The Beginning

I met my now husband about 6 years ago. It wasn't the smoothest pickup line I had ever heard, "Do you like oranges?", but that what was made me take notice. We dated for a little over four months before he proposed at Disney World (My first time ever having been there, and hopefully not last). Without hesitation, I said yes. I'm sure my family and friends thought I was crazy for moving so quickly into the engagement. I can't help but feel like they were disappointed and worried that I would never have any children of my own. (My husband had a vasectomy while he was married to his first wife.) It was very important to me the that his two girls (then 6 and 10) were comfortable with our relationship. As we were showing them the pictures of Disney they flipped through (and almost right past) the picture of Gary down on one knee, holding my hands, and looking right into my eyes. When we asked if they knew what that meant, Bailey said "EWW, GROSS!" while Shae's eyes got big and a smile slowly stretched accross her face as the significance of that pose set in. We had to explain to Bailey what was really going on in the picture (I am still not sure to this day what she first thought was going on). We asked them how they felt about it and if it was ok with them. We would have slowed down and given them more time if they needed or wanted it. Thankfully, they both got excited and felt as happy as we did.

This blog will describe a series of events throughout the past 6 years as well as current events that have shaped the relationships with my stepdaughters. As stated in the welcome message, this is a project with one of my stepdaughters. She will be posting her perspective on her page www.perfectstepdaughter.blogspot.com. I am thankful for the opportunity to work on projects with her that will last even after she returns to Michigan at the end of the summer.