Our Story: A long time ago, in a land faraway, I met my prince charming, Jason Holladay! We met at Heavener High School where we had 2 classes together, Government and Choir. It was here where I got a crush on him because he would make me laugh until my sides hurt and I thought he was super cute. It really began one day when we got into an ink pen fight in Government class. Coach Roll was our teacher and as he was teaching he glanced over at us and saw us both covered in ink pen marks! He asked who started it and we both responded by pointing at the other. "He did!". "She did!". Coach Roll decided this would be a good opportunity to teach the class about the proceedings of a court hearing. We each had to go on trial. The class was our jury and Coach Roll was the judge. Our trial lasted an entire week and I was very happy to go to class (i.e. court) each day. I won the trial (although Jason still argues that he did). **Funny that he became a lawyer after that!** After all of this interaction, Jason was still oblivious that I had a GIGANTIC crush on him. He never even noticed that I would come into the store where he worked nearly every day (just to buy a single tomato or a pack of gum) and comb each isle until I found him. I was a lowly Freshman and he was a Senior so he really had no interest in dating me. Then he graduated, joined the navy, and I didn't see him for a couple of years. One day, after not really even thinking about him since he graduated, my friend Sarah called to let me know she just saw Jason go through the drive-thru at Taco Bell. She was one of the few people who knew about my crush back when I was a Freshman. That weekend, we went to cruise town and look for him. We found him at Taco Bell again! He and his friend, Brad, invited us to sit down and eat with them. Somehow, my crush came back in full-force at that moment! We walked out to the parking lot to get in our cars and he gave me his phone number and asked me to call him and then he kissed me. I pretty much melted right there! I called my mom on the way home and told her I just kissed the man I'm going to marry...and I did! The next day I starred at the number he gave me forever before getting the courage to call him. I was so nervous. I finally called and he was so happy to hear from me. He only had one day left before he had to go back to San Diego. We were going to go watch a movie but he didn't make it back from his brother's house in time. Instead, we drove to Wister Lake and we sat by the water and talked until way past my curfew. My Mom was soooooooo mad at me!!! It was the one time I ever defied her authority! It was the one time I thought it was worth it! The next day, Jason packed up his car and drove to San Diego. He was moving there from Florida. He called me every single day from that point forward. Skip forward a few years to February 13th, 1997. Jason surprised me by flying in Valentine's Weekend and asked me to marry him. He took me back to Wister Lake to the same spot where we sat and talked all night a couple years before. On a previous visit, we were in a grocery store and he bought me a ring out of a bubble gum machine and told me to keep it until he got me a "real" ring. I thought it was actually a pretty cool ring so I really never took it off. At the lake, he got down on one knee and removed the bubble gum machine ring from my finger. He made a wish on it for our future and then we both kissed it and threw it in the lake together. Then he pulled out my new ring and asked me to marry him! It was an AWESOME moment and I will never forget it! We eloped to Las Vegas that March and then drove up the West coast all the way to Seattle, WA where we would be starting our life together. Four months later we had a "real" wedding to celebrate with family and friends. After the wedding, my parents packed me up and moved my 18 year old self to Washington! It really hit me at that moment what I had just done and I was terrified. Jason was out to sea for a while so I was all by myself in this big city 2000 miles away from everyone I knew. It took me about 2 weeks to pull myself together, get a plan, and start living my new life. It turned out to be the biggest and best growing experience of my life. I never learned so much about myself than I did at that time. After 2 years or so, Jason finished up his 6 years in the navy and we moved to Denton, TX to finish college. We both graduated in 2001 and received our degrees at the same time! Then we moved to Houston so Jason could go Law School. He graduated in 2005 and has been an attorney ever since. I have worked in Research since graduation. We have an awesome son, Hudson, and a beautiful daughter, London. We have really grown up together over the years. We've shared good times and bad and, like all couples, we've had our ups and downs. But ulimately, we are like peanut butter and jelly and we just go together. We are very blessed and thank God for a wonderful life!
