Hi, we are the Weigands. We (Chad and Libby) decided to start a blog so our family and friends can see and hear what's going on in our lives in a dynamic way. From day to day activities, or life events that we might be important to others, you will find it mentioned/photographed/videographed here. If you have any suggestions for this blog, please let us know! We also would love to hear what you think of our blog from time to time.
On our first blog, I would like to introduce us in case you don't know our story thus far. Since my wife Libby and I have written our "Love" story from our own perspectives, I will be reposting them below word for word starting off with Libby's version. Each story was written independently without having read the other's story first.
According to Libby: December 8, 2010…I honestly thought it would
just be another random coffee date with Chad. I had been asked by Debbie
Gibson to lead the youth to Iron
Mountain over New Year’s
Eve. Knowing that I could not just take
girls, I asked Chad
what he was doing over New Years. I am
sure he thought I was asking him out, but HA!! I was getting him to lead the
youth on this small adventure. I knew if he would ever see me as a potential
girlfriend, he was going to have to see me follow him. He said YES!! I was so
excited, but yet still apprehensive since I knew he had other interests in California. The more we talked and hung out in the cold
for about 2 hours after Cups closed, the
more I realized that the “interest” was
not going to be an ‘interest’ for very long.
“DO I HAVE A CHANCE??” You see, I
had been noticing Chad
and what type of Godly man he was for months.
He was always willing to help me with whatever I needed for the
Children’s Ministry. Breanne Mclendon and Tedra Brister had been telling me
since October’s Trunk or Treat that he had a crush on me. I knew there was an age difference and
figured that would be a problem, but secretly wished he did want to ask me
out.
The day we were to announce and get kids
to sign up was the day Daddy passed away.
During that hard time and our planning for the trip, I began to see and
fall in love with Chad’s
heart. The way he was not only
passionate about doing what God wanted him to do, but how he was striving for
excellence in all he was doing. I
thanked God daily for a friend that Chad had become to me during the
next couple of weeks.
As the trip
approached, Chad
and I began to notice how God had weaved our lives similar to each other. We both had the same passions for God and for
our youth. I noticed that he was
different to me, but I had been wrong in the past, so I kept my guard up. Even though I had others (Breanne, Tedra, and
Melissa Perdue) trying to tell me otherwise.
As we boarded the van on December 30, 2010, each of us knew that this trip was not
only for the youth, but also for us.
WOW..if we had only known. During
the trip there and during the entire conference, people kept referring to us as
a married couple. Chad did not flinch at all when it
was mentioned. I continued to question
in my mind what was going on. As Chad
began to talk to me about the future with the youth, I knew I had to speak up
to guard my heart. I asked Chad
what he thought God was doing between us. After sitting there hearing his excuses on why
he couldn’t. I just kept thinking I was being rejected. He then asked me what I
thought. I point blank told Chad that we would be foolish not
to see what God was doing. He changed his
answer. You see, he had been noticing me
too. He just wanted an opportunity to show me.
I sat there in awe and disbelief listening to him tell me all of his
thoughts up to that point. After
discussing what we should do next, he decided that January 15th, he would
pursue me. Being the type of man that he is, he had to take care of something
in California.
When he returned on January 15th he kept that promise to me in ways
I could never have imagined or dreamed possible...We have been blessed and
amazed at all God has done for us to prepare for our future before and
now. All of this because we were
obedient and said, “YES”!
According
to Chad:
Normally, I would
enjoy my holidays with family, food, and good times. However, New Years of 2011
would prove to be quite contrary to tradition. Before I get into my
non-traditional New Years, you must first understand my relationship with Libby
Wynn prior to that day. I remember the first time I met Libby Wynn. It was
December of 2008 at the First Baptist Jackson Carols by Candlelight program.
Meeting her then, I never imagined I would know her as I do now. Libby and I went
to church together and would occasionally talk to each other working in the
back of the church with the children. Eventually, Libby’s and my friendship
began to grow and SHE got the guts to ask me out to get some coffee. It was a
simple gesture that had no implied intentions other than to drink coffee and
talk to one another. We both enjoyed that time together, so she arranged later
coffee meetings (“dates” if you will…) with me.
In
October of 2010, Libby and I got a chance to work with each other during our
church’s “Trunk or Treat.” It was at that time that Libby began to realize
there might be a possibility that I might like her as more than a friend. She
had already begun to like me during the summer from which, for your
information, she tried to hook me up with someone else. It was at that time
(during the summer) that I also found out that she told my mother that she
would “date me if she was younger.” So, knowing two bits of information, the
fact that she wouldn’t be interested in me because she was older and that she
was trying to hook me up with someone else, I felt I couldn’t have feelings for
her other than being just friends. During Trunk or Treat, however, other people
found it quite evident that I did in fact have feelings for her. I guess I’m
not very good at hiding my feelings. So, for the next two months it was awkward
in a sense for the both of us since we both had feelings for each other but
felt we couldn’t show it. This didn’t hinder us though from still doing stuff
together.
From Trunk
or Treat on, Libby and I still continued to meet for coffee every once in a
while. The most significant time happened at the beginning of December, 2010. It
was at the Cups in Brandon
that Libby and I met for one of our seemingly normal coffee “dates.” This
meeting would prove to be anything but normal. We started off just talking
about the usual stuff; you know, like life, family, work, and the like. Then,
she “popped” the question that would forever change our future: “what are you
doing for New Years?” Those seven words caught me off guard because I knew she
wasn’t going to be asking if I wanted coffee on New Years. Out of curiosity and
simply because I had nothing going on, I said that I was “free, why?” Then she
asked me if I would be willing to help her take the youth at our church to a
camp over the New Years holiday. Now, up until this point I had always had a
heart for youth and knew I always wanted to work with youth some day, but I
didn’t know that day would be the New Years holiday. Excitedly, I said “YES!”
We talked and talked for what seemed like only an hour but ended up being over
3 hours. We talked so much that we even carried our conversation outside of
Cups upon closing for an hour longer in 30 degree weather. When we decided to
finally part and go home my heart felt a longing.
The
longing in my heart was a feeling of happiness and desire. I really enjoyed
Libby and mines conversation and just being able to hang out with her. I
desired greatly to spend as much time as I could with her and tried my best to
find ways to do such. From that point on, both Libby and I knew there was some
kind of special connection between us. However, there was a great boundary that
kept us from pursuing or expressing these feelings we had… she felt that I would
never be interested in her because she was older, and I felt that she would
never be interested in me because of what my mother told me she said about the
fact that she would date me IF she were younger. Though this boundary was big,
we still felt a connection that drew us closer and closer to each other.
After
many Cups meetings, several phone conversations, all money collected, we were
set to go to the Christian Motorcycle Association Iron Mountain Youth
Conference. From the moment we got on the van together, Libby and I began a
journey toward a greater relationship with God and a greater relationship with
each other. Still to that point we had never discussed the possibility of
dating, but it was quite obvious to everyone else that we liked each other.
There was a sort of un-discussed tension because of this between Libby and me.
That’s not to disregard the fact that the kids kept mentioning it from the
moment we arrived at Iron
Mountain that Thursday,
December 30th. The kids, by the way, had present many challenges
during our trip that tested me and my ability to lead them. This, however, did
not change Libby’s feelings toward me.
As the
trip went on, Libby and I had the opportunity to see how well we work together
and a chance to focus on each other as well. We both started to feel an even
deeper connection to each other through the course of the week. On the eve of
New Years day, January 1st, 2011, Libby decided to make a choice.
She couldn’t go on not knowing whether or not we were going to date because she
needed to protect her heart if we weren’t. She pretty much knew I liked her,
but there was still a little doubt due to the boundary that was there. So,
while the youth were in one of their last meetings of the trip, she asked me
where this is going. I, being the less obvious thinking one, thought she was
referring to the youth. Never in my life would I have thought she was talking
about us. Fortunately, she was talking about us and what will happen in the
future.
I was so
shocked when she asked the question that I fumbled around the answer when I finally
realized what she was actually asking. Due to the “she won’t date me because
she’s older” mindset, I immediately came back with excuses why she shouldn’t
date me. Inside though, I really wanted to tell her everything I have felt for
the past few months. When I came back with immediate answers of why she
shouldn’t date me, she was crushed and felt stupid for even asking the
question. As if the feelings she had all this time were in fact NOT mutual as
she had thought. Luckily, I finally came to my senses after digesting the
question for a second or two and asked her if I could change my answer. Being
the amazingly sweet person she is, and hoping what I said wasn’t really how
felt, she let me explain the truth about my feelings. We discussed how it was
most definitely a God thing that both of us were on this trip together. How God
knew a plan for us to be together, but it wasn’t until a right time in our
relationship with God that He would allow us to be together. During that trip,
my personal relationship with God reached a level I have never experienced
before. In obedience to Him, He allowed me to have Libby, an answer to a
lifetime prayer.
We knew
we were meant to be together from that moment on. She became my girlfriend, my
best friend, and some day… my wife. God has blessed us over and over so many
times in our relationship and I can truly say I’m one of the happiest men on
earth. Our relationship has been a result of obedience to God. As we continue
to obey and focus on Him, our relationship grows stronger with Him and with
each other. Desiring each day just to be with each other is hard when we can’t.
But, we both know the end result will be a lifetime together in the strongest
relational bond God has created with two people on earth not related by blood…
marriage.
This is our story... ENJOY! My wife and I got married on July 23rd, 2011. We currently have been married for almost 7 months now. The best 7 months of my life! There is more current information I will post in future blogs, but for now I hope you have enjoyed this blog.
God Bless!