Mama on a Quest: Love Story

Hello! We are the Taylor's. My name is Shanna. I am the Author of this crazy, all-over-the-place blog! And here is our story:

MacKay and I met at college in 2008. My first semester, his second. We happened to be in the same religious institute class. We went through the whole semester without talking, other than the occasional small talk. My second semester he found me on Facebook (yes facebook...) and asked if he could have my number so he could call and ask me on a date sometime. At first I thought it was a bit weird that he went all semester without asking me out, yet he got the guts on Facebook? Weird right? But the last sentence caught my eye;

"I was wondering if I could have your number to call and ask you out sometime."

Hmm, is this a Modern-day kind of Classy?? Sure, I'll take it!

Well needless to say, he called I said yes, and walah! It was a done deal. Wedding bells anyone?

Not quite...

However, that date was the start of many. I was dating other people at the time not to mention having one of those complicated waiting-for-a-missionary-but-not-waiting-for-a-missionary relationships. So I didn't allow myself to like him more than a friend. I was a young-un' at the tender age of 18. I was NOT looking to get married. I was NOT going to get married. I was not...

He was also dating others, not looking for anything serious. But what can I say, I am a pretty great catch....

Hardly... I am one of those roller coaster kind of people. You know the one that can go from insanely happy one minute to cranky the next? Ya that's me. Let's just say I put him through the ringer. Come to think of it, I am not entirely sure how I snagged him...

ANYWAY, you will understand a little bit of how I put him through the ringer in a minute.

He got me a job working with him and we saw more and more of each other. I started dating someone and he started dating someone, yet we stayed friends. I considered him one of my best friends. I knew he wanted a little more than friendship, but he read my signs and didn't push things. Little did he or anyone know I was only avoiding him to avoid a serious relationship. (it made sense at the time...) I knew him well enough that I knew he had a lot of the qualities I was looking for in a husband. Therefore I avoided the "serious relationship" and was content with the "best friends stage". Well as MacKay had just about given up on ever dating me, I started realizing what I was about to lose. When I saw him for the first time after the summer of 2009 I missed him. All of the sudden I started to open up to the possibilities of dating him. He had no idea of the change of heart. I realized I was done for when I saw pictures on his Facebook with another beautiful girl. And I was jealous. JEALOUS! I had known he was dating others, but I had never really SEEN him with them. That's what did it. I was crushed. I jumped in with both feet and told him how I felt. Things were crazy for a while as he juggled the decision of either finally dating me after all this time, or dating this other girl.

"Is she really serious, or is this a game?" Well we finally decided to give it a go!

As we started dating, I started getting cold feet. There were so many things I was scared about. I was terrified of Marriage. Marriage is HARD. I had no illusions of how it would be. I knew he was one I would completely fall for if I let myself, and I wasn't sure I was ready for that.

I remember telling my best friends that I was scared because I had to decide if I really wanted to work toward marriage, as I could see it going to this with MacKay. How do I know if he is "The One" the Lord wants me to be with?? Then there was the Missionary from high school that I was still wondering in the back of my head if that would work. After a Blessing from my Dad, writing to the Missionary about some big decisions and questions, and lots of praying and fasting. Many weeks later (Bless MacKay's patient heart) I decided a few things. First if the man I want to marry is a worthy male, and I am a worthy woman, we can make a marriage work with hard work and dedication. After realizing this, I realized I could PICK. I was waiting for my prayers to be answered with a name. Instead I needed to make a decision if I wanted to pick him or not.

I have to be honest with you, at first I decided "Not right now"(the cop-out answer) I will wait a few months for said missionary to come home and THEN make my decision. I can't tell you how sick I was about the decision after I started thinking how I was going to tell MacKay. The words wouldn't come. I was so sick. I remember sitting in my apartment room, when my best friend came in with an ensign article from my Church. The article was called "Making the Marriage Decision." I read it over and over and it was suddenly so clear to me. Never in my life had an answer been so clear. I could pick him. I could pick MacKay. And I realized I WANTED to pick him. I didn't want anyone else. Ever.

I was elated! Through all the madness it was all going to be worth it.

That's when I fell. It took us a lot longer to get engaged, but I knew I couldn't live without him. Even if I WAS young. I didn't care anymore. What was more important was being with him for the rest of forever. I'm happy about my choice, and love him more than life itself! Life is simply boring without him. We were married in the Manti Temple of the LDS Faith in July 2010.