In retrospect: Our First Home

My husband had been following the real estate market where he was living for several months before we were engaged. He knew that he was ready to buy a new home to prepare himself someday for a wife and a family. Although there was not the housing boom of years past, the market was looking better and better for first time home buyers. He wanted to make sure he had a house that he could call his own and have ready for a wife and family.

He did not realize that the wife was sooner than later and the hopes for a family would be following not much longer after. He became more serious about finding a home when we rekindled our re-new-ed relationship in March. He started looking at homes and asking my opinions on what kind of house we wanted and what kind of neighborhoods we would like to live. It was not just looking for a home for him and someday a wife. That wife was beginning to look a lot more like me and we began to look at homes together. We started looking at homes in the same neighborhood he was already living and a few other homes in nearby neighborhoods as well. I did not know much about the area where I might be soon calling home so it was up to Kris to pick a safe neighborhood in a nice part of town that we could afford to live.

Shortly after we were engaged, he found a nice house for sale in the same area where he was already renting. It became apparent that we had to make a move fast if we even wanted a shot at buying the house. There were already several bids on the house and it only been listed for a couple days. He followed the listing very closely throughout the day and he soon realized that he had to make a move that day if he was to have a fair chance at purchasing the house. The only problem is I was nearly two hours away and had only seen the house in pictures. I was not comfortable with him making a bid on a house for both of us to live that I had only seen in pictures. It was a two hour drive and I was still at work for a few more hours. I was not sure I could make it be able to see the house. He already made an appointment to see it later in the afternoon and was ready to make a bid if necessary. I was just was not too sure. I wanted to see the house. I wanted to make sure that we both could live there and someday raise a family. I wanted to make sure that we could make the house into a home.

After a few hours of back and forth, I was finally able to make some arrangements to get off work early to meet Kris and the realtor. It was a long drive for a just a few hours to see Kris but I knew it would be worth it if this turned out to be the home of our dreams. Kris was almost certain that he wanted to bid on the house but just had to make sure I approved. I could not do so without having seen the house myself.

When we first saw the house, Kris was certain that this was the home he wanted to buy. For the price they were asking and what he had now seen in person, he knew that this was the house that he could make a home with his wife and raise a family. For me, there were so many uncertainties.This was only the second or third home that we actually had seen together. I was happy to see that the house seemed to not need much work as far as repairs and the previous owners had taken pretty good care of the home before trying to sell it. There was a nice fence in the backyard and was large enough for children to safely run around and play. The kitchen was nice and open where you could see out into the living room. It had a large pantry but the red paint made it stick out like a sore thumb between the breakfast nook and dining room. The painting in the bedrooms were a little bit less to be desired. The yellow faux brick and Egyptian pyramid feel made me think I might be lying in a sarcophagus. Kris was amazed by the detail and was hoping I would grow to like it. The house was smaller than I hoped although I knew we could make it work for a few years before needing a bigger house.

After looking at the house for the first time, we had only a few hours to decide whether we wanted to put in a bid. There were already three other offers and we had to make a pretty impressive deal in order to catch the eye of the bank. We both were still uncertain. I was not certain it was the house of my dreams and Kris was not certain he could bid on a house that I where I would not be comfortable. We decided to go out to dinner and weigh out the pros and cons.

Dinner seemed to last forever. We each laid out all our concerns. We each laid out pros and cons. We took every matter into consideration. We knew as a short sale this would be a long wait and we could wind up disappointed in the very end. We knew we could have to begin all over again with the same results if this was to not go through. In the end we decided to make a bid. We made a fair bid over the asking price with a fair amount to be put into escrow. We were not privy to know the amount of the other bids but Mike our Realtor did tell us that we put in a very good bid that stood a fighting chance even though one of the other bids was cash. All four bids were submitted to the bank the next day and we just had to sit and wait to see if our bid would win out although we came in at the very last minute.

It was a long wait for us to hear from Mike or the whether our bid was going to be accepted. We heard relatively quickly that our bid was the only bid being considered but it was long wait to hear if it would be accepted. The two banks who had liens on the house were trying to figure out how to settle both loans and it left us to just sit back and wait. Several months went by and we continued to check the market for available houses. There were not many houses that compared to both price and size of the house we were already considering. But more than once we considered walking away and starting over. We did not want to have to start the whole process over and wait again but we both were getting frustrated and wanted to be certain we would have a house to live in after we were married. Despite not wanting to start over, the frustration of waiting and not knowing had us almost walk away up until a few weeks before closing. We tried to make a few other offers to try and sweeten the deal for whichever lender was keeping our hands tied but our realtor told us to just keep hanging in there. Finally after waiting nearly four months, we were able to have the house inspected. We thought things would move a little faster but we waited another 6 weeks before we were finally able to close on the house.

On December 7, 2009 after nearly waiting 6 months to finalize the deal, we closed on our very first house. We started very quickly on changes and repairs that needed to be made on the house. The first two were to paint the master and guest bedrooms.

Our first home

Looking back on our journey through purchasing our first home together, I realize that even though this was not house of my dreams it was to become the home that I would come home to after I got married. It was the doors of the first home we would walk through together as husband and wife. It was the first house that we would make a home together. It will always be the first house we called home together. It may not have been everything I wanted but it is more than I need and less than what I want. It is our home sweet home.

In retrospect: Our wedding planner

I believe that everyone that comes into our lives whether they remain a part of it for a only a short time truly affect who we are and who we become. We can never be the person we were the second before we meet someone. There is a change in you from having known that person. Sometimes the change is so big and that person remains in your life for a long time to come. They are always remembered fondly. The change can be ever so slight that they change you at that very moment. The person does not remain an active part of your life but they are never forgotten. Those who make big changes leave big impressions that never leave your heart and nor do they. 

Our lives are forever touched by our wedding and what she helped us put together at the very start of our lives together. She have made a BIG impression on our hearts and she will NEVER be forgotten. She helped to turn my wedding dreams into a reality. We know our wedding day is not about the details and plans of the day itself but it adds to the memories. It completes the celebration and the Sacrament. I know I could not have done it all by myself. 

Getting ready for the big day side by side with my wedding planner

Shannon Humphrey -- the best wedding planner

Just look at her face...she must have said something. We had some great times!

Thank you so much Shannon for helping us put together a lasting memory. A memory that not only will live on in our hearts but the hearts of our friends and family who all celebrated with us on that day. I could not have planned or put together a more amazing wedding if I had done it myself. It was everything I wanted and ever dreamed from the very moment the doors opened and I saw my handsome groom to the very last moments we shared with family and friends. With all that was happening at the time and the months before our wedding, I just did not have the hands and feet to wander all over Orlando to get the things done that I needed. Thank you for being the hands and feet I needed to put together the most amazing day of our lives. We will never forget it. The day will live on in our hearts for a lifetime.

In retrospect: The first time I ever saw your face

Keeping on with the retrospective posts I have decided to recollect on the day that I met my husband.

Our first meeting

As you have read, I met my husband on Valentine's Day 2001. It was not on a blind date. It was not even a date. It was just dinner with some friends. Valentine's Day was not my favorite holiday. I would have been content if it was just another day of the year. Valentine's Day had become a day of bad luck for me. Years before I had some not so pleasant experiences on Valentine's Day. They might not have been unpleasant at the time but they turned out to be not so good years later. I just did not have any luck on Valentine's Day. So in 2001, I continued on with my Anti-Valentine's Day rituals. I just wanted to enjoy dinner with friends. We all did not have anyone in particular for Valentine's Day so I figured dinner with friends to forget that we did not have anyone special in our lives. We had nothing to celebrate. We were just having dinner and it just happened to be Valentine's Day.

I arrived late to dinner that day which was nothing out of the ordinary for me. I had worked that day and knew ahead of time that I was going to be late. Being one of the last to arrive, I had to sit at the end of the booth. But I was not the last one to arrive to dinner. A few minutes after I arrived, a new member came to join us for dinner. It was a guy. I certainly was not thinking anything much less dating potential. As the last two to arrive, we sat across from one another in the booth. His name was Kris. He was not dressed particularly well. He was not the most attractive. But I was not looking to meet someone. I continued on with my bitter rage against meeting people on Valentine's Day so I am sure I was not the most attractive that day either.

I do not recall what I ordered for dinner that day, but I do recall what he ordered. The sight in fact is burned in my memory. He ordered a Smokehouse Burger. It was not just your regular burger. It was a bacon cheeseburger topped with onion rings and oozing with barbecue sauce. I could not imagine eating it and I was glad that I did not have that in front of me. As I watched him eat (I just could not help but watch as he was sitting directly in front of me) the barbecue sauce dripped everywhere. He had it dripping from his mouth, his hands, and just everywhere. I could not believe the sight I was seeing. And in public, too! If there could have been any potential here, it certainly was shattered after that sight. I did not think human but rather heathen.

Smokehouse Burger

Our second meeting

About a week after our first meeting, I was meeting some friends at Stevie Tomato's for karaoke night. Being Filipino, I love karaoke. I love to sit in the audience and sing along. Sometimes I even work up the courage to get up on stage and perform. I never get nervous being on stage but my voice is a separate entity from me and she gets quite nervous in the beginning but she settles down after a bit. Other friends from the singles group were going to be there even though I was meeting other friends. After a while, someone new came to join us. I had a few to drink so I was very comfortable and we talked most of the night. As the night was ending, he asked me if I wanted to go to get something to eat at Denny's. I agreed. It was much easier to talk and be heard at Denny's than it was at Stevie Tomato's. We did not have to shout or repeat ourselves. We stayed up for quite sometime just talking although I think I did most of the talking that night. We traded email address and phone number. I was quite happy to have made a new friend.

When I got home that night, I logged on to my computer. I found my new friend online and we continued chatting until the wee morning. It took me some time but I soon realized that the person I had met a Stevie Tomato's was the same person I had met the week before at Ruby Tuesday. He cleaned pretty well. He was dressed nice. He was even nice to talk to. I thought I had made pretty good friend.

Within a few months, Kris and I began dating. This was the start of our on again off again relationship. Who would have known that it would come to this?

In retrospect

On the day we were engaged, Kris and I went back to that Ruby Tuesday. I thought often of that day we first met. I thought how funny it was that on that day when I was not expecting to meet someone I met the man who would someday become my husband. I was not attracted and I did not think for a moment on that day I met him that I would be married to him someday. We ordered that famous Smokehouse Burger just for old time's sake. For extra added measure, Kris slathered on even more barbecue sauce. I looked at the half of a burger I had sitting before me. I could not even figure out how to hold the burger without getting sauce on me. I tried from every angle and just could not figure it out. So I finally picked it up and took my first bite. As I finished biting into the burger, I looked at my now fiance and uttered the sincerest apology I had given in a long time. Kris asked me why I was sorry. I told him, "All those years ago, I thought it was you who was the heathen. I was wrong. It was never you. It was the burger." We both had a pretty good laugh. I am glad that I did not let the burger get in our way and now we are happily married.

Kris and the offensive burger (May 29, 2009)

Kris taking a bite from the Smokehouse Burger (Notice the barbecue sauce oozing from the burger)

There was more sauce than this when I met him

Notice the barbecue sauce dripping from the burger

Valentine's Day

Last year for Valentine's Day I had my friend from work make a "bouquet" for Kris in commemoration of our first meeting. My former co-worker Erica made it. I told her the story and the details and she did the rest. She used nine Spongebob Squarepants crabby hamburgers and added red hearts. She used red and yellow-orange cellophane. She put it all in a yellow-orange pot with white dots to resemble a hamburger bun with sesame seeds. She added the Ruby Tuesday logo to top it all off. It sits atop one of our planter shelves in the living room.

Hamburger Valentine's Day Bouquet

Groom's Cake

For our rehearsal dinner I bought Kris a Groom's Cake. It was fitting to get a cake in the shape of a burger. I had it made at Publix and had them write on the "It was you" in reference to that it was the burger and it was him all along. He was the one meant for me.

Groom's Cake

My Groom and his cake

It is a great memory for both of us and a great look back into what we knew then and what we know now.

In retrospect: The Proposal

Proverbs 31: 10-31

Verse 29: "Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all."
 
Sometimes I look back on certain events in our relationship and I think about what I was thinking and feeling at that time and compare it to what I have learned and what I know now. I like to call these blogs "In retrospect." It is a way of looking back at things with fresh news eyes and seeing how it lead up to where we are today.

One such event I have often pondered is the day Kris proposed to me. On May 29, 2009 at St. Peter's Church in Naples, Florida Kris proposed to me out in what used to be the grotto and Stations of the Cross. The wooded area where it was located back in 2001 when we first met was over grown. We could not walk through each station. The only ones that could still be seen were Stations 12 to 14. There was to be no surprise about his proposal. I knew it was coming. I set up the whole day except the words and how it was all going to go down. I left all the details up to Kris. So what I thought would be no surprises turned out to be the best surprise of my life.

Events leading up to the proposal

We knew relatively quickly after our re-new-ed relationship in March that this time we either were going to get married or we were completely done. I was not going to settle for our relationship being completely done. I was going to do what I could to make sure that we were going to be married when it was all said and done. Nine years was just too much time to put into a relationship to see it end that way much less not in marriage. I knew my love for him was deep and true and I was not going to lose it this time. I just had to know for sure that his love for me was just as deep and true.

It took no time at all for both of us to realize that our love for one another ran deep and true. We both could not deny how we felt any longer. We knew after a few short weeks that this for sure was going to culminate in an amazing marriage. We just had to make sure that both set of parents were supportive of our wishes and desires. We had already seen that from his Mom and Dad since I had visited him several times after we re-new-ed our relationship. I had a new found relationship with his parents and it was going smoothly. My parents knew we were together again but were not quite sure where we were heading this time around. They had known Kris for the past nine years but were not certain if our relationship was ever going to go anywhere. They already suspected our intentions this time to get married but we had not told them directly. They still had some doubt in their mind if we were really going to take this to the next level or just walk away completely.

We told my parents a few days before my birthday May 2009 of our intentions to marry. My Mom seemed very hesitant to give us the okay. We were not asking so much for approval as we both were adults old enough to make this decision on our own but we wanted them to be aware and to accept that after nine years we finally were ready for the next step. My Dad seemed to be relieved that finally there was someone who could take care of me and look after me if anything should happen to them. He was okay to finally let go of the strings. My Mom was just not so sure if we both really knew what this meant. We more than knew. We were more than ready. We assured my Mom that we both knew what we were getting into and were willing to accept whatever challenges the future had to throw us. Despite my Mom's initial hesitation, they both congratulated us and welcomed Kris into our family.

The Proposal

Things moved pretty fast after we told my parents of our intentions. We purchased the ring I had been admiring on my birthday. It took some time to have it sized but we picked it up from the jeweler just a few days later. I knew in a short time that I would officially get the ring and Kris and I would finally be engaged.

The ring in its box

Kris had already had an idea of where he wanted to propose. He was thinking of several spots in St. Augustine where we had vacationed a few times. He did not know when we would have the chance to go there again. He was trying to plan it out when I had other ideas.

I was heading to Naples from Orlando for a work related conference for a weekend (May 29-31) just shortly after we picked up the ring from the jeweler. Kris was living in Bradenton which was not far from Naples. I had decided that it would be in Naples where we would get engaged. I wanted it to be at St. Peter's Church where we had attended Mass together when we first met in 2001. The rest of the details I left up to Kris to decide.

He planned a nice morning in Naples for our engagement. He came to Naples and picked me up at my sister's house where I was staying for the weekend. We drove out to Mass at St. Peter's Church. We were early for Mass so we sat in the car and listened to Christopher West talk about Theology of the Body - a teaching we both had grown to love and embrace as the foundation of our relationship. We held the ring in its box in both our hands. When it came time for Mass, we both headed toward the Church holding hands. We both knew what was soon about to happen. When got into the Church, we realized that there was no Mass being said at that time. We both were a little disheartened but instead spent time in Adoration at the Tabernacle in the chapel. It gave us both a chance to reflect. On our way back to the car, we ran into one of the priests. We asked him to kindly bless us and the ring. After finishing Christopher West's talk on Theology of the Body, we went out to the Stations of the Cross. There we found a bench in what remained of the grotto. We prayed the Stations of the Cross even though it was summer and Lent had long passed. Before we prayed, Kris read the reading from Proverbs on the ideal wife. I was amazed by the passage. I wondered if I ever could be such kind of wife. I wondered if I had what it took to be that kind of wife to Kris. The kind of wife I thought that he deserved. I prayed as he read the passage that I could be this kind of wife for him. I prayed that God would give me the strength and direction to be that wife. As we prayed the Stations, each prayer related somehow to marriage and the journey we were about to embark. It was as if God was giving me to answer and the tools needed to be that wife for Kris. After we finished praying the Stations, I sat on the rock under the cross. Kris knelt not on one knee but both knees and he used 3 verses from the passage he read to me to propose. He asked me if I would serve the poor with him. He asked me if I would laugh at the days to come with him. He asked me if I would be his good wife. I cried. He cried. Even now it makes me cry. He could not have said better words to me. He could not have planned the details better. I WAS surprised. The only answer I could give was a very emphatic yes. Yes I will be your good wife. After he proposed, we knelt before the cross and I asked the Lord Jesus to be the third person in this marriage. We asked him to be our spouse and be one with us. I know that on that day, May 29, 2009, he gave us his yes, too.

The ring with 3 diamonds

The rest of the day was a whirlwind. We had plans for lunch together to celebrate at the Ruby Tuesday where we met on Valentine's Day 2001. After lunch, we drove out to Ave Maria to buy something to help us remember the big day. We found a nice marriage blanket at one of the shops there. It has a picture of the Blessed Mother and her betrothed spouse St. Joseph. A good model for us as to what a true marriage should be.

Reenactment of the proposal

That evening we had dinner with old friends from Naples to not only celebrate birthdays but our engagement. It was a magical day for both us. One we will not forget.

So in retrospect, on that day I prayed to be that ideal wife for Kris. I prayed that I could have those qualities that he read to me from the book of Proverbs. I did not have the confidence to be that wife. But now looking back on that day, I realize that Kris did not read that passage to me so that I would have a model as to what kind of wife he wanted me to be but because he believed that I WAS already that kind of wife. He had found one worthy to be a wife. He had found his ideal wife. I am that worthy wife. I still struggle today (and I think I always will) to be that worthy wife. But I know that my husband believes that I already hold those qualities that make me a good wife. I am so blessed that my husband has the faith and confidence in me to be a good wife. I continue to pray that God gives me the strength to continue to be that good wife and the faith to know that I am.