Tony & Lindsey - A True Pott. County Love Story

Do you know Tony and Lindsey Eblen?  They are today’s Pott. County Couple!  They grew up in Walnut and now reside in Treynor.  In fact, they grew up just 3 blocks apart, but they didn’t really know each other till high school, but that all changed with they started dating in 1995. 

​Two proms and 3 kids later, here they are!

 The happy couple got engaged after 4 years of dating and what a night it was!  Tony was excited to propose. He took Lindsey to her favorite restaurant and then headed to ConAgra Park.  On a warm August night, there were bugs and people everywhere! Tony kept trying to find a good, underpopulated spot to ask her and Lindsey kept trying to leave because the bugs were eating her alive, but frustrations aside, Tony got her asked and it was an emphatic “yes!”

On September 29, 2001, the Eblens got married in the same church Lindsey’s parents were married in.  Now 19 years later, the couple still relies on their faith and says that quality time together is what keeps them connected.  Tony is a firefighter so his schedule is an interesting one. Because of that, Lindsey chooses to work part-time. In the kids’ earlier days, they would manage their schedules so one parent was always home.  Now, they have the pleasure of manipulating their schedules to be off at the same time for things like remodeling their home together. That is a whole ‘nother level of commitment, if you ask me, and they said they enjoyed it!  Clearly, they know a lot about marriage!

So I asked them the secret to marriage.  They said that it isn’t a 50-50 split. It’s both people giving 100% and although it rarely works out that both can give 100% at the same time, if both people are trying – it will work.  Lindsey also told me that putting the other’s happiness above your own helps out, too.  

I have to say I was impressed with their responses when I posed the question of what advice they would give to new couples.  Lindsey told me that people should become educated on how a marriage works. She said you get training for a job or go to college for a career, so you should prepare for marriage.  She said they went to some marriage conferences in their early years and it was extremely helpful in defining themselves as a couple. Tony added that you need to take your responsibility seriously and live your life with a purpose.  He told me that he has a motto, “Christian husband and father” in that order. As long as he remembers that, he says the rest falls into place. I sure don’t doubt that for the two of them.

When we talked about the future and what they hoped it would hold, Tony told me the big dream would be to have a private plane (he would be the pilot) to travel the world and Lindsey agreed that retiring and traveling were definitely in the plans.  However, the consensus was that their greatest hope would be that they would be “a God-honoring husband and wife that raised God-honoring children.”

Seriously…it doesn’t get much more inspiring than that!

They lead not with words, but by actions.  Thanks, Tony and Lindsey, for being another picture-perfect Pott. County Couple!

Happy Valentine’s Day, Everyone!
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