Phoenix Part 5: Olive Garden, a new job and a certain email I WILL NEVER FORGET!

So just over a week after the wedding, Stephanie and myself went out on a "date" at a very classy and upscale restaurant in the Glendale/Peoria area, Olive Garden. I will always remember that dinner as one of the most nervous dates of my life. Probably had something to what it led to a few years later.

We had previously had dinner before but we knew this was to see if we were going to start dating. Not sure if it now came up since we were both in the same wedding and had been talking more than we ever had. We were trying to get to know each other a little more. We scratched the surface on what our plans were and where we saw ourselves going. We both did agree on one thing, if we were meant to start dating, we would let God take control of that situation.

We left that night as I was ready to start dating and Stephanie left it is as "okay, I need to think about it." OH COME ON!!!! So for two days I sat at the edge of my seat and had no idea what was going to happen. There was a good reason for this as I found out later on in our relationship. She let me know on Wednesday afternoon for me to stop by after work as she had a decision. She decided that she was feeling the same and so, we started dating.

Just before we had been dating for a month, I got an email from Stephanie that would temporarily freak me out. I was in the process of trying to plan what to do for the one month anniversary. (Remember those times? Now we just look at years, thankfully because that gets costly!) The email consisted of her ideal engagement ring. I will take a moment now and let that sink in to your thoughts, as I had to do at the time. I was a little shocked and sat in my apartment in a little bit of shock. I had not thought of us in that type of scenario quite yet. Again, I was looking to CELEBRATE being together for a month. I thought that was an accomplishment for me, let alone looking at rings.

So after breathing heavily into a brown bag for a few seconds, I gathered my thoughts and tried to relax. I just told myself, "This is not that big of a deal. She is just voicing the IDEAL ring for her." That did not work so well. Back to the brown bag.

I look back on that email and I laugh now. Stephanie knew long before I did that we were meant to be. Probably because she fully trusted God when it came to us long before I did. We had both said we would give it up to God; however, it feels like I was trying to control as much of the pace of the relationship as possible. There were some things I needed to learn and understand what God was teaching me. I think I always envisioned that I would move back to Missouri, meet someone and that would be it. What WE have in mind is usually quite different of what HE has in mind. I always believed that I knew how to handle situations. Heck, I moved to Phoenix had to get a new job on my own and I could find the right woman and control when I am ready for that next HUGE step. What I failed to realize is that none of the things I accomplished in life were on me, God had carried me and got me to that point. He cried with me through the toughest times and smiled when great things happened. Most importantly He was and is ALWAYS there!

Another instance where I knew He was there was when my family came to Phoenix for Christmas and the families would have a chance to meet. Back to the brown bag for breathing techniques. We were invited over to Stephanie's father's house for dinner for Christmas. I think everyone was nervous just because this usually is another big step in relationships and I was trying to figure out what milestones in relationships were next before, well THAT step occurred. The dinner ended up being not a big deal at all. It was very relaxing and very good too. My folks and Stephanie's father and step-mom just talked for several hours while my brother, Stephanie and me watched Christmas specials. It was a relaxing evening and also a relaxing trip with my family. I think my dad really enjoyed that Phoenix December as he was able to go out biking a few times on the Arizona Canal. Mom got to do some shopping in Scottsdale and my brother Andrew and I got to hang out.

So during this time of parents meeting and a few instances that took a couple of trees to ease my breathing back to normal, I received an email from my General Manager Sheri. She asked me to help her out with Disneyland passes. A buddy of mine was in the military and he had discounts for friends and family on those types of things. I brought the passes to her house and we stood outside talking for a bit. It was at that time I found out she was going to be leaving and she was going to recommend me for the GM job. I had just slid into an AGM/Sales role with the company and was getting those things down when this got brought up. Again, God had a plan, although it felt crazy at the time.

I went in for an interview with the CEO of the company. I prayed about it for a few days and got the call that I was going to be taking over. What a challenge God had placed for me. I was taking over a hotel that was doing very well in revenue as well as a great staff. Some say, "How is this challenging? This is easy for you." I have experienced both coming in from a GM leaving on her own accord and also on the company's accord. You have a lot to live up to in a successful business. You will be immediately compared to your previous GM. I tried to do as much her style as I could. I emailed her that first month at least once a day. She never had an issue talking with me or assisting me. I will always be grateful to Sheri for what I have learned from her. One important lesson I learned: I was not Sheri. I was Travis and my style was going to be different. I had to give the staff time to adjust as well.

With the staff I had come to consider as family, I was not worried about them adjusting. I was worried about myself adjusting. For my first General Manager experience, I was blessed with a great staff. However, with a great staff, problems will still arise. It is how you react to those issues that people will remember. Isn't that the same in life? Life might be going great and the something rocks your world that YOU try to fix and we forget that God is still there wanting to help out.

Phoenix Part 6: Time to react to some problems. WOW!

My Valentine

When it comes to trying to go the extra mile for my wife, I learned an important lesson from my father. Go that extra mile, and keep sprinting!

Back in 2008, I finally woke up and proposed to my wife Stephanie. I did not even have a chance to ask the question and she saw the M+M's I got her specially made and what they said on them, she said yes and then was on the phone for a few hours with friends and family. We started going through the whole wedding process and yes, I said WE!

A situation arose in May that allowed the following event to happen. It just goes to show how God's grace is always there even in the darkest hours. Through a string of events, Stephanie's father had planned on not attending the wedding. It was a devastating blow to both of us, but more for Stephanie. So this is where the planning came in to play.

A year before we were dating, I heard this song on Yahoo Music by a band I had never heard of before. The name of the band was Radial Angel and the song was entitled "She." I thought this was such a cool song talking about the importance of what a woman means to a man. Again, Stephanie and myself were not dating at the time I heard this in my office of the Surprise Fightin' Falcons.

During our dating period, I gave her a mixed CD and this was the lead song. Stephanie had never heard it before but loved it!

Fast forward to June 2008. I sent an email to the band just asking what the cost would be to fly them out to the wedding and perform the song. I did not explain the circumstances as that was not my focus. A few weeks later, an email came back from the band and the lead singer Jared said he would be open to it.

I was floored. I responded back within seconds I believe. We ended up working out the details and he said for the cost of his flight and lodging and some food, he would do it at no additional cost. So after picking myself up off the floor another time, I said let's do it.

Now we had a budget for wedding presents for each other and I had to try and get within that budget. I ended up getting a free flight with Southwest after a roundtrip flight to St. Louis in October (Thanks Kristi and Matt). I booked his flight, which was free and his hotel stay (he stayed for a decent rate at a certain hotel in Glendale, AZ where I knew the GM) and got him a gift card for grub and the plan was set.

The week before the wedding, I was working the night audit shift at the hotel and printed out the lyrics to the song.

She, by Radial Angel

she is my inspiration
she is my destination
and i want her, to hold my
heart in her hands
and she is the one, that holds
my life in her heart
right from the start

when will i see her again
when will i see her

she is the one who brings life to my heart
but i find myself in doubt
thinking all this is my fault
but i know that she loves me

but i always questioned
why
and she thinks that love
comes from the stars
but i know she's right but i, i need her
she's mine, all i need is what i need

when will i see her again
when will i see her

(chorus)
she, she's a lot things
she, she's my everything

she, she's the little things
she, she's my everything
that I ever wanted

she is my, she's my everything
she is my, she's my everything

It really hit me at that moment what was happening. I was getting married to THIS woman. What a huge blessing God had given me in Stephanie. Simply amazing.

Jared was coming to the wedding so he became my cousin from my second Aunt Brenda. My cousin josh did a great job playing along with it too. Man, he got thrown into that with very little time to react!

Jared arrived on a Friday and he got his favorite In 'N Out Burger (gag.) but everyone else loves it. I dropped him off at the hotel about 15 minutes before Stephanie and her family showed up to drop stuff off (phew).

I changed the order of the first dance's to accommodate everything and everyone. We had Katrina and Stephen sing our first dance song, When God Made You and they were amazing! Then the moment came. Stephanie sat in her chair and it all happened. The video of it is on my facebook page at the links below.

http://www.facebook.com/travismizzou?v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=1056898109413

http://www.facebook.com/travismizzou?v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=1056913029786

Special thanks to Erik and Rick for they different camera shots of the song. Also, thanks to Jared for doing all that he did. Amazing!

After all of this, she is now carrying a future baby boy. SHE is an amazing woman. I love you Stephanie!

Phoenix Part 4: When a phone call from Seattle and a friend's wedding combine to lead to a future.

So I have started a new job and loving it. I worked through Spring Training, which is BIG in Phoenix so I got enough of baseball while working at the SpringHill Suites. I was learning more and more about the hotel business. It was quite an exciting time.

What made it better working for a hotel, I discovered things like discounts to hotel rooms. In my tenure with Marriott, I am fairly sure my parents took advantage of the discounts more than I did. But I still got some pretty sweet deals. I finally took advantage of a hotel stay when I went to Seattle to visit friends of mine Greg and Melissa Milford and their newborn.

I flew in on a Friday afternoon and we grabbed lunch and hung out and caught up. I had not seen Greg in quite a few years and this was the guy that helped to start the day of not moving and watching football (Erik, we perfected it with college basketball). We relaxed that evening to some fresh seafood and good conversation.

The next day we did the RedHook Ale Tour. Their tour is a little different than Anheuser Busch Tour. They give you more beer and it is a LOT heavier than A/B. Also, you are in one room and not doing any touring. So after waiting an hour to just relax before heading back to Greg's house, we did head back. We got some dinner that night and then I just went back to the hotel room.

A little bit later on I called that Bible study leader talked about previously and we started talking as we had not talked or seen each other in awhile. I think we ended up talking about everything in our life as we were on the phone for a few hours. We talked about catching up when I got back but also new we would see each other at Erik and Ginny's wedding in a few weeks. So we planned on catching up then as we were both in the wedding.

So I got back from Seattle and the next few weeks were spent working and then heading to Erik and Ginny's wedding. They had a rehearsal dinner on a Friday evening and I only knew a few people from the wedding party. I did catch up to that Bible Study leader and we talked for a few minutes. She was more heavily involved in the wedding than I was as she was a maid of honor so she was pulled in a few directions.

The next morning, I gave my buddy Erik a call to see how he was doing. During that conversation, I revealed something to him that I am not sure my wife to this day is unaware of. Erik and I were joking over a few things as I had to keep the mood light as it is a big change for the man too!!! I told him that I would probably end up getting married to that Bible Study Leader in a few years. We both laughed and he asked when and I told him to give me a few years.

Now to this point, there was no talking of this Bible Study leader (Stephanie) and myself dating. All we did was just talk on the phone for a few hours while I was in Seattle. Weird thing to say, to say the least but it was a feeling.

The wedding went on as planned and was a great evening. The one thing I remember was right before the wedding, Stephanie tracked me down and gave me a gift. This was a few hours after that phone conversation with Erik. WEIRD! It was a flask with a Russian emblem on it. I accepted and thanked her for it.

After the wedding, I met Stephanie and her friend at church that night and I was still in my tux. best dressed attendee ever on a Saturday evening service there! We all went out to dinner after church and just relaxed from the day's activities. Little did I know there was little time for relaxing!

Phoenix Part 5: Olive Garden, a new job and a certain email I WILL NEVER FORGET!