The Story of Us!

Written by Kate W on 04.05.13

Here is "our" story & some of our favorite memories & pictures! :)

Here is the story of how it happened... My beau Mark & I have been courting since September 2012 (8 months now). We met at a mutual friends' summer bbq back in mid- August 18 last year (you can view photos of that event here).

Being in the same homeschool circle as Mark & his family (CHEF- Christian Home Educators Fellowship of Missouri), I had known of the Ritters for many years, without actually knowing them personally (if you can understand that! haha!)- it's kind of hard to miss a family of that size!!! :) In fact, it is rather surprising to me that our paths didn't cross sooner, as we have SO many mutual friends in common!

I can remember one of the annual CHEF Conferences that we were at several years ago, (back in 2001 or 2002, probably?) when Mr & Mrs Ritter were scheduled to speak on adoption & large families. We heard their story & saw their family & how they all related so nicely to each other... Mom I were both really touched by their story of how God brought their family together (you can read more here).

So we had known of the Ritters & had heard about how amazing their family was (from mutual friends) for many years, but did not know them personally ourselves yet... That summer bbq we went to changed everything! :) - in a good way, of course!!!! ;)

Several different families (all mutual friends) were invited to this fellowship night with the Summers last August. There were probably close to a hundred people there! We spent the night playing volleyball, eating a wonderful pot-luck meal, playing pool, talking, playing frisbee etc.

I spent the latter part of that evening talking to several of Mark's sisters, hearing their story & getting to know them. We spent like 3 hours talking together, as the party guests were leaving! :) Little did I know that Mark stood behind us & listened to our conversation! (I didn't see him... To this day, my Dad & I both say that we did not see Mark there that night, at all!!!) Just as I had been told, their family was pretty darn amazing!!! :) I loved talking to them & getting to know them!!! (little did I know that I would be courting their brother in less than a month!!! It is amazing how God works & orchestrates our lives, in His own Sovereign way!!!)

That night, Mrs Ritter talked to Mom about having our family out to their Farm the following Saturday. You can view some photos from that day here & here. We had a lot of fun out at their Farm that day!!!

At the Farm that day, Mark & I struck up a conversation while washing dishes. It amazed me (& still does, to this day!!!) as to how much we had in common! Besides the obvious factors of sharing our faith in God, having a multi-generational Vision, a desire to homeschool our future children, walking in a conservative manner etc, there were SO many similarities... Even in the "small" things, like favorite colors, sodas, spices to cook with etc! He was (& still is!) perfect, in my eyes!!! He had gone to culinary school (my dream!!!) & had worked as a chef in his family's restaurant & hotel that they had owned. He loved cooking, as much as I did! We shared favorite dishes, spices, ingredients... Later we found more & more similarities & things in common... We sorta just "clicked"! haha! When we left the Farm that night, Mark was on my heart that whole night... I journaled & prayed about it all til late that night (& again that next morning).

Sometime after that, Mom asked me to meet her & Dad for lunch. After teasing me a bit, Dad  told me that one of the Ritter young men wanted to "get to know" me. I hoped SOOOOO much that it was Mark. And, lo & behold, it was!!! :) I was SOOOOO happy when they told me that (an answer to prayer, to be sure!) & I couldn't wait to tell my best friend, the second I got in the car!!! ;)

Thus was the beginning of Mark & I "getting to know each other"- the first step in the courtship process. Over those next few weeks, we all went to a picnic together, had the Ritters over to our house, went to dinner with friends, saw a movie together, went to a concert on Art Hill, went to a Psalm-sing at their Pastors' house etc.

Sometime later, my parents, Mr & Mrs Ritter, Mark & I went out to dinner. And... Mark asked my Dad's official permission to court me. Dad said yes!!! :) Thus began our official courtship!

In the months that followed, my boss' family visited the Farm (also see here). We all went to the Zoo together. We went to a Harvest Party that the Brabo family hosted (also see here). The girls did a couple of  photo shoots of us (also see here & here). Mark & Jessica catered with us twice (also see here). We visited a pumpkin patch together. We spent Thanksgiving & Christmas together (also see here). We had dinner together a couple of times. We went to the annual CHEF Christmas Ball together (also see here & here). We went ice skating twice (also see here). My family had the Ritters over. We went to the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) rodeo together.

And then he proposed!!! :) the day before Valentine's Day (February 13, 2013)! I was SO surprised, I was not expecting that at all yet!!! He pulled it off perfectly!!! :) [More on that in my next post!] :) Mr Ritter appreciates a courtship to last a year, to go through all four seasons, so that you can see all aspects of the other person's character, faith, personality etc.

Now we begin the whirlwind of planning a wedding! :) As well as pre- marital counseling, learning the dog business, working on "our" house etc. It will be a very busy next couple of months! We have set the date for Saturday, September 14, at a Church here in town. Most of our siblings (& my boss' family) will be in the wedding. :) We have decided to have an autumn Country-themed wedding (you can view some inspiration/ ideas on my Pinterest page here & here). We can't wait to show y'all what we're planning! :) And have our family & close friends celebrate our covenant with us!

I am SOOOOOO excited about marrying Mark! He is the "man of my dreams"! I am so grateful to his parents for raising him with an understanding of what it means to be the Provider, Protector, Priest & Patriarch of our family. I am also very glad that Mrs Ritter felt the Lord's Hand & guided her to invite our family out to the Farm! Without that nudge, all of this might not be happening!!! I'm also very grateful to my parents & family for instilling their Vision, core values & convictions into me. It is our desire to stand on our parents' shoulders & further their Vision, raising many children for the Lord's Service, leaving a godly legacy for many years to come, the good Lord willing!

Mark is sweet, caring, godly, respectful, considerate... the perfect gentleman! He takes such good care of me & has my best interests at heart!!! I have the best!!!! man in the world, all for my very own! He is SOOOOO much more amazing than I ever thought, dreamed or prayed he would be! God is SOOOOO Faithful! It amazes me, to see how He was orchestrating all of this to come together, years before it came to fruition! I cannot wait to be joined with him in a God-honoring covenantal marriage, in 162 days (05 months, 09 days & counting!!!) What??? Who's counting?!?!? ;)

                   
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By definition, a "courtship" is radically different than the World's modern definition of "serial dating" or "hooking up" (whatever you want to call it!)... It is a deliberate relationship, in pursuit of marriage. It has different standards, goals, values, priorities & boundaries than dating does. It heavily involves parents & siblings in the relationship- for accountability, mentoring & protection. It is a "family affair," rightly- just as it should be! (we were born into families for a reason!)

One thing that helped us was our close, tight relationships with our parents & siblings. They have spent a lot of time talking to us, helping us work through things, communicating, imparting wisdom etc. They have kept us on the straight & narrow road. We definitely could not do this without them!!!

 Back in January, we met with our parents & discussing an extensive, long list of "courtship questions" that a friend of Mom's found (put together by Pastor James McDonald & his wife Stacy). These helped us to better understand the other person, to discern each other's walk with the Lord, understanding of Scripture, relationships with parents & siblings, values, convictions, Vision for life etc. [I would highly encourage any courting couple- or person hoping to get married someday, for that matter!- to look over those questions by the McDonalds!)

Be blessed today!