The beginning of the year (2009) started with a new move to Boise, new job, and Dave’s business taking off (he was so busy, he even closed a deal on our wedding day - fortunately there was no cell service in Mexico during the honeymoon). Adjusting to “rural Boise” was a bit of a challenge for me and Dave was trying to adjust to having his girlfriend live close by. I don’t know which on of us had it harder.
We got engaged on March 27 after Dave fed me some story of running out of gas and needing to be rescued in Meridian, Idaho. What I didn’t know was that he had spent all day orchestrating the “perfect proposal” so that I wouldn’t have a clue at all, and I must say he achieved his goal. To put the story into a nutshell, after bringing him gas to put into his car, we went to check out a couple of houses in the area that he was selling. At the second house as I was wandering about, he got on one knee and asked me to marry him. At first I didn’t know if he was serious, but then I saw the ring and got excited! He had set up a table with candles and all, and we enjoyed a romantic Italian dinner. It was a fun night and very memorable.
After months of planning our wedding, June 11th arrived and it was a perfect day despite rain showers, forgetting my dress at the Tuscany and the photographer’s house burning down. My favorite moment of the day was entering the sealing room surrounded by all of our family and friends. At that moment, all my jitters vanished and I couldn’t stop smiling. We had an adventurous honeymoon in Zihuatenejo, Mexico where we parasailed, swam with dolphins, snorkeled, relaxed on the beach and learned new cooking skills. The food was delicious and we couldn’t get enough of the guacamole and mangos. It was extremely hard to come back to real life.
Summer went by way too quick but we did manage to squeeze in a trip to Antioch, CA to see Dave’s grandma and his cousins, go to a family reunion, and do a little camping. We also started building a house at the end of the summer. We heard a lot of “Are you crazy? You just got married!” and “If you can make it through building a house, you can make it through anything.” As you know, Dave is always up for a challenge, so we embarked on what would prove to be a challenge and adventure indeed.
Intertwined with the stress of building a house, my mom underwent a kidney transplant in October. My brother, Shae, was the donor. Despite it being a time of uncertainty, it turned out to be a strengthening experience for the entire family. We saw a lot of little blessings and miracles along the way and it was amazing to feel the support and outpouring of love from family and friends. You’ll be happy to know that both recipient and donor are doing phenomenal.
At the close of 2009, we managed to get moved into our new home just before Christmas and enjoyed the peace that comes with the holiday season. Now that the boxes are unpacked and we are settled, we are ready for another year of adventure! We are grateful for each of you and the support you have given us this past year. You are among our blessings!
Love David and Tara Nielsen
*We also started a blog…we’ll see if we can keep up with it. You can find it at www.tarandavid.blogspot.com.
