Unexpected Love

Ben and I met in May of 2006...it seems just like yesterday.  The reason we met was not by choice.  We were entering the Brazil MTC to serve missions for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  There were about 20 missionaries altogether and they put Ben and me in the same district group.  So we spent 9 long weeks together in the MTC. 

To be completely honest, I would NEVER say it was love at first sight.  Because one, we were missionaries, and two we totally and completely annoyed one another.

I especially didn't like him because...well...he threw a banana at me and it hit me right in the face while we were in the MTC together.  Nine weeks in the same room with the same people can get a little tough sometimes.

Despite our differences, all of us elders and sisters in our district became friends and decided that when we all got back from our missions that we would get together and have a BBQ and reminisce about the good old days in Brazil. 

After nine weeks we headed out into the mission field to baptize everyone in Brazil.  Ben and I saw each other off and on throughout our missions and worked with each other in some of the same zones.  As we worked together I think our hatred simmered and we eventually became friends.

I came home from Brazil in December of 2007 and went back to school until that spring.  When the spring came I went back home to Utah to live with my parents and earn enough money to finish my last year of school.

Ben had just gotten home from Brazil that May.  He grew up in California, but while he had been away his parents had moved to Utah.  So here he was in a new town with no friends.  He started emailing everyone from our MTC district to see when we could all get together to have our BBQ that we planned so many years ago.

We all exchanged phone numbers and were excitedly waiting for the time when we would all reunite. 
Back in Spanish Fork one day I got a phone call from a number I had never seen before, I said hello, and low and behold it was Elder Call.  We talked for a while and then he told me that he was coming to Orem, which is near Spanish Fork, and was wondering if I wanted to hang out with him and his cousin.  I thought sure that would be fun to hang out with someone from the mission and so I said yes.

The weekend came and I headed to Orem to meet up with Elder Call and his cousin.  When I saw Ben for the first time I wasn't sure if I was suppose to hug him or give him a handshake, so I decided with the handshake.  When he saw me stick my hand out he laughed at me and then gave me a good old hug.  After that his cousin told us that he would not be joining us and so it would just be the two of us.
We had such a fun time together.  We sat and talked and talked and talked and talked and it was never awkward for me.

 After that weekend Ben started calling and emailing me quite frequently and he kept finding excuses to come and visit his brother and sister who lived  in Orem and Provo.  We started hanging out every weekend until before we knew it we were dating.  We had a blast that summer.

 He proposed to me at the end of July while we were on vacation with my family in Bear Lake.  When he asked me I could hardly believe it and kept asking him if he was just kidding.  I finally decided that he was serious and said, "YES!"

 We planned on getting married in December but decided we just couldn't wait that long and so we got married in the middle of the semester on October 18, 2008.

 We ran home to Utah on the weekend got married in the Salt Lake temple on Saturday and were back to school on Monday morning.  It was quite the hectic weekend. 

We have been married for two years now and it has been AWESOME.  We have lived in 5 different apartments now {I seriously hate moving}.  Lived in three different states.  We have earned one Bachelor's degree and still working on one more.  Have added the sweetest little girl to our family.  And have had loads of fun in between.  I never thought in a million years that I would marry Elder Call!  I was so shocked when I found myself falling in love with him, but I am so thankful that I did!  He is my best friend and I am so glad that we get to spend forever together!  

 He is so good to me and I love him with all of my heart. 

Happy Valentines Day!