Our Story...God's plan

Demetrius: A year and half into this teenage love affair, my world was once again rocked. This part of the story gets a little hazy in my mind as I can’t remember who made the decision that I should move back to Mississippi with my father (OH NO - insert sad face here). Needless to say, three and half hours and no transportation, temporarily ended our relationship. Over the next six years, we had sporadic meetings and phone calls. It was more like one escort in the Alpha sponsored Debutante Ball and 1 -3 phone conversations per year. I wanted more, but space had a funny way of getting in between that (until one chance meeting in the summer of 2003).
Once I graduated from undergraduate college, I came back to Little Rock. When I graduated from high school, my dad moved to Little Rock (why this couldn’t have happened 3-4 years earlier?). In the latter part of the summer, Jaz and I rekindled the feelings we once had for each other and learned some new things about each other. Approximately a month into this, marriage became a topic. But alas, an old friend would revisit us. I was off to Howard University to pursue my Master’s degree after that summer. Distance would once again challenge our relationship. Two years pass as we overcome that obstacle, and we were married that December of 2005.
As I look back over my life, I can see GOD’s work. A couple of different circumstances here or there, and this story could never be told. I wouldn’t change anything that happened in my life because I would not have gotten the chance to wake up next to the person I call my heart and soul.

Love you Babe


Jazmin: Our relationship lasted a year and a half. Demetrius had to move back to Mississippi in the middle of our tenth grade yr. (He @Hall; I @Parkview). Long distance for two young people was not a good idea, so our relationship ended. =( We would keep in touch periodically throughout the years. Fall of my freshman year, I was asked to be a Debutante. I needed an escort of course. I thought to ask my cousin, but in the back of my mind I wanted a non-relative escort. =) Soo...Demetrius Carter popped into my head. I worked up the nerve to call (after sweating, practicing what to say, and heart racing). We talked and I finally asked and he gladly accepted (thankfully he did not have a girlfriend at the time). We hung out during his time in Arkansas and it felt like we had never separated. We did talk about having a relationship, but the distance thing was very hard for me to accept. So resumed back to talking periodically.
In 2003, I graduated from college. It was during this time that Demetrius and I had not talked for awhile. I told my mom that I thought it was time to just remove Demetrius' number from my cell phone because I thought our friendship was not there anymore (I would later find out from Demetrius that it was not that he did not want to be my friend, but that it was hard being a friend when he knew he wanted to be more than friends). No sooner than I said those words to my mom; about a week or so later my dad tells me that he ran into Demetrius' cousin and he said that D got accepted into the grad program at Howard Univ. in D.C. I ended up sending him an email congratulating him. He replied back saying that he was actually going to be in Arkansas for the summer before school started and that we should meet up.
We ended up meeting and hanging out like we were two old friends. We ended up having lunch one day and it was there that we talked about everything. We decided that we would give long distance a try, so for 2 years we endured a challenging (long distance) but rewarding relationship.
The Lord had this in His master plan from day one. I tell people all the time the the Lord put us together and I am so happy He did!!!

Our Story...How it began

Demetrius: As most of my wife’s closest friends know, Jaz went to Forest Heights. She always tells me that the reason she first noticed me was because I was in all of her GT (Gifted and Talented) courses, but I had the physical traits of a thug. I had an afro, and I dressed in colored Dickies (pants), white shirts, and Nike sandals with socks (yes socks, lol). She told her mom that I must have been a smart thug. That’s the one thing I can point to in my life that helped me overcome the cards that were dealt to me (my intelligence). I built up the nerve to ask for her number ( I kept that piece of paper for the longest time – 223-4756 is etched into my brain forever). We talked on the phone for long hours at time (you know how kids are). We got really close over a period of time. So close in fact, I started to call her my future wife (my family can attest to this). I always said that she and I would be the first black couple in the White House. A funny caveat to us dating was that her mom used to chaperon us on dates, church visits, eating out, etc. Consequently, her mom and I got really close also. I never did mind her mom being with us because she was such a nice person...



Jazmin : It was 9th grade and my last year at FH. By then most everyone in the 9th grade had been there since 7th grade. I was in gifted and talented classes, so I pretty much had all of my classes with the same people. That year, there was new guy in all of my classes except one. He had an afro, wore heavily starched khaki pants, and white t-shirts. I immediately passed judgement on him. "He must be a very smart thug" That was fascinating to me for some reason b/c I never met a thug who was smart. (My thinking is VERY mature now :) I went home and told my mom about this thug that was in all of my classes and how I thought that was neat. Months into the school year, I really started to "notice" this new guy. I thought he was very cute and I liked him. I was embarrassed because I had to go back to my mom and tell her that the guy I had labeled as a smart thug was someone that I had become fond of. I told my friend Karen about my little secret. I don't remember our exact conversation, but Karen would be the one to tell Demetrius that I liked him (of course when I wasn't around). Karen and Demetrius had a class together so that was the best time to tell him. Of course I was hoping that he liked me back because this was the first time I had vocally expressed my liking for a boy! Karen did report back that Demetrius did like me as well (Yes! Karen was our liaison)... so who approached who first? About a week went by and Demetrius finally asked for my number in art class. Demetrius said he thought it was hilarious because I wrote my first and last name on the paper (Ha! this was definitely my first experience with exchanging phone numbers with a boy) We finally became a couple! This was an exciting time for me. We were pretty much inseparable. We spent a lot of time on the phone and with my mom! (Yes!) I wasn't allowed to date until I was 16, so no unchaperoned events. Having a boyfriend was pretty neat and getting sweet love letters everyday was cool! ( I still have some of those letters). Ninth grade would end and we would go to high school, but it would happen that we were assigned to different high schools...

Our Story...Where it Began

Demetrius and I have an interesting story as to how we became "Mr and Mrs. Carter". Some of you may know it, some may know bits and pieces and some may not know it all. So for the next few days we would like to share with you how the Lord put the two of us together.



Demetrius: It’s funny that my father said he was going to have my cousin write a book about our love story. He has as much to do with this story than I do. A couple of major life events had to happen for this story to even be a story. First off, I am from Greenwood, Mississippi. I always talk about my childhood with my wife. I didn’t necessarily have the best childhood as far as those things go. My parents divorced when I was 9, and I ended up staying with my mother after the separation. After 3 years of witnessing poverty and drug abuse first hand, my life took a drastic turn. My mother decided to move to Texas without me. I packed what little clothes I had and walked to my grandmother’s house. For whatever reason, this story doesn’t involve me moving in with my father at this point. I really can’t remember the details of that mishap.
The first major event that served as a catalyst to this story was my grandmother succumbing to the effects of diabetes. The second event was the decision for me to move to Little Rock after my granmother’s death. At that point, I felt alone as I had lost the only person that I thought cared about me. I had had enough of the Mississippi experiment. I had felt my life slipping down a slippery slope. I was hanging out with the wrong people and partaking in things that I shouldn’t have. I felt this was a great opportunity to start over. That summer(1995), my life was relocated to Arkansas. Arkansas always had this mysterious cleanliness to it (I use to visit every summer). It felt like a foreign country (a stark contrast to where I grew up). The cleanliness became the metaphor for my new start. That summer, my aunt and cousin took up the task of figuring out where I would be attending junior high school. It was between Forest Heights, Horace Mann, and Dunbar. Needless to say, I ended up at Forest Heights. Now you see where this story is going...



Jazmin: I was born and raised in Little Rock, AR. My parents divorced when I was 12. A lot of people did not know my parents divorced unless I told them because the remained very good friends. My childhood was pretty good. I loved spending time with family, reading, and school (I am somewhat of a nerd). I also had a huge infatuation with Usher. Between church activities and school; my life stayed pleasantly busy. It was only natural that when I would enter Jr. High school that I would attend the school where my dad taught. It was at Forest Heights that I would meet the man that God chose to be my husband...

Let the Blogging Begin!!

So we (I) decided to start a blog. =) I have wanted to do a blog for quite some time, but was too scared or didn't know what I would write about. Someone sent me a link to their blog and I thought it was so neat that I felt this is something that I must and should do. I then thought I really don't want this to be my own little project, but I wanted my better half to join in on the fun. I approached my hubby with the idea that we were going to do a blog. =) The first thing he said was "What will we talk about?" I told him that I had no earthly idea. We both laughed. We got excited though because this would be a good way for us to share with our friends and family and allow them to be apart of our life. Weeks had gone by and we still didn't have our first official blog to post. On my way to work at the wee hours of the morning it came to me that we should possibly talk about "our story", but I kind of put it in the back of my mind. Later that week Demetrius called me at work and said "I have our first blog post; We should tell our story" I told him that I had thought the same thing. It then became a matter of getting it written.
As you can see I have written our official first blog post, but it is not our story...it is a start though =) Demetrius and I are looking forward to sharing with you our faith, our hope, and our love. We hope that you enjoy this as much as we do!