10 Facts about me and my better half!

Hallie is having a little link-up with 10 Facts about Me and My Better Half! Here's mine:

1. I spotted him the first time he came to daily mass. New cute guy sitting in one of the last pews. My eyes were on him from the start!

2. We had a brief meeting (which he didn't remember), but a more formal introduction after daily mass one evening. I had just played the guitar for the mass. He told me, "You rock." I responded, "Jesus rocks." That was that.

3. Our first date was to a formal dance a few weeks after we met, and he asked me to go with him just a few hours beforehand! I happened to have my prom dress with me that a friend had borrowed. (That's the picture from our first date above...my roommate had some family visiting for her graduation and we all had a blast together and took a picture with the kids; I hoped it would be a foreshadowing, and now here with 4 kids...it was!) We went to mass and lunch the next day, and he helped me move home and met all my family.

3. He's the youngest of 7 kids; I'm the oldest of 2. Very different family and school backgrounds, but we mesh together pretty well.

4. We decided to homeschool our kids before we were even engaged.

5. He proposed in the Adoration chapel of the church where I grew up. Some old ladies were in there praying, and one happened to have a cheesecake in a grocery bag with her. She was so happy for us that she gave us the cheesecake! We both love cheesecake, but that one tasted like toothpaste.

6. We went out for Mexican food at a restaurant called Guadalajara after he proposed. It's still one of our favorite restaurants! My parents took the kids and me there a couple weeks ago, and they even brought it to me in the hospital after my oldest was born!

7. We got married almost 10 years ago! We went on our big honeymoon to Rome 6 months later. We got to wear our wedding garb and receive the Sposi Novelli newlywed blessing from Pope John Paul II on January 2, 2002 (photo down on my left sidebar). Mary Clare was born exactly a year later on 01/02/03. In a month, on May 1, she'll be receiving her First Holy Communion on our engagement day and the day John Paul II is beatified. Also Divine Mercy Sunday, which is a favorite feast of both her grandfather and her godparents who I believe got engaged on that feast! Fun stuff!

8. He is an introvert but is the life of the party. I'm an extrovert but like to people-watch and small-talk at parties. He likes to cook and I don't. He's got the smarts but I had the good grades. He likes sports, hunting, and fishing. I like dance and art. He likes camping; I like nice hotels. I'm not an animal or insect person; he's starting a beehive in the backyard next weekend. He likes falling asleep to talk radio; I like falling asleep to TV (we don't have one). We have nothing in common but everything important in common :)

9. Every now and then, he tells a story from his childhood that I've never heard before. It always surprises me because I feel like I've heard it all!

10. We make pretty cute kids, if I do say so myself :) Our girls might love ballet, but they also fish. And our boy likes baseball but also loves to draw. They're great mixes of their mommy and daddy! We hardly have any photos of all 6 of us, but hopefully that will change soon, thanks to Lerin!

I wrote out our love story one Valentine's Day, and just enjoyed reading it again. Thanks, Hallie, for the fun idea!