Real People in Love: Lindsay & Chris

Earlier this week I tweeted about my need for Real People in Love and I was overjoyed when the wonderful Lindsay from From the Aisle to Aloha responded. Lindsay is a military wife who is just about to get her hubby back!

How old are you and Chris?

We are both 25 years old. I'm always a year older than him for just two months, then he catches up to me. :)


How long have you been together?
We've been dating for almost five years! Next week is our five year dating anniversary.


When's your anniversary?
Our wedding anniversary is May 23rd. We just celebrated our two year anniversary!

What are your occupations?

I'm a full time blogger/artist and he is an officer in the Navy.

How did you meet?

Well, we first met probably in preschool Sunday School, but we don't remember that. Our families went to church together and then years down the road, we attended sister churches. So we hung out in similar circles and our youth groups did events together through high school. We met for real when we were about 16 years old. Chris had a mad crush on me and basically was in love with me for four years. Years later, we reconnected as we were both in our best friends' wedding (my best girl friend married his best guy friend!) I was so dense that he had to spell it out for me, I finally saw him with fresh eyes and he convinced me that I was, in face, in love with him too.


For more on Lindsay & Chris' dating story check it out here!

How did you get engaged?

I was in Acapulco, Mexico on a (very challenging) missions internship for about six months and Chris came down to visit me and encourage me during his spring break. When he got there, he told me he wanted to take me on a nice date that week, so he had me go shopping for a special dress and we picked out a restaurant on the water for dinner during sunset. He could barely finish his meal before he was dragging me (it felt like!) out of the restaurant and out onto the beach to watch the sunset. As we approached a big group of boulders, he had me ask a local man to take our picture. And then he had me ask him to take another, and as he did, Chris got onto his knee and asked me to marry him. I turned bright red, I was so surprised. We kissed as all the local Mexican families around us cheered "Beso! Beso!" (Kiss! Kiss!)


Read more here.

Tell us about your wedding day (not necessarily elements but feelings too)

Our wedding was such a fabulous celebration. We called that whole week our "week of feasting" because Chris' birthday was on the 21st, his graduation and commissioning from the Naval Academy was the 22nd and our wedding was the 23rd. Every element of the wedding had some touch of our friends and family in it-- from the massive amounts of food that my mom prepared for the reception, my friend's brother DJing, my second cousin as the photographer, etc.


I will always remember dancing up a storm with everyone from my college girl friends, to Chris' grandma, the elders from church, and his Naval Academy buddies on the dance floor.


For more check out Lindsay's wedding posts!

Define Love:

Love is a decision and commitment you make to put another person's desires, wants and needs about your own.

What's the toughest part of being in a committed relationship?

For us, the hardest parts are the deployments. Of course, it's so hard to be apart from each other, but they also challenge us because we often have limited communication and they are stressful and if we aren't conscious of each other, it's so easy to hurt the other person's feelings. Times like those are the times I am incredibly thankful for a husband that I can trust wholly and confidently in every aspect.

What is the best part?

The best part is always having your best friend there. I'm getting giddy because he's coming home from his latest deployment very very soon and I get to have him back home with me again!! Woohoo!

What is the best day you and Chris have had together?

Wow, that's a tough question! Seriously, we have a million best days together. (Is that totally mushy and gross? Haha)


My favorite days are the ones when he wakes me up while it's still dark out and bundles me into the car, throws the boards on the roof and we drive up to the North Shore. He catches a "dawn patrol" surf session as I watch the sunrise over him while snuggled in my blanket on the beach. Once he comes in after the sun is up, we head to our favorite beach Walmea Bay Beach, snag an early morning parking spot and spend the rest of the day soaking in the sun and playing in the huge waves that crash on the shore. Then when we are tired and bronzed, we head home to dinner. That's a perfect day with Chris.

What makes you different from other couples?

We're opposites in so many things but sometimes I think we are the same person. Chris is pretty organized and logical, I'm "happy chaos" and definitely a "feeler." I'm artsy, he's a math mastermind. I hate most vegetables, he'd eat a 5 lb salad every day if he could. We share very strong, outgoing personalities and are both incredibly stubborn. And we both tell really dumb jokes. :)

What is the most essential element of making it?

Oh, I wouldn't say we've discovered the secret. But putting your spouse before yourself has got to be a top priority. And laughing together a lot. And probably eating ice cream together helps.

What is your favorite thing to do together?

We love surfing together. Chris is such a good encourager and I can't help but smile when I catch a wave and I hear him shouting "woooooohoooo!" from behind me in the water. And he couldn't be happier than when he's in the ocean, so I love seeing him just totally in his element. We even won a tandem surf competition surfing together last June!

Do you have a song?

Yep, Coldplay's "Til Kingdom Come." Chris sent that song to me over AIM (haha, remember that?) when we first started dating and told me that he would have waited forever for me. The first few chords of that song still make my heart jump when I hear them.

What are your hopes for the future?

Lots of babies. Maybe putting down some roots somewhere eventually, or maybe just traveling the world for a little while longer. Definitely lots more adventures. We're just ready for wherever God takes us.

Anything else the world needs to know about love?

It's not always hunky-dory. Sometimes it's really hard, but love grows even in the hard times, through the fights and arguments. One of the best things I've heard is that it is not a 50-50 give and take, it's 100-100.

If you'd like to participate in the Real People in Love series just shoot me an email!