January 9, 2005 was the day I met the man of my dreams face to face.
Sometime in mid-August 2004, I had the un-nerving moment of beginning a conversation with a fella who I did not know. I very quickly learned his name was Matt Hopkins and we began talking through text messages, then we went to a brief conversation on the phone, then it turned into several calls a day, then to a daily basis phone call. Before you know it we are talking on the phone and texting all.the.time. like on a schedule.
Sometime in mid-August 2004, I had the un-nerving moment of beginning a conversation with a fella who I did not know. I very quickly learned his name was Matt Hopkins and we began talking through text messages, then we went to a brief conversation on the phone, then it turned into several calls a day, then to a daily basis phone call. Before you know it we are talking on the phone and texting all.the.time. like on a schedule.
After about 5 months of talking and getting to know each other, we met for the first time on Jan 9th, 2005. Matt finally asked me to see a movie with him. We met in Sylva and watched the late show of Meet the Fockers. I must state here that I was a little nervous. Although I felt like I knew everything there was to know about him, I was still a little uneasy. But as soon as I met him, I knew that I was ok. That he was just as genuine in person as he was on the phone.
It didn’t take long for us to get “serious.” During our conversations by phone, we really let each other into our hearts. We let it all hang out as far as how we felt about life in general, etc. I know it may sound cheesy that we spoke our “I love yous” a little soon (a couple months after meeting), but we had already bore our souls to each other long before that. I may be speaking out of turn here, but I as for myself, I had actually fallen in love with Matt before we even met. I know that one day there will be wedding bells, but for now we are content the way we are.
I am going to utilize the bullet point system and highlight some amazing things and not so amazing things that have happened during our fantastic relationship.
* One of our early relationship dates was to see the Ringling Bros Circus. We were in the VIP section and I think we both were a little scared of sitting so close to the action….there were a lot of tigers and elephants running free….
* Matt accepted the Lord as his Savior and then was baptized. YAY!
* Lots of fun and exciting trips together with friends and family: Hilton Head, SC; Destin, FL; Orange Beach, AL; Nassau, Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos; Half Moon Cay, Caribbean; and weekends in Pigeon Forge, TN.
* We now have lots of “new friends” where we’ve met each other’s old friends. Our worlds are meshing together beautifully.
* We’ve seen the birth of my nephew and niece who absolutely adore “Matt Matt."
* I have another “niece” Alannah, who I absolutely adore.
* Along with births, we’ve been through deaths. The death of Matt’s Poppie and the death of my brother. Both were horrible moments that we had to lean very hard on the other for support.
* Surgeries: We’ve both had tonsillectomies. I will say that both were equally as painful, but I took mine like a champ – Matt was a little baby-ish. (hehe, jk he wasn’t that bad.) I also had my wisdom teeth removed as well. Bad week, I’ll leave it at that.
* New Jobs. When we met, Matt was working for the DOT in Sylva and I was with Russell Bowling, an attorney in Franklin. In 2006, Matt took a job with Pepsi. In 2008, I took a job with Melrose, Seago & Lay, P.A. We both love our new positions and are thankful for the opportunities we have. I also work with Southern Living at Home where I make a little extra spending money.
* We both enjoy cooking, Matt is a master on the grill and I seem to handle the range & oven pretty well. We compliment each other in this sense and we both feel as if we've brought something to the table (no pun intended.)
* We enjoy working out and being able to spend that time with each other. Even if we aren't actually talking just spending together knowing that we are taking a healthy step forward.
These are just a few things that we've done or seen over the last few years. I can only pray that the next 5 years will only prove to be as eventful as the last five years. The Lord is Awesome and He has blessed me immensely by having Matt in my life.
It didn’t take long for us to get “serious.” During our conversations by phone, we really let each other into our hearts. We let it all hang out as far as how we felt about life in general, etc. I know it may sound cheesy that we spoke our “I love yous” a little soon (a couple months after meeting), but we had already bore our souls to each other long before that. I may be speaking out of turn here, but I as for myself, I had actually fallen in love with Matt before we even met. I know that one day there will be wedding bells, but for now we are content the way we are.
I am going to utilize the bullet point system and highlight some amazing things and not so amazing things that have happened during our fantastic relationship.
* One of our early relationship dates was to see the Ringling Bros Circus. We were in the VIP section and I think we both were a little scared of sitting so close to the action….there were a lot of tigers and elephants running free….
* Matt accepted the Lord as his Savior and then was baptized. YAY!
* Lots of fun and exciting trips together with friends and family: Hilton Head, SC; Destin, FL; Orange Beach, AL; Nassau, Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos; Half Moon Cay, Caribbean; and weekends in Pigeon Forge, TN.
* We now have lots of “new friends” where we’ve met each other’s old friends. Our worlds are meshing together beautifully.
* We’ve seen the birth of my nephew and niece who absolutely adore “Matt Matt."
* I have another “niece” Alannah, who I absolutely adore.
* Along with births, we’ve been through deaths. The death of Matt’s Poppie and the death of my brother. Both were horrible moments that we had to lean very hard on the other for support.
* Surgeries: We’ve both had tonsillectomies. I will say that both were equally as painful, but I took mine like a champ – Matt was a little baby-ish. (hehe, jk he wasn’t that bad.) I also had my wisdom teeth removed as well. Bad week, I’ll leave it at that.
* New Jobs. When we met, Matt was working for the DOT in Sylva and I was with Russell Bowling, an attorney in Franklin. In 2006, Matt took a job with Pepsi. In 2008, I took a job with Melrose, Seago & Lay, P.A. We both love our new positions and are thankful for the opportunities we have. I also work with Southern Living at Home where I make a little extra spending money.
* We both enjoy cooking, Matt is a master on the grill and I seem to handle the range & oven pretty well. We compliment each other in this sense and we both feel as if we've brought something to the table (no pun intended.)
* We enjoy working out and being able to spend that time with each other. Even if we aren't actually talking just spending together knowing that we are taking a healthy step forward.
These are just a few things that we've done or seen over the last few years. I can only pray that the next 5 years will only prove to be as eventful as the last five years. The Lord is Awesome and He has blessed me immensely by having Matt in my life.
I love you Matt and here's to the next (1/2 decade) of our life together.
The Early Years ~ Hilton Head, SC
(July, 2005 - I have older pictures, but I do not have them uploaded)
(I REALLY want to get back down to this size again....I WILL do it!)
The Recent Years ~ Hanging on the Porch
(Late Summer, 2009 ~ Our friend Hilton made it in on this photo)
Such a sweet post. I love hearing the amazing love story again. Its so neat to know that you never knew eachother but God still found a way to put you together.
ReplyDeleteAmber
Thanks Amber! I know it was just one of those "God Things". Where you aren't looking for anything and the next thing you know you are head over heels!
ReplyDeleteLove it! Thanks for sharing your story! I do think it's a little bit amusing that you've dated Matt longer than I've even known Scott :)
ReplyDelete