I know 'dating' anniversaries don't count anymore when you're married, but dates are a big deal to us, so we count them! Jacob and I met online 8 years ago on February 6, 2003. We like to tell people that's when our relationship began :) If you don't know the story, I was online on MSN and found the "LDS Gospel Chat" chatroom. I recently had joined the church several months before then, so I thought I could possibly make some online LDS friends since I didn't have too many. That same night, I met Jacob.
He made the initial move and sent me a PM (private message) with "Hi, I read your profile and you seem really cool! we have a lot in common". Not the exact wording, but it's pretty close! (Funny because back in the day, people actually lied about themselves in their profiles!). Not us, of course. Anyway, I sat there staring at the screen thinking this guy is probably one of those creepy internet guys-- but of course, back then, there weren't too many of those kinds of people yet, so I didn't really think twice. So before I replied back to him, I hurried and checked out his profile and saw his picture. And when I saw that picture of him, all skinny in his striped button-down shirt, leaning against the fireplace mantle, looking AWAY from the camera as if he were a model; I thought to myself, "he is kinda geeky looking... what if I end up marrying this guy? I think I could marry a geek... He is kinda cute for a geek". The longer I stared at his picture, the more interested I became in knowing who this guy was. My mind was getting sidetracked. Man, the affect this guy already had on me!
And then I read about his interests and hobbies-- we TOTALLY had tons in common. He wasn't geeky at all! He was like me! Hah! He loved art, music, playing guitar, piano, theater-- everything I loved, he loved, too. So I replied to him and we ended up talking for quite a while that night. We ended with our "g2g" and "ttyl", not expecting to chat with each other again. But the next day we found each other in the chatroom again. I think part of me was looking for him and hoping he would be there. That night on February 7th, 2003, I received the first email from him. We soon planned times on when we would 'meet' up and chat, and eventually emailed each other back and forth and sent pictures to each other. We became closer, learning more about each others' likes and dislikes, families and friends, childhood aspirations, dreams-- everything most people don't take the time to learn about each other when they meet in person. He expressed about how he had a desire to go on a mission and I told him how impressed I was that he was so dedicated to wanting to serve. I mean, even his screenname was "ElderJacobBNielsen". Mine was "LittlePeachyGirl". Yeah, I don't even know where I came up with that.
I tried to save every email from him in those 2 years we were 'together but apart' (2003-2005). Here is the first email he ever sent me. Happy wonderful 8 years of being together!
