Danielle straight-up told that she had a boyfriend. I actually already knew this fact. I had taken notice of her earlier after engaging in a small conversation with her. I had also seen her walking with her boyfriend. I thought why can't I meet one attractive Christian girl without a boyfriend! God’s grace was at work because her boyfriend did not come on the trip and I had. I was actually dreading the retreat because I was potentially the only graduate student attending. Instead on the first night, I met Danielle and had a long conversation. Near the end of the conversation I confessed to her that "she was the type of girl I wanted to marry". The is perhaps the smartest thing I ever said.
When we arrived back at the campus, I had resigned myself to her situation with her boyfriend. I wasn’t planning to follow-up, but my good friend Claude (an aboriginal Valencian) insisted that I give her a call. I asked her for lunch at the Shortstop Cafe.
She accepted, but planned to use the lunch to let me know that she had a boyfriend. I started writing a little Irish romance story for her. When she arrived at the restaurant, I was outside on the bench asleep in orange shorts. Not exactly an accurate signal of my interest in her. When we sat in the restaurant, I read the story to her and Danielle was pretty blown away. She broke up with her boyfriend and two months later we were engaged. I have been blessed with her ever since.I graduated in 1991 and took a job in Miami with the Pan American division of Parker Hannifin. Danielle and I were married in Burke, Virginia on 4 January 1992.
From the very start, Danielle made sacrifices for our relationship. No honeymoon, Danielle and I drove to Miami where she was to complete her last semester of school at the University of Miami. On our way down we were on the last leg of the journey around the Palmetto Expressway which is the half circle highway around Miami and konk, konk, we ran out of gas! I had forgotten that the my in-laws minivan gas gauge did not work when the gas approached empty.
After living in Florida for 9 months, Danielle was expecting our first child and I was on business travel in Venezuela when Hurricane Andrew struck. Danielle went to church and there as only a few folks and a very nervous pastor. Our area was evacuated so Danielle went to stay with some friends of ours further south. Unfortunately, this was much closer to the hurricane.
The next morning I tried to call the house where Danielle was staying. Danielle went through a terrifying night in the hallway of the house as different pieces of the house gave way from the force of the hurricane. The next morning all the phone lines were out but my call from Venezuela using 1930 phone technology made it through. She was pretty shaken. Our apartment was pretty much wiped out so we moved to a new apartment near Fort Lauderdale where Brendan was born. When Danielle went into labor, Danielle's parents and her brother David drove all through the night to arrive.
After Brendan's birth we moved back to Virginia to 46 Jason Lane, Stafford.
In Stafford, Danielle delivered Fiona in the Ford Taurus on the way back to the Hospital. The doctor had sent her home very late the night before. Danielle did not want to go to the hospital until her labor was real. It was so real, Danielle could not even walk! After Fiona, a home birth seemed like a breeze. Conall was born in the house. About the same time, I had taken a new job and my commute from Stafford was too much so we bought a townhouse that was close to church and my job. The only problem is that we could not find anyone to buy our house on Jason Lane. So we rented the house and which we still own today.
We stayed a few years in Northern Virginia. Danielle knew I wanted to move to Ireland so we agreed that we would look at moving to Ireland for 2 years. Eventually, I was offered a position in Northern Ireland. For Danielle this was probably one of the most difficult steps together initially.
This is a picture of the dinner we had with Danielle's parents before we left. On the flight over, everyone was crying except for Conall and me. I was so glad to have Conall near me because it was pretty depressing and I felt guilty. Even though Danielle was nervous about going over she did a great job adjusting once she landed. We quickly made great friends both in my job and within our church. The kids also made very strong friendships with other families in the church.
In Northern Ireland, Danielle delivered Aine Marie during a snow storm at our house in Randalstown, County Antrim. Aine is our tri-citizen (UK, Ireland and US). Danielle also discovered "Nourishing Traditions" from one of our friends Naomi Maclean. This started a change in our diet away from sugar and flour to a more traditional diet. Danielle has since become a great student of nutrition in order to better provide the food that would prove the most benefit to the whole family.
Unfortunately, the start-up firm, Aepona, where I worked in Northern Ireland was struggling in a difficult telecommunication market. It was time to look for a new position and going back seemed like the best solution. Danielle worked hard getting the house ready to be sold and packing our goods for a long international move. Our friends at church came over to help us pack.
We moved back and lived for some months in New Jersey until our house in Northern Ireland sold.
After adjusting back to the US, we found a nice house on a gravel road with some land. 8 months later we had Mairead.
Through all the moves, hard work, educating children, managing the household, paying the bills and adjusting to new challenges, Danielle has been a kind loving, loving mother and incredible wife. The children and I are thankful we have been given you in our life. Praise the Lord!
Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. (Psalm 14:1)
1 comment:
That was really beautiful; fitting for Danielle. Loved the pictures too.
~ Danielle's friend Susanne
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