jeff and i met on the playground.
i was in fourth grade.
he was in fifth grade.
i was digging holes in the dirt.
he was doing lord knows what.
i knew about him-his DAD was his TEACHER. and that was really cool. (i was NOT cool)
but you know, i was in fourth grade. i was on his sisters softball team. (i begged for the team to be called the purple unicorns but the blue dragons won out. whatever.)
then i moved away. onto another elementary school. and we didnt meet up again until 9th grade.
we were in drama together. a couple plays together.
i thought he was so cute. and he was taller than me. double bonus.
but i never thought he would like me. i thought he was too cute for me.
but we were friends, kind of. in that nervous flirty weird way.
then we both started mock trial.
and we got partnered up.
he was a lawyer and i was his witness. we had to practice together. a lot.
we started hanging out more with the team. i was a junior, he was a senior.
one day, after practice, he offered to give me a ride home. another girl on the team also asked for a ride home. as he was exiting the parking lot, he said “okay which way do i go?” the other girl said-if you are going to my house go left. i said, if you are going to my house go right.
he went left. so he could get me alone. i remember in that moment knowing something was going to happen.
he drove me home in his blue honda prelude. and dropped me off. NOTHING HAPPENED.
fifteen minutes later the phone rang. and it was him. and he asked me out on a date. it was my first date. i had just turned 16. we decided to go see home alone. when we hung up i screamed and jumped up and down on my bed.
thats when we began. we have been together ever since, minus a month or two due to stupidity.
we went to prom together. we moved away to college together. and at the end of our first year of college, we got pregnant together. with mckenna. i was 17. he was 19.
when those two lines turned blue in our apartment bathroom with me sitting on the toilet and him sitting in the bathtub…everything turned upside down and right side up all at once.
our parents were PISSED. we were so busted. but we all got through it somehow.
we moved back home. i turned 18. we got married. (in vegas at the chapel of the bells) jeff worked as the overnight security guard for our apartment complex, getting us free rent plus $400 a month. he went to a computer training school during the day. he got his first real job at the tender age of 21. his salary was $21k. we were rich.
then came drew when i was 20.
then came nathan when i was 23.
and then anna when i was 26.
4 apartments and 3 houses in 5 cities. 4 jobs and 8 cars.
15 years later and i look back at where we came from and what we have done to get here and it seems like a miracle. we went from teenagers who knew nothing and had nothing to adults who are doing what they always wanted. we are so lucky that we still work together. that we still need each other.
ive been with him half my life. only him. and i truly truly feel that we were destined for each other. it wouldnt and couldnt have happened any other way.
jeff and tara circa 1993
that’s the sweetest thing i’ve ever heard. i want a story like that to tell someday. you’re one very lucky chick, tara. but i know you know that ( : you guys rock!
erin
This is such a beautiful story! True love!! It was great to hear it!!
(And those pics are so cute!!)
xx
I love your story!!! So sweet!!! I love that you over came so much adversity. My story has some of the same,we married young too and turned up pregnant 3mths after and then gave that baby an Irish twin. We now have five precious souls all but one on BC(the only one we planned I got pregnant the first month! LOL!). My husband too dropped out of collage ,got a job then trained(He bought a suit,drove to Boston and brashly asked for a job that he didn’t have training in. He got it! ) and is now back in school finally finishing. Anyway I loved reading your story it made me so grateful for mine. You always write so real and loving. You encourage a lot of people with who you are.
AWWWW..that is a wonderful story! TFS!
Sue
love it. ive often wondered how you became US. goes to show all you need is LOVE! Thanks for sharing..you made me smile!
Love that story! So awesome! From the pics of you two together you two are still so happy together, beautiful family…thanks for starting my morning with a smile…
Wow! Do you realize what obstacles you have overcome? You have just about beaten every statistic. You also make a gorgeous couple and I love the old photo. I hope you feel like a million bucks, because you have a rockin story to share.
now THAT was one of the nicest happily ever afters I’ve EVER heard! Thank you for sharing :)
ps- this is my favorite blog post, anywhere, of all time.
oh my. good for you for making it work, you had everything and the world AGAINST you.
Love that story.. and how cute are you too together. You look like you were meant to be together.. and you still do.
How. cool. are. photos.
love it.
Your story truly made me smile! What a great thing to read the first thing on Monday morning…… You can see from all of the photos of you two together, just how happy you are.
whatever you have achieved up to now and whatever you achieve in your future…remember that this is your GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT. a happy marriage and happy children…nothing else really matters does it?
cindy
Such a cute story – and such a cute couple :) As the mother of a nearly 17-year old, I put myself in your mother’s place… So glad it all worked out for you, and that you are still so happy 15 years later. Hell, I thought I knew it all at 20 when I met my future husband – and 12 years later it was all over. Who says teenage love affairs don’t last? Two of my sisters are still with their high school loves, 20 plus years later… Thank you for sharing!
I needed that feel good story this morning — thank you so much for sharing!
what a blessing you all have in eachother….thank you for sharing. j
That is truly a beautiful love story, in every sense of the word.
That was such a cute/wonderful love story, congratulations to you both! I love reading how people find their match.
Raw.Real.Tara.
This is why we adore you so much. It is so good to hear these real moments. The photos at the end are priceless. Amazing how you can adore someone you dont know… but then again… we do get to know you from afar which is amazing. This just rocks.
Tawnya
i love your story :) (but the first thing i thought when i saw the photo of you two was, ‘holy crap! that looks just like anna!!’)
What a beautiful and touching love story. It’s such a testament to the power of love and what it can bring to our lives. :)
That is “SWEETNESS” all rolled up into a story…
thanks for sharing it…beautiful!
Tara, I loved reading your story!! So sweet!!
We married young also, so i especially love hearing a nice modern day fairy tale that is still a Happily Ever After!!
Congratulations!!
i can’t think of a better read to start my day. i’m always a sucker for a good story, but make it a TRUE LOVE story, well….
my favorite part is when you wrote how Jeff took the other girl home, so he could be alone with you, dang girl – i got that same whooooosh in my tummy for you like i did when a guy i *really* liked asked me out…
thanks for sharing your story – and your life with us.
here’s to happily ever after. so sweet. and i have to say…that anna-bananna looks just like her momma! great booth pics ;o)
what a fabulous story – i’m only new to finding your blog (ok – so i’ve been under a rock or something) so lovely to hear about the love of your life – my story is sorta similar !!!
“why cant i be you”- the cure
such a sweet sweet story!
Aw suchs…..how precious and sweet!! :)
i haven’t ever posted here, but read your blog all the time, and completly admire your work, some day i’ll come out there and have you do our family………anyways, our (my husband &i) story is ALOT like yours. pregnant at 17 & 20, my Makenna is 13, married at 18 & 21, then came Madi 9 and life was good, but we always wanted more so Diego is 22mo and our fourth and last is on the way. We’ve lived all over, OK, CO, TX, CO, CA now CO. We always come back to Colorado (friends & family) but I love CA, we were in SF area for 6 years, our longest stint away from CO. my husband works for the airlines so we get to travel ALOT and after years in the financial industry then staying home i am finally doing what i have always loved, besides being a mom, photography. 14 years later we are still together happy as ever and loving life!
Love the story! I know we talked about it during the shoot since John & I are HS sweethearts too – but I love hearing these types of stories! So happy for the two of you! So sweet!!!! :)
thank you for sharing your beautiful story with us
your story is beautiful!
just like you are.
in that old photo you look identical to your sisters!!!!!
wow!!!! i hope your story is on a scrap page somewhere!!!
tara
wow. what a story.
anna looks just like you in those photobooth pics.
beautiful story…you two were meant to JUst BE….thank you tara
Oh, I loved reading this. So, so lovely. You guys have come along way and turned a terrifying situation (unplanned teenage pregnancy) into a dreamy one (happy, satisfying life). Congrats!
What a great story! I’m so glad everything worked out for you. Definitely a real love story :)
LOVED that!! Sounds familiar!! :) Is there a small child in the corner of one of those pictuers?? ;)
Reading your story it could have been mine… 25 years ago I married at 18 (hmm yes one day after I turned 18)– but like you I feel it was destiny–
Funny I look at my daughter who at 20 has dated the same boy for seven years and have to remind myself that I am not the only one that destiny shines on!!! lol
It’s so wonderful to look back and see where you were and think about all you’ve been through to get to where you’re standing right now. I’ve been reflecting on our life a lot lately, too. :) We weren’t quite as young as you when we got married (we were 22) and no little ones on the way, but we were definitely kids with so much to learn. Thanks for sharing your story and that picture of you two is so fun! Love it! :)
Awesome. Simply awesome.
(and minus three kids, similar to hubby and me…) :)
I loved that story Tara. I’ve been with my husband for soon to be 17 years. We met in high school too. I’m 34, so basically he and I have been together for half of our lives, which stuns me. We’ve had a rocky relationship forever, meaning when we fight, which we can do alot in times of stress, but somehow it has always worked. We are best friends, never let the other get away with much crap…if you know what I mean. We’ve had each other’s backs since day one, even though at times it didn’t feel that way. We compliment each other and are pretty much the only people in the world that truly gets the other one, even if they irritate the living daylights out of the other, lol.
He was my first in so many ways (that one too, lol). I can’t imagine life without him. It hasn’t always been easy by any means, but it’s been so worth it. I told him recently that I owe him my life. And I truly do. Nothing in my world would be the way it is if I hadn’t met him. I thank the universe for him nearly every day (in between the days I roll my eyes at him or wanna ring his neck, lol).
I think it’s very unique nowadays for a couple to meet young and be together for a loooong time. So I admire you guys incredibly. Thanks for that story.
I love a great love story!
That was such a great story. I love story of new beginnings. Continued love and happiness for your beautiful family. Keep the stories coming. I love getting to know who you are and how you became.
Wow – I can really really see the kids in you guys. Anna looks Just. Like. You.
Love this – your we story. Love most “and we have been together ever since” as that’s what I always say about my husband and me. Like a modern day “and they lived happily ever after.” thanks for sharing! tonya
how sweet! thanks for sharing, i LOVE hearing how people met and their special love stories!
I feel the exact same way about my hubby!
Thanks for sharing your sweet story.
You made me cry this morning. Oh my gosh, that was sweet, inspiring, and so real, just a slice of real life. Ya know, it could be a Bon Jovi song. Thanks for sharing that. Thanks for sharing all the slices of your life. I like the peek in.
what a beautiful life. i would totally watch your made-for-tv movie. who would you want to play you and jeff?
So sweet and romantic!!
Love your story, thanks for sharing.
I adore your work ~ so inspiring!