Story Time!!!

So I bet a good number of you guys are wondering how did my boy and I come to be? Well... here's the story! I was sending it to a friend and I thought I'd share it with you guys :) enjoy! It's quite long but such a good read if I do say so myself!

My TJ and I met through a mutual friend in high school my senior year. One of my earliest memories of TJ was when our friend, TJ, I, and a few other people went tubing down the Salt River here in AZ and our friend lost her shoes down the river. At the end of the river, we were going to have to climb a steep hill of dirt and gravel to get back to where the buses could pick us up and take us back to the parking lot; the ground was going to be suuuuper hot and I offered our friend to wear my flip flops until we got back to the cars and I’d figure out a way to not get blisters on my feet. TJ instantly offered to carry me, with our two tubes up the hill to where the buses would pick us up and until we got back to the cars. And so he did, he carried me and held me so that my feet didn’t have to touch the burning hot asphalt and so our friend could wear shoes on her feet. However, even after this, I was interested in a different boy at the time, our friend was madly in love with TJ, and TJ was busy dating tons of girls, so I didn’t really even bother showing great interest. However, I do remember thinking he was a cute guy and was really funny and happy all the time. I knew he was different.
6 months after I had graduated from high school, I had my world turned upside down in that short amount of time. I found myself dirt poor, 8 hours away from home at school, no job, no food, and the boy I was very interested in at the time, destroyed my little heart and I sunk into terrible depression. I had to move back home and start all over again. I got a job while I was home and was determined to save up money to go back to Utah for school that fall. In February of 2008, TJ found out that I was back home and quickly got my number from yet, another mutual friend and called me that week to see how I was doing. He invited to go bowling with him and some friends; I was still very much grieving my heartbreak and thought we were just going to be hanging out so I agreed. He picked me up, opened my door, was a gentleman and we were off to the bowling alley. When we got there, I quickly realized this was a group date… and freaked out! But I suppressed it and tried to have a good time. TJ was flirting sooo much (he’s cute!) with me and I with him. I had a great time but when I realized I was flirting with TJ and enjoying the date, I immediately shut down and pushed him away. Poor boy was so confused…
For the next few months, off and on, we would text occasionally but nothing huge. He had another girlfriend and I was still very determined to go back to Utah for school. That summer, we did hang out once and I made him an amazing first dinner, we went on a walk (didn’t hold hands… dang it!), and then went to institute together and had an awesome time. Mind you, he was still dating his then girlfriend… I’m not a home wrecker I promise! We had an awesome conversation as I drove him back home about the Lord’s plan for all of us and the pain I was dealing with. Even though we weren’t together, he still was there for me and helping me cope for all that had happened.
I moved to Utah for school that fall and thought I wouldn’t ever really see him again. However, one day while terribly bored at work, I felt like I should text him (we hadn’t talked in months mind you) and see how he was doing. From then on, texting each other became a bit more regular, every week or so we’d send a text to each other. The last part of October 2008, TJ told me that he got his mission call and I was so excited for him! I would be writing another missionary! As time got closer for me to come home for Christmas break I asked him if he would like to do baptisms with me at the temple before he left for the MTC; he loved the idea and we made a plan to do so. I also found out that he was single (holla!!) and was sort of free game. When I came home for break, I was scheduled to have my wisdom teeth taken out and he told me he was going to go camping a beach in Cali with his best friend one last time before he left but promised he’d go to the temple with me before he left for the MTC. He also asked if he could get me anything from Cali and I said that all I wanted was a jar of sand. A week later, with my gross face packed with gauze, TJ stopped by with a jar of sand from the beach he and his friend stayed at. He also took some paint chips from a nearby wall and stuck them in there and hoped I liked them. That Sunday, I went to his farewell talk at church and couldn’t believe he was leaving. I was the last one to hug him out of the congregation and was starting to like him mucho! He invited me to his Sunday school class and we walked there with our arms behind the others back. We left the church before third hour to go to his house to get setup for the farewell. Sadly… I was beckoned back home and wasn’t able to stay at all for his farewell. Later the next week, we finally went to the temple together to do baptisms and I could not stop smiling the whole time I was with him, I wanted to hold his hand sooo badly.. but he was leaving so I couldn’t. While at the temple, we had so many workers there thinking we were dating or engaged which is hilarious in hindsight. While in the baptistry, we were sitting on opposite sides of the room and one of the workers came over to me and whispered “you can sit with your boyfriend, its ok.” Instead of protesting, I just got up, sat next to TJ and told TJ what was said and he thought it was hilarious. After the temple, I met some of his family and then we went back to my house so I could make him another amazing dinner. When he went to leave, I walked him out to his car, we hugged and he said “I’m going to miss you Marlee Michelle.” I told him I was going to miss him too. Then we said see you in two years! The night before he entered the MTC, he called me and we talked for a few minutes. We told each other we would miss the other and that he’d be an amazing missionary. Before we hung up, he said “Marlee, please promise me that you won’t get married while I’m on my mission.” My little naïve self at the time didn’t know what he was trying to get at and I said you got it! We hung up, I cried a little and thought that was it…
TJ ended up having to come back home for a year to take care of some business and I was the first person he had told he was back. I was in Utah for the Spring semester and had no way of seeing him. So we began texting each other all day, every day for the year he was home and quickly became best friends. Soon after we began texting, he asked if he could begin calling me but never promised to call me every night… yet that’s what he ended up doing from then on. In that phone call he mentioned how he wanted to come up and visit me in Utah. We planned on Spring Break for him to come up that way we could have fun for 4 days instead of 2. I was so stinkin excited to see him and was counting down the days. So in March, he came up for a week to see me and we had so much fun! We watched a ton of movies, went out to eat, went hiking, I learned how to longboard, and he became my first kiss that week. We were both so sad when he had to leave at the end of the week and I started to miss him so much. We had no idea what was going to happen with us, if anything would progress since we were 8 hours away. But we kept texting each other every day and we both began to fall in love with each other.
At the end of the semester, I decided that I needed to move back home in AZ because I couldn’t afford living in Utah anymore. The only problem was that I came to this decision the last day of school and had no way of getting home; he knew of my dilemma and said that if I decided to move back home, to let him know and he’d be there to move me. All he was given was a days notice and he was up in Utah packing up his car with my stuff and moving me back home. The next day, we became an official couple and have been together ever since. We spent almost every day that summer together, we grew more in love with each other, made mistakes, loved each other even more and kept trucking. The Fall of 2009, I moved 2 hours up north for school and he would drive up to see me every Saturday and bring food with him from my mom. We made our relationship work and grew even more together. TJ got his mission call the beginning of November, I felt strongly that I needed to wait for him and that everything would be ok. We went to a fancy institute dance together (we call it our “prom”) soon after and he drove me home for my birthday which also was the last weekend we had together.

We celebrated my birthday by going to the temple, playing dress up at DI, having cake at my house and watching a movie, and then going out to sushi for dinner. The perfect last date for two years. The last time we saw each other, however, was not left on a happy note and I seriously regret it but we quickly made up and were happy that night. TJ’s last day as a “civi” we spent texting each other since I was back at school and we said our goodbye over the phone. He was supposed to be set apart the Sunday before he reported to the MTC but since his mom was out of time, they decided to hold off until the day before he reported. The night he was to be set apart, the time of the setting apart got delayed from 7 at night until 9 that night; that meant we had 3 hours to talk and say goodbye to each other. Before we hung up for the last time, I told TJ “make me proud Sweetheart!” And he replied with “I will work my hardest to deserve you Honey. I love you.” And with a click… that was it. He was off to honorably serve our Lord for 2 of the most amazing years. TJ was set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints of Latter Day Saints on December 1st 2009 at 9:00pm and reported to the MTC on December 2nd 2009 at 11:00am.
Waiting for the love of my life has been the most rewarding experience ever; with all of its ups and downs, it has been so worth it. We have grown even more together and love each other much deeper than we could ever imagine. We only have about 5 months until we are united again and then we can start our eternity together. I love Elder Taylor Jordan Brady with all of my heart and he has made me so incredibly proud! He does deserve me and I can’t wait to be with him again!! It won’t be long.