For inquiring minds that would like to know… here's our story.

For some of you in my life, you've been asking, praying, and waiting to see something noteworthy happening in my dating life. So have I.

Because I don't exactly know where to start, I'll simply begin at the beginning.

Jeff and I both went to school together at Trinity Christian Academy here in Jacksonville from kindergarten to twelfth grade. From first grade to sixth grade, we had all the same teachers. Because our last names are so similar alphabetically (Hazard and Hill), we were seemingly ALWAYS sitting next to each other. Seriously. Always. Around. Each. Other. haha…

For those of you that know me well or have known me for a long time, you know that God's done quite the work in my life over the years in chipping away some (note: not all) of my childhood sassiness and giving me a sweet spirit in its place. However, for those of you that knew me then, you would readily agree that I was quite the "over-confident little girl" (to quote my daddy). In other words, I pretty much always wore my sassy pants. 

With that said, Jeff shared with me not too long ago that his first memory of me was when we were in the first grade. Apparently, he and his mom sat down and made a list of classmates to invite to his first birthday party at the McDonald's play place. A lot of boys were on the list, for sure. Even some girls made the list, though that list of names was much shorter. My name was on that list. Pretty sweet, right? Wrong. When Jeff handed me the invitation, I opened it and said (in a sassy tone), "Why did you invite me to your birthday party?!?" (as if it was probably the last thing on Earth I wanted to attend) To which he simply responded, "I don't know. My mom made the invitations." haha… I laugh and smile every time I think about that story. Laugh, because, even though I don't remember it happening, I can picture exactly how it must have played out. And smile, because I wonder what God was thinking in that moment. (I don't have to wonder what Jeff was thinking, that pretty much goes without saying.)

Jeff's first memory of me is great because it only slightly rivals my first memory of him. My first memory of him was in the second grade. We were, yet again, sitting close to one another in school, and our class had just come in from recess. I remember tagging him or reaching over to his desk for something, and the teacher called me to her desk. She asked what was going on. I told her I was playing tag at recess, and now I was tagging Jeff "it." That was apparently a big no-no in the classroom. She was not thrilled with my shenanigans. When she talked to Jeff about the whole situation, he denied that he was playing tag and simply said, "She's not my friend anyway." Jeff let me get into trouble all by myself that day, but I suppose I deserved it. 

Since those fun days in elementary school, Jeff and I went on to attend school together  all throughout middle school and high school. We shared very few of the same classes, if any, but we shared a lot of the same experiences. We sat next to each other during waaaay too many long, boring hours of National Beta Club and National Honor's Society induction meetings - until one of us got kicked out for low grades. GPA's aside, we both ended up graduating high school together in 2003 (probably sat next to each other then, too).

And from there, we went our separate ways.

For ten years, we did.

In that time, Jeff worked a handful (or 2) of jobs in Jacksonville. Joined the Army. And served in Iraq and Afghanistan. And came back to finish his college degree here in town.

In that time, I worked a handful of jobs. Finished a degree here in Jacksonville. Then, moved to Lynchburg and finished another degree there.

In January, Jeff and I reconnected. It was interesting to me that he had been living in Jacksonville for quite a while and just moved to Lynchburg, Virginia to start his degree at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, while I had been living in Lynchburg, Virginia for quite a while and just moved back to Jacksonville to teach at First Baptist Academy. I gave him pointers on which churches to attend in Lynchburg, etc. We began to talk a lot more from there, and a friendship developed. This time, no birthday invite rejections or pretending-to-play-tag-at-the-wrong-time could stand in our way.

At this time, Jeff, though he was living in Lynchburg, still had Army business to take care of in Orlando. So, he would come through Jacksonville about once a month, to visit family and take care of Army business. He came through town in February, and we got coffee together. After that night, I thought he was a genuinely good guy. Definitely, a sweet, sweet man. He's one of those people who makes you feel like you're the most important person in the room. I could tell God was at work in his life; and in the back of my mind, I wanted to be a part of that. I also noted that he was quite good-looking and probably wasn't really into me. I thought he was just being a nice guy.

We continued to talk and catch up with one another, pretty much every day by this point. I often asked how things were going for him in Lynchburg. Really, I just started finding any thing to talk with him about. 

In March, he came back in town. We went for coffee again. This time, he was late. I confirmed in my mind that he was probably going out to coffee with me because he was just a nice guy, and his tardiness was his way of telling me he (again) "wasn't really my friend anyway." haha...

During Spring Break, my friend Amy and I went to visit some of my friends in Lynchburg. During that trip, Amy and I had lunch with Jeff one day. Convinced he didn't like me, I let him and Amy do most the talking. By this point, word was starting to get out to my Lynchburg friends that I really liked him. When people would ask, I'd just tell them that I was praying about it and asked them to pray too.

God saw fit to answer all those prayers with a "yes" on March 30th, when Jeff told me liked me and listed all the reasons why. :)

On Friday, April 19th, Jeff came to Jacksonville again - this time, just to see me. :) And we went on our first date!!! I seriously couldn't have asked for a more perfect night. It may or may not have ended with a card that said "you're a keeper" and a request for a second date the next day. :)

On Saturday, April 20th, we went on our second date, and Jeff asked me to consider starting dating/courting him with the intent of marriage. Since I already said "yes" in my mind to this idea way back at our first meeting at Starbucks in February, I simply nodded and smiled in agreement as I sat in his truck that day. :)

All in all, I'm amazed at what God has done and what He is doing in our lives. If you haven't met Jeff yet, I can't wait for you to meet him!! He's one of the most genuinely sweet, thoughtful, and Godly men I've ever met. (And now that I know his intentions, I know why he made me feel like the most important person in the room.) :)

If you've been waiting and praying with me about this for any length of time and you want someone to thank, I'd say you should start with thanking God for Who He is, what He's done in our lives, and what He will continue to do as He guides us in our relationship.

However, if for some strange reason you want someone to blame for all this, I'd say you should probably hunt down the guy who arranged the alphabet. I'm pretty sure all those years of sitting right next to each other may have had something to do with it too. :)