One of my favorite parts of each day is observing and learning from nestor and gloria, as their love for each other grows stronger literally every day.

here…a glimpse at their love story.

happy valentines.

love,

carrie and matt

So, Nestor and Gloria: Was it love at first sight when you met?

Gloria: It was love at first work. Laughs.

Nestor: We met at work, in the Philippines – in Manila. Gloria was the superintendent of a big company; I was the plant engineer of another big company.

Did your companies compete?

Gloria: No. I was working on undergarments.

Nestor: And I was working on outside garments.

We met at a seminar. I saw her there, and thought she was so beautiful. And when she saw me, she could not sleep without imagining me. Everyone laughs. Just joking. We fell in love and got married.

How old were you when you met?

Gloria: We were in our thirties.

Nestor: After we got married, there were people in America that wanted us to come work here. We moved to Sri Lanka and worked there, while our boss was working on our visa to come here. Before that, we moved to Bangladesh, where Gloria became a plant manager and I became a consultant.

Nestor: Ever since we got married, we’ve never separated – I’m talking 24/7. Our bond is different from other couples because we work together.

After Bangladesh, we moved to Alabama and stayed there for a few years. That was 1986. After that, we moved to Kentucky, to work for Carrie’s dad and brother. From there, when Carrie and Matt started their own shop, they asked us to come work for them here.

Gloria: It was just us and Matt and Carrie – another couple.

Nestor: When Imogene + Willie started, there were only four; now just a few years later there are sixteen. The Lord has blessed us with this improvement, this success.

Nestor, I know you have always liked to fish. What else did you guys do for fun back then?

Nestor: When we were in Sri Lanka, we bought a Honda motorcycle to take to the seashore. We lived closed by. That’s where the good hotels and the restaurants were.

Gloria: You can go around the country in four days, because it’s a small island. We went everywhere.

Nestor: Every week, would drive to church in Colombo, which was two hours drive on a bike from where we lived in Negombo. We went to church every Sunday – we never missed a Sunday. We’d go from 11:30 to noon. When we were dismissed, we’d go out and eat, then to a movie, and then we’d find a garden or park and go on walks.

We’ve had a lot of fun, me and Gloria, as husband and wife. We’ve never been separated.

Nestor: No, because we love each other and we respect each other. She respects my decision, and I respect her decisions. Both in work and as husband and wife, we understand each other. We have no problems at all.

In the house, if she tells me something I don’t question her. I do the dishes, I do the laundry … I treat her like a queen, because I love her. I take good care of her. If she has a problem with her leg, I massage her. I take care of my wife.

I heard you guys like to cut a rug.

Nestor: We don’t go to clubs, but if there is an occasion, we dance. People ask us to dance the tango at parties. Most of the time, I dance with other women, though, because Gloria doesn’t like to dance. She is forced to dance with me because I love to dance – I mean ballroom dancing, not modern dance. No, no, no … All laugh. At Christmas parties, there are women in line to dance the tango with me.

Gloria: It’s funny, because when the girls come up and ask me, “Can I borrow your husband?” I tell them that I don’t let anyone borrow my husband: I rent him. He’s not to be borrowed; I need to make some money! Laughs.

Gloria: When we got married, I was very Catholic and he was very Protestant, so I joined his church. Nestor was the one who introduced me to the Lord Jesus. That is what binds us together. We became one in faith then and it’s still going.

He told me yesterday, when we were looking at these pictures, “Oh, we were so beautiful when we were young.” And I said to him, “Before we were beautiful in the body; but now we are beautiful in the soul. Because our faith and spirit grow.

Nestor: There are cards in here that I gave her for birthdays, Christmas, Valentine’s day … I didn’t know that she was keeping them until I opened this (yesterday).

Nestor, this is what you wrote to Gloria on this Valentine’s card from 1983: “I have always loved you, before and now, and will always be in love forever with you. With prayer and love, Your Baby.” That is so sweet!

Gloria: You know, when we are gone, I want my children to be able to see these. I keep things like this so they can have them.

You know what’s funny? Carrie said almost the exact same thing a few days ago, that she keeps cards and things from Matt so that someday their children will be able to have a record of their love.

Nestor: I’ve never been in love with any other woman than Gloria. She can never leave me. You know why? Because I will follow her, wherever she goes.