Couples

I have a hunch that all relationships are slightly skewed in favor of one person or the other, that a perfect balance, where each person contributes (and receives) evenly, rarely occurs. In our marriage, this balance is skewed in my favor. I ended up with the better end of the deal.  Read more

When I look back, I wonder if it wasn't a mistaken identity at all but more of that stroke of destiny and knowingness you feel when something is just meant to be. It was truly electric. Do you believe in soul mates?  Read more

Mr. Sparks shines again with The Lucky One. I don’t know exactly what it is about his storytelling that pulls at my heartstrings and tear ducts. I guess his tales feel so personal and yet so universal at the same time. I jokingly vowed not to read his books or watch his movies on an airplane because I turn into a crybaby….What can I say, I love a good love story. I was tearing up at the trailer for The Lucky One. No joke. The Lucky One makes me think of my own first (and only) date with my husband 13 years ago. I met my husband, Eddie, a few weeks before our first date at work.  Read more

Do you like lovey-dovey movies? I certainly do. I'm the biggest sucker for them! They make you feel wonderful and happy, like you want to be in love with butterflies in your stomach for the rest of your life. My husband does not share this same view, probably like most men. Here's the thing about me and movies: I put myself in the characters' story. This is sometimes fun to do, but when I watch scary/thriller/action/pee-your-pants kinds of movies, it gets old real quick and I have nightmares. {And I hate nightmares, just for the record.} So I stick with my happy-go-lucky love stories...  Read more

My husband and I were high school sweethearts. I’m pretty sure we were in the same science classes (and lots of other classes) every year of high school, which gave us lots of chances to chat and get to know each other. In 10th grade, we were biology lab partners, and I developed a huge crush on him. In chemistry, we were partners again, and we began to have study dates at each other’s houses to get ready for tests. In physics, we got to spend lots of out-of-class time together to work on projects like mousetrap cars.  Read more

This picture was taken last summer. Yep, he's tall, dark, and very handsome, and he still makes my knees weak 7.5 years later! Our love story is a little serendipitous. {Is that word?} If we both had not applied and been chosen to be on the planning committee for a service club at Brigham Young University-Idaho, we probably would not have met. We didn't have any classes together, let alone even in the same buildings. And our apartments were not very close to each other either. So it was definitely meant to be!  Read more

Kevin and I will be celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary this August (just 10 days after Baby #3 is supposed to make its debut!). I thought it would be fun to take a little walk down memory lane and reminisce about the early days of our relationship. Kevin and I started officially dating in September 2001. We had been hanging out all summer. (I had graduated from college in May 2001.) We both grew up in the same town, but he was a few years older.  Read more

I admit it. I am a romantic! My summers are typically filled with watching the kids play on the beach while I indulge in a good “beach read.” And seriously, who makes better beach reads than Nicholas Sparks? Although my husband, Matt, doesn’t share my same level of enthusiasm for romance novels, he is a good sport and patiently listens as I retell a book’s storyline and analyze the plot and characters. Matt has watched The Notebook with me (more than once) and even passed me a tissue or two when needed. I am so incredibly grateful to have a husband who is also my best friend!  Read more

I met my husband while I was still in college. I had met some other friends online and headed to visit one of them on a long weekend. He also knew the girl I was visiting and had come up to visit as well. Though he had been part of the same general group, I had minimal knowledge of him, besides his name. But so much of this traces back to a series of what-ifs, several decisions made along the way that led to meeting him in June of 1996. I graduated high school in June of 1994 in southern Ontario.  Read more

[Editor's Note: Ah, money. Moneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoney. Who doesn't fight about money with her significant other? Apparently, Kristia doesn't ... any more. It takes a long time to learn to effectively share resources, and I think all Kristia's tips are spot on. -Rita]  Read more