How It all Began......

Our Anniversary is coming up in three weeks and I have a surprise for her. Just thinking about these past three years and what my wife and I have been through, is precious. Time begins to fly when you work and stay busy, but to get a chance, at least, once a year to send the kids off to their grandparents and share a moment, "of when it all began," is beautiful.

How It all Began

While playing baseball in California, I was given an offer to play for a junior college in Texas. I was involved in the wrong crowd and decided it was time for change. At the age of nineteen, I made the best decision of my life. I drove to Mt. Pleasant, Texas and I attended North East Texas Community College. Towards the end of the school year I new I was headed to the University of Oklahoma to continue playing ball and school. What I did not know was that I would continue building a relationship with, Brittani McGee.

Before I left Texas to go back home to California for the summer, Brittani told me that we would talk to each other everyday. She did not lie, we would talk for hours on hours everyday, as long as the phone calls started at 9pm my time, so I could have free minutes. Several phone calls lasted from 9pm till 7am when my Dad was leaving for work. When the batteries on our phones were going dead, we just plugged our chargers into our phones. We never wanted to hangup with the other person. We missed each other and the more we talked to each other, the more we fell in love.

She came the extra mile and flew to California to meet all of my family. This is when we made it official. We were a couple. My family loved her Texas accent, they made her say lots of words. My favorite was, "Pink," because when she said it, it sounded like, "Pank." My family loved her right off the bat. I showed her around my home and why California was so beautiful.

While attending the University of Oklahoma, my future wife was accepted to The University of Central Oklahoma. We were only 30 minutes away from each other. This really made our relationship stronger than ever before. We talked about marriage but were indecisive. Till one day, Brittani was acting weird. She broke down crying and told me she was pregnant. We were taken back by this new discovery but this only made our relationship stronger.

It took about a month to let my parents know of the news because I wanted to tell them in person. I was very nervous but they handle it great. I remember both of their reactions vividly. My Mom smiled from ear to ear. My Dad had a fatherly approach with no real emotion. He merely asked questions and wondered if I would marry her. I told him, "YES, I love her and this is a sign from God to quit talking about marriage and to do it." A few days later I called Brittani's Mom, real Dad and Step Dad to ask for her hand in marriage.

While back in Oklahoma and both of us attending the University of Oklahoma, I took Brittani out to dinner at Red Lobster and proposed to her. Our son was born on August 1, 2006 and we got married on September 16, 2006.

Had I stayed in California to play baseball and hung around the same crowd, I do not know what I would be doing right now. What I do know is that, everyday when I wake up in the morning next to Brittani, I can only thank God for giving me the strenght to drive across the United States and take a chance. After that, God has blessed us with two beautiful children, loving friends and family, food in our stomachs, water in our veins and a roof over our heads.