Our Love Story, Tiamarie223 & Mastrop24

My husband has given me a wonderful Valentines gift, so here's one to him, the story of how we came to be. I thought I'd share with all of our Railbird friends, it's a good one.

There once was a girl named Tia. Her best friend, Brenny had to move away. Brenny's mom said the only way they could move back was if her little brother and sister wanted to go too. So she called Tia for a favor. She said "I know if he's got a girl to talk to he'll come down, please, for me?" So Tia agreed, even though he was only 15. And she was so worldly and mature at 16. Anything for Brenny. There was a slight complication, though, Tia was pregnant. But that didn't seem to bother Mark. They began talking on the phone for hours a day. And to Tia's surprise, she actually liked him. He had a cute voice and was funny. They had a lot in common, too. And best of all, he didn't seem to mind that she was pregnant with another mans baby. Pretty soon, he was asking his mom to move back too. And Tia was so excited to finally be able to see him.

The day they got back to Florida Tia had to work. Much to Tia's surprise the most gorgeous guy with beautiful eyelashes and an amazing smile walked into the bakery where she was working. Then to her delight he introduced himself as Mark, Brenny's brother. He took her breath away, she didn't know what to say. There she was, starting to show and wearing a hairnet, not quite the way she had in mind of looking when they finally came face to face. She was busy and didn't know what to say, so they only talked for a second before he left. A week or so passed with little talk between them. When she finally asked what was wrong (thinking maybe he was disappointed in how she looked) he told her that he thought she didn't like him, because of her reaction in the bakery. She explained and they soon began spending every available minute together. He went to doctors appointments with her and rubbed her feet when she'd worked all day. For being "only 15" he was amazing to her, everything a girl could ask for. And with her prgnant hormones, she knew, that at times, she could be a raging B***H! For there first Valentine's day together, he bought her Balloons and a teddy bear. After a few months, though, real life hit and they moved away again. His mother took him to stay with his Aunt and the aunt didn't like the idea of the pregnant girl in florida, so they were made to break up. Here's a picture of them the day he left. To be so young and foolish again!

They talked on the phone occasionally, emailed sometimes, and Tia stayed friends with Brenny, so she always knew what he was up to. They had other siginificant others and stayed friendly when they did chat. But Tia's heart always belonged to him, no matter who she dated. She had one boyfriend tell her "If that Mark guy showed up tomorrow I'd be gone in a heartbeat, wouldn't I?" Since her answer would only hurt him, she didn't answer. Mark's girlfriends didn't care for his friendship with Tia, but they were states apart, so they dealt with, only deleting her emails once in a while.

Then one day, four years after they split, Brenny called Tia and said, "Mark is being foolish, call him. I know your the only person he'll listen to." So Tia called, and they began talking like they had when they'd first met. All the old feelings came to the surface. Soon Mark was on a greyhound to pick up Tia and her two daughters, to bring them back home to Florida. For Tia, it was a dream come true. That first day back together, after all that time, confirmed he was the same guy he'd been as a teenager. And he was awesome with her kids.(She'd had another daughter in the years apart.) She only allowed one man into their lives, so that was a concern to her. But they adored him too. So they loaded her car to the brim and headed out for a road trip.

The plans they had made for Florida fell through, so they went to stay with Tia's grandmother, while they both found jobs. Tia's Grandmother was a church secratary and was close friends with the pastor in her church. He was also a family friend. While working at the house one day, he asked Tia what her plans were. After making a joke about living in sin, since they couldn't afford two places and had no extra money to get married, the pastor pulled Mark aside. He offered to marry them for free. So Mark pulled Tia outside and said "Tia, we're getting married." No romantic proposal from him, lol. What was supposed to be a simple ceremony with only her Gram and his sister as witnesses turned into the real thing. Her Gram made her a wedding dress, her aunt made a cake, and her other aunt provided food for a reception.. Then as an added surprise, as a gift to them, Tia's Gram paid for Tia's mother and sister and brother to come down from Tennessee. It was a beautiful day. Tia was the happiest she'd ever been, other than the birth of her children. Mark was so nervous, his leg shook through the whole ceremony, much to the delight of the best man.

They had no money for a real honeymoon, but they spent one night away from the kids and began their life together. They moved into a small home, and a little over a year after they were married had another girl.

By this time Mark was Daddy to Tia's other girls and it seemed as if that was the way it had always been. They've had their ups and downs. He joined the army and left them for a while, but he came home safely.

(Home on leave-I was sooooo glad to see him)

They had another daughter (much to Mark's disappointment a son was not in the cards for him, but he delights in his daughters.)

Last November, they celebrated their seventh anniversary together, and life is looking good for them.

Their daughters

I hope you've enjoyed the story of how we came to be. I love him more now, than ever. He has been everything to us, a wonderful husband, father, provider. If my daughters can find men like him, I know they will be happy.

So...