The Kate Box: Our Love Story

It's almost Valentine's Day, so in honor of the holiday, I'm sharing Our Love Story. One of my besties Lauren copied the idea from another blogger, and I am copying it from her. Feel free to do the same. Just copy and paste the questions at the end of the post.

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

The answer is fairly self-explanatory if you look at the two pictures below. Wes and I started dating at the end of my 10th grade year and the end of his 11th. So, we have been together for a little over 11 1/2 years.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Let's get a few things out there. I had definitely noticed Wes before our first meeting, and apparently he had noticed me. Wes was a major stud and was part of this group of guys who were just idols to my girlfriends and me. (Idols in a very healthy way of course.) They were great guys who loved the Lord and were also pretty easy on the eyes. Okay, so our first meeting took place at the K-Life barn at our weekly club. We were all packed in and singing some crazy song (Breakfast at Stoby's, maybe?) when all of a sudden this guy bumped into me. He stuck out his hand and said, "You must be Kate." (What?! Wes Walker knew my name?!?!) We met, and I'm pretty sure nothing happened then besides the typical transitions to a skit to slow worship songs and then to a great talk by one of the leaders. During the months to follow, we would acknowledge one another and smile. Wes' opinion of me was that I was a cute, bubbly cheerleader, and I caught his eye. A favorite story during this time period came at our high school sorority Winter Formal. My date was a good friend of mine, and Wes had come with a friend of his. You know how loud those dance floors are, right?! Well, when a song came on, Wes was nearby and came over to me. All I heard was "wanna dance?" but all that was actually said was "how are you?" Oops. We danced, and I heard the true story months later when our relationship had actually started. Without going into the longest love story ever, I'll just say that after several car rides to K-Life and lots of get togethers with friends, it became official. He asked to kiss me a few months later. We dated through the rest of high school with only a couple of hiccups and then dated through college. I am his first and only girlfriend. Wes treated me with a respect and admiration that I had not known and did not expect. I have always looked up to him, and I'm so happy to say that I still do. We have a great love story.

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

Married since 02.04.06.

4. If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding? If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We got married at Greene Chapel on the campus of Hendrix College in Conway, AR. It was a big wedding with people standing along the sides of the packed pews. The love I felt walking down the aisle was pretty amazing.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

This makes me laugh. I read Lauren's answer to this question and just giggled. Ditto. We call each other "babe" all the time. Hey, babe! is probably the most commonly said sentence in our house. What's odd is that this did not start until after we got married, but it just seemed to happen so quickly and without even noticing it.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

Wes is wise, thoughtful, and family-oriented. And he uses these three things incredibly well.

7. Tell us how he proposed. Or your ideal proposal?

It was his 23rd birthday, September 28th, 2005. He was living with his oldest brother and his family for the time being, and he had been at work all day. Benton, JB, and Ben were all gone to Bible study, and I was making Wes a very intricate birthday dinner. Apricot stuffed chicken and strawberry pie for dessert. We ate, we talked, we almost cut into our second pieces of pie when Wes said his office had given him a gift that he hadn't opened yet. I told him he needed to go get it, and we sat on the couch to open it. At the bottom of the bag was a box. I totally thought it was his new business cards or a pin of some sort. Well, he opened the box, and showed it to me. "I think this is for you." He got down on his knee and asked me for the best birthday present ever. I gave it to him with a resounding "yes!" Here's where the fun part came in...NO ONE knew (besides our dads). Wes had held onto the ring for over a month and no one knew it. Benton, JB, and Ben came home, and we shared it with them. We got to call parents and grandparents. We drove around Fayetteville telling all of my friends in person, and that was SO MUCH FUN. I kept reminding my friends to wish Wes a Happy Birthday, too. Great job, Wes. It was perfect for us.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

This is interesting. He did give me a teddy bear once back in high school, but that was a one time thing. He gives flowers for some holidays and as surprises on random days. I love that.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

A sunset dinner on the beach SOUNDS fabulous and would be wonderful, but I am a total movie and relaxing on the couch kind of girl.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

We LOVE to travel. I want to go back to lots of places we have visited before with just my husband and no agenda. Explore? Yes. But a million things on our must-see list? No. However, I have ALWAYS dreamed of an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora or a stroll along the beach in the Seychelles.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

In all honesty, we haven't talked about actual plans. We have talked about how we want to celebrate the holiday as a family in general, but no specific plans for this year. I am going to guess we will play with Reese until 7, get take-out from one of our favorite restaurants, and watch a movie. Perfect night in my eyes. Having our anniversary just 10 days before, we always make that a much bigger holiday than V-Day.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

No. Just love. That's what we want this holiday to be about, and that doesn't really include gifts for us...especially the kind that you ask specifically for in advance. Although, I must say that Wes is an EXCELLENT gift giver, and I totally think gifts can symbolize love.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Team work. Work as a team, communicate like a team, love as a team, etc.

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

This is from September 18th, 2010. Those hands never left my side during my crazy labor unless they went to grab ice chips for me. (Just looking back at pictures from that day makes me emotional. Especially now that we are anticipating another day like that this September. Here. We. Go.) But seriously, the love he showed me that day was unparalleled. Lauren used a picture from her twin boys' birth day as well, and I know exactly why.