My Prayer to Find A Husband (And How It Came True!)

When I was in college, I used to write my prayer intentions in a journal everyday.  So in March 2005 when I was a junior, I decided my next prayer was going to be for my future spouse.

And I was going to be specific!  Because why not?!  This man will only be the most important person in my life!  So I asked God for the best, and I wrote down every.little.thing that I wanted in my future husband.

Now, I was saying this as a part of a novena to St. Joseph.  A novena is a prayer said for 9 days for a specific intention.  And as St. Joseph is the spouse of Mary and the foster father of Jesus, I thought it would be perfect to ask him to pray to God for me for my future spouse.

And that's where the sweet little miracles began...

So I started my novena in the middle of March.  But I forgot one day - on March 19th to be exact - so I decided to start the prayer over.  At the time, I didn't realize it, but March 19th is St. Joseph's feast day (the day that the Catholic Church celebrates him!).

So I started the novena prayer again.  And on the new 9th day of my prayer for my future spouse, I had a very special patient sitting in my dental chair that day at school - Jim.

The man I prayed for (Christmas 2006)

This was the first time that Jim and I had ever had a conversation one-on-one.  We first met in a college youth group a few months prior (it was love at first sight for me!), but we were just friends and had only hung out in groups.  But I seriously loved him from day 1 - he just didn't know it!

I remember that dental appointment very well...

He came LATE.

When I was taking his blood pressure, my heart was beating out of my chest because I had to hold his wrist, so in my mind I was technically very close holding his hand!  (I was really hoping he couldn't tell how nervous I was or feel my heart wildly beating through my fingertips!)

I chatted at him for 4 hours while I worked on him.  (Yes, students need that much extra time!)  Of course, he got to speak too when I took my instruments out of his mouth.  (I'm not that hygienist!)

I thought it went well, so I was very happy after that appointment!

The dating years!  (Advent 2006)

Throughout all of this though, I didn't realize that his appointment landed on the last day of my prayer.  I wrote my prayer intentions weeks in advance.  I had last looked at it on the 19th when I crossed out the days I messed up.  So a couple of days after his appointment with me, I opened my journal to write out my next several prayer intentions.

And then I saw it.

The 9th day was that day.  The day that Jim and I first talked one-on-one.  And it only landed on the day of his appointment because of my "mistake".  My "mistake" with the St. Joseph's novena prayer on St. Joseph's feast day.

Continued below :)

I don't believe in coincidences.  I already "knew" Jim was the one in my heart.  But this just solidified it!

So that summer, I made him think he snatched me through reading a book together (you can read that story here!) and the rest is history.  After 11 years together, 9 years of marriage, and 3 beautiful little ones, he's still every little thing I prayed for!

God never ceases to amaze me in how he answers my prayers!  I am so grateful for St. Joseph's prayers for us and to God for bringing Jim into my life and that we get to share this life together!

So did you have a specific prayer to find a husband?  What was on your "list"?  Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

I'm not the only one sharing my love story today! 

Check out all of these incredible love stories by these wonderful ladies:

Beth at Our Pretty Little Girls  //  Becky at BYBMG

Jessica at Sweet Little Ones  //  Emily at Raising Barnes

Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me  //  Stasia at Our Life on a Budget

Sarah at Abiding In Grace  //  Ruthie at Rear. Release. Regroup.

Laura at Life Is Beautiful  //  Christina at Waltzing In Beauty

Michelle at Grammie Time  //  Tina at Go Big or Go Home

Whitney at Polka Dotty Place

Would you like to share your love story? 
Or are you wanting to link up with Tuesday Talk?
Click here to check out the features and link up! 
(Or feel free to share your story in the comments below too!)

I'm linking up with these awesome parties! 

Our Love Story - Love at First Sight

It was love at first sight for me.

Jim and I met on the campus of Notre Dame when our college Catholic youth group visited in 2004.  I remember when he first talked to me: my heart literally skipped a beat, and I thought, "I'm going to marry this guy!"  And then I immediately thought, "Wait, I don't even know this guy!"

But that first feeling never left me.

On our bench at Notre Dame, 2006 - Oh my, we look so young!

Then...I found out he was already dating someone.  Sigh.  It was obviously disappointing at first, but...I really didn't know him at all!  So it gave us the opportunity to get to know one another and grow as friends for several months first.  And the more I got to know him, the more I fell in love with him (and he had no clue haha)! 

So after they broke up the following year in 2005, I came up with a plan to get him to ask me out.  He was very shy, so I didn't want to be too forward by asking him out.  I had to give him the opportunity to ask me out.  (Oh my, when I think back on this, it just cracks me up!)

We are both big-time book geeks.  So my plan was this: ask him through email which of 2 books I should read and hope to goodness he suggests reading it with me.

And that's what I did.  I asked him if I should read Confessions by St. Augustine or Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  (I swear, I really did want to read them! haha)  It took him a week to reply (I almost gave up!), but he suggested Mere Christianity...and that we should read it together. ;)  (Haha, my plan worked!)

So we read a chapter or two a week, and then we would discuss it at a coffee shop.  We call those our non-date dates. ;)  And after a few of those, he officially asked me out. :)

Our relationship started out very deep since we were discussing our faith from the very beginning.  So before too long, Jim knew I was the one too.  We started discussing what we wanted in a spouse by our third date and marrying each other after 4 months together.  (We had most of these discussions sitting on the bench by the lake at Notre Dame on game days - sigh!).  And on our 6 month dating anniversary, he popped the question, and, of course, I said, "Yes!"

When you know, you know.  And we both knew. ;)

God brought us together in such a beautiful way, and I'm so happy that I get to go on this life adventure with Jim!

EDIT (2/9/16):  I shared a few more details about our love story if you'd like to know more: my prayer to find a husband and how it came true!

What's your love story?  Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

P.S.  So now you know the main reason why we love Notre Dame so much! ;)

Ok, Party time!  First, the Pinterest Board of Tuesday Talk Features and then the link up!  Grab the button below and link up!  Looking forward to seeing your fabulous posts this week!


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Here are all of the wonderful hosts of Tuesday Talk:

Elizabeth- http://www.allkindsofthingsblog.com/

Becky- http://bybmg.blogspot.com/

Sarah- http://www.sarahefrazer.com/

Jessica/Katie- http://www.sweetlittleonesblog.com/

Lauren- http://www.simplyfreeblog.com/

Mandy- http://www.almondplace.com/

Tara- http://mrscoachsims.blogspot.com/

Teressa- http://teressajane.com/

Andrea-http://www.mitchaeljourney.com/

Chelsea-http://www.thecontentedwifeblog.com/

Beth-http://www.ourprettylittlegirls.com/

Keri- http://livinginthisseason.com

P.S.  Becky is doing an awesome giveaway for the book The Fringe Hours!  Be sure to check it out!

An InLinkz Link-up

I'm linking up with these awesome parties! 

Vacation Fun in Hocking Hills, Ohio

Ash Cave in Hocking Hills, Ohio

Last week, my family had the best time on vacation in Hocking Hills, Ohio.  The weather was perfect for hiking, the scenery was fantastic, the kids were (pretty) good, and we were really able to relax and unwind. It was fabulous!

Here are the highlights, favorites, and tons of pictures from our time in Hocking Hills:

1.  We had little to no cell phone reception or internet connection.  This made me nervous at first (in case we had an emergency!), but it really turned out to be awesome because...

2.  We had a wonderful time together as a family!

With no distractions from technology, we really spent time together talking, laughing, and having fun.  We had several campfires, played board games, had tons of picnics, hiked a lot, and stargazed several nights.  It was so awesome to have all 4 of us together for so long without work or texts or emails or to do lists.

3.  My favorite thing we did all week was hiking the trails.  We did 1 or 2 hikes everyday for the whole week.  It was so beautiful! 

Bridge over the Devil's Bathtub on the Old Man's Cave trail

And a little treacherous at times too!

J was such a trooper.  Well, actually, she's in that "I want to do it myself" stage, so we went with it. ;)  She would still hold our hand (which was a must because of the cliffs!), but she walked nearly every part of all the trails!  We were so impressed!

We all really loved that we could do so much exploring on the trails here in Hocking Hills!  There were so many places to climb, touch, and really see nature up close.

Checking out the many tiny caves within Ash Cave

I think our favorites were all of the little caves we got to explore!

A fun cave along the Old Man's Cave trail

While hiking, we'd try to stop and check out nature's beauty from every angle.  We saw so many awesome sights just by looking up!

These trails were so amazing...and unique too!  There were trails through tunnels.  Trails through caves.  And streams.  And gorges.  And behind waterfalls.  And over natural bridges of rock.   There were stairs made of stone.  And roots of trees.

Geek alert: We seriously felt like we were in the Lord of the Rings!

Watching out for Orcs in the Mines of Moria...AKA hiking through the tunnel along the Old Man's Cave trail ;)

And we couldn't have made it without our kiddie backpack.  It was easily the best thing we brought for this vacation.  Buster didn't mind it one bit, and he was contained on the trails, which put Mommy and Daddy's minds at ease.

4.  It's really hard to pick one favorite place at Hocking Hills.  Each place had something unique about it that I loved.  Here are my many favorites:

Old Man's Cave - The trail followed the rim of the gorge and then continued down into the gorge.  It had a large cave, a waterfall, and a plethora of bridges and tunnels.

Ash Cave - This one was my favorite for the kids.  It was an easy hike, and when you get to the cave, it's a fun place for them to run around and explore.  Plus, the sheer magnitude and beauty of the cave just leaves you in awe.

Rock House - This cave was so incredible.  Once you climb up inside, there are several spots you can look out over the gorge.  Wow.

5.  And last but not least, the foliage was spectacular.

In Hocking Hills, they had a severe drought this summer.  So every waterfall was more like a water drip.  (Bummer.  But I guess that means we'll have to come back someday!)  But the drought also meant that all the leaves were changing super early.  So God's beauty in nature was really showing off while we were there!

The Upper Falls at Old Man's Cave.  The waterfall was dried up, but the changing leaves were beautiful!

For a whole week, we got to enjoy each other as a family and the beauty of nature with no distractions.  This has been one of my favorite vacations!  We would highly recommend visiting Hocking Hills!

So where is your family's favorite vacation destination?  I'm always looking for fun new places to visit - please share!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Sharing my Thoughts for Thursday with Natalie and Annie,

5 on Friday/Friday Faves along with Darci, Natasha, Christina, April,  
Jennie, Lauren Elizabeth, Karli, Amy, Andrea, Erika, and Narci,
and Week's End with Elizabeth