Happy "I Met You" Anniversary

Let me take you back to the time before I never even knew Gian. It was February of 2009, me and one of my best friends, Jessie, lived right next door and hung out alllllllllll the time in Provo, UT. It was a dream come true - us girls doing everything fun together and we would just show up at each other's place and lay upside down on our beds discussing what the perfect life would be!

One day, Jessie went to campus {at BYU} because she thought she had a dance lab {whatever that means} and shows up and is the only person there...and figured out she got the date wrong. So to make the most of her time, she decided to go to the library to study. As she ploped all her books and whatnots onto the table, she heared a loud, "JESSIE!!!" She turned around to find the familiar voice which led her eyes to an old friend. She shuffled her belongings into her arms to relocate to Gian's table where they sat and laughed and caught up on each others lives. Some point along this conversation Gian asked Jessie, "So..who's your hawtest Asian friend that you can set me up with?" Without a second thought, Jessie blasts out an excited noise that sounded like, "McKINLEY!!!!" {At this point of the story, if the story was being told in person, our closer friends would interrupt saying, "Wait... McKinley is Asian?!?!?! hahahahahha} Gian then rudely questioned Jessie's epiphany with a, "Is she Asian?" But of course, Jessalicious knew me too well and said, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO, but she loves brown boys!" Then there was a series of questions that followed, and that eventually lead to Jessie  showing Gian Facebook pics, and at that point he was anxiously excited to get this blind date moving. 

Later that night, as Jessie was walking back to our apartment, she called me to tell me all about my future!  As she waltzed through my door and up my stairs into my bedroom, she eagerly showed me pictures of Gian. I was impressed and was willing to go on a date as long as it was after Valentine's Day, since I had previous engagements. We were like two little 12 year olds giggling with excitement. At that time, Jessie gets a call from Gian and puts him on speaker {hahahahahhaah so cruel but we had good intentions}. She confirmed that I as ready and willing but wanted to wait until after Valentine's Day, at that point the joy and excitement escaped Gian's voice leaving him with a sincere sentence "Jessie, I really want this date.... don't let too much time pass by!" Before I even met him, that sentence made me feel secure.

It was Tuesday, February 24th and I rush home from work and hopped in the shower to make myself the most glamourous I could possibly look. Both my roommate, Amber, and I were sharing the mirror since she too was getting ready for a date. I had a vivid memory of that moment... I remember thinking "I am so excited for this date, I feel like he is 'the one' !! Wait, McKinley, calm the freak down... you have never met him before this could turn out to be the worse date of your life!!! Who thinks of the person they never ever even met will be the man they marry." Right at that moment I was finishing up the final touches of my dolled up face when Amber looks at me and says, "Are you excited for this date?" It's like she just heard the conflicting conversation I just had with myself! I replied as honest as I could, "Yeah, I am abnormally excited for this date, and I am trying to keep a leveled perspective. What about you are you excited?"

Next thing I knew, our doorbell was ringing. I shuffled down the stairs to answer and it was Gian. My first thought was, "Wooooow those eyes!!!" We exchanged a few brief words while I searched for my coat and hugged Amber goodbye and wished her luck. Gian took me to California Pizza Kitchen, which is always a good place to eat. We had a great conversation and we were so comfortable around one another.... everything seemed so natural. I even had the guts to ask him, with no shame whatsoever, if I had anything in my teeth. To this day, he says that's one of his favorite parts of our date. Our date didn't end there. We bounced around from place to place until we wound up back at my apartment where Gian began to share with me his life story and how he joined the Church when he was 16 years old. At that point I remember having a thought, "I'm going to fall in love with him!" 

Gian thought it would be hilarious to show up at Jessie's door holding hands convincing her something that neither one of us can remember. The only thing we can recall is after the doorbell rang Gian looked at me and said, "Hold my hand!" So I did and it wasn't strange or weird at all. We told Jessie how much fun both of us enjoyed our dates and we all continued to laugh and have a great time at her apartment. As Gian walked me back to my door he was already making plans of when to take me out again. Of course that was music to my ears and I felt like I was on Cloud 9 with how perfect everything turned out. But guess what the best part was.... we didn't wait for that second date, Gian came over the next day after work and I was thrilled. From the day we met, on February 24th, we literally spent everyday together until after our wedding. 

Courting with Gian was one of my favorite times of my life. He showed me that we could have disagreements and conflicts without raising our voices. He showed me that he would literally make me happy for the rest of my life while I was crying over a hard day at work and he could still manage to make me laugh. He showed me he was responsible, caring, loving, compassionate, and committed. He showed me that he was exactly the man I had always dreamt of! From the day we met to the day he proposed was exactly four months. Now as I look back, I begin to go into shock trying to believe how fast that went... how did I not marry an Ax Murder?!?! But it also confirms to me how much we both knew it was really the right decision and how much it was all spiritually led by the spirit. Marrying Gian has been the greatest decision of my life!!! He has brought more joy and love into my life than I could have possibly imagined!! And even though everything has always moved so fast for us, I can honestly say it feels like we have known each other for millions of years. It feels like it was always meant to be this way!

So Happy "I met you" {belated} Anniversary Gian!!! Meeting, dating, and marrying you are some of my fondest memories!!