The Rest is History

Mr. Stannix and I have been together four years today. The first time I spotted him was when I moved away from home and started attending fourth branch in Red Deer. The first Sunday I was there, so was he, up on the stand, ready to give a talk. I couldn't stop looking at him, and he amazed me with his knowledge of the Gospel. It wasn't until mid October of that same year that my journal pages began to be filled with the name, Mike Stannix. The very first time he wrapped his arms around me I had my eyes closed. We were playing grounders at a park with a bunch of friends, and I was "it". Butterflies filled my stomach and I was suddenly falling for his spiky hair, brown jacket and the smell of his cologne.

 In mid October, Mr. Stannix asked me to go to the Halloween dance the following Friday with him, as well as set me up with someone for a group date that evening (funny story). That morning we had a two hour chat at the LDSSA table on campus at the college. He was so easy to talk to and we talked like we had known each other for ever! I had this "list" of qualities that I wanted in my future husband. I would make a new one each year at the end of my journals. I had been doing this since I was 14 years old and was pretty sure I knew what I wanted. As I matured, so did my list. It started to focus more on important things and values than it did physical characteristics. The more and more time we spent talking with one another in our free time at the college, the more and more I found the qualities on my "list" in my new friend.

I would often go early to church because I enjoyed playing the big piano in the chapel before tons of people showed up. One Sunday I looked down at the benches and noticed a spiky haired boy bent over reading the Book of Mormon and listening to me play. He showed up early to church every Sunday following. One Sunday, he told my roommate that he wished he could put me in his pocket so that he could pull me out again whenever he needed uplifting. She was sold, and thought I should definitely go for him.

On Friday, October 26th 2007 we had our very first official date, and became an official couple (Mr. Stannix moves fast apparently). As we were dressing up in our costumes for the dance he asked, "Would you ever consider being in a relationship with me, like steady dating?" I looked at him, and thought, and sorted through what I was feeling and finally replied, "Well, yes.....? Are you asking me out?" After saying "Yes" I asked him why he thought to ask me out before we even went on our first date!! His reply, "Honestly, you're amazing and...I feel the spirit around you. You make me happy. It wasn't a matter of 'if' I was going to ask you out, but 'when'. So why not now?" The next little while was full of fun dates and good memories.

Whenever Mr. Stannix and I would walk together around campus he would sweetly offer to carry my books for me. We only ever bumped into each other in the Library or during institute when we were at school, but outside of school we would spend almost every waking hour together. He would leave messages on my machine singing "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt, or tell me "there's only one thing better than looking at the stars, and that's looking into your eyes". He also did a mean job pranking my car in response to a date I asked him on.

He was the perfect guy for me. One time, when he was walking towards me through the gym at church, he literally made me go weak in the knees. You think people make that stuff up and it only happens on movies, I beg to differ. I always thought that it is important that the people we're around make us want to be better. One of Mr. Stannix's friends  told me that she thought he had a new sense of life when we were together. That was true for me as well. He made me happy.

We spent lots of time together and got to see each other in every kind of situation you could imagine. On the first of December we shared our first kiss, in the back of his best friends car (also a funny story). We were all driving home from a wedding reception together, it was late, and the stars were the only things that were shining outside.

Soon, I love you's were being exchanged and the topic of marriage came up more often. I say more often because I'm pretty sure it came up a lot even when we were newly dating. He would always hint at it, or slyly talk about it. On Saturday, January 12th 2008 he asked me to marry him when we stopped our quads by a frozen pond. When we arrived home, my mum had a heart shaped cheese cake on the go. They knew, he had asked my dads permission the night before. Dad told him that if he could beat him in a game of Mario Kart, he could marry me. It was pretty much a given because my Dad is no video gamer.

We were sealed for time and all eternity by my Grandfather in the Edmonton, Alberta Temple on June 26th 2008.