The Story of How we met

Us at lunch at Morel's New Roads, LA on my trip to Louisiana

The story of how Jesse and I met is a little different from most, but this is what happens when you live 10, 000 miles away - we like to do things a little differently. You see, once upon a time before facebook was known, there was a thing called myspace. Jesse and I had a mutual friend at the time and I decided he was cute and I was going to add him. 

I started talking to Jesse a week before his 18th birthday and I was only 15 at the time (game, I know). As soon as we started talking we hit it off and were on AIM to one another as much as possible. The first time Jesse called me we spoke for six hours, oblivious to how much that phone call would actually cost. 

 15/16 year old Kristy - poor Jesse must've thought he was falling for an oompa loompa.

I'm still amazed that Jesse fell for me, despite my lovely myspace name - I'm ashamed to admit it, but my fifteen year old self went by "KristyHEIRESS". That name now makes me cringe.

We kept on talking and running up massive phone bills thanks to long distance texting/calling and Jesse started saving to come to Australia so we could meet in person for the first time. During this time, my friends and family were very skeptical. My parent's feared that their little girl was going to have her heart broken and my friends thought I was totally bonkers, friends of my parents had told them to cut the internet off or take my phone away from me.

Thankfully my parents trusted that I was mature enough to make my own decisions and understood that no matter what they did, I was still going to talk to Jesse. They also made the extremely smart decision to buy me a hiptop/sidekick with unlimited internet and IM to save on the phone bills and Jesse did the same. 

 Us on Jesse's first trip here

In April 2009 - Just after Jesse's 19th birthday and a year after we started talking, he caught three consecutive flights from Alexandria, LA to Sydney, Australia. It was the first time Jesse had ever been on a plane or left the country - I was beyond nervous that he was going to hate flying and want to turn around and go home. 

He arrived in Sydney and we spent 15 days together - I fell even more in love with him and he became a part of my family. My family and friends then realised I wasn't completely bonkers and Jesse really did love me. He left and we were both heart broken, but knew that wouldn't be the last time we'd see one another. 

We kept on iming, emailing, calling and Jesse kept on saving to come back. I was finishing my HSC so I wasn't able to travel to Louisiana, so we waited until Jesse was able to come back. The distance seemed even further now that we'd been together, but we stuck it out for 2 1/2 years until Jesse finally made his way back. 

One of my christmas presents to Jesse. 

Jesse finally returned "home" in December, 2011 to spend Christmas and New Years with my family and I. Before he arrived, my sister had been critically ill in hospital (I'll tell you more about her in another post) and he helped me through every second of it. My parent's could've easily told Jesse to delay his trip after all he'd been through, but since he was already so much a part of our family, him coming became the hope that we all clung to. Katrina even set goals for herself to get out off the oxygen, out of the wheelchair and out of hospital before Jesse arrived. She got out of hospital the day after Jesse arrived, only because she was still considered "toxic" from her chemo treatment.

Us on Christmas day - yes, that's a Minnie Apron. I'm the world's biggest Disney fan.

People ask me what I mean when I say Jesse is a part of my family. My sister calls him her brother, my parent's cried when he left, when my Pa was alive he adored Jesse (and he was the world's hardest person to please) - and while I'm writing this, I'm tearing up at how lucky I am. My parent's love him, my sister loves him and all of my extended family and friends that have met him love him too. I am the luckiest girl in the world to be engaged to someone who my family loves too and I am thankful for that every single day. 

Katrina, Jesse and I on Christmas day and Katrina
and Jesse demolishing our Gingerbread Houses on Christmas Night

While Jesse was here, we went looking for engagement rings. For quite a while we had been talking about getting married, but in the months before he arrived we started talking about it as something that was going to happen - not just a dream. Unfortunately because it was Christmas time, "the ring" was no where to be found. But next week, I'll tell you how we found it!

 Us on our mini-vacation-in-a-vacation at Rose Bay

We also made plans that once Katrina had finished her monthly chemotherapy treatments, my Mum and I would come to Louisiana to meet his family and get to know what Louisiana is like.

 Us at Bennett Bay Landing, Forest Hill LA

So on May 14th 2012, my beautiful Mum and I travelled all the way to Louisiana via Dallas to meet Jesse's family for the first time. I was nervous they wouldn't like me and so was Mum, but we hit it off immediately. I had the best two weeks in a long, long time and I left feeling like I had an entirely new branch to my family tree. 

 Us with tiny baby kittens in Mississippi

We drove for hours across Louisiana, found "the ring", visited his Nanny in Mississippi, looked at a wedding dress in Lafayette (well I did!), went to the Zoo and so much more and I got to meet his family and his four gorgeous little nieces. To say I didn't want to leave was an understatement, I now want to win the lottery so Jesse and I can travel between our two families for the rest of our life (and subsequently avoid winter :P).

 Instagram pics we sent to friends and family, telling them we were engaged.

 Am I too young to get married? No, I honestly don't believe that I am - yet I know some people are bound to criticize me. For the past four and a half years, I have been in love with someone who has become my best friend. He loves me just as much as I love him, supports me through everything, makes me feel beautiful and knows exactly when to tell me to shut up. I can not wait to spend my life with him, grow old with him and eventually raise a family with him - I also can't wait to become more of a part of his family.

The day Jesse's visa gets accepted and I know he's moving here, there will not be a thing in the world that could take the happiness out of my heart. I'm getting to marry the love of my life and nothing is going to change that! 

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Well, that was quite extensive - thank you if you made it through all of it! But now I want you to share with me, how did you meet your significant other?

It makes me laugh to think that our future children won't even know what myspace is!

Also, if you have any questions - please ask away! :) If I get enough, I'd love to do a Q&A post - regardless of what your question is about!

    

   

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