Ask Miss Tess

I've heard this phrase before in reference to pregnant women. I always thought it was silly. Why would they need to re-organize things, deep clean, and rearrange their whole house just because a baby is coming? I honestly didn't have any good answers until now. 

Have you ever counted the days to a big event in your life? Maybe it was a sports game, a wedding, a birthday, or even a pay day. I know that for me, I get encouraged when I see the "Days Left" count go down because it means I'm getting closer and closer to whatever it is that I'm looking forward to. Right now, the biggest thing Kyle and I are counting down to is Baby E's due date.

Baby E is due 100 days from today. 100 days! Considering it's been 153 days since the day Kyle and I found out we were expecting, 100 days will fly by.

When we first got married, we decided that we would stop preventing a growing family after we had been married for a year. That being said, January 2016 was the original plan for me to stop taking birth control and just letting nature decide. After some research, though, and my yearly physical with my OBGYN, I learned that it could take 3 to 6 months to become pregnant after stopping birth control, sometimes even longer. We didn't want to wait so long to stop birth control if it could potentially be even longer before we could start our family, so we decided that after my last month of pills was finished in October, I wouldn't get a refill. We fully expected to have the average wait time of 3 to 6 months before we would get a positive pregnancy test. Even so, my body wasn't back into the normal swing of things by the beginning of November, so I took a few tests. Each of them came back negative. I wasn't sure how to feel about it. We were prepared to have to wait, but at the same time, we would have welcomed a positive whenever it came. A few more days passed and still nothing, so I took another test or two and it was still negative. My birthday was coming up and I didn't want to take a test on my birthday, knowing I may be a little bummed if it was still negative but my body still wasn't back to the usual swing of things. To avoid those feelings, I decided to take a test the night before.

November 16th, 2015. Kyle was home from work and we were getting ready to make dinner and spend the evening relaxing. So we went upstairs to change into our pajamas when I figured "What the heck" and took another test. Kyle went downstairs to start cooking, unaware that I was going to use the last pregnancy test we had in the house. I left the bathroom and tidied up our room a little bit, trying to distract myself for the 2 minutes it would take for the results to show. When I walked back in the bathroom, I didn't look at the test immediately. I started putting things in the medicine cabinet and cleared the counter until I glanced over at the test, fully expecting another "NOT" in front of the word "PREGNANT". Instead, there was only one word on the screen. It definitely read "PREGNANT" and I wasn't sure what to think. I was excited! I was scared! I was in disbelief! All in the span of about 2 seconds before I literally ran down the stairs to the kitchen, calling Kyle's name the whole way. When I got to him, I didn't say anything. I just held up the test. Kyle's eyes widened and he said "Really?!" to which I nodded quickly as I started to cry. He hugged me and couldn't believe it either. I asked him things like "Are you ready for this?" and "Is this okay?" to which he assured me that he was overjoyed and ready to do what it took to prepare for this little baby.



I'd been reading a lot about false-positives and I wanted to be 100% sure that this was the real deal, so Kyle and I went to Walgreens. We bought 2 different brands of pregnancy tests and brought them home. I took 1 more that night, and 3 the following day. All of them were undeniable in letting me know that we would definitely be having a baby join our family in 9 months. I wanted to tell the world, but at the same time, wanted to keep it to ourselves. It was kind of fun to be the only two people in the world that knew this wonderful thing. After a good 24 hours of just Kyle and I knowing, we decided to go tell my parents the news.

I asked my mom if she still had the tape of my birth (don't worry, I was a C-section baby) and she said yes. So I asked if we could watch it together, just to reminisce my coming into the world that happened 20 years prior. As we sat in the family room and got the tape ready, I handed my mom a card. In it, I wrote a few things to her and my dad for raising me and all that they did for me from the day I was born to the day I got married and even still. After a few paragraphs of gratitude, I wrote a partial sentence at the end of the card. It said; "Now that your baby's all grown up..." and on the next page I wrote "...she's having a baby of her own." and we included a photograph of the positive pregnancy tests. My mom looked at me and started crying tears of joy while my dad sat happily smiling. They were very excited for us and mom said it was going to be a girl. (She was right!)

That same night, we skyped Kyle's parents and let them know our news. They, too, were very happy for us and a little surprised it happened so quick. (Trust us, so were we) But still, supportive and excited for us.

We had our first appointment on December 7th. We got to see our little one on the ultrasound for the second time. (The first time was a week prior. I went to InstaCare and learned I had kidney stones. No fun. But they wanted to make sure that I didn't have an ectopic pregnancy, so they ordered an ultrasound at the hospital. Although I was in crazy pain, I was happy to see that little baby on the screen at the hospital. I was so relieved that the baby was implanted in place and that an ectopic pregnancy was not causing the pain. It was just the kidney stones.) My OBGYN was a little surprised to see us back so soon, because originally he said he expected that we would have our first prenatal appointment in February or April. But all was well and he said that the baby looked great so far. With a print out of our teeny little one, we made our next appointment and left the office. This was real! We were really going to have a baby in our home come July 2016!

This pregnancy hasn't been so bad, but I don't have any others to compare it to. Yes, I've had morning sickness. Yes, we went to the E.R. once after I couldn't keep any food or liquids down for 3 days straight and ended up vomiting blood. Yes, I've been on some anti-nausea medication since then. Yes, all of this is so worth it. I still have some hard days where I don't take the medicine in time and end up living off of saltines and sprite, but those have been few and far between. I've experienced the ligament pains, the acid re-flux, the sleepless nights, and the recurring bathroom trips. Again, it's all worth it! Feeling Baby E kick and punch and move around is the best feeling. It tells me that we have a healthy little baby growing and that she's letting us know things are all good in her world. If there's a span of a few hours that she's less active, I use our Fetal Doppler to listen to her heartbeat. She's our baby girl and we love getting to listen to her and see her in the ultrasound photos.

Her nursery has been all set up for a few weeks now. Mommy is a little OCD about things getting done long before they have to be done so Kyle has helped out a ton. We were able to find most of her furniture on indoor yard sales and I pieced together the decor with items I found on sale or for very reasonable prices. It's been fun to get to experience this new chapter in our lives as we prepare for our family of two to be a family of three!



100 days until baby girl is set to make her arrival. Only 100 days! She could come early, she could come late, who knows. But whenever she decides to enter the world, Mommy and Daddy are ready.

Kyle and I are nowhere near perfect in regards to budgeting, saving, investing, or anything of the like. Yes, we pay our bills on time, that's something that is non-negotiable. Yes, I have a student loan we're paying off. Yes, we have medical bills. And yes, we go out on dates and don't feel too guilty about spending money eating at restaurants. The thing that needs to change, though, is just how lenient we are with the income that we have.

I'm reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey right now and I've honestly learned so much. I love books that get to the point and tell you what you need to do rather than talking about the philosophies of how to do it. With many financial planning books, the authors focus on investments and IRA/401K accounts. These things are wonderful and all but right now, we'd just like to create a more stable and grounded financial house. We are very interested in investing and saving for things like our children's weddings, missions, and college funding as well as for our retirement as a couple. The only way we will be able to do that, though, is if we take the baby steps first. We need a solid emergency fund. We need to be 100% debt free. We need to learn to have enough cash for anything and everything we may need through the month. These are the things we plan on working on over the next 6 months so that we can seriously look into investing shortly after Baby E makes her arrival.

Dave Ramsey is definitely cut and dry when he points out that our financial future is in our own hands, just as losing weight would be solely in the hands of the chubby guy. If you look in the mirror and don't like the person you see because they've packed on a few extra pounds, the only way to change that would be to diet and exercise! Just as the only way to get a fat wallet and make those money worries a thing of the past is to do something serious about it. Find ways to earn more money. Pass up the "great deal" if it's not a necessity right now. Too often I've gone out to the store for one or two things but came home with over a dozen because "we needed them". Sure, we probably used the things I bought and I'm sure that I had some valid reasons for buying them. But was it necessary? Probably not. Just like skipping a workout or eating junk all the time will make you put on the pounds, buying extras each time you go shopping will cause your account balance to dwindle away. Before you know it, there's $500 in bills due but you've already spent your last paycheck of the month. So what do you do? You don't pay it (which I am strongly against) or it ends up getting put on a credit card. Kyle and I are tired of things like this happening so we're ready to take the steps to make sure that there's extra money at the end of each month and not the other way around.

Being married and dealing with bills is hard. It's not a fun conversation to have but it is definitely necessary. Kyle and I have joint accounts all across the board, and we need to be on the same page in regards to where our money goes. It's not a matter of "his half" or "my half", it's ours. We pay for our cell phones and our food. We spend money on gas for our cars and budget for our date nights. With it being so joint and united, we have to help each other. We have to encourage each other and keep each other on track. One thing that I love about how Kyle and I handle things is that we always do this by assuring the other that "It will be okay". Because it will! Someway, somehow, we've always managed to figure things out and get things done. At the same time, though, you can't just pray things will work out if you're not actively doing something about it. Just as James 2:20 says;  "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" We don't expect money to appear out of thin air, so we work as hard as we can to meet our family's needs. Right now, we don't need much. We try to keep our bills as low as possible and we're working on separating our wants from our needs. Luckily, with the work I do from home, I am in charge of my earning potential. I can make as much or as little as I want. Kyle has the ability to donate plasma for some extra cash if we need it. These things, plus Kyle's full-time job, help us to meet our needs as well as our wants.

Now, if I have a slower month with my work or if Kyle doesn't donate plasma as often as usual, we cut back on the discretionary spending. We have learned to prioritize the expenses we have and put them before the fun things like going out to lunch or buying new movies for our ever-growing collection. It's not always easy to do this, though. Over the past year, there were definitely times that we bought whatever sounded good and justified it by saying "I should make enough to pay this off by the end of the month" or "We have all this extra money right now, we can afford this" when we hadn't put one penny into savings. The issue with this was that the end of the month would come and we'd have a zero balance, with hardly anything to show for it. Looking around our house, yes, I see that we've purchased things to make it a home. But I have no idea where so much money has gone. I'm tired of it. We're tired of it. So we're starting today to make those changes necessary to live life more financially free.

A quote I love from Boyd K. Packer is as follows; "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." This is so applicable in many aspects, but especially in regards to finances. Use the money, wear out the income sources, make the money work for you, or deal with an empty bank account. It's up to you. Period. Kyle and I have the ability to take charge of our finances and there is no room for excuses. Ultimately, every penny spent was spent by conscious choice to do so. There's no one to blame but ourselves, and that's sometimes the hardest to swallow.

I'm still young (though I jokingly say I'm ancient) and Kyle is still young as well. For me, I've got my entire twenties in front of me and Kyle's got half of his. We're not late in the game, no one ever is. All it takes to change your financial situation is the dedication to actually do it. By the time 2020 rolls around, we'd like to purchase our first home. We'd like to buy a newer car. We'd like to have 6 months worth of living expenses in savings. We'd like to be putting away as much as possible for Baby E and her siblings as they come along. That's never going to happen if we continually live paycheck-to-paycheck because we want to live in the moment now. We can't do any of this without a solid plan and attainable goals. Saving $20,000 in one year is just not realistic on our income right now. But saving at least $3,000 is. Putting $10,000 into an account all at once for Baby E is not feasible right now, but we can definitely afford monthly payments with a high rate of return, getting us to that goal before she turns 18.

Too often, I say I'll do something and never actually do it until way down the road. In reality, if I had started when I first said I would, I would have been so much farther than I am now. Whether it's in regards to personal goals, fitness goals, or financial goals, I don't want to be in this same place ten years from now. Heck, I don't want to be in this place in five years, or even two years! I'm making the necessary changes today so that tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, I can be a few steps closer to where I want to be. I can't do it alone, though. I need Kyle's help and support just as he needs mine. We need to work as a combined force to tackle all the things life throws at us. That's the fun part about all of this; although bills are a necessary evil and being a big kid can get overwhelming, at least we're not doing it alone. I've got a man who is my rock and biggest fan. He's got a woman who supports his day job and sacrifices time with him so that he can provide as much as possible for us. We work together, and that's the only way we can do it!

Sure, we may have fat bodies and skinny wallets right now, but just you wait. A lot can change in 6 months, or a year, or two years, or ten years. It doesn't matter how long it takes us. What matters is that we are committed to making our life together the best life that it can possibly be.

From the day we met to the day we were legally and lawfully married, as well as sealed for time and all eternity, there was only a span of 111 days. (Although Kyle and I really like the TLC series "90 Day Fiance" we beat that timeline, seeing as we were engaged for 73 days.) I know, that's a little crazy. In Utah, it's more common to have such a short courtship & engagement, but in the rest of the world it's completely insane. Weren't we supposed to date for 2 years, then move in together, then be engaged for another 3 years, then get married? While that may work for some, it wasn't the kind of timeline Kyle and I wanted. So 111 days it was!

The night before our wedding, Kyle said goodnight to me on my parents' porch for the last time. He kissed me goodnight and had to go back to his apartment for the last time. He texted me goodnight and told me he loved me for the last time that we'd be going to sleep in separate beds. To ensure that I actually got some sleep, I took melatonin and smiled to myself as I laid in bed and slowly fell asleep.

January 17th. Finally! Our day was here and it didn't quite seem real when my alarm clock went off at 6 AM. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and glanced over at my wedding dress that was hanging on my door. I looked at my high heels resting just below it. I looked around my room and realized that this was the last time I would be waking up here. In a few hours, I would be Kyle's wife.

My mom came upstairs to help me get started on my hair while I called Holly. She came over and helped me get ready and have our last bit of girl time before I'd be a married woman. I applied mascara to my eyelashes before taking a moment to look in the mirror and again be reminded that I would be married today. It didn't seem like real life yet. I remembered waking up and getting my robe on, I knew that mom really did come upstairs and plug in the curling iron. I knew Holly was really here and that we'd all really be heading to the Draper Temple in a few hours. But looking at my reflection, I saw not only myself, but the last 19 years of changes. First dates, church dances, trying out new hairstyles, putting on make-up for fun, and even the instances I looked at that girl staring back at me and wondered if she would ever be good enough. Today, though, I knew she was good enough. I knew she deserved every bit of happiness that came as a result of finding Kyle. I knew that the promises and commitments made today would make that girl looking back at me so happy and so proud of herself for coming so far.

Hair? Check. Make-up? Check. Freaking out a little bit? Check! I put on a simple dress and brought my wedding dress downstairs. I picked up my temple bag and walked downstairs. Family was awake now and getting breakfast done before getting themselves ready. Kyle and I and our escorts had to be at the temple early so my mom and dad and I got in the van and made our way toward the Draper UT LDS Temple. On the way there, I sent Kyle a quick text and he responded "See you at the temple!" before he got in the car to drive himself.

Once we got inside the temple, we showed our recommends at the front desk. I handed mine over first and everything was fine. Then it was Kyle's turn. When the temple worker went to scan Kyle's recommend, there was a negative scanning sound. The worker tried again, and again it didn't work. I immediately began to worry. We were supposed to be getting married! I can't marry Kyle if he can't get in the temple! Luckily, after a quick call to our Stake President, they figured things out. It was just a misunderstanding in regards to activating his recommend. Crisis averted, we were still getting married that day.

Our ceremony was more than I could have ever hoped for and I was so happy to be joined together with Kyle. We exchanged wedding bands and hugged our family and friends before getting ready to greet everyone that had been waiting outside for us.



After the ceremony, we had a family luncheon. That evening was our wedding reception. Everything was perfect. The decor was beautiful and my family was so helpful and supportive with it all. Kyle and I promised each other forever and forever is what we got.










We couldn't have done this without our family. There is just no way it could have all come together.


With the reception being done, we drove off into the night toward our hotel in Salt Lake before spending a week in Maui, Hawaii. My fairy-tale wedding came true and I was headed to paradise with my perfect man.

Now, we've been married for just over a year. Our first year was like any other, ups and downs and everything in between. But we will always have each other and that is what matters. We don't go to bed angry, we always kiss each other goodnight, and we keep our lines of communication wide open. We have couple's meetings, we make plans together, and we trust each other. 111 days may not seem like enough time to really get to know someone, but I know I picked the right person. Over the past year, we've learned a lot about each other and there's been something new each day, but we don't regret moving so fast. We are so glad we did things in the way that we did and that we were blessed enough to find each other.

You know where we began and know how we got to where we are now. It was fast, it was a little crazy, but it was so worth it.

If you couldn't tell already, Kyle and I quickly gained strong feelings for one another. Each day that we were together, things fell more in to place and I couldn't imagine myself with anyone else. Yes, I was 18. Yes, he was 22. But things just seemed to click between us. We both felt that there was a reason for our coming together and growing so close so fast.

We met on a Sunday, said "I love you" on Monday, and started talking wedding dates on that following Thursday. Four days? Yes. Four days. That's all it took.

I needed to go to a ballet in Salt Lake for one of my classes and I hadn't purchased tickets yet. So when Kyle came into my life, I decided it wouldn't hurt to ask him if he'd like to join me for the ballet so we could spend time together and I wouldn't have to go alone. He willingly joined me and we sang disney songs on the way to the theater. After a good twenty minutes of trying to find the correct building, we ended up at the right place and purchased our tickets. Kyle held my hand while we waited for the doors to open and to take our seats in the auditorium. Once we were settled, we still had a few minutes before the show was scheduled to begin. Neither of us really remember exactly how it got brought up, but we were talking to one another about how we didn't want to date anyone else, ever again. So I pulled out my phone and opened my Pinterest app to show him my Wedding board. We scrolled through some of the ideas together and Kyle pulled out his phone to open his calendar. We decided that April 25th would be a great day for a wedding, so that was the plan. The show was starting though, so we put our wedding conversation on hold. In between numbers, we talked more about the date and colors we liked. I couldn't believe we were already talking about wedding plans when we hadn't even known each other for a week, but it felt right. It made me excited and nervous in a good way, but never scared or concerned. We both felt strongly about being together so that is what we were going to do; stay together.

When the ballet was over, we drove back toward Provo. Kyle's mom was in town, though, as she was driving out his car for him from Minnesota. So Kyle asked me if I would be okay with meeting her. I was anxious but agreed and we met his mom at Applebee's. I wanted to make a good first impression but I've grown increasingly more shy over the years, so I wasn't sure how to make a good impression without making her feel like I was being standoffish. I think things went well though and we said our goodbyes at the end of the meal. Now, this was good timing. Kyle and I decided we would get married, he'd already met my parents, and now his mom just happened to be in town that same week. I'm grateful it worked out the way it did and that he and I could move forward with our plans.

Over the next few days, we saw each other without fail. After school and work, we made time together and talked about our plans for the wedding. I felt good about everything... except the fact that April 25th seemed so far away. I know, we barely knew each other. I know, it was early October. But when you know who you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to begin as soon as possible. So after visiting my sister at work and asking her advice on the situation, she basically told me the same thing. There was no point in waiting if the only reason we were pushing it out so far was to meet the "6 month mark" that seems to be pretty common for couples in our area. That night, I got home and made a pros and cons list to show Kyle as soon as he got off work and came over. After talking it over and realizing we really had no reason to wait, we decided that January 17th would be our wedding date.

Soon after, Kyle called his parents and, from what he's told me, they kind of knew it was coming. He let them know that we were planning on getting married and that it would be in 3 short months. They were a little surprised at that timeline but seemed happy for us. So Kyle and I got our ring sizes and went from there. I showed him the kind of ring I had always hoped for and he showed me some ideas for a wedding band for him. It was all happening pretty fast but it still just felt right, so we went along with it all.

We ordered our rings in mid-October and they arrived at the beginning of November. Between that time, Kyle set up a time with my dad to formally ask for his permission to marry me. They met at a local diner and had a good talk while my dad had a shake and Kyle was too nervous to order. My dad asked him things like "Will you take care of her? Will you honor your priesthood?" to which Kyle responded yes. He assured my dad that I would be taken care of and that his intentions were genuine. So with my dad's blessing, we were able to move forward.

 Kyle and I were spending time together one day when he had to grab something from his apartment. So we went by and he noticed that a package had come. He went up to his room to open it and I stayed downstairs in the kitchen. When he came back down, he let me know it was the rings and that I'd be getting it soon. I, of course, wanted a cute proposal but part of me just wanted him to ask me right then and there. I'm glad I was patient, though, and that Kyle had time to plan everything out.

November 5th, 2014. Kyle was working until 7:30 like usual, then he planned on coming over. 7:30 came and passed, and at about 8 I got a text from him apologizing, saying he had to stay late and that he would let me know when he would be able to come by. I was a little bummed but let him know it was okay and I'd see him soon. Shortly after, there was a knock at the door. My best friend, Holly, was there, and made small talk before handing me a folded up piece of paper from her pocket and promptly turning and walking away. I called after her and asked her to wait a minute while I opened the paper. It was a riddle, written in Kyle's handwriting. That little sneak! The riddle gave me instructions to go to the duplex we would be moving into after we got married. (We found it just a few days before and gave our landlord the deposit, since Kyle was going to move in for the last 2 months before our wedding.) When I got there, I opened the door to find a single red rose on the steps next to yet another letter. This time, it was a poem telling me to go to my brother, Treis. Treis passed away in July 2014, so I knew it meant I'd need to go to the cemetery. I called Holly before driving back toward the cemetery and she asked if I wanted her to meet me there. I said yes so we both arrived at the cemetery a few minutes later. I didn't know where the next letter might be, so I paced around the gate while Holly suggested looking in various places. After a good ten minutes, at least, she pulled out the final letter from her coat pocket. Again, Kyle is a sneak! Holly was in on it, and Kyle told her to stall a little bit as he needed more time at the final destination. I opened the last letter though, and it directed me to a park up the canyon. Holly offered to drive me, so I could drive back home with Kyle and we would pick up my car after.

We got to the canyon and I saw Kyle standing by the pavilion at a park. He had his hands behind his back and was smiling but looked very nervous. Throughout the night, I knew what was coming, but it hit me all at once when he was standing there and patiently waiting as I walked toward him. When I got right next to him, he turned his body to a different direction so I followed and faced him. He proceeded to tell me how much he loves me and cares for me, and that he couldn't imagine life with anyone else. He promised me that he would love and protect me and always do his best to keep me smiling. From behind his back came a beautiful bouquet of a dozen red roses, which he handed to me before the big moment. He then got down on one knee and paused before opening the ring box and ending with "Tessa Elizabeth Millar, will you marry me?"

And I said Yes!

He got back up and gave me a hug while my eyes started to tear up. He took the ring out of the box and placed it on my finger while we hugged and kissed. After a minute or two of feeling as if we were the only two people in the world, Kyle pointed toward some nearby trees and out came a photographer he had hired to take pictures of the whole thing. She then took some closer shorts of us together before Holly came running up and gave me a hug. We gathered Kyle's things and walked back toward the cars, excited to tell our family and friends. I promptly called my mom and sent a group text to my family, including a picture of the ring.

Once we got back to my parent's house, Kyle let his parents know and we shared it on Facebook. I couldn't believe that the shiny ring on my finger was a promise of forever. I couldn't believe that this was all really happening, and that Kyle and I were making such a big commitment. I was so happy though and so ready for this next step in our lives.

From there, we had 2 months and 12 days to plan our winter wedding.

Although I had always told myself that I wanted a cute story to tell our kids, I think the way things worked out for Kyle and I is just as it should have and is cute in it's own way.

My parents met at a High School football game. My dad was the new kid and all the girls were smitten. My mom was so excited when they met up at the Stag dance after the game, and my dad called her and asked her out on a proper date shortly after. I wanted that. I wanted a story that could be used as the story line in a movie. I wanted a catch-my-breath moment when I made eye contact with the man I would marry. Yes, our story may be different than my parent's, but it's ours and it's beautiful.

I had been using Tinder on and off for about 10 months. I'd go on dates, the guys were jerks, and I'd delete my app. Then a few days would pass and I'd cave and re-download the app, only to begin messaging more guys that would take me on a date only to disappoint me when they weren't what I wanted and I wasn't right for them. It was getting discouraging and I was about ready to be done with Tinder for good, until I matched with a guy named Kyle on September 26th, 2014.

He was really cute and looked like a decent guy, based on his 5 profile pictures. Kyle was the first to message me and he said; "Hey Tess, how are you doing? :)" I responded, and we continued to message each other until I felt comfortable enough to give him my number. That way, we could continue talking without having to use the Tinder app. We texted each other well into the evening and until midnight or so when I let him know it was time to call it a night. He said he would text me the next day and I went to sleep, praying that this guy was genuine.

September 27th, 2014, I woke up fairly early as I had a breakfast date planned with a different guy I matched with on Tinder. I told Kyle about it, and he understood that I couldn't talk for a while. The date was...less than wonderful, and I couldn't wait to get home so I could get back to talking to Kyle. The only problem with that was the fact that I agreed to another date with yet another different guy from Tinder for that late afternoon. I felt so silly having to explain to Kyle that I was really interested in meeting him although I was out with other people. The second date of the day was worse than the first. He was a gentleman, yes, but it was a double date with a couple that seemed very in to each other while my date and I kind of kept our distance, as it was a first date and we could both tell we weren't a good fit. I was gracious as he dropped me off at home and thanked him for taking me out, yet knowing I likely wouldn't see him again.

As soon as I got inside, I texted Kyle. He responded quickly and we picked up where our conversation had left off. This particular Saturday had been very cloudy with rain showers basically all day, so I was listening to the pitter patter of water hitting the ground outside when I decided to see how Kyle would react if I texted him about how the weather was "perfect for cuddling". He texted me back and agreed that it was, and that if I wanted to, we could move up our date plans and get together that night. I liked him a lot, but felt that keeping our original plans for meeting the next day was best. Kyle understood and let me know how excited he was to see me.

September 28th, 2014, I went to church with my parents as usual, texting Kyle when I could. We had planned to watch a Christian Film for our first date (since it was Sunday) and go from there. The plan was to get together around four that afternoon at my parent's house. Kyle didn't have a car, though, so I let him know it was fine that I pick him up as long as he didn't judge my little Honda Civic. He promised he wouldn't and I let him know I was on my way.

When I arrived at his apartment complex, I parked my car and sent him a text letting him know I was there. He responded saying he was on his way outside, so I got out of my car and stood by it, ready to give him a hug when he approached. My heart was racing and butterflies filled my stomach more than ever before when I saw a tall, dark, and handsome man walking toward me, wearing a button up shirt and jeans. He smiled at me as he got closer and said "I'm glad you look like your pictures" and we both laughed. He gave me a hug and opened my door for me before walking around to the passenger side. We made small talk on the short drive back to my parent's home and started the movie as soon as we got inside and settled in the family room.

Now, here comes my favorite part.

Kyle sat on the couch while I made sure the DVD player was ready, then I stood up and walked toward him to sit next to him. As soon as I sat down, Kyle turned to me and said; "Is it okay if I put my arm around you?" to which I replied "Of course" and I snuggled up next to him while the movie began playing. That little gesture, that simple question meant so much to me. He respected me and was gentleman enough to ask permission, even for something so simple.

The movie ended about an hour and a half later and I wasn't sure what Kyle was feeling. We sat there in silence for a minute before I asked him if he had other plans to get to or if he would like to stay and play Scrabble or another board game. He said he was fine to stay longer if I'd like him to, so we broke out the scrabble letters. I spelled out words like "sweetheart" while he glanced over and smiled. In the middle of our game, his phone rang. It was a friend of his and he apologized, but I told him he was fine to answer. I only heard half of the conversation, but I do remember Kyle saying he was "at a friend's house and wouldn't be home until later". Once he was off the phone, I jokingly said "So I'm just your friend, huh?" and he laughed before saying "Well, I'd like you to be more but I don't want to move too fast for you." I quickly told him I was perfectly happy being more than friends and just dating him, if he was up for just dating me. He happily obliged and said he'd like me to be his girlfriend.

That's when my mom called me in to her room.

I told Kyle I would be right back and he said he'd just wait for me. When I got to my parent's room, my mom said "Who is that guy? How long is he going to stay?" At this point, it was bout 9 PM and Kyle had been there for a while. I explained we were just playing games and that I'd be taking him home soon. I didn't want her to think any wrong of him and assured her that he was one of the good ones.

Once back in the family room, I asked Kyle what his plans were for the following evening. He said he didn't have much going on, so I invited him to Family Home Evening with my Single's Ward. He said he'd love to go. Knowing that we'd see each other the next day, we decided to call it a night and I drove him home. Once we were back at his apartment, I got out of the car to say goodbye. He hugged me and thanked me for a great date before kissing me.

Yup. He kissed me on our first date. He kissed me on the first day we had ever seen each other in person. And I couldn't have been happier.

I probably looked like a giddy buffoon while driving home, but I didn't care. I was smiling to myself the whole way and I was so happy. I had found this wonderful man that seemed to truly care for me. Not only that, but he wanted to see me the next day and already laid claim on me after one date. I was so eager for the next day but we ended up texting each other until around midnight again before my eyes couldn't stay open. He said "Goodnight, mi angelita" and I was off to a blissful dreamland where nothing could have been better than that night.

The next day, I picked him up from his apartment again. He hugged me and kissed me before we went to the FHE night. After opening exercises, we decided we'd like to just go to my parent's house and have time for ourselves. Luckily, FHE was next door that night so it wasn't a far commute. We stopped before walking up the steps to my parent's porch and kissed again. Then, I noticed the front hallway lights were on. Those lights were never on unless my parents had people over or were at the front of the house. So I opened the door and there were Mom and Dad, discussing renovating plans for the stairway and a new paint color for the walls.

I was anxious. Kyle was taken by surprise. But there we were, so we made the best of it. "Mom and Dad, Kyle. Kyle, Mom and Dad." I sheepishly said while mom smiled and said hello. They talked for a little bit before Kyle and I went into the family room and mom and dad went back to their room. I apologized for him having to meet them so soon, but Kyle was perfectly fine with it and said not to worry.

We decided to start a movie since it was getting late and there wasn't much to do in town. About 10 minutes in to the movie, I was thinking to myself "Dang, I really like this guy. I might even love him. But I can't tell him that yet...I don't want to scare him away." So I kept my thoughts to myself and continued watching the movie. Not two minutes later, Kyle picked up the remote to pause the movie. I looked at him, a little confused, and he hesitated before saying "Tess... Is it too soon to say I love you?"

I couldn't believe it. Was I hearing things? No.. He really said that. I replied; "No, because I love you too." We both smiled and he gave me a quick kiss before giving me a side hug. We both stared at each other and just smiled for a minute before laughing and starting the movie again.

There you have it. He told me he loved me after only a short time. He told me he loved me on the second day he had ever seen me.

And we couldn't be happier.