The Story of Us

Yes, that is a title of a Taylor Swift song but I just couldn't find a more perfect title to name our story.

I thought it was appropriate to begin blogging with the story of Matt and me. I mean, who doesn't like a good love story right? haha Ours is by no means perfect but it was beautiful to me. We have never written down our story before so this will be one for the family history. If you were to tell me when I was a little girl that my life would end up this way I would have jumped through the roof with excitement! I could have never imagine a more beautiful love and family in my life. Of course, there are ups and downs but we remember that we stick together because he is my best friend and I am his. So no matter what life throws at us we make sure that one of us (the one who is feeling strong at the moment) grabs the other and moves us out of the way.

Chapter 1: The Meeting (October 1, 2012)

Amy: I came in to my shift to serve dinner at the Missionary Training Center. I was assigned to work at the front to let all the missionaries in as they walked in. I walked over to my post and opened the door. It was just like every other night. Missionaries came through excited for food (or just for the BYU Creamery Chocolate Milk). On this particular day Elder Heath (a missionary I had met when I volunteered at the Teaching Resourse Centre) came over to me to tell me it was his last day there and he wanted to introduce me to a friend of his... Elder Stobbs. Elder Heath put his arm around Elder Stobbs and we exchanged smiles (only smiles haha). My first impression of him was... well to tell you the truth he wasn't my type but being British - which automatically makes him cool - he would make a good friend. It would be for the next 9 weeks that Elder Stobbs would be there in the MTC learning French to head off to Paris. I don't remember much about what happened the following weeks because I was just working and studying with my mind all over the place. But I do remember having nice chats with Elder Stobbs and happy to see him whenever he came into the cafeteria. I am sure he remembers more details but we did exchange address at one point (it wasn't allowed to email friends yet).

Matt: The international missionaries arrive to the MTC on Tuesday but, for whatever reason, I arrived on the Monday. This meant I was spending the day with 4 missionaries from South Korea, only one of which spoke English. Needless to say I was feeling pretty lonely. So when I stepped into the cafeteria and had someone say "Elder Stobbs! I didn't expect to see you in here! How are you?" To be honest, I had no idea who he was (it suddenly clicked half way through the conversation) but luckily missionaries wear name tags so I was able to act happy to see him too. He introduced me to Amy, one of the cafeteria workers, and she become a much needed constant in the always changing world of the MTC. I remember commenting to my companion at the time that my days always seemed to be better when Amy was working. Of course, I had noticed Amy was friendly with everyone and I was just another missionary but I was happy to accept her invitation to write to me while I was out (I'll take all the letters I can get!)

Amy: When he left we continued to stay in contact and wrote long letters to each other. I was so excited when a letter from him would come in the mail because it was usually a novel and he always knew how to make me laugh. Soon, I left on my mission (a year into his) to Peru and letters became less frequent but emails were allowed now. Seeing his name come up in my inbox every Monday made me smile and I just loved how faithful he was as a friend (which I made very clear to him haha). On my mission, the Lord change my heart and I slowly came to see Elder Stobbs better...

Matt: Amy became one of my most faithful letter/email writers (just after my mum and just before my grandma). I soon got in the habit of writing to my family first and then Amy, before moving on to any other emails I may have received. The emails were mostly a mix of her spiritual experiences and emphasizing what a great friend I was. But I also noticed the occasion hint that maybe she liked me more than the average missionary and that she would end each email with "con mucho amor" before concluding I was massively overthinking it and that she lived too far away to be anything more than a friend.

Amy: Elder Stobbs or I mean Matt (as he was known to me now at this point) had decided that when I got home (March 11, 2015) that we would Skype each other and catch up! Honestly, the idea kind of made me nervous for all different reasons haha. But putting aside all nerves we Skyped and we spoke for hours! What a great guy! And he was such a great listener (because I talked my head off!). We would message and skype a few times a month (whenever I got the courage to say yes haha). I talked to him about everything, even about the dates that I had been on through the weeks. I loved talking to him because he really was a dear friend.

Matt: Skyping Amy was fun because she was willing to talk when I didn't know what to say (which was most of the time). I remember how happy I would feel when I saw her and how pretty I thought she was but knew nothing would ever happen. She lived too far away and it was only a matter of time before she came home engaged! It didn't help that she would tell me that she was sick of boys trying to date her and she just wanted them to leave her alone!

Amy: So he told me one day while we were Skyping that he was wanting to come to Utah to visit... my heart DROPPED! I told him not to! I came up with any excuse I could! The thought of him coming made me sooooo nervous! And up to this point I had decided I was done dating and I had enough of boys (due to some unsuccessful attempts). But my mom talked me into it and told me it would be nice. So I told him the next time that I would be happy to see him if he came... (I was screaming with fear inside!). He booked a flight for September and I began to get ready for the uncertainty. What was I doing?! Ah! I couldn't come to admit to myself how happy I would be if we started dating... I was sooooo terrified!

Matt: To be honest, I don't know why I agreed to come. At this point I assumed that Amy just saw me as some random bloke who lived on the other side of the world so I thought I might see her once, maybe twice during my visit. I thought I could also meet up with some of my old mission companions but I had no idea what I would be doing each day or where I would be staying or anything. It just seemed like a good idea!

Chapter 2: The Courtship (September 13, 2015)

Amy: Waiting for him at the airport was so frightening! This was the first time I would actually see him where he wasn't a missionary... so would I hug him or still shake his hand? Ah! Every minute was torture! He still had NO idea that I liked him! I just didn't want to face any rejection before I knew what he wanted. He came through the terminal and I remember my first thought when towards his hands and thinking how nice it would be to hold them... Ah! He had absolutely no idea! It was an awkward greeting between both of us as we said hello and thinking he sounded more British in person. I drove him that night to my house and he slept on the couch. As I went to my room I just remembered how nervous and happy I felt that he was finally here and so anxious about what was going to happen on this trip...

Matt: It suddenly occurred to me as I got off the plane in Salt Lake that I had no idea what I was doing there. I had no real plans and no way to even get around. And yet there I was for two weeks. I was also incredibly nervous to see Amy. Seeing each other in person would be completely different to Skype. I found Amy chatting with someone (who turned out to be a stranger - classic Amy) and we drove back to her house. She offered to let me come with her during the day to her lectures, which I quickly accepted, and thus the two weeks began.

Amy: I took him to the Great Salt Lake (as an unofficial date). We went at sunset trying to make it a little romantic but it was hard to with all the bugs around haha. On the drive back home I remember how openly we talked and how much there was to talk about! I felt so comfortable and happy to have him here with me.

Matt: We hung out a lot, going on mini adventures. Amy would insist that they weren't dates, just hang outs and remind me that she was fed up of boys always friend to hold her hand or make a move on her and that she was so happy to have a friend like me.

Amy: A few days later, as we were on our way to a BYU Regional Stake Conference, I was wondering why he hadn't tried to hold my hand or make a move on me... it was driving me crazy! So as we were sat in the devotional I put my hand it his. It felt so right. It was so warm and lovely! Oh, I felt like I was complete! All the butterflies in my stomach had butterflies!!! Later that night we toke a stroll around the unbuilt Provo City Temple. I mostly wanted to go on the walk so I could hold his hand longer. We sat on a bench across the temple and I just asked him straight up if he liked me. I think must have caught him off guard because there was a moment of silence. He then said yes and asked me if I liked him. I said yes... (I was exploding by now!) We decided then that we would make this official. He would be mine and I would be his (my butterflies were having a party!) Then he asked me if he could kiss me... I had decided since I was little I would save my first kiss for the man I would marry - a gift to him - and in this moment I felt that he would be the one. We kissed. Oh, it was a night to remember!

Matt: When Amy held my hand and later walked holding on to my arm ("for support" because she was wearing high heals) I was still so convinced that Amy only wanted to be friends that I assumed this was just her being friendly! Despite that, I decided one night that I really liked her. But because I didn't want to make things awkward between us (she was, after all, my ride everywhere and all my plans involved hanging out with her) I decided that I would tell her in the airport just before I left. That way, if she said she wasn't interested, I could just sneak off back to England and hide my shame. So when we were sat on a bench together and she asked me out of the blue if I fancied her, my brain started freaking out. I actually felt like my brain was like that scene in Spongebob where it shows you the inside of his brain and everything's going crazy (you know what scene I'm talking about). It panicked for so long that by the time I suddenly realised that I had just been sat there in silence and I had left it too late to come up with a lie so I'd have to tell the truth. "Yeah". "Mmm". Mmm?! What mmm mean? That was not the noise you make when the person you love just admits they like you too! I knew I should've waiting until the airport! Oh well, there's only one way to make sure now. "Do you fancy me?" "...Yeah". "Mmm". Boom, cue the fireworks! That night we had our first kiss and I went back to my friend's house on cloud nine.

Amy: I remember two days later we went to the temple on our first official date haha. After the session when we were sat in the sealing room in Salt Lake Temple I mentioned to him that I would marry him... a little fast but I couldn't hold it in any longer. My whole soul was wanting to be with him! Those next weeks we spent every minute we could together (as we would every time we visited each other the next 15 months before we got married). I hated every single time we had to part at the airport. I would run to the bathroom as soon as he was gone and just ball. We saw each other the following December, then March (when we got engaged on the 28th of March), September and December 2016 to seal the deal. So in total we spent 9 weeks in person out of the 15 months we were dating. Rough! We skyped everyday... twice a day. We would stay up late to see each other and we got so close emotionally. Matthew was my everything and having him so far away made me love him even harder. When he visited we did everything together! We went to London, Durham, Northumberland, Bath, Oxford, Provo, Salt Lake, Provo, St George, Pengwuich, and Bryce Canyon. The day was soon coming when we would no longer be counting down the days. Oh, I just couldn't wait!

Matt: Dating long distance was pretty rough - the late nights, the time zone differences, the lack of physical touch. And then when we saw each other, each day was bitter sweet - sweet because we could spend it together but bitter because it meant we were one day closer to saying good bye. It was worth it though and it forced us to build our relationship on a solid foundation of friendship. And each day brought us closer to the wedding.

Chapter 3: The Marriage (December 27, 2016)

Amy: Well, after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting we entered the Salt Lake Temple at 2:20pm. That moment with Matthew was the best moment of my existence. It seemed so natural to bind myself to him for all eternity. This is better than a happily ever after. This is an eternity full of joy! I truly feel that. No more separation, no more goodbyes, no more airports. I love being with him every moment of the day. He never bores me. Yes, there are moments where we are not our best but I love him because he is mine. It sounds cliche to say this but he really is a prince charming. He cherishes me everyday and makes me feel like a queen. He is so humble and gentle. He may not say much but when he speaks it fills the room. He makes me laugh everyday and reminds me that I can't take life too seriously. He lets me dreams and helps them come true. No marriage is perfect but I like to refer to the ancient Hebrew definition of perfect "calal" which means completeness and beauty. So in that sense I believe our marriage is perfect because he completes me and I complete him. And with God we can sanctify it and make it holy.

Matt: Amy summed it up perfectly. Marriage with Amy turned out to be the best decision I ever made. She makes each day so much fun and it's amazing knowing we never have to say good bye. We get to face new adventures and challenges together and build on our friendship as we go. I couldn't imagine a better life.

So that is the beginning of our forever! We don't know everything but we are learning together. The most important part of our marriage is our friendship and our covenants. With those two things we can feel confident that everything else will work out.