Me and Tyler from the Beginning

By Carmen

 

Tyler aka Cuteness aka Most Amazing Person Ever and the LOVE of my life.

I realized today that I haven't really recorded much about how Tyler and I met.  That really bothers me so more than 2 years later; here is our story in a nutshell.

Tyler and I met online at LDSmingle.com for awhile I didn't really like mentioning that because I felt kind of like a loser admitting that I was "trying out" the online dating thing (part of the reason I was on the service was to show my brother how many LDS girls were really out there).

The way LDS mingle works is you take a personality profile test (it is scarily accurate) and the search engine will send you people who are compatible to you.  I checked some of them out and didn't see anyone who interested me.  Then one day I got an email from some guy and the subject line read "One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed".  The subject title alone caught my attention so I decided I had to read it.  The email was Tyler simply introducing himself.  It had nothing to do with any a monkey at all.

I decided he was interesting enough to warrant a response from me.  Besides, he lived in North Carolina and I lived in GA.

We began emailing back and forth for a couple of weeks and I gave him my phone number.  We were constantly texting and talking.  I realized I was really starting to like him or maybe subconsciously it was because I knew he was so far away and there was no threat of it getting serious. 

To say my mom was concerned that I was "seeing" someone online would be an understatement so when I told her Tyler wanted to come meet me I thought she was going to have a heart attack.  She started telling me that he could be a predator or that he could have lied to me.  I told her that anyone I would ever meet had the same potential to do those things too.  I also mentioned an elderly couple in our branch  met online and had been happily married for 7 years.  That was not what she wanted to hear.

Tyler and I set a date for him to come meet me, June 17, 2006.  It turned out my doctor scheduled me to have surgery 6 days before.  Tyler still wanted to come and said that he would be happy to just sit around with the family and watch movies if I wasn't feeling well enough to go out so I said ok.

Again my mom was not happy. I would be recuperating from my surgery and I wouldn't be able to run away if I needed to.  She finally agreed to "let" him come if I would agree to not be alone with him.

The big day came (for us to meet).  I was pretty excited but still pretty sore from my surgery but decided to forgo the pain medicine so I would not be loopy.  It was the first day since my surgery that I actually got up and got ready for the day.  Tyler knocked on the door and I realized he and I would be "alone".  My dad and brothers were at a service project and my mom was in the shower.

I answered the door and there he was just staring at me.  I started to wonder if he was disappointed (now he says it was because he couldn't believe how pretty I was). He said hello and handed me a big red insulated lunchbox, perplexed I opened it.  It was a slice of cheese cake from Tripps (in Asheville); he had asked me what my favorite dessert was and went out and got it for me. This was the first time he earned brownie points.

Tyler and I decided to go see "Over the Hedge" for our first date.  My mom said my 3 brothers had to go with us.  Tyler offered to let them ride with us but they declined.  They followed us to the movie theater.  When we got there we invited them to sit with us, again they declined.  The movie started and when the first funny thing happened I heard 3 very familiar laughs behind us.  We turned around and they were sitting directly behind us.

Tyler hung out with the family for a few hours after we got back from the movies.  The time came for Tyler to leave (he had a 4 hour drive ahead of him).  We walked out so we could say good-bye.  It was pretty awkward.  We felt like we had know each other for quite awhile and yet it was the first time meeting.  I was really hoping that he would not try to kiss me (which he didn't).  He tried to give me a hug but I was in quite a bit of pain (due to me moving around so much and not taking my meds.) so I moved and it turned out to be a one armed sideways hug. 

Little did I know that one gesture would torture Tyler his whole ride home.  Apparently he had know idea where he stood with me by the time he left.  He didn't know if he had completely blown it or if I liked him.  I didn't talk to him until the next evening and by that point he was pretty sure he had blown it.

Obviously that was not the case. During the next week I was very prayerful about our situation.  I got my answer faster than any answer I had ever received. I knew I loved him and that we were going to get married.

Engaged? or Not?

I invited him to come back to GA 2 weeks later the weekend before 4th of July.  I had a big date planned.  We were going to spend the day in Atlanta and meet up with my family at Stone Mountain to watch the Fire Works.

He Hypothetically proposed that day at the Hard Rock Cafe during a conversation written on a napkin (we still have the napkin).

We had a fun weekend and my dad and I talked him into skipping work on the 4th of July so we could spend it together.

 

Can I marry your daughter?

Two weeks later Tyler was back.  This time I knew he was going to propose  and I knew Tyler still had to talk to my dad and ask him if he could marry me.  I emailed my dad to share my feelings about Tyler with him and my testimony of the Gospel.  I wanted to give my dad a head's up so he wouldn't be completely blind sided when Tyler asked him for permission.

I knew Tyler still had to talk to my dad and ask him if he could marry me.  I asked Tyler how I would know when that time was.  He said he would let me know.

Friday night Tyler and I were sitting on the couch waiting for everyone to clear out of the living room so he and my dad could talk. Tyler looked at me and said "I think you need a shower".  I looked at him and was thinking "surely there was a better way to tell me to leave".  I took my shower and when I came back into the living room Tyler was leaning over writing something. 

My dad took the slip of paper and went to bed. Tyler told me that my dad asked him for his Branch Presidents phone number so he make sure Tyler was a good active member of the church.

Tyler knew my dad was a morning person so he got up early Saturday morning before we left to go to the beach.  I told him was going out to feed the pets.   I finished feeding the pets and I didn't want to interrupt the conversation so I crawled up on the deck and peeked through the crack in the blinds.  They were still talking so I sat down and waited. A few minutes later I walked in the house and they stopped talking.

I left the room and I heard my dad say "Tyler, I have some concerns". My heart sunk...this was not what I wanted to hear so I walked out of the house again.  Some time later I came back in the house.  My mom, dad and Tyler were at the table, there was no talking and no one seemed really happy.

A few minutes later we left for our 3 hour drive to the beach.  Tyler never said a word about how the conversation with my dad went.  It was the longest ride in my life.

Engagement Announcement

July 15,2006

We made it to St. Simons right about lunchtime.  It was really hot that day and I had told Tyler to wear shorts but he didn't. I took Tyler to Barbara Jeans, my favorite restaurant in St. Simons. While we were waiting on the food Tyler started talking about how hot it was so I told him to go change into shorts so he left me at the table to go change.  It seemed like he was gone forever.

He finally came back around 15 minutes later.  We ate, well I ate Tyler just kind of nibbled.  We started walking back to the car and he said he wanted to "explore".  He picked me up and carried me through a park, sat me down on a bench, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  He looked so darn cute I just had to say yes.

No one believed me when I called to tell them Tyler and I were getting married. They thought it was a joke.

We were married November 3, 2006.

I still LOVE Tyler more than anyone one.