I always knew that I wanted to teach or do mission work over seas, but I never actually thought I would get the chance to. In middle school I remember listening to a missionary that grew up in our church speak about his experience in Asia. I then knew that I HAD to go to Asia one day. There was a desire in my heart to go there and it never went away. Years passed and I met Dr. Schimmels at Lee University. He made my dream a reality and told me I needed to go on a summer trip with him and other Lee students to China. I signed up and was ready to go.....never expecting to meet my future husband. Alex had been on that same trip the year before and Dr. Schimmels had asked him to come back and help with the trip I was going on. So one afternoon (probably in May 2001) we were having a meeting for our trip to China and through the doors of the Centenary Room at Lee burst the most handsome man I had ever seen. He was late for our meeting. From what I remember, he was carrying a briefcase and was dressed very professionally (he was coming from work in Marietta, GA). When I learned that he was going on the same trip with us, I knew I had to meet him. We were split up into groups to prepare various things for our trip. Alex was in the "laminating" group. I tried my hardest to get into that group, but I was stuck in the "cutting" group. So I did not get my chance to meet him. The next time I saw this fine specimen of a human being was when we were boarding our plane in Knoxville to head to Chicago. Once again I did not get a chance to meet him. The same goes for our flight from Chicago to San Francisco. I thought I would have a chance to speak to him on our 16 hour flight to Shanghai, but unfortunately I was completely separated from our entire group and sat by a man that only spoke Mandarin Chinese. Hmmm. However, I pretty much threw up for most of the flight, so I am glad I did not sit close to Alex. Once we landed in China we drove for an ETERNITY and eventually pulled over at a Chinese rest area. After deciding that a squatty-potty was way too gross to throw up in, I headed out to the bushes, and this is where I met my future husband. After probably witnessing me throw up, Alex offered to get me something and told me that I looked like hell. What a compliment. What a guy. To make a long story shorter, we started to get to know each other over the next 6 weeks through late night games of Spoons and Uno with our other team members. One evening in Hongzhou (spelling?) we went to the top of our hotel to look out over the city and the famous lake there, and Alex kissed me for the first time. It was very romantic. I was smitten. I knew before we left China that Alex was the man that I was going to marry. God told me. We spent the next three years dating long-distance. I lived in Cleveland, and Alex lived in Marietta, GA and then moved to Missouri to get his masters degree. We finally both got jobs in Dalton, GA. I moved to Dalton with one of my best friends, and Alex moved there also about 10 minutes down the road from my apartment. The day before Thanksgiving 2003 Alex proposed while we were putting up "our" Christmas tree in his apartment. We have a tradition of buying each other a special ornament each year, and he bought me a frog prince ornament that I had seen at Bombay. Except on this frog prince he replaced the fake ring for a real one. That sealed the deal and we were married on June 26, 2004. Now five years later we have a house, 2 dogs, one daughter, and another baby on the way. My life is truly blessed and I could not ask God for more. :)
Our very first picture together in China on July 15, 2001. It was Alex' birthday.
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