Free TTD & Make Up Package Give Away !

[SouthernSweetie]

I sent in a submission, but forgot to put my forum user name. 

 

Thank you for offering such a generous package!

 

Good Luck to all of you Cancun brides who entered!!! 

 

 - Jean

[PhotosInCancun]

 

What a fun night of reading different peoples love story's from all over the world, Lorena and I laughed, reminisced, and as Lorena explains "nos conmovimos" (we would say a puppy dog ahhhhh in English)

 

One thing is for sure we had a VERY hard time picking a winner, so with out further suspense

 

Congratulations to Michele Castellarin & Jesse Lapierrre

 

We had a VERY hard time to pick only one story, We know there has to be only one winner but with that said we would like to offer a TTD & Make Up session in Cancun at our studio in the heart of the Hotel Zone, To two other couples if they would like to travel to us, These other two story's that touched us also will receive a Free TTD & Bridal Make up session. Free of charge. If they want to come to Cancun and visit us at the Studio !

 

Congratulations also to - Julien and Jake -&- Audra and Jeff

 

------------------

Michelle and Jesse- 

 

This is our love story to share with you for the TTD contest! 

 

I am a registered nurse from Canada, in 2007 I had reached a point where I wanted something different and wanted to travel. I made a decision to travel to Saudi Arabia to work for two years (yes I know it was a radical change!). I arrived in March of 2007, I was having the time of my life in Saudi meeting so many new friends from all over the world, traveling all over the middle east and europe it was exactly what I wanted to be doing, meeting the love of my life was the last thing on my mind. 

 

Fast forward to Oct 2007, some of my english friends invited me out to the British Embassy to watch the Rugby World Cup Final (England vs South Africa). We were all standing around watching and behind me stood this very tall boisterous guy ( i am 5'3, he is 6'3). He introduced himself as Jesse Lapierre a Diplomat of the american embassy. If you heard Jesse's side of the story he placed himself behind me because he wanted to meet me that night and really really hoped I was a Canadian (he has always had a thing for canadians). Well I introduced myself we started talking and I told him I was from British Columbia (the west coast), well we had small talk all night and at the end of the night instead of asking me my number or anything he just said "See ya Later Hippie (what canadians from the west coast are considered in his eyes)! 

 

Fast forward again to February 2008, that night in October came and went and I never saw Jesse again we ran in different social circles. Well he did not stop thinking about me and thanks to facebook he found me as a mutual friend to one of his so he messaged me and we continued to message for a couple of weeks and inviting me to multiple different events (which i could not attend) until he finally gave up and just out and asked me over for dinner at his place. In Saudi Arabia men and women are not aloud to date according to the law, so this needs to be done in our homes. No movies or restaurants for first dates! So we ordered in pizza and watched blood diamond!! After that night the rest was history well sort of. 

 

Jesse flew home with me from Saudi to Canada in Sept 2008 and knew i was the one, but Jesse is a diplomat that means a wife would be following him all over the world until the time he retires. I was prepared to do this, I love to travel and we make an awesome travel pair. So I finished in Saudi in Jan of 2009 he flew me home and then flew back (he made 7 trips in total to the west coast of Canada from Saudi Arabia 30+ hours of flying each way!). We spent 8 months long distance from Canada to Saudi and talked every single day of those 8 months for 1 hour per day plus 1000+ text messages. When he flew home for the last time we were posted in New Orleans so we moved there in September 2009. 

 

We have spent the last year and half building our lives together as boyfriend and girlfriend to see if we were really meant to be (as if the long distance, and saudi dating wasn't enough of a test). In November of 2010 we found out the next post would be Jakarta Indonesia, both of us cried with joy this is the place both of us wanted to move to! 

 

On Christmas eve of 2010 we were all at my uncle's house for dinner (coincidentally the same place Jesse first met my whole family). After a gift exchange Jesse told everyone he had cards for them, I knew he had wrote a Christmas song for everyone, I just assumed this was it. Each card had a number on it and had everyone line up in that order. He told everyone to open up their card and read the word it said on the paper, so it started with my uncle, then grandma, cousins and so on until it reached my mom then me, it said Michele Castellarin you are the love of my life will you ? (I was holding the question mark) By the end Jesse was on his knee everyone was crying and i was saying yes. 

 

We decided to get married before we left for Indonesia in July and a destination wedding only seemed fitting for us and our love story. 

 

I hope you enjoyed our international love story and find it a contender in your contest. 

 

---------------------

 

Thank you Again to all who submitted a story to us, We will update this post with the photos when we have the session. 

 

WWW.PHOTOSINCANCUN.COM

[Vettiebean]

Derek & Lorena, 

 

I can't say "thank you" enough and explain how much this means to us. I called Jake to tell him the good news and the bad news... "bad news... we didn't win the grand prize.... good news! they added two other prizes and we won one!" He was excited and probably so happy that I was so happy! We couldn't have asked for better, more uplifting news right now. 

 

Thank you so much for being so kind and offering brides like me a chance at doing a TTD! 

 

We can't wait to work with you two! 

 

Thank you!! 

Julien and Jake 

[rosieposie]

congratulations!!

[astoneruk]

Derek & Lorena.....

 

All I can say is WOW....your generosity is overwhelming.  Jeff and I are thrilled to be runners up in this contest.   You have just made our entire wedding complete.   We can't thank you enough.

 

I will admit I did read the blog about 3 times before I understood that we were chosen as a runner up.   As much as I hoped to be considered, my lucky streak is almost non-exsistent so I wasn't sure we had much chance.   I couldn't be more excited.   I immediately called Jeff at work and he was thrilled.   (I then called my mom and my MOH just to share our excitement).

 

Thanks so much for offering such a wonderful and generous prize.   We can't wait!!!

 

Jeff & Audra

[Vettiebean]

Audra & Jeff, Congratulations!! I couldn't have said it better myself! We've had such bad luck lately, we were thrilled to get such amazing news. When are you getting married? Will you be sharing your love story as well? 

 

Originally Posted by astoneruk 

Derek & Lorena.....

 

All I can say is WOW....your generosity is overwhelming.  Jeff and I are thrilled to be runners up in this contest.   You have just made our entire wedding complete.   We can't thank you enough.

 

I will admit I did read the blog about 3 times before I understood that we were chosen as a runner up.   As much as I hoped to be considered, my lucky streak is almost non-exsistent so I wasn't sure we had much chance.   I couldn't be more excited.   I immediately called Jeff at work and he was thrilled.   (I then called my mom and my MOH just to share our excitement).

 

Thanks so much for offering such a wonderful and generous prize.   We can't wait!!!

 

Jeff & Audra

[NurseM]

thank you so so much we are so excited to have won!! I am so excited to do a TTD! we did not include one in our budget so to get to do one i am thrilled!! Congrats to the two other brides as well thats so exciting!!!

[PhotosInCancun]

Here are the other winning stories.

 

Audra & Jeff

 

 

Every little girl dreams of her special day, wishes to fall in love and have a fairy tale wedding.  I know I did, but I was a realist.   I knew I wouldn’t have a white knight show up on a horse and whisk me away to live happily ever after.   I modified my fairy tale.  In mine I would go to college where I would meet my future husband and fall in love.   We would get married in our 20’s and live our lives happily together.   You see that is how it happened to my parents and that even happened for some of my friends.  However it didn’t happen for me. 

I was living my life and never put it on hold to find someone.  I assumed this would happen at the right time for me.   So during my 20’s I enjoyed my family, my friends and my life.   I was even the infamous “always the bridesmaid, but never the brideâ€.   I was in 8 weddings and have the bridesmaid dresses to prove it!!  One by one my friends all fell in love and were getting married.  I just waited for my turn to come along.

In my mid 20’s I met a man and I thought “this was my time.† But others knew I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and that we were not meant to be.   When I was 27 my father passed away suddenly and my mom was left to pick up the pieces and try and move on with her life.   She had never imagined being widowed young and knew that my dad was her true soul mate and they would be together forever.   It was a difficult time and experiencing the death of my father and a very intense break up from the man I was hoping was my soul mate all within a year made me question if I really did want to find love.  I had seen the very best and the very hardest part of love.  

When I was 29 I had the opportunity to move to England with my job.   I was ready for a change so I took it.   I dated during my years there but I never felt that spark of being with my one true love.   Everyone had advice to me on how to go about finding the right person.  I was even told at times to just settle.  I was being too picky.   I would turn into an old maid.    But that wasn’t me.  I decided many years ago that I would rather be single than with the wrong person.

After being in England for over 7 years I decided I was ready to move back to the US.   My company  worked with me and I eventually ended up in Georgia.    I didn’t know anyone in Georgia and I worked out of my home, so meeting people was not easy, but gradually I transitioned into a life that was happy and fulfilled.     But I still didn’t have that special someone with whom to share my life.

In July of 2010 I was travelling with a customer and she asked me about my dating life.  I expressed to her that it was not anything to would write home about.  I told her I had turned 40 earlier in the year and it was too late for me to think I would ever find my true love.  She told me I should try match dot com.   She said she met her husband there and she thought it might work for me.   I told her I didn’t really think that online dating would work.   She asked me to at least think about it and maybe give it a try.

About 30 days later I was sitting at home one weekend and decided I would try match and see what happened.   I didn’t put a lot of faith in it, but what the heck.   So I wrote my profile in about 30 minutes.   I was very honest and expressed I wasn’t looking for a man who was playing games.  I also decided that I would not be the first one to go after a man.   They would have to contact me first.   After only a short time I was contacted by a few different men.  It was a fun time and I was quite flattered.   But none struck that special chord with me. 

Then one night I got an e-mail from match that said someone had saved me in his favorites.   He hadn’t winked at me or e-mailed me, but he did save me.  After looking at his profile I knew I wanted to contact him.  

Jeff and I started e-mailing and I found myself looking forward to his fun and flirty messages.   He had definitely risen to the top.  However, I was still holding back and not sure if I wanted to talk or even meet.  We figured the best thing would be to set a “phone dateâ€.   It was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend.   I was nervous but I called him and eventually his phone went into voicemail.   I left a message and thought he would call me back that night, but he didn’t.   It was at this point that I became disappointed that I didn’t hear from him.  It made me realize I DID want to talk to him.   The next day he e-mailed me and explained that he had gone camping and his cell phone didn’t work in the mountains.   He apologized and we made a new date to talk.   This time we actually did speak.    The conversation was easy and relaxed.   It made my heart skip a beat.   I knew I wanted to meet him face to face.

We made a date to meet the following Sunday for dinner.  I was impressed when he made the date for 5pm.  I had told during a previous conversation that I needed to be up early the next day to travel for work.    He was a true Southern Gentleman. 

Jeff claims it was love at first sight!!  He and I went for fondue dinner and we immediately clicked.  After 3 hours together I knew he was someone I wanted to see again.    We started dating exclusively immediately.   By the second date Jeff told me that he loved me and was going to marry me.   I wasn’t quite as sure.   I still had those walls built up and I wasn’t ready to let myself fall that quickly.  I did however know that I hoped things would continue going along well.

For me it happened on our fifth date.   We were at his house and listening to music on his IPOD.  I asked him if he had a song on there that made him think of me.   Without batting an eye he started playing the Racal Flatts song “God Blessed the Broken Road.† It is a song about two people who had tried love in the past but it never worked out.  Then they find each other and realize that God blessed their broken road of love and brought them together in the end.   He said he thinks of me and thanks god every day that we met.   That was the very moment I fell in love with Jeff and knew I wanted to spend my life with him.

After only two months Jeff and I got engaged.  It was in front of an old mill in Rome GA.  Jeff and I had planned on taking some photos for Christmas cards so we hired a photographer.   It was November 20, 2010 and the leaves had turned color and the setting was magical.   It was during this photo shoot that Jeff surprised me and got on one knee.   He asked me to marry him.  It was a breathtaking moment and we got it all on film.   We even have photos of Jeff dropping the ring in the dirt as he got nervous right before he asked.

Jeff and I are anxiously planning our destination wedding in Cancun.  Often times we comment on how lucky we are that we found each other and it happened at exactly the right time for us. 

I guess fairy tales really do come true!! My prince did arrive, swept me off my feet and now it is my turn to plan my fairytale wedding. Every little girl dreams of her special day, wishes to fall in love and have a fairy tale wedding.  I know I did, but I was a realist.   I knew I wouldn’t have a white knight show up on a horse and whisk me away to live happily ever after.   I modified my fairy tale.  In mine I would go to college where I would meet my future husband and fall in love.   We would get married in our 20’s and live our lives happily together.   You see that is how it happened to my parents and that even happened for some of my friends.  However it didn’t happen for me. 

I was living my life and never put it on hold to find someone.  I assumed this would happen at the right time for me.   So during my 20’s I enjoyed my family, my friends and my life.   I was even the infamous “always the bridesmaid, but never the brideâ€.   I was in 8 weddings and have the bridesmaid dresses to prove it!!  One by one my friends all fell in love and were getting married.  I just waited for my turn to come along.

In my mid 20’s I met a man and I thought “this was my time.† But others knew I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and that we were not meant to be.   When I was 27 my father passed away suddenly and my mom was left to pick up the pieces and try and move on with her life.   She had never imagined being widowed young and knew that my dad was her true soul mate and they would be together forever.   It was a difficult time and experiencing the death of my father and a very intense break up from the man I was hoping was my soul mate all within a year made me question if I really did want to find love.  I had seen the very best and the very hardest part of love.  

When I was 29 I had the opportunity to move to England with my job.   I was ready for a change so I took it.   I dated during my years there but I never felt that spark of being with my one true love.   Everyone had advice to me on how to go about finding the right person.  I was even told at times to just settle.  I was being too picky.   I would turn into an old maid.    But that wasn’t me.  I decided many years ago that I would rather be single than with the wrong person.

After being in England for over 7 years I decided I was ready to move back to the US.   My company  worked with me and I eventually ended up in Georgia.    I didn’t know anyone in Georgia and I worked out of my home, so meeting people was not easy, but gradually I transitioned into a life that was happy and fulfilled.     But I still didn’t have that special someone with whom to share my life.

In July of 2010 I was travelling with a customer and she asked me about my dating life.  I expressed to her that it was not anything to would write home about.  I told her I had turned 40 earlier in the year and it was too late for me to think I would ever find my true love.  She told me I should try match dot com.   She said she met her husband there and she thought it might work for me.   I told her I didn’t really think that online dating would work.   She asked me to at least think about it and maybe give it a try.

About 30 days later I was sitting at home one weekend and decided I would try match and see what happened.   I didn’t put a lot of faith in it, but what the heck.   So I wrote my profile in about 30 minutes.   I was very honest and expressed I wasn’t looking for a man who was playing games.  I also decided that I would not be the first one to go after a man.   They would have to contact me first.   After only a short time I was contacted by a few different men.  It was a fun time and I was quite flattered.   But none struck that special chord with me. 

Then one night I got an e-mail from match that said someone had saved me in his favorites.   He hadn’t winked at me or e-mailed me, but he did save me.  After looking at his profile I knew I wanted to contact him.  

Jeff and I started e-mailing and I found myself looking forward to his fun and flirty messages.   He had definitely risen to the top.  However, I was still holding back and not sure if I wanted to talk or even meet.  We figured the best thing would be to set a “phone dateâ€.   It was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend.   I was nervous but I called him and eventually his phone went into voicemail.   I left a message and thought he would call me back that night, but he didn’t.   It was at this point that I became disappointed that I didn’t hear from him.  It made me realize I DID want to talk to him.   The next day he e-mailed me and explained that he had gone camping and his cell phone didn’t work in the mountains.   He apologized and we made a new date to talk.   This time we actually did speak.    The conversation was easy and relaxed.   It made my heart skip a beat.   I knew I wanted to meet him face to face.

We made a date to meet the following Sunday for dinner.  I was impressed when he made the date for 5pm.  I had told during a previous conversation that I needed to be up early the next day to travel for work.    He was a true Southern Gentleman. 

Jeff claims it was love at first sight!!  He and I went for fondue dinner and we immediately clicked.  After 3 hours together I knew he was someone I wanted to see again.    We started dating exclusively immediately.   By the second date Jeff told me that he loved me and was going to marry me.   I wasn’t quite as sure.   I still had those walls built up and I wasn’t ready to let myself fall that quickly.  I did however know that I hoped things would continue going along well.

For me it happened on our fifth date.   We were at his house and listening to music on his IPOD.  I asked him if he had a song on there that made him think of me.   Without batting an eye he started playing the Racal Flatts song “God Blessed the Broken Road.† It is a song about two people who had tried love in the past but it never worked out.  Then they find each other and realize that God blessed their broken road of love and brought them together in the end.   He said he thinks of me and thanks god every day that we met.   That was the very moment I fell in love with Jeff and knew I wanted to spend my life with him.

After only two months Jeff and I got engaged.  It was in front of an old mill in Rome GA.  Jeff and I had planned on taking some photos for Christmas cards so we hired a photographer.   It was November 20, 2010 and the leaves had turned color and the setting was magical.   It was during this photo shoot that Jeff surprised me and got on one knee.   He asked me to marry him.  It was a breathtaking moment and we got it all on film.   We even have photos of Jeff dropping the ring in the dirt as he got nervous right before he asked.

Jeff and I are anxiously planning our destination wedding in Cancun.  Often times we comment on how lucky we are that we found each other and it happened at exactly the right time for us. 

I guess fairy tales really do come true!! My prince did arrive, swept me off my feet and now it is my turn to plan my fairytale wedding. 

[PhotosInCancun]

Julien and Jake

 

 

Dear Photos in Cancun,    First, thank you for offering this opportunity to the forum. It will be a dream come true for a special bride and groom. And, it's great to see people giving back to the community and paying it forward. This can mean the difference for a couple who want to have a memorable TTD session, but simply cannot afford one. I truly hope others will follow in your steps. Second, thank you for giving me another chance to share the story of how I will be marrying my best friend, my amazing soulmate, in nine much awaited months. It's a very personal story, and part of me can't believe I'm about to share all these intimate details with the world. But, the other part of me knows I have to so that you can understand how wonderful the man I'm going to marry truly is.    Socially, I use my middle name, Julien, and my fiancé's name is Jake. We had a whirlwind romance, a lifetime of events shared in just mere months, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.    I was living in cold, frigid Chicago, but was a pretty frequent traveler. One of the places I always seemed to visit was Los Angeles. A few of my cousins and best friends lived in LA, so I was there a lot. As fate would have it, I agreed to meet a couple of my friends out for Happy Hour at a lounge down Sunset Blvd.    Meanwhile, Jake was having Happy Hour at another restaurant with some of his friends. At the time, Jake had lived in LA for four years. He was supposed to be working that night, but the cigar lounge he managed was apparently closed. So, why not do a happy hour? Shortly after the Katana happy hour ended, Jake went back to the Cigar Lounge whilst his friends went to Trocadero, where I was enjoying a dirty martini with my friends.    And here it begins...

Jake's Perspective: As I walked in my friend Smalls was holding a seat AND a drink for me (what a guy)!  I began talking to Julien and her cousin next to her but I immediately gravitated to the gorgeous girl to my left, Julien.  After The Trocadero, we stayed in touch and two days later I was on a first official date with Julien (and 8 of her closest family and friends).

I survived and a month later I was flying to Chicago to see her.  I flew to Chicago two more times after that.  Because most of my midwest friends now reside in Chicago Julien got to meet almost everyone I grew up with. 

Julien's Perspective: As I was sitting at the bar, chatting with my friends, I turned back and noticed a handsome, tall white boy standing behind me. He wasn't speaking to anyone, so I made a move! Initially, I wondered what in the world this out of place guy was doing just standing behind me. But then, I said "hi," he took his friend's seat, and we began to talk. Hours later, we were still talking, enjoying a natural, fun, witty conversation. At the end of the night, he asked for my number. I had warned him that people often get my name wrong, so if he were to get it wrong, I would rescind my number. He said of course he knew my name... it's Jillian. Um... No. I've rescinded before... but I figured he was worth a shot. I also warned that I was a package deal. I was in town to see family and no matter where we went, we were going to go together. So, on my last night in LA, we had our first date. Korean BBQ with me, 3 of my cousins, and 3 of my gay friends. He survived! 

There was something so different about Jake, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Soon, I left to go back to Chicago and he was back to life as usual in LA. I wondered what would happen once I got back to reality and thousands of miles apart. He asked if I'd call when I landed to let him know I arrived home safely. Of course, I agreed. But surely, that's something people just say to be nice, right? That night, we stayed on the phone for hours. And, every night since then, when we're apart, we talk on the phone for hours a night. 

  One day, I'd had a miserable day. Nothing was going right. I was irritable, law school was driving me crazy, work was absurd, and there was probably a raven following me around pointing to imminent doom, too. I went home to take a nap, and woke up in a daze to my door's buzzer going off. I'd gotten flowers! Or... someone had. It couldn't be for me. Who in the world would send me flowers? Must be for the neighbor. But, gasp, they were for me! They were from Jake. He'd had flowers sent with a little card telling me to cheer up because he was thinking of me and missing me. I was so touched, I didn't know what to do! But, quickly after, I was given another surprise. My phone rang, I answered and it was a local spa! Jake had searched for spas in the area and bought me a massage to help me unwind from all the stress. I called him, in tears, and he just said... maybe it warrants a trip out to Chicago to come spend Valentine's with me. I was so happy and my heart was filled with such comforting warmth. On his last day, we were taking the train to O'hare Airport. It was so bittersweet because we didn't have concrete plans to see each other again. Before we'd met, Jake had been single for EIGHT YEARS. But we wanted to be together, and we knew something was different. For once, we were both willing to give long distance a shot.    If that were the end of the story, if at that moment, I knew he was it for me, then it would be a tender and sweet story indeed. But what we've shared goes far beyond. I made a decision to move out to Los Angeles following graduation. And, for months we were long distance until I finally moved. I moved directly into Jake's bachelor pad, and tried to study for the CA Bar Exam.    One morning, I'd woken up very early (around 2 a.m.) with severe back pain. I've had a few injuries and incidents before, but this pain was unreal. I told myself it would go away. By the time the sun rose and we were waking up, the pain was excruciating. Jake went and bought us breakfast and heat pads for my back. He was so concerned, but I insisted I would be fine. As the hours passed and Jake went to work, the pain never subsided. Instead, the pain began to move and only seemed to be getting worse. I tried to call my relatives who lived in LA, but their response was that I must be a crybaby and overreacting. They said it would pass and to just take it easy. Finally, when I couldn't bear the pain any longer, I called Jake who was at work. I told him I was scared, but thought it was time to go to the emergency room. He immediately rushed home as soon as he could and carried me out to the car. He took me to the hospital and waited with me for hours, while I was cringing in pain. Turns out, I had appendicitis. I had surgery at 2:00 a.m. While I recuperated, Jake didn't leave my side. He slept in the hospital with me, ate the cafeteria food, and took time off work to make sure I was getting better. He bought all of my medication, took care of me better than a nurse could, made all of my meals, and nursed me back to health.    This entire time, I'd been unemployed since moving to LA. And, Jake had been taking care of us financially and now physically, as well. I was unsure as to whether I could sit for the Bar Exam, and was so worried about the burden and stress I'd be putting on Jake. After all, he loved me, I knew it. But we weren't engaged yet and I felt so guilty putting all the weight on him. I struggled to recover, but finally decided it was best to postpone the exam. Good thing I did, too.    On yet another morning, the day before the Bar Exam actually, I woke up in even more pain and discomfort. This time, it was (ahem) pain in my feminine parts. I felt swollen and sore, and had no idea why. It was as though my body had suddenly rejected me. So, the following day, with the pain, swelling, and now emanating heat only getting worse, I went to the clinic. I didn't have health insurance, and after just having had surgery 2 weeks ago for my appendectomy, I didn't know what to do. The nurse practitioner examined me and was shocked. She said I needed to go to the hospital immediately. I drove, in tears, to the hospital, which was about 40 miles away from where I currently was. On the way to the hospital, I was frantic and emotional. Jake was so worried, he drove out to where I was on the highway, turned around, and followed me back. Once we got to the hospital, it was another waiting game. I was diagnosed with a Bartholin Gland Abscess. The treatment was to drain the fluid. Unfortunately, because there was so much pressure and swelling, they couldn't give me a local anesthetic first. So, the procedure proceeded, without any anesthetics. Jake was in tears when he saw me, knowing how much pain I was in. But we thought the worst was over. Once again, he was taking care of me, nursing me back to health. The worst was far from over. I ended up back in the emergency room two more times. Each time, they couldn't figure out what was wrong, why it wouldn't get better, why the medications weren't working... the last time, I went in for what was just supposed to be a follow up. I weigh 100 lbs and took had 4 hydrocodone prior to this check up because the pain would not subside. I was in constant agony. And the whole appendicitis thing? All that pain? It had NOTHING on the pain I had been feeling the past week. The incisions were packed with gauze, and the doctor performing the follow up began to pull out the gauze. I screamed and immediately began to cry. I've broken bones and gotten concussions before, I've fallen from 10 feet in the air on multiple occasions, and I never cried. This made me cry. Jake was there every step, holding my hand, trying to keep my mind off the pain. Because the doctor had already began removing the gauze, he didn't have much choice. Like a bandaid, do it fast and get it over with. He asked how many hydrocodone I'd taken, advised me to take two more, then pulled out the remaining gauze and looked at me with such genuine sympathy. He gave us the news. He was doing a direct admit to the hospital because more work needed to be done. I cried and cried. At that point, I was overwhelmed. The pain was unbearable and the idea of the tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills was daunting. Jake just held me tightly and assured me we'd get through it together. He kept saying, "We'll be okay."    An hour later, I was admitted into the hospital and getting ready to have my second surgery in 3 weeks. Morphine stopped working. Hydrocodone stopped working. To prep me for surgery, I was given enormous amounts of delaudid and percocet, which I would remain on for the duration of my hospital stay. Because I'd just been put under, they didn't want to risk another session. So, I was awake for this one. Jake held my hand and sat right next to me, talking me through the procedure. So on one side of the curtain was this beautiful man, in soul and body, comforting me and on the other side was a team of 6 doctors, holding flash lights, probes, and devices, working on my broken vagina. I am proud to say, however, that the doctors said I was the most optimistic and happy patient they'd ever had. I guess most patients don't crack jokes and have conversations while strangers are doing medical procedures on their delicate areas. Once again, Jake was my everything. He was my support, my laughter, my comfort... my entire life.    I had a device implanted to keep the incisions open and drain remaining fluids. I had to wear adult diapers because of the bleeding and draining. And, I needed help to get into them and put them on. I couldn't walk, stand up for long periods of time, do anything active, or even stay awake for very long on my medication. Yet somehow, through all of this, through the absolutely no make up, through weeks of intense recovery, through a roller coaster of emotions, the no sex, and the health issues, Jake still loved me and still thought I was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Needless to say, I honestly looked like I'd just well... gone through all of what I'd described, like I was some feral child on a stranded island. But, Jake still looked at me with his beautiful green eyes, and smiled at me every night and every morning, and held me tight as I fell asleep and woke up each day.    Now, many scars and scary moments later, here we are. Jake is still supporting us and is our sole provider, while I am studying for the Bar exam which will be at the end of February. Everything he does is for us, for our future. When he goes to bed at night, after working 18 hour shifts and thinks I'm fast asleep, he whispers that I make him want to be a better person.    He is my soulmate and the better part of me. No matter what life brings us and how hard this past year has been, I've been through it with him. And his love and what we've shared together is something I wouldn't trade for the world.    That's the story of how we came to be. I hope you've enjoyed it, and thank you for letting me share it with you.

[kimbos]

Awesome contest! I love this site more and more everyday.