What a week this has been.
We are covered up at work. I just can't believe that we have so much work that needs to be done. It just seems unending. However, we are making progress so that is good I guess.
Today is Father's Day and it makes me miss Tracy and the kids that much more. I'll be glad when they come home.
This being "my" day I've spent a lot of time today thinking about them and considering just how blessed I am to have such great kids and such an incredible example in my wife. I cannot figure out why God has blessed me with them. He must have looked the other way or maybe on the 7th day while He rested I was able to sneak in and grab her up without Him noticing. I surely have not been worthy of the companion that He has given me.
I've spent a lot of time this last 2 weeks going through old photo albums and looking back on our life together. When someone says they started from humble beginnings, I can relate. Had I made some smarter decisions early on in my life this would not have been the case but I didn't and such is life. For a quick run down on our little history it looks a little something like this:
I met Tracy while she was in the 7th grade. I know it's hard to imagine but I wasn't exactly the "coolest" kid in school. I had been basically rejected by every girl in school, (whatever that means to an 8th grader). The next year I asked Tracy to "go" with me.....now I'm not sure where we were going to go but anyway.....actually I didn't have the guts to ask her, (you'll have that lack of guts after about 2 years worth of rejections) so I had a couple of her friends ask her for me. Her answer was priceless and one that I'll never forget: "NOT IN A MILLION YEARS!" Nice, huh? I'm really not sure what made her change her mind but maybe it was the relentless begging and stalking. Anyway, we were finally a steady couple and I was on cloud nine.....I was in the 10th grade and finally had a girlfriend. I still wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with her but I knew that the sun was shining brighter, the birds were singing louder and all was right in the world.
We have dated pretty much exclusively since then, although she did try to dump me after spending all of one summer in Colorado. You would have enjoyed this picture: She spent all of a summer with her brother in Colorado while I stayed back in Oklahoma and worked. ALL of the money I earned was exchanged for quarters so that I could stand at a pay phone in Calvin, Oklahoma in the blazing hot sun and talk to her......after a long summer it was time for her to come home. I lucked out and got to go out with her Mom and Dad to pick her up.....I even got to drive my pickup out there! It was going to be a great trip......16 years old, road trip to Colorado, picking up my girlfriend, what could possibly go wrong? Well, for starters, expecting a glorious reunion was one......we showed up at her Grandma's house and WOW.......she had changed.....she was HOT, as in FINE. All tanned and looking good.....she went straight past me to her folks and siblings......I barely even got a little hug......then later that night, the dreaded words......"I don't think I love you anymore". Now, I cannot pretend to tell you I was not crushed......and mad.....after all, I had drove all the way to Colorado, and was now staying at her families place......just a tad awkward. I mean really.....I'm pretty sure she didn't just decide this when I pulled up in the driveway right? I'm thinking a phone call prior to me driving all the way to Colorado would have been acceptable.......anyway, after a few weeks of begging and bawling and just generally trying to make her feel guilty she finally relented and took me back. I really think I just wore her down to the point of submission. We have been together since. The road has not always been smooth but it has always been worth it.
We had a strange type of religious agreement between me and her folks.....kind of a dope deal so to speak. We would both go to our own church's on Sunday mornings, then she would go with me to church on Sunday nights. I would in turn go with her to church on Wednesday night.......really I was just going to be with her and to play basketball at the church house......because anybody who knows anything about Mormons knows that they love their church basketball.....which worked out good for me, (being the basketball stud that I was I got to improve my game and get brownie points for going to church with her). This deal worked pretty well over the years. I was active in my church, she was active in hers, and we got to be together everyday, so all was well. I was convinced that she would convert my direction in time......little did I know how my life would change. We talked about our beliefs often, her speaking doctrine of her faith and me trying to convince her that she was wrong. I never really had a problem with any doctrine it was just the title of Mormon that I couldn't get around. In my part of the world (the buckle of the Bible Belt) the title of Mormon is not held in high regards, although no one ever had a good reason why, other than the stacks of anti-Mormon pamphlets said they were bad people headed for Hell. It angered me that those that were speaking down about the church had never even set foot in an LDS church. This seemed very hypocritical to me, after all I wanted to convert her to my faith but it was evident to me that we were not acting very Christlike. I'm ashamed as I look back at the ridicule that she endured while attending church with me. What an incredible show of the strength of her testimony though. The seemingly bad opinion of Mormons was truly confusing to me since I was in their homes daily. It was a testimony to me and I found it intriguing that no matter how many times I went to church with her I NEVER heard anyone speak negatively towards another faith. After almost 16 years as a member of this church this holds true. They strive everyday to help their fellow man and try to be an example of Christ at all times, not just on Sunday's. They had the type of family life that I wanted......they loved each other and sought to make each other happy.
Anyway, after I graduated high school I took the missionary discussions from the missionaries in Ada, OK. I really only started taking the discussions because I told Tracy I would.....when I started I just wanted to show her I'd listen in the hopes that she would return the favor and listen to my faith's message as well. I couldn't believe it when I actually found myself wanting to learn more about the gospel. I was also surprised at how much I already knew, just from our mini discussions while out on dates and while sitting with Tracy during seminary on some Wednesday nights. Long story short (yeah right) I was baptised on November 22, 1992. I was so happy because I assumed that Tracy and I would go ahead and get married....now understand that she was still in high school but we had been dating 4 years by now.....it was time.....past time in my opinion. Tracy allowed that she would only be married in the Temple, which to us Mormons means we are sealed together for all time and eternity.....no "till death do you part" for us......that sounded great to me except for the little detail about me having to be a member for a year before getting married in the Temple. Great, another year. This was the first test of my new faith and I wasn't even dry from baptism yet!
So, one year and one day later we were married in the Dallas Temple, living in Calvin, OK in a trailer house that I'd bought for $3500.....now keep in mind that Tracy was still a senior in high school......she still had 6 months of school left. She was carrying James Dean at her graduation! Her graduation and prom I was unable to attend due to the fact that the job I had (A1 Feed Company, Holdenville, OK) that paid me $425 every 2 weeks wasn't paying the bills and we now had a baby on the way. So in April I headed off to boot camp in Ft. Benning, GA to become an infantryman in the Oklahoma National Guard......that was a long 3 months.
Looking back on our life together I can't help but get a little chocked up. We have been blessed with 5 great kids that honor their mother and father. We have had the opportunity to live in several different place and make some lifelong friends along the way. This little trip to Korea is just another example of that. God has blessed our lives and continues to do so everyday as we strive to live according to His will.
I'll pick up the story where I left off next time and provide more details as a way of documenting some of these events before I forget them.......
As always, God bless anyone that takes the time to read these words.
I hope that Tracy and the Kids know just how much they are loved.........
