True Companions

I have been spending my days thinkings about Arizona. I have been home for four days and yet it seems like a lifetime. Prior to our trip to Mesa, I knew that I would like it there and I knew that was where I would be happy because I was with Greg, but I never realized that I would feel so totally at peace there. Our visit there felt as if we had never lived anywhere else. Now that I am home (and I am using that term loosely these days when referring to Minnesota), it seems that all I do is spend my time thinking about when I can get to Arizona again, and how I can get there permanently. The boys and I had a chance to meet all of Greg's family. The boys got along really well with the girls and with their cousins. They enjoyed being so close to Grandma and Grandpa. I also enjoyed getting to know my new family very much. I was surprised at how easy it was to be around them. It was as if we were always family and good friends. There never seemed to be any of the awkward mome...

My wonderful wife came with her two beautiful boys to visit for the holidays. It was great! The boys got along great with their sisters and did really well with cousins and family friends. With new territory comes new perspective. Jen was driving with me down the road and saw a sign marked " ORGAN STOP PIZZA ". She then gave me a puzzled look as if to say, "Why did they call it that?" Well for those who haven't been initiated, it's a Pizza place that has a huge pipe organ inside and you order a pizza and listen to the organist play whatever you want him to play. (He's quite talented) It's very popular with the snowbirds so it’s usually packed during the winter. After this explanation, Jen understood everything clearly. I asked her why she was so puzzled and she said, "I can't understand why anyone would want to eat pizza that can stop your organs." (It still cracks me up to hear this one!)

Well soon after I was divorced I went to an internet dating site that was kind of the Mormon equivalent of eHarmony it was called LDS promise . They have an extensive online questionnaire that asks you a ton of questions so that they can find your EXACT match. Well it turns out the first person that comes up as my EXACT match is a user called Jenshep. Let me go back so that you can understand a few things. When I was a missionary in Iowa, I wrote to a beautiful girl with whom a former companion hooked me up. Elder Joseph Croft was writing to several girls from back home (MN) and so he got sick of me complaining that I had no one to write so he gave me Jennifer's address. We wrote from that day forward until a few months after my mission. She used to sign all the return address info with JenShep so this "name" was very familiar to me. I was certainly startled by the 'connection'. I was probably more shocked by the idea that I could make contact with an old friend...

I thought I would post a note and give you the history of Greg and I from my perspective. He will probably do the same from his point of view. I am sure that much of it will overlap, but this will give you a good idea of who we are and why we are finally together….. December 11, 1992, Greg decided to send a letter to a stranger. You see, he was the mission companion (for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) of my friend, Joe Croft. I used to write to Joe often and it became a joke to see how many letters I would have to write him before he would write me back. Suddenly one day, I received a letter from his companion, Greg Woolf. Greg and I began writing letters diligently for the remainder of his mission. At the end of his mission, I received a letter with the sweetest, most endearing proposal of marriage. I, of course, said yes. I know the strange part was the fact that I felt truly connected and in love with a man I had never met. But I was. We met for the first time July...

Is it fair to say that I hope that one day everyone will experience the blissful happiness that comes from doing the one thing that you know to be absolutely right - even if you don't have all of the other answers yet. I know that marrying Greg is the one true thing that I was meant to do in this life (heck, I knew that over 12 years ago). I have no idea when the boys and I will get to move to Arizona to be with him, but at least I am finally married to the man of my dreams. I love him with every ounce of my being and have for almost half of my life. Isn't it amazing when your life comes full circle!!!!

Couple at the Fair , originally uploaded by geowulf . We went to the fair and this is one of the self-portraits I took of the two of us

I don't know which end is up.. I just know that I want to do this with HER!