One

I remember the day we were married like it was yesterday.  I remember trying to hide behind a temple worker as I walked into the temple because my hair wasn't quite perfect yet and I didn't know he would be sitting RIGHT THERE!  I remember the look in his eyes when we were married and the way he held my hand as we imagined our future. I remember I tried to fight the tears through the whole ceremony and finally just let them flow.   I remember his face as I walked out in my wedding dress.  I remember how full my heart felt, how happy I was to be surrounded by family and friends.  I can't believe that day was a whole year ago.

I remember the first day I "met" Ben which wasn't really meeting because I pretended not to care although I was dying to find something interesting to say to this cute hunky man I had only laid eyes on about 15 minutes prior.  Can I tell you the story, again?

Thanks.

There I sat with my girlfriends in an LDS sacrament meeting in a young single adults ward.  The meeting was coming to an end and a man walked to the front of the chapel to offer a closing prayer.  He spoke in a deep voice and as he said Amen I looked up and wondered who he was.  I had attended this ward for 6 months and had never seen him before.  I turned to Liz and Deneal, "who is THAT?" I asked.  "Ben Walunas", Liz responded.  "He is the ward mission leader and leads the Gospel Essentials Sunday School class."   "I would really like to meet him", I said.  "Well let's go to that Sunday School class then", said Deneal and she gathered her stuff and began to walk away.

Well okay!

We walked into Gospel Essentials.  It was a small class and everyone looked at us strangley.  We sat together on the front row.  Liz, me, Deneal, BEN.  Deneal turned to Ben, "Hi, I am Deneal.  This is my friend Amber and this is Liz."  Ben turned and greeted us with a smile and a handshake.  "It's really nice to meet you", he said.   In exchange I said, "hi".  I did not crack smile and made about 1 second eye contact before turning my focus.

That was it.  That was our first meeting.

"What is your problem???", Deneal said as we headed toward our last meeting.  "I DON'T KNOW!", I responded.  "I didn't know what to say, I froze!"  It wasn't like me.  I wasn't cute or charming. I couldn't think of anything to say, not anything.  For the first time, I was nervous to talk to a guy.

For a couple weeks we tried again.  The three of us would go into Sunday School and listen.  I never said a word to him.  I didn't dare.

Finally I saw him at an after church social.  I told my friends, "Today is the day. Today I will talk to him."   I stood at the side of the room with Kelley and Hillary.  We talked and laughed.  Finally they told me to just walk over and talk to him.  I couldn't.  What would I say?  I would have nothing after, "Hi I'm Amber."  So I stood there, socializing with everyone, but Ben.  Finally I got some guts.  "I am going to do it", I said.  I looked around and to my surprise he was gone.  Oh no!!  I was devastated, I had missed my chance and would have to wait a whole week to try again.

We left, and I drove home.  As I parked my car I dug my phone, that had been set to silent for church, out from the bottom of my purse.  It read "1 missed call".  I didn't recognize the number and called to listen to the voice mail.  "Hi Amber, this is Ben Walunas", I heard.  "I am not sure if you know who I am, but I am wondering if I could take you out this week."     If there was more I didn't heard it because the screeching of excitement that left my lips filled the space of my parked car.  I called my friends, we all screeched in excitement.  Then I called him back {coolly} and accepted.

Now that man that I didn't dare say more than one word to is my husband of one year.  It happened just the way it should have and I wouldn't take back the couple last years for anything.  We created a story and we continue that story every single day day.

ONE YEAR DOWN!