Matthew was introduced to the Shelton family much quicker than I had planned to induct him to the large overbearing family. We had found out at Easter that Marcus had Gastric Cancer but we were hoping that through surgery he would be able to fight this cancer. The day of Marcus's Gastric Bypass and only after 10 days of Matthew and I had been dating, I got a call from my dad on my drive home from work. He gave me the terrible news that Marcus's conditions were much worse than the doctors and we had expected. I was devastated. I didn't know what this meant exactly right now but I knew I didn't want to be alone right now. Matthew was already at work when I called him in tears and told him of heartache. He could feel my need to be with someone at this time and told his boss he had to take the day off from working before he had really even started his work day. I then got a call from my dad again saying that he, my brother, Matt, and my sister-in-law, Nikki, would meet me in Salt Lake City for dinner if I wanted to meet them. Without hesitation Matthew agreed that he would have the fated family meeting much earlier than he had anticipated. But it was very quick that my dad realized how much Matthew would sacrifice to be there for me and earned a lot of respect for Matthew.
That weekend Marcus and Colleen made an impromptu decision to come to Utah to be with family during this hard t
ime of cooping with the news. Matthew once again was delighted and quick to agree to come home with me for the weekend even though Matthew was working over the weekend and was going to have to do lots of driving to spend as much time as he could with my family. Being together as a family really helped with all of us to deal with the long road that might be ahead of us. We found ways to coop by talking, laughing, reminiscing, and stress relieving activities like going to the movies, eating, and pedicures. Matthew won over my family with his eagerness to help out, laid back attitude, and being able to handle the Shelton chaos.
The Shelton fa
mily started rallying around Marcus and we all were trying to find ways to travel to Boise to see Marcus. Marcus and I planned a trip to Colleen's family's cabin for Memorial Day Weekend. Marcus wanted to get to know Matthew better on a one-on-one basis and I needed my favorite brother's approval. Marcus did what he did best and showed us a good time by making all tra
veling arrangements, making sure we were comfortable and entertained. He even found and purchased us Colbie Caillat concert tickets for the weekend. By the end of the trip, I had gotten Marcus's stamp of approval and Matthew had singled out Marcus as his favorite.
In the month of June, I decided I wanted to show Matthew my childhood stomping grounds in Boise and take the opportunity to see Marcus again while he was
taking a break from chemo treatments. It was good to see that even though Marcus was going through so much he was being so optimistic about life still. He once again treated like guests in his home even though he was worn out from his medical conditions. Marcus took as much interest as me in showing Matthew the beauty of Boise. We went downtown to the Farmer's market, met my family the Littlebear's, and our family favorite of the paddle boats.
For the next few months, I would call Marcus several mornings a week on my drive to work in the morning. I would update him on Matthew and me and he would update me on his radiation and chemo treatments. Marcus then started asking the inevitable question as to when Matthew and I were going to get married. He did this mostly in teasing but also because I know he wanted to see my happiness. There was one day he had taken a little to far for me and he could tell I was upset at the end of our conversation. That night he called my cell and I screened it. Instead of asking me to call back on his voice mail he politely apologized for being so pushy and expressed that he really liked Matthew and that he only wanted to see me get married in the temple unlike he had shown through his example.
After Matthew and I got engaged, I regret that my calls weren't as often to Marcus. I took for granted how well Marcus was accepting the Cancer treatments and thought we had a long time together. I turned down chances to visit him for wedding plans and I looked forward to his visit with Colleen to North Ogden for my bridals showers. Although on Nov 5, 2010, Marcus passed away suddenly and very unexpectedly. When I got this dreaded call, I was devastated. This couldn't have just happened!! My fairy tale ending couldn't happen without him there by my side. All I could think about is Marcus not being at my wedding, the wedding that he had been so monumental in. My children someday couldn't love and title Marcus as their favorite uncle. He would be at family reunions for me to pal around with. He wouldn't help me to herd my family to move on family plans. He wouldn't be at family gatherings to delight us all with his sense of humor and laughter. The next week, Matthew was my rock. I had to depend on him for everything. I can't even imagine how I could have handled such a tragedy like this without him. I have now come to realize that although Marcus will not be with me physically, he will be there on my wedding day and just as happy as he can be for me. I am so grateful I found my eternal best friend before I lost my best friend, Marcus Norvell Shelton.
I had been attending a new singles for 6 months without being noticed, befriended, or receiving a calling. On March 14th as I was anxiously engaged in a Sunday School lesson, I noticed a young lady continually glancing my way. At one of her many gazes, I caught her eye and let her know that I had noticed her obvious attention with a smile. At this point, I had decided that I was going to get to know her and had the feeling that there could be a future with us.
In class, it was announced that this girl would be spotlighted during Ward Prayer that evening. I had never gone before but decided to take the opportunity to go that night. During the spotlight, I discovered Jenny was much older than I had guessed. I thought to myself "I have no chance." But after many battles with myself in my head, I came to the conclusion that I am mature enough to pursue an older woman.
Two weeks later, I searched for Jenny on Facebook to try to further our friendship. She was responsive in her emails and conversations. I was finding myself emailing her nightly and was surprised how much we could talk about and relate to each other. I was disappointed to find she was leaving town soon. Even in her absence I still wanted to continue emailing even though she couldn't respond.
I looked forward to her homecoming so that I could put my plan of action in place. Although Jenny's patience was lacking and she assumed I was dragging my feet. So I gladly accepted her forward actions of inviting me over. Since this first time of giving into her forward actions and lack of patience, I have found myself succumbing to her demands and plan to for the rest of my life. ;)
What do you get when you put Singles Wards, Argyle, Facebook, Voodoo Dolls, and LDS Cruises together????? OUR LOVE STORY!!
Matthew and I met March 14, 2010 in a Single's Ward Sunday School class. I noticed a new, good looking, tall "drink of water" in agyle across the room. Being a considerate and an otherwise engaged friend, I turned to my friend and pointed out the fresh meat and committed to a new mission to hook them up. That night, unlike other Sunday nights, I decided we needed to go to Ward Prayer. And to our delight "Argyle Boy" was there also. My friend took this opportunity to introduce herself and I politely joined the conversation. After an hour of correspondence and finding out how young "Argyle Boy" was, I was even more determined that this was a match made in heaven. The next few weeks, we bumped into Matthew at church and other ward functions.
One late night after seeing Matthew at a ward activity, I was pleased to receive a "Friend Request" through Facebook from him. Although it was 1:00 AM and had woken me from my slumber. I quickly returned the request from my phone application but being blind and sleep texting, I accidentally sent an email. Matthew quickly responded back and we found ourselves in a bantering email conversation. We found ourselves emailing for the next few weeks nightly. Conversations just being friendly and playful. But because of Matthew's irregular work hours and weekend trips home, we didn't see each other for weeks after. And soon after I was leaving for an LDS Single's cruise with friends for 10 days which made an absence in our email correspondence.
That crui
se turned out to be the longest, most miserable, awkward, and lonely vacation I have ever taken. I was more than happy to get back on American soil as an available single again and find a plethora of emails from Matthew indicating that I had put him under some kind of VooDoo magic. With this inside joke, I came back to Pleasant Grove with a VooDoo doll souvenir for him. Although at this point, Matthew had me in a spell of his own.
A week later, I got tired of waiting for Matthew to take some initiative and invited him over for Sunday dinner. It was the first time we had every hung out but it felt like we were best friends already. From that day on, we have become even closer, better friends, and soul mates.
o a Family Home Evening for my single's ward about food storage, I came home to Matthew gung-ho about getting pre
pared and started on my emergency preparedness. Matthew was more than willing and enthusiastic about helping me get started on this project. One day I came home to him thrilled with the new purchase he had made of a vacuum packer. He had taken this to a whole new level and had decided we need to water proof all of the items we were putting in our 72 hour kit. We also hit the Case Lot Sale at Macey's to start on a 3 months supply of food and water. We know we have only gotten started and still have much more to work on but are proud to say we are self sufficient for at least 12 hours!!! :)
