A Few Words...

Matthew & I are moving into our apartment in a little over a week and we are beyond thrilled to finally have a place to call home together. We have chosen to do this because after our wedding we want everything to already be waiting for us to come home to and we aren't just stranded without anywhere to go. I am so excited to get everything fixed up and decorated, but I also want to share a few words about what marriage means to me.

If you look closely at this world today there are not many people left who have had a happy, long, fulfilling FIRST marriage. 

In my opinion, marriage is not something to be taken lightly. It's something you should cherish all the days of your life, it's a privilege from God. God is the one who has blessed us with the opportunity of marriage, to be able to share time and space with a man or a woman that he designed Himself just for us. We have not only been blessed if we receive this opportunity, we have been divinely favored.

A Poem:
He's not perfect, and you aren't either.
The two of you will never be perfect.
But if he can make you laugh at 
least once, causes you to think twice,
and if he admits to being human and
making mistakes, hold on to him 
and give him the most you can.
He isn't going to quote poetry, he's
not thinking about you every moment,
but he will give you a part of him 
that he knows you could break. 
Don't hurt him, don't change him, and
don't expect for more than he can
give. Don't analyze. Smile when he 
makes you happy, yell when he makes
you mad, and miss him when he's not
there. Love hard when there is love 
to be had. Perfect men do not exist,
but there's always one man that is
perfect for you. 

  

Valentines Day!

My gifts to my sweet Matthew!



Nothing says I love you more like a good old-fashioned, handwritten love letter to go along with a present :)



Matthews gifts to me!






It was definitely a beautiful Valentines day for both of us! I cooked a great baked chicken & pasta dinner which turned out wonderful! And then we headed off to the movies! :)

LIFE WAS MADE FOR LOVING!

- Torry & Matt

Life is Short

I want to share something very personal with you. Something only some of the people really close to me know about, but I decided its been long enough. I recently read the book Safe Haven which is about a young woman trying to escape her fears. It brought back not so much as "memories" but my own personal nightmare I experienced way too young for too long.

I was fourteen years old when I met who I thought was my soulmate, he seemed perfect for me. Although he was two years older, we had so much in common, we even met at a Christian music convention. He loved to play guitar for me and I would sing to him. He lived a hour away from me so it was hard for us to manage a relationship but for the first four months we had made it pretty amazing. I knew I had fallen for him and at that four month mark he gave me a promise ring while we were visiting his grandparents. He made me promise that we would get married after I graduated high school, of course I said yes happily.

Things started to change after that. He seemed stressed all the time and got irritated a lot. Since we were in a long distance relationship, he wanted to know who I was hanging out with and my plans for each day. I'd call him while I was at school and tell him what I'd be doing after I got out. I thought it seemed like a normal routine for a relationship like ours. But soon he started to get really angry if my plans changed and I ended up doing something else and didn't tell him. He would make it out like I had deliberately lied to him and we would end up in a fight and he would accuse me of cheating and call me a whore. He would call me back at night and apologize and say that I had to be more specific about how my plans might change and to let him know right then. One time we got in a huge fight and I tried to end things because I was so tired of his temper, he ended up sending me a dozen red roses to my school the next day, and I took him back. These things were just when we were away from each other.

On the weekends or sometimes every other weekend, he would come down and take me to dinner or a movie or we would hang out at my house. He would want to rehash the things we had fought about during the week and tell me to change and be better for him. There was always that voice inside me telling me he was wrong and none of the things he was saying was right. I would go with that voice sometimes and tell him to get out and just go home but he would refuse to leave until we worked it out. It got worse as time went on, but I thought I loved him and we built years together. Near the end he was pulling me by my hair, throwing things at me, but he never did anything that left marks on my body. He was careful like that. I think it's just because he knew I had law enforcement in my family. The last time I saw him while we were still together he slapped my face, and I knew that was the end for us. But by this time he had already moved closer to me for college so I knew it was going to be hard to get rid of him, but I did it. My heart was saying I loved him but my head said it was wrong and I knew if I stayed with him eventually the abuse would get way worse even if there were no marks on my body. It's still abuse. Verbally, mentally, physically and emotionally. Every one of these I experienced for three years. Three years too long.

For a while I thought I was damaged and could never be in a real relationship again because my head was so messed up. He was my first relationship and I was a kid when it started and I had no clue how a relationship was really supposed to be like. My friends and my family really helped me, and helped me see what love should really be. Although their relationships in high school weren't perfect either, I knew there had to be more to love than what I experienced.

And I was right.

I know I wasn't married or anything when this happened and I'm thankful I wasn't, but just know that if you're reading this and possibly going through some of the same things that it's never too late to get out. Never. The only person that can help you is you. You have to make that decision to either live in a prison or find out what love should really be about. I was fourteen years old, I didn't know any better and no man had said I love you to me like that before. I got sucked in to the nightmare. Don't be like that. Life is too short to be living in fear.

Be smart.



- Torry Kay

Be afraid... Be very afraid!

So Matthew & I are having a little dinner date tomorrow night which I'm so excited for! BECAUSE he is grilling steak for the first time since we've been together. Just so we are clear, I'm a steak girl. If it's not cooked to my liking you're pretty much doomed. 
Just so you know how seriously I take this, let me share a little story...

My mom and I took a little trip to Arizona to see my sister and my brother-in-law, Chad. Of course Chad attempted to make us steaks that night. This steak was the worst I've ever had in my life, I think I can still taste how horrible it was. AND it was so awful that I threw it off their apartment balcony while a lady was walking her dog and the dog immediately went insane for this steak as soon as it hit the grass. The lady thought her dog was possessed, she was so confused and frantic about what the dog was going after! It was pretty hilarious. 
Now I know Chad would kill me for telling this story because his steaks have improved tremendously, and he just so happened to give us his marinating recipe for our steaks tomorrow night. 

The point of this story is... 
If Matthew Valentine screws up my steak, let's just say this whole blog could be completely wiped clean of Matthew on Sunday. 

We shall see... DUN DUN DUN...

A Little Something

Don't ever give up on love. Some days will be harder than others, and sometimes it will break your heart, but never walk away if you're willing to keep trying. Right now are the moments to remember, the love and joy and laughter we share every day. The beginning of forever.

Never forget these feelings of a love so strong it can do anything. Don't be so quick to get angry or irritated, remember the smile on his face when he's trying to make you laugh. Never let the fire burn out between the two of you.

-Just a little something I wrote for me and Matthew when we bicker. Maybe it's something to think about in your relationship as well! :) 

WELCOME!

If you've been following me for a while now, you can see it's been quite a long time since I've posted and I've changed a few things! So welcome to the new blog!

The Blog Title:

I chose "Keeping The Fire" for a new title because I felt it necessary since this blog is about two people, to share our ups and downs and what couples should and shouldn't do in relationships, dating and marriages. Now these are just my opinions and suggestions so don't take anything personally!

A little about Torry & Matt:

 Matthew and I have been together for almost two years now, but we've experienced different situations with our previous relationships and managed to not bring a lot of baggage and past issues into OUR relationship. "Starting fresh" would be a good way of putting how we started out. Don't get me wrong, we have our own issues (what couple doesn't?) and that's what I will be incorporating into this blog. We are getting married in just a few months, April 20th 2013! Let's hope I don't get sidetracked this time and I will try my best to blog through all of our wedding activities! I'm also a student and working so hopefully I can squeeze in some time for blogging!

Past Posts:

Feel free to go through past posts, there's a lot of different things about my life and the most recent are about Matthew & I and how our relationship started. Browse away and enjoy!

Valentine's Day ♥

My present to Matthew of course!

Matthew's present to me :)

This was by far the BEST Valentine's Day EVER!
A little late on the blogging it but here it is!