Hole #1

This could become a fairly long post... don't tell me I didn't warn you!

In 9 days, Josh and I will celebrate our FOURTH wedding anniversary. Where has the time gone?! In honor of us, I want to share a bit about our history and Josh's proposal.

Josh and I met in May 2001 at Willingers. He had a girlfriend and I was 100%, completely, fully, anti-long distance relationships (our colleges were 2.5 hours apart). With all my heart I believe it was God that brought us together-- we became an official couple on Sept 2, 2001. I was 19 years old and Josh was 20. Although we only saw each other on the weekends, our relationship progressed quickly. In just 1 month and 10 days, Josh dropped the "L" word. Within 3 months we talked about getting married (and I was still only 19!). On our 1 year anniversary, I moved to France for 4 months. I returned home around 11PM on December 21st (my golden birthday) and Josh proposed to me the next day.

That day, December 22nd, 2002, Josh told me that he had something special for me at his parents house (they conveniently were gone). I figured it was for my birthday. When we got there he explained that he had designed a golf course in his house and we were going to play it. I thought that was odd... but I went with it.

He even wrote a "Yardage Book" for the course, which he called "Josh's Dream Course". On the first page, he wrote:
Course Architect: Joshua J. Docken
Inspired By: Whitney E. Thydean

The course was 9 holes long, and for each hole he had written what it was inspired by. For the next 9 days, I am going to post 1 hole per day. It is fun to look back and remember this sweet and precious time in our lives!

Here we go..

The first page is actually called, "The History" and it reads...

Josh's dream course was created by Joshua Jeffrey Docken and inspired by Whitney Elizabeth Thydean. The project was started in June 2001 and will be played for the first time December 22, 2002. Soon after it will be open to the public. A special thanks to the man upstairs... none of this would be possible without God's awesome love. Thanks to all my family, Whit's family, and our friends for all their continued love and support. Most importantly I'd like to thank Whitney for always loving me and making all my dreams come true.

Awwww.... :)

Now, here is Hole#1.

Hole 1: "Cold Snickers and Dr. Pepper"
This hole was inspired by the countless times I came to ask you for a cold snickers and Dr. Pepper. I just loved seeing your smile and chatting with you... it didn't take long for me to give you your fist nickname "Smiles". Boy, I'm glad refills were only 25 cents or I'd be broke for sure. These times inspired me to write my first poem about you which later led to the letter I wrote you... the one that started it all!

So after he read this to me, we played the hole. The winner would get a prize, which varied for each hole. The winner of hole #1 got a smile.

So... you might (or are probably not) be interested in this letter he mentioned. Turns out, I still have it! I thought I would share that too because it really was an integral part of us becoming a couple!

Here is the letter. It was written just days before we started dating.

Whitney,
I just wanted to thank you for everything this last week. I'm really glad I had the chance to meet you and hang out with you, but I wish we could have met a lot sooner. I also wish I had more time to tell you how I felt (in case you didn't notice I'm pretty slow with that) because I'd feel like I was lying if I didn't. You really are awesome... you have one of the greatest personalities and cutest smiles I've ever seen and I'm not sure if I'm more intrigued with the places you've traveled, or what you did while you were there...it really shows your strong faith, your respect for life and others, as well as your huge heart!

I guess I just wanted to tell you what I haven't the last few nights because I feel like I owe you at least that...and since I probably won't be able to talk to you before I leave, I'll have to write it. I think you are one of the most amazing women I have ever met and I'm blessed to have had the chance to get to know you a little because I like you! I'll hopefully talk to you soon, but I'm late for work... I hope you have a great day! Keep smiling!
Thanks,
Josh Docken
jdocken4470@vax2.winona.msus.edu
(507) 453-1613

Stay tuned tomorrow for Hole #2!! :)