Penny Zeller – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 3

Shannon here: Historical romance author, Penny Zeller shares her real life romance and a chance to win her book: Kaydie. Comment on any post dated April 18 – 22 for a chance to win a copy. Deadline: April 23, midnight central time. Here’s Penny:

Ah, the wonderful days of no caller I.D. It made for a much more successful prank phone call. Yes, here’s a frightening confession: my sister, cousin, and I would spend countless hours making innocent prank phone calls. It was long before speaker phone technology, but that was fine with us. We had two phones in the house, both always being used at the same time.
Our prank phone calls were never anything that could harm someone, and I am a firm believer that prank phone calls do have their benefits. Case in point – I met my husband, Lon through a prank phone call. Yep. It’s true. 
Lon and I will celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary this year. And to think it all started with the humble beginnings of a white rotary dial phone…
I saw Lon’s high school football picture in the county newspaper. He went to small school in the same county as I did, but in a different town 20 miles away. He was a state champion football player and I was cheerleader. I was sure I’d never seen such a fine specimen in all my teenage years. 
So my sister, cousin, and I called him. He was a chatty fellow and he and I immediately hit it off. I soon looked forward to our daily phone calls. Over the next several weeks, he began to call me before I left for work as a bookkeeper and clerk at a department store and before he headed out to work in the fields on his dad’s farm.
A few months later, I met Lon in person at the gas station parking lot where he rode up on his motorcycle and I drove up in my 1971 souped-up Chevy Malibu. He was wearing parachute pants and his #78 football jersey. He’ll still argue after all these years that it wasn’t parachute pants he was wearing, but sweatpants. But now that it’s in writing, here’s the proof: he was wearing parachute pants (and after all, it was 1991 when parachute pants were the thing to wear!) I even recall that I wore my hair in a high ponytail that day and wore my Michigan State t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts.
Accompanied by my sister and a friend, we pulled into the gas station and I nonchalantly filled my car with gas. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. Not paying attention, I forgot to put on my gas cap after filling my car with gas.
I drove up to the curb. “Hi, are you Lon?” I asked.
“Just a minute,” he said. I watched as he walked over to the gas pump and retrieved my gas cap. “I think you forgot this,” he told me. I was so embarrassed! I gazed deep into his green eyes and suddenly felt a bit faint.
“I- I’m Penny.”
He leaned against my car and smiled. “I’m Lon.”
I offered a quick and silent prayer toward heaven. “Lord, please, please, please let him like me!”
We must have stood there in awkward silence for awhile until I remembered I needed to pay for my gas.
After that day, we began to date. One night three months later, we stood in the driveway of my parents’ house getting ready to say goodnight. I was caught completely off guard when Lon asked, “Will you marry me?” No kneeling to one knee with an engagement ring. No airplane in the sky with a huge banner for all to see. Nope, just a humble out-of-the-blue “Will you marry me?”
I didn’t hesitate, but quickly answered “YES!”
As calmly as if we were discussing the weather, Lon answered, “All right. See you tomorrow.”  With that, Lon turned and climbed into his car (which, I might add, had a stereo worth four times what the car was worth).
I remember standing in the driveway shaking with excitement, wondering if he had really asked me or if it was a dream. Yes, it was late, and yes, she was asleep, but my younger sister just had to know about this!
In June of the following year, Lon and I were married in a tiny Baptist church in my hometown. There was a storm that day, and half of the time we had no power. But it all worked out and several years later, we started our family. Today we have two beautiful daughters.
We’ve had our share of good times and bad, serious times and funny times (like the time Lon overdosed on no-bake cookies right before a blood test and was denied his CDL license renewal because his sugar readings were off the charts!) But through it all, I thank God every day for the husband he blessed me with.
About Penny: 
Zeller is the author of several books and numerous magazine articles in national and regional publications. She is also the author of the humor blog “A Day in the Life of a Wife, Mom, and Author” (www.pennyzeller.wordpress.com). She is an active volunteer in her community, serving as a women’s Bible study small-group leader and co-organizing a women’s prayer group. Penny devotes her time to assisting and nurturing women and children into a closer relationship with Christ.  Her passion is to use the gift of the written word that God has given her to glorify Him and to benefit His kingdom. Kaydie follows McKenzie in Montana Skies, her first series with Whitaker House. When she’s not writing, Penny enjoys spending time with her family and camping, hiking, canoeing, and playing volleyball. She and her husband, Lon, reside in Wyoming with their two children. Penny loves to hear from her readers at her Website, www.pennyzeller.com.
Come back April 20th for the real life love story of Penny’s grandparents.