~Our Love Story...part 3~

"You know you are in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." Dr. Seuss
 ~One of my DEAR friends scanned some pics of us and emailed them to me today!  THANK YOU!!
This picture of Phillip and I was taken at the Spring 1993 GBS picnic.  I was leaning over to say or look at something.
(I ALSO ADDED some pics in Part 1 and 2 of our love story!)

Last time...our "Love Story part 2" post...left Phillip and I discussing whether we should break up.  Phillip told me that he he would NEVER date me for several years then break up with me as my elder friend had SCARED me into thinking!  He then told me that he thought it was God’s will for us to stay together and just to forget what that man had told me.
MY HEART LEFT THE GBS MUSIC STUDIO VERY HAPPY THAT DAY!   =)
A few days later we had mid-term exams.  One day Phillip told me to pray for him…that he would probably be up all night.  I was thinking, "Oh..., what a studious boyfriend I have, he'll be studying for exams ALL NIGHT!"   LATER, I would find out that he studied awhile and WORKED ON MY PORTRAIT ENGAGEMENT GIFT for the rest of the night!   =) (He was trying to get it done, for we were going to go to my parent’s house in S. Dakota to spend Spring break with them..)
When he went to order the mat and frame for my picture he was drawing of me, he didn't have it done yet, so quickly just "sketched out" for the lady at the frame shop, "Here's Heather" , etc."  The lady felt sorry for him and didn't think he could draw very well.  So, she gave him a discount.  When he brought my picture in for them to put in the mat and frame, she said, "Blankity, Blank,... I didn't think you knew how to draw and gave you a discount!" =)
After final exams ended Phillip and I left for my Home in S. Dakota!   Before I left my good friend Mark Stetler told me that he thought I would get engaged over Spring break.  I told him that I didn't think so.
Once we got out to my house I began to change my mind and think that maybe Mark was RIGHT!  Phillip was planning a special picnic on Friday.  All week he kept mentioning this picnic.
On that Friday morning my Moma woke me up with, "Good Morning, little girl, this just MIGHT be the day!" =)
That day happened to be GOOD FRIDAY...AND APRIL FOOL'S DAY combined!!  We drove to about 10 mins. from Mt. Rushmore and found a fun place in the woods for a picnic.  Phillip had planned the whole picnic himself.  When we got the picnic all unpacked and I saw the sparkling juice and Phillip's Bible I thought, "Yep! He's probably going to ask me today!"  (For my preacher Phillip takes his Bible everywhere he goes!)
Then, he opened his Bible and said, "This being Good Friday, I thought it would be nice to read the story about Jesus and what He did for us together!"  I thought that was neat, but my heart was DISAPPOINTED for it threw me off.  (He later told me that that is what he was hoping to do.  ;-)
After our picnic he suggested that we walk over to a ledge overlooking some beautiful scenery.  I did NOTICE that he brought his Bible with him too! =)  He read some Scripture referring to marriage...and THEN before I knew it, he was down on one knee and saying SWEET things like, "There is no one that I'd rather share my life with than you!!"  And then he asked me to Marry Him!  I just sat there without saying a thing.  I was thinking, "WOW!  Is this REALLY happening to me?!  Is Phillip really asking me to MARRY HIM?"  I waited so LONG to respond that Phillip said, "Well, WILL YOU?"
I then said, "YES!!!!! I WILL!!!"  Later back at our picnic spot it dawned on me that we were engaged and I let out a VERY HAPPY squeal!!!  Phillip worried about others hearing me scream said,
"Heather, PLEASE don't scream out here."  =)
Later he went down to his car and  brought my gift up to me to open.  It was a LARGE flat box and I could NOT imagine WHAT it contained!  But then as I opened it I found myself LOOKING INTO MY VERY OWN FACE!!  You see a few weeks back we had taken some pictures in his parent's living room.  Phillip had wanted to take these pictures of me, "In case I ever get time to draw you!"  =)
It was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. and I was AMAZED at how much it looked like me.  (Not that I'm beautiful, but every detail looked exactly like me!)  He had done something similar to "Pointalism" but with ink.  Everything was made out of tiny DOTS.  It took him 50 hours to complete!
That evening we were to meet my parents at someone's house for supper.  All evening I avoided my Moma's eyes for I KNEW that she would READ my JOY and Know that I was engaged.  After a nice evening and yummy meal Phillip and I drove home in his car and my parents in theirs.  We got home about 5 mins. ahead of them, so that Phillip could take My GIFT from his car to hide it in his room.  Then, when Daddy and Moma got home we all sat down in the living room.  Daddy was reading a book and Phillip was THUMBING THROUGH A MAGAZINE..., not seeing a thing that was in there....trying to get up his nerve to talk to Daddy and ask his permission to Marry me.   =)
(Phillip now tells people that he wishes that he would have thought to ask my Daddy first.  He knew he had his Dad's approval and so it never occurred to him to honor my Daddy by asking him first and much earlier in the process rather than assuming that he would approve of what was already done.)
Finally, Phillip got my Daddy's attention and asked his permission to marry me.  Little did Phillip know that he was fixing to get "interviewed". =)  Daddy started asking him questions like, "Why do you want to marry Heather, Phillip?"   Phillip's reply was, "I love her" and then in his sweet quiet way he went on to say, "I am asking Jesus to help me love her as Christ loved the Church!"
Then Daddy told him some POWERFUL things like, "We do not believe in divorce AND REMARRIAGE! Moma and I have raised our children!  If things don't work out for you and Heather and you decide to split up, we WON'T be raising your children!!"  ;-)   Phillip was impressed with and in agreement with all my Daddy had to say.  Daddy gave his consent to Phillip that he could marry me, and Phillip brought out my gift he had made me!   My parents LOVED my gift (And are keeping it for us while we are on the mission field.)  That spring break was a delightful time with Daddy and Moma!
We drove the 21 hours straight through to GBS...getting there at 2:00 AM or so.  When I got back to my room, my room mate Kelly H. had left me a note on my bed saying, "Heather, there's a rumor going around that you and Phillip are engaged!  If this is TRUE please wake me up!"  So, I went over and woke her up and we had a lot of fun chatting in the wee hours of the morning.  Kelly was a great roommate and we have TONS of fun memories from dorm life!
The next day someone asked me what time it was.   I told them the time and then after they asked me again, I realized what they were doing!  They were trying to get me to “show off my engagement watch”.   I told them that I didn’t get a watch that Phillip had drawn a picture of me for my engagement gift.  They gave me this, “OH, POOR YOU,” look!!  After a couple days of A LOT of those looks, I asked Dad D. to find me an easel and we displayed my beautiful portrait that Phillip had drawn me in the GBS dinning room for 3 days!
Trust me…I NEVER got any more "POOR YOU" looks after that!  (Sorry I don't have a good picture to post of his gift to me!) 
I then had to tell Mark S. that I WAS WRONG AND HE WAS RIGHT...But I was GLAD that he was...for I was HAPPY to be engaged! =)
(Sometime during our courtship, we started using those 3 SPECIAL words "I LOVE YOU" to each other ...but I'm not exactly sure when it was!  I do know that we were VERY careful to not just say it until we knew each other well and were sure of our love!  We used things like, "I like you", and then later, "I Like You VERY MUCH", until we were SURE we LOVED each other. =)  (We probably said "I like you VERY MUCH" even after we were in love, but we were trying to play it safe. =)
Someone had given me the advice to NOT skimp on getting a GOOD photographer for our wedding, that afterwards our pictures (And Memories) would be all we had!  I knew we were going to get married there in Cinci and I was overwhelmed at HOW to find a good photographer that we could afford!  So, I began to PRAY HARD about our wedding photographer!
The Valentines before we got married, Phillip printed out around 200 short love notes to me.  He had Kelly hide them around my room, and then all through that day, wherever I would go... my fellow classmates and teachers would hand me notes from him!  (He had numbered them, so I could make sure that I got all of them!) It was so much FUN and so special of him to do for me.
I had worked in the GBS music studio under Bro. Garen Wolf and had become close to Esther W. and Kathyrn S.  During my first 3 years of college I had also spent a lot of time talking to Sis. Martha Miller (who taught me piano) and to Sis. Robyn Clemens.
Sis. Clemens talked to Kathyrn, Esther and I and told us that we could use her house to plan and have a SURPRISE Valentine's dinner for our men.  So Kathryn, Esther and I had fun planning our special tables (we sat up 3 tables in Sis. Clemens house) and preparing our food to serve.  I stayed up all night and made Crescent rolls. (The DELICIOUS ONES that have TONS of yummy flaky layers.  The type you have to roll out to a certain size and freeze for 20 mins., then fold again, and roll out, etc.  Normally one could do that while they were "busy around their house" but I was using a home-ec room to make them in and only had time to do it during the night. =) Kelly stayed up with me making some yummy treat for her Steve!
Twice I had filled in and babysat for a friend.  I LOVE PICTURES and always carried (And still DO!) a photo album with me. So, when Bob, the father of the little girl I was going to babysit, picked me up at GBS I showed him pics of my family, Phillip, etc. The 2nd time I babysat for them I had just gotten engaged.  Bob told me that he would take my Bridal portraits for free and give me a good deal on my wedding pictures! Wow! I was excited!  But I still had...NO CLUE that he was a professional photographer and had had his own business in Downtown Cinci for 20 years! His were the wedding pics on the front of the bridal magazines around Cinci!
He took my bridal portraits and did a great job!!!  Then, with fear and trembling as to HOW MUCH he would charge...Phillip and I went to his studio to discuss how much we needed to pay for him to take our Wedding pics!

~Heather's Bridal portrait!~

We sat there stunned as we saw on the piece of paper that he gave us that he had 4 photo packages.  The cheapest one was $2,100 and the most expensive one being $3,100! (Remember, This was back in 1994-95!)   We were in COLLEGE with bills to pay.  But, since he had taken my Bridal portraits for FREE, we knew we needed to use him!  He told us how many pictures he would give us in a fancy album (it was about the equivalent of one of the more expensive packages) and that he would only charge us $150.00 for all of our beautiful pics.  I squealed, "PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD!" right in the middle of his office!  =) This was a HUGE ANSWER to my prayers!!
We had lots of fun starting to pull things together to make our home!  Phillip and I had discussed wanting a plain white everyday dish so I could use them to make all kinds of tables for all occasions and if we EVER got the money to get China...we were wanting China with fruit on it.
Then, one day my Moma called me and told me that my Daddy's cousin was giving us an ENTIRE 12 (PLUS) setting of GORGEOUS China!  Yep!  You guessed it...it had BEAUTIFUL fruit in the middle and had a 24 carrot gold rim around the edge!!  She also gave us a beautiful set of fancy silverware.  Isn't God AWESOME?!!
Then my family gave us the money to buy our pretty white Pfaltzgraff for our everyday dishes.
We got married on June 6th, 1995.  We were going to get married in the GBS chapel and we knew if we waited until FRIDAY, that all of our college friends would be gone home by then!   So, we got married on a TUESDAY...just 2 days after camp meeting ended!!!  You cannot imagine how Stressful it was though.  We had just come through FINAL EXAMS and then 10 days of GBS camp meeting (working 6 hours on campus, plus our off-campus jobs, plus attending 2 services a DAY!!!)
On Monday morning (after camp ended on Sunday night) we had campus clean-up, then that night was our rehearsal and our wedding was the next day!  WHEW! I'm tired just remembering it!  =)
Thanks to my DEAR friends Bob and Barb Brock they arranged for me to work under them during campus clean-up...and gave me a CREW to help me CLEAN UP THE GBS DINNING ROOM AND SET IT UP FOR OUR WEDDING RECEPTION the next day!  I tell you, they deserve 14 STARS in their crowns for doing that for me!!!
The Lord and my parents gave us a Beautiful wedding …it was the wedding of my dreams!!!
Like I told y'all earlier my sister and I shared the same beautiful wedding gown!
My Daddy wrote a wedding song for us and sang it in our wedding.  In it he included Phillip's words..."To love her as Christ loved the church."   And we had those words put on Phillip's groom's cake at our wedding reception as well!
My siblings and their mates sang the songs that Daddy had written for their weddings in the prelude of OUR wedding! =)
Phillip and I had all of our siblings in our wedding!
My Daddy built a wagon with little benches in it. My oldest brother pulled my 3 little nieces...dropping flowers as they went... down the aisle in the wagon.  My little nephew walked down the aisle and then they all stood up front with their Daddies and Mommies in our wedding.

~Phillip and Heather on the South lawn at GBS!~

We were ONE HAPPY COUPLE as we drove off together on that WARM June afternoon...on our way to our "living happily ever after" together! =)
Looking back… We would advise our kids to have a shorter engagement than we did. But that would have been nearly impossible for us to have had a shorter engagement with school rules not allowing weddings during the school year. (Once a couple knows it’s God’s will, and have both of their parent’s consent, WHY NOT get married sooner rather than later. =)
We had always heard negatives on getting married before one finishes College!  But, we wished we’d have gotten married earlier, for both of our college grades went WAY UP after marriage!!
Since I was 3 I had wanted to Marry a preacher and be a preacher's wife!  I was sooo GLAD that Jesus had given me my heart's desire! =)
Just 2 weeks before I graduated from college we found out that Kimberly was on her way! (We named her Kimberly after my good LA friend Kimberly who helped get Phillip and I together!  =)   So, I marched down the aisle carrying saltine crackers in my hands, and SICK as a dog!  But THRILLED that Jesus had sent us a little baby of our own!
The funny thing is that Phillip told me that he had always thought he'd date/marry someone quiet, reserved, and dark haired!  Yep!  That pretty well sums up me!  =) =) =) HA! 
He tells me today that he is VERY HAPPY that Jesus had other plans for who he should marry...for with him being more quiet, a thinker, and serious, life would have been pretty QUIET if he'd have married someone just like him.   He being a preacher is always thinking of serious things like "There are souls to win!", etc.  He's a wall flower and doesn't like attention!  He'd rather not go to big gatherings, and if he does, he just wants to arrive quietly! 
I, as you could probably guess...don't mind ringing a bell to let everyone know that I've arrived,  =) LOVE people, and LOVE having fun dinners, planning parties, etc.  I teasingly tell him that he was "Born Sanctified" and I was born "without a Conscious!" HA!  So we balance each other out.  He keeps my mind on Heavenly things, and I keep him from wearing Sack Cloth and Ashes all the time.  HEE! HEE!
Come back tomorrow on Valentine's for a P.S. to our love story! =)