Today you are in for a real treat! Shannon Hollman sent us a sweet love story and we held back tears reading it. It comes from the sweetest story of Angie and Alan. They sent their story into Shannon for a photography giveaway she was having. We hope it touches you just as much as it did us!

Here is Angie and Alan’s story…

While attending Great Falls High School in Montana, I was what you would call an extremely sensible, “good” girl, who always spent way more time on academics than matters of the heart.  I was not a risk-taker and my mother still says to this day, “You never gave me a single moment of trouble in your whole life.”  As a junior in high school, I had crushes on boys, but would never ever dream of talking to any boy that I liked.  Quite simply, I was way too shy.

Therefore, you can imagine my dismay when during my junior year of high school, a Valentine poem and white carnation was delivered to my orchestra class on Valentine’s Day, addressed to me from a secret admirer.  I must have turned a thousand shades of red as my name was called and I had to raise my hand to have the flower delivered to my seat.  I was so embarrassed that I didn’t even read the card and hid it under my seat and tried to pretend like the whole thing didn’t happen, even though my mind was spinning and my pulse was racing.  Everyone in class “oohed” and “aahed” and I truly thought that I was going to die!

As soon as the period bell rang, and most of the class had cleared out, I discreetly pulled out the card.   It was a simple card, cut in the shape of a heart and made out of pink cardstock paper.  It was folded in half and the inside said:

We do not know each other.

We have no place to start.

But, if you truly believe in this day…

Finish this number with a pair of hearts…

 (His phone number)

Call after 9 pm.

 Mr. A.

I was so touched by the words and immediately started thinking of all of the male classmates that I knew whose last name began with an A.  Only a couple guys came to mind, but none that I felt could have thought of such a clever idea.  Inside, I was beaming with joy, but at the same time I seriously doubted if I’d have the courage to call the mysterious phone number that evening.

As 9 pm rolled around, my stomach was in knots and I truly thought that I was going to vomit!  I picked up the phone a couple times, but couldn’t bring myself to dial the number.  Quite frankly, I was afraid.  What if the poem was a joke?  What if the person who wrote the poem was someone who was not my type at all?   I wouldn’t want to lead him on by calling him.  What if… he was really someone wonderful?  Would that mean that I had to take a risk and open up my heart?  I over-analyzed the situation to death, pacing back and forth.

As you probably guessed, I completely wimped out and did not call the phone number.  At 9:20 pm my heart nearly popped out of my chest when I heard my phone ring.  I answered the phone and it was two of my best friends.  They cut to the chase and said, “Angie, we knew you wouldn’t have the courage to call the phone number, so we decided to call for you.”  Apparently one of my friends dialed the number, the phone only rang once and the mysterious poem writer started speaking before she could say anything.  He said, “Hello, this is Alan (Last name).”  In a panic, my friend didn’t know what to say so she said, “Oh, I was trying to call Rob.  I must have called the wrong phone number.”  Then, she hung up on him.

Excitedly, my friends said to me, “The A in Mr. A, must stand for Alan!”   They then proceeded to tell me all that they knew about Alan.  My friend, Heidi, said that he was a senior at our high school and that she had attended the same elementary school as him.  She said that she remembered him as being a nice, quiet, smart kid.  They quickly did some research and learned that he was a dedicated student, a football player, and that he had just been accepted to the United States Military Academy for college in West Point, New York.  They said, “Angie, he is perfect for you!  Just perfect!”

I sat there in disbelief trying to take this all in.  I did not know Alan, but his mother had been my study hall teacher.  I was so excited to hear that he had so many wonderful qualities, but at the same time, all that I could think about was the fact that they had hung up on the poor guy right after he announced his name.  I figured that he must be hurt and mad, thinking that I was the one who had hung up on him so rudely.  I felt terrible about the situation, but at the same time, I was now even more afraid to call him.

Ten days went by and my friends were over at my house for my 17^th birthday party.  They started chit-chatting with my mom and told her all about this wonderful guy named Alan who had written me a poem and sent me a flower.  Remember, I was super shy so I hadn’t spoken a word of this to my family.  I had saved the carnation, but had it hidden in my room where no one could see it.  My mother, who is often referred to as Saint Cindy for her super kind heart, immediately said, “Oh Angie, that poor boy.  You really should call him up and offer him an apology.  Just think of how terrible he must have felt, knowing that you hung up on him as soon as he said his name!”

I think that hearing my mother’s approval was all that I needed to muster up the courage to call him.  The very next day when I got home from school, I picked up the phone, dialed his number and spoke with him.  I was incredibly nervous and shaking, but managed to say, “Hi, this is Angie.  You sent me the Valentine card and flower and I just wanted to thank you for them.”  I then said, “The girl that called you was not me.  It was my friend, calling on my behalf, since I was too nervous to call you.  Anyway, I’m calling to say that I’m sorry.”  And then I froze, panicked and said, “Ok, well…  goodbye.”  As I was getting ready to hang up the phone, I suddenly heard him say… “Wait, wait, wait… How would you like to go bowling with me this weekend?”  Surprising myself, I said, “Okay!”  We set a time and had our very first date (my very first date ever) a few days later.

When he picked me up, he was so nervous and quite shy.  I liked him from the minute I met him.  We bowled, but I don’t remember much about the game.  I remember drinking 7-Up and getting to know each other.  He told me that his mother had mentioned my name to him a couple of times and said that I would be a nice girl to get to know.  On a whim, he decided to take a chance and send me the Valentine.  I thought he was handsome and I loved his blue eyes.  He made me feel so comfortable and safe.  He was kind, humble, and respectful.  It was the start of a beautiful relationship.

I fell in love with him, very quickly, but being the cautious person that I am, I didn’t tell him.  We really got to know each other as friends.  Even though we both had strong feelings for each other, we were afraid to get too serious, given the reality of our situation.  Alan would be leaving for college clear across the country in a few months and I would still be a senior in high school.  West Point was an incredibly rigorous college, which would only allow him to travel home maybe twice a year.

We shared our first sweet kiss the night before he left for college.  I was so sad to see him leave, heartbroken really.  We communicated via letters and the occasional phone calls that he was allowed to make.  We decided to remain friends, instead of locking ourselves into a committed relationship.  I was so sad the summer after he left.  All that I could think about was that I had met the love of my life and now he was gone.

To make an incredibly long story short, through distance and time, our friendship, commitment, and love for each other only grew.  We dated long distance for ten years.  During this time, Alan graduated from West Point with his college degree and then owed the Army six years of active duty, which required some overseas living and multiple moves from state to state.  While Alan fulfilled his Army commitment, I poured all of my energy into my college education and was able to realize my dream of becoming the first person in my family to graduate from college.  While living apart wasn’t easy, we feel like it only confirmed the strength of our love.  Twelve years after we met, we happily married and started our new life together!

Six months after we married, I became pregnant with our first child.  Half way through the pregnancy we learned, via ultrasound, that she had a life-threatening birth defect (a congenital diaphragmatic hernia) and would have to be delivered at a large medical facility in another state.  We learned that she would immediately need surgery and would only have a 50 percent chance of survival.  Alan supported me through my darkest days.  He truly was my rock and I don’t think that I would have made it through the whole experience without his amazing love and support.  Our daughter spent her first 3 months of life in intensive care and Alan and I spent every minute of the day and many nights at her side.  Our daughter nearly lost her life on several occasions and the stress was sometimes more than we could bear.  Such an experience reveals the true character of an individual and it only confirmed my love for him even more.  I couldn’t have made it through the experience without him.  Our daughter survived and is doing incredibly well now.  We truly believe that we have experienced a miracle! We have now been married for 8 years and have three daughters, ages 7, 5, and 3.

Alan was my first love and has always been the only love of my life.  Over the 20 years that we have known each other, our love has endured some hardships that have only made us value each other all the more.  I am so thankful that he was brave enough to send that Valentine to a stranger so many years ago.  He will always be my Valentine.

If you are not a big pile of mush now after reading that story, head over to Shannon’s site and see more beautiful wedding photography! Thank you so much for sending us such a beautiful story of love and how quirky life can be sometimes Angie and Alan, your story was so sweet. Thank you for allowing us to share this with our readers and we wish you and your family a lifetime full of love and laughter! May each day be better than the last!