start off, this was the first kiss for both of us. Yes I mean that neither of us had ever been kissed before. So we got out of the car and he had a plate of leftovers in his hand. We hugged and he decided to go in for the kiss...it was so awkward!!! He leaned in and his lips met mine, but nothing really happened. We pulled apart and hugged, and then his glasses got stuck in my hair! I was not satisfied with how this turned out so I told him we needed to try again, so we did. It was still weird. After that I left. The next day we were texting and I told him that he should come over so we could get some practice. ;) He did and we did, but it still wasn't that great. Don't worry, the kissing is much better now :D
January 7th was our one month anniversary together. So we decided to do something special, so we went up to temple square and watched the Joseph Smith movie. After the movie we went back to my place and just hung out for a little while. I was tired and we were cuddling on the couch when all of a sudden he told me he loved me. Yes! I wasn't sure if I had heard right, and so it took me a second, but finally I sat up and told him that I wasn't ready to say it just yet. He was very understanding and told me he would wait until I was ready to say it to him. I'll admit it freaked me out at first, and probably led up to my freakout.

A few weeks into January I had a little bit of a mental break down, but first let me explain something. This was my first relationship ever. I'd spent 25 years alone, I'd never had anyone be affectionate with me, and I'd never spent so much time with a person so it was a bit overwhelming for me. So Adam and I had a pretty rough week. I was acting insane, and he had no idea why! So after advice from a few different sources I asked Adam to come over after work and we talked. Apparently that was all I needed. I was afraid of talking to him about stuff that was bothering, but that's all it took. Once I was able to get stuff off my chest and just talk to him things changed for the better. Apparently communication is very important in a relationship! Who knew?
The next big thing in our relationship was Valentine's Day. That morning I got up early and heart attacked Adam's door. Adam was working at Dominos at the time and had to work Valentine's Day. He was supposed to get off by seven but didn't get to my house until 10:30! It wasn't the best Valentine's Day, but it was definitely nice to finally have someone to spend the day with.
At the end of March I went through the temple and recieved my endowments. I went through the St. George temple, and I decided that this big weekend for me would be a good time for Adam to finally meet my family. Because it was a big event in my life there was a lot of people there to support me, so Adam got to meet everyone all at once. Sounds familiar, but at least he got three months to work up to it ;) It was a big step for me and after seeing how the weekend went there was something I knew for sure...

A few days after I went through the temple. Adam and I were playing a game with his brother. Adam basically stole the game from his brother, and the two of us were left alone to finish the board game. As Adam was stealing the game from me, I leaned over and said: "You're lucky I love you." Adam stopped and looked at me for a few seconds before saying "I love you, too." I knew before we had gone to St. George that I loved him, but I wanted to see how things went with my family before I took that step.
For my birthday I flew to South Carolina to have a short vacation with my sister and her friend, so Adam and I celebrated my birthday the day before. We went to the temple, ate pizza at the Pi, and got Red Velvet Cakebites from The Sweet Tooth Fairy.
On Memorial Day weekend Adam and I were headed down to Southern Utah to spend the weekend with my family. At the point Adam and I had been talking about marriage quite a bit. As we were driving down Adam basically asked me if we were getting married. I was taken aback but I told him that I thought we were. So we had decided at that point we were getting married. Many of you may find this backward, but I had already told him yes before he even proposed. That weekend we told my parents, who decided to tell the whole world. So by the time we got home on Monday, we had our date set, colors picked, and wedding plans in motion.
Two weeks later Adam took me to Dayne's Music to "look" at pianos, and play on their nice grand piano that they use for recitals. We went into the recital room and he played a song called Valentine for me. After he'd finished he told me to come tinkle with the piano, before I had sat down on the piano bench Adam was on one knee asking me to marry him! I was so excited that I barely let him finish before I was yelling "Yes! Yes! Yes! Put it on! Put it on!" June 7, 2014 we were officially engaged!

Two months later on Saturday August 9th, 2014 Adam and I were married in the St. George Temple. The happiest day of my life, and I got to marry my best friend.

Now we're beginning our new life together, and so far it has been awesome, with a few bumps along the way, but it's an adventure, and not all adventures are smooth sailing, but this is one adventure that I am very excited for this one! I'm ready to start our happily ever after!