The Joy of Love {Day Twenty Eight}

28: The Future.

I can't honestly say where we will be in the future. I can say that this family will be together until the kids move out and then it will just be Ryan and I, traveling the world and then when we retire, sitting on the porch drinking sweet tea, talking about the good ol' days. I hope my kids graduate from college, get married, give me some grand babies, and have all the joy and love they can get. The road this life has taken me down has been more than I ever expected and I can't wait to see what else is in store for us.

I can't wait to see my kids when they're big enough to fit our shoes.

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Twenty Seven}

27: What They Say.

There aren't many things I like to hear over and over again, but I love you is definitely something I'll never get tired of hearing. So I decided to get a little silly with this post and had my husband tell me he loves me like this...

Talk to you soon,
J
P.S. This is my 100th post! 
AND
Click photo to see it larger.

The Joy of Love {Day Twenty Six}

26: Bromance

I am voluntarily skipping this day. I never have a chance to photograph Ryan with his friends because when he's with them I'm not around. I don't enjoy subjecting myself to hours of video games and plain and simple lameness hahaha!! SO there will be no photo today.

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Twenty Five}

25: When You Love Them The Most.

One of the best things anyone can ever do for me is listen...even when I'm not talking to them. Ryan is slowly but surely seeing the benefits of doing this.
A few weeks after I stopped nursing Bella I realized OMGOSH, I can finally drink a RedBull! I guess it took me a little while to readjust my life to what I was able to eat and drink now. I have A drink maybe 3 or 4 times a year so that didn't really matter BUT I LOVE me some RedBull so that really really mattered! So now when Ryan leaves to take Max to school and he sees that I'm a tad bit sluggish, before he goes to the gym he stops by the gas station and brings me home some RedBull! Who could ask for anything better!
So that's when I love him the most, when he listens without me having to say anything.

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful Thursdays- 13

I'm so sorry I didn't post this yesterday but it was a kinda crazy day.
Better late than never right?

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. --Song of Solomon 8:6


One of the 10 Commandments is: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. 
I originally had a whole thing typed out about this but I deleted it. I'm going to let the Bible speak for itself this time. 

So this week I am thankful...
121. that I do not covet anything anyone else has.
122. that I am original and I do my own thing.
123. that Max got through his dental work without any tears.
124. that so many people thought of me on my birthday, I LOVE birthday cards!
125. that I got another year of life.
126. that my husband got me MORE flowers!
127. for my mom who sat in the room while the dentist worked on Max.
128. for the lessons I learn, thanks to Max, that I wont repeat with the rest of the kids I have.
129. for amazon.com.
130. for the Bible.

What are you thankful for this week?
Talk to you soon,
J

My First Poll.

Well...I posted on my Facebook that I wanted to have a poll and asked friends to give me ideas about what they wanted to read about on my blog and I would pick my favorite and blog about it and give them credit in the blog. WELL, only 3 people responded or told me anything they'd like to see, well my sister posted something too but it was silly haha. I guess that's not so bad for my first time, hopefully next time it has a little more response to it.

Anywho, there were 2 suggestions, one was the story of Ryan and I. Like how we met and our story. The other was how I deal with my frustrations when it comes to dealing with two kids. So I thought about it and decided that since Our Story isn't short enough to just be a blog post, that I would make it an actual page on here so it will be separate from the other blog posts. It should turn out wonderful. Thanks for that idea Sara D.! And the blog post about how I deal when I get frustrated with the kids will be a blog post that I will post up after my Joy of Love posts have ended. Thanks for THAT idea Sarah S.. And I dont want to not mention Ashley H. who didn't give her own idea but she did give input. Thanks ladies!

I will start working on "Our Story...So Far" (that's what I'm gonna call it) today after class.
Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Twenty Four}

24: Where.

Today I am supposed to post a picture of where I fell in love with one of my loves. Now...I can't quite pinpoint when I fell in love with Ryan...it was a bunch of little things that led me to that conclusion. So I can't really take a picture of it right? So I thought, I will post a picture of when I fell in love with one or both of the kids. When does that happen though? The moment you find out you're pregnant? The first time you hear their heartbeats? When you see them for the first time after they're born? It's kinda hard to tell because from the minute you even think you might be pregnant you immediately feel a connection to what may be. So I decided to post pictures of one of each of the kids ultrasounds. I have never not loved my kids, from the second there was a possibility of me being pregnant I knew loved them.

This is Maximus.
One of only 2 (!!) ultrasounds.

This is Gabriella
Who is still a thumb sucker just like in the ultrasound.

Talk to you soon,
J

Just because it makes me smile. Number 5

Not only is this a picture of Bella and her first "ponytail" (barely haha) but it also looks like I interrupted little miss talking on the phone. =D

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Twenty Three}

23: Facebook

Today I'm supposed to post my favorite Facebook picture of one of my loves...well, since neither of my kids have a Facebook, naturally I have to pick the Husband. Now, picking a picture from his Facebook is no easy task. He hardly posts pictures of himself, not sure why...but he has a bunch with the kids. So I looked through them all and I chose one that I have on my Facebook too, but I love it. Its from my brothers wedding last February. Max slept through almost the whole reception and when he woke up he only wanted Ryan. So this is Ryan holding him and whispering to him trying to get him to want to eat something. I dont remember who actually caught this moment, but I'm grateful.

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Twenty Two}

22: Face (A Portrait)

Max is perfect for this.
I love his little face
; D

  




















He was eating some snacks while I was torturing him with my camera hahaha!! Gotta keep 'em happy somehow! 

Talk to you soon,
J

Twenty Five Already?!

Today I turn 25.
So in a celebration of sorts I'm going to let you in on some of the things I've learned, seen, and realized about myself and a few other things.

About myself I've learned that I care way too much. I don't particularly care too much about what people are saying or doing about me or to me, it's more like I care about other people too much. I hate to see my friends hurting. I cannot stand when they cry, or are so angry but they can't do anything about it. I really don't like to see them in situations that they honestly don't deserve to be in. That being said I also realized I can't do a damn thing about it. No matter how badly in the deepest part of my soul that I want to fix it, or help them, I can't. In the end our life is up to us to control and "fix" if it needs it. So I've seen myself go from constant anger at people I could give two spits about to really absolute nonchalance. I still listen to my friends, and I still try and comfort them but I am no longer taking anymore time out of my life, or out of my family's life to dwell on that stuff. I've also made some changes in the way I am towards people. Instead of remembering only what people I haven't "liked" over the years I have dropped all of that crap. I have been starting fresh. I am forgiving people like God teaches us to do. I am being friendly without any strings. I am giving all people a chance without saying "Well he/she did this or that to me or someone else". I'm going into new friendships with my heart and arms open, with nothing holding me back. People are only people, we all sin, we all make mistakes, and there is no reason for me or anyone else to be treated as though we should be punished forever.  So if you're reading this and you think I don't like you for something that you may or may not have done to me or anyone I love, think again, I have nothing against you. One of my favorite parts of the Bible to read when I'm feeling like maybe this just isn't going to work is: But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." ... How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. --Luke 6:35-38;42 
Does that not say exactly what I've been trying to say? 
Amen!  

My kids are amazing. I can think of dozens of words to describe them, but I will stick with that one. They keep me alive! They are forever doing something...ANYTHING to make sure I NEVER forget they are here hahaha. They have taught me a type of patience that I never thought I would know. They have shown me some of the most beautiful things in life. Gabriella has shown me how big and wonderful the world looks from her level. Through Maximus I am relearning life. When he comes home from school with stories and pictures and homework to do, he rejuvenates me with his excitement! I couldn't have asked for two better kids from our Lord to raise. Like my Grandma Violet has told me, he has loaned me these babies to raise in his word so that when he gets them back (in 100 years or so) they will be the best people they know how to be. I will teach them about all the good and bad in this world, I will raise them to know about God, and I will LOVE them without abandon or limits. My kids mean the entire world to me and without THEM I don't know where I would be. 

As for my relationship with my husband, it is stronger than it ever has been. We didn't really have much going against us when we got married because most of the people that have known us for years knew that we would eventually get married. Our families were super supportive and happy for us. Now this isn't to say we didn't face "obstacles" over the years. I had a baby that wasn't his, he got engaged and went through some rough stuff in that relationship. In the end though it came back to him and I, like we both always knew it would...(maybe not so much in our everyday thinking, but when we came back together as friends everything was perfectly clear from there). That was only about three years ago, but honestly it feels like a lifetime already. Ryan and I are still learning silly little things about each other, and getting a real kick out of it. One day a few months ago I was making soup and buttered crackers (like my mom used to make me) and he told me he had never had a buttered cracker! I was like what the heck?! That's so crazy! It was something that is so normal to me that he had never done! There are days when I can't get enough of him and there are some days that I am definitely ready for him to go to work (hahaha) but there is NEVER a day that I don't love him.


The things I have learned about God are endless. I have found a new type of life with him. I have found my place with him. With him I will be the best mother, with him I will be the best wife, but most of all, with him I will be the best ME. I have not lost myself in this life Ryan and I have created for our family. There have been times where I have woke up and gone through the day without once stopping to think of myself. I think of Ryan and what he needs for the day, I think of my kids and everything they need throughout the day, but I sometimes don't stop to think of what I need through the day. So I stop and take a breath and say a short prayer though, I am doing something for me. When I write my blogs, I am doing it for me. When I read my books, I am doing it for me. Thanks to God I have found me again. I could literally talk about the ways he has changed my life and the way I look at life forever...but I wont. Not everyone wants to read about that. =)

I will leave you with a little more. I may not remember much of my first 10 years of life, but this I do know, I love my family. Not just the family I grew up with, but the family I didn't get to see too often also. When you have no one else in life, you will ALWAYS have your family. To take them for granted, or to treat them badly is wrong. Plain and simple. Everyone grows up, creates their own family and their own life but we should never forget about the people who were here before our spouses, before our kids, before our friends. They are the ones who loved you when you had bad hair and wore crazy clothes. So take the time to make sure you tell your parents you love them, tell your grandparents, tell your siblings. They want to hear it, I promise.

So now that I've told you probably a lot more than you wanted to know. I will give you a mental high five and leave you to your day. Thanks for reading, and being part of my life for a little while each day, it means a lot to me.

Talk to you soon,
J

While Dad's Away, Mom and Kids Will Play!

So lets talk about this extended weekend, and yes I am including Monday since it's a holiday therefore its an extended weekend for us!

Saturday came and went in a blur! Ryan had to work overtime early that morning (bittersweet to say the least). So when Ryan got up the kids and I got up too and lounged on the couch for a little while as our bodies woke up from the night. We spent the whole time Ryan was at work playing with Max's Khung Zhu stuff and later they watched some T.V. while I was reading a new book. The husband surprised up by coming home a little earlier than we expected him to =D so while the kids were climbing all over him, I took the time to do the dishes and clean up a little. We had dinner kind of early and ended up just hanging out watching some T.V. (the slamdunk contest was on) and chill out until it was the kids bed times. After the kids were tucked tightly into bed the hubs and I watched one of our shows and hit the sheets rather early. Pretty uneventful right?! Hahaha, I guess I didn't mention Max's meltdown because his sister wouldn't stop King Konging all over his toys hahahahaha, and I also didn't say anything about Gabriella learning to feed herself with a spoon and getting her food all over herself and the high chair AND the carpet. Oh and I didn't talk about the 3 times I had to vacuum because Bella likes to dump her Goldfish on the carpet and then step on them. Now It seems like I actually told you something right?

I got a ton of stuff done on Sunday! Ryan thankfully took the kids over to my moms house (he gets to play Xbox over there) so I could clean this house from top to bottom. Sundays are always my cleaning days...well actually everyday is a cleaning day, but Sundays I get down to the nitty gritty haha. I got everything nice and shiny and clean (as Max says). I got rid of some stuff from the kitchen, reorganized the laundry room, put all my holiday stuff into a bigger tote thing, and replaced the shower heads in both bathrooms. Overall it was super productive! The kids and Ryan came home around 3:30 and Bella was sleeping when Ryan brought her in. After like 30 minutes she woke up...crying...and didn't stop for at least an hour. In that hour I gave her a bath, held her, Ryan held her, we tried giving her snacks, anything basically but she just wouldn't stop crying. Eventually I just decided we should just lay her down again and see if maybe she just wasn't ready to wake up...that did it. She woke up again about 15 minutes later like a whole new baby! She wanted to play as soon as she got out of her crib! (Phew!) So then Ryan left to go find me some newspapers so I could clip the coupons (Woo Hoo!!) and he was on a mission! Everywhere he went they were already gone but he finally found one of each at two different places. After he brought them home he went to the gym for a little while before dinner. After a bath for Max and a little cuddle time for both kids, we put them to bed for the night and sat down to catch up on the rest of our shows.

Today, Monday, is our extra day off! We got up just as early as always with the kids. I made some breakfast for the kids and Ryan, mini pink pancakes and turkey bacon. I didn't eat any since I'm not a big fan of breakfast but the Ryan and the kids gobbled it up! We all got ready and headed over to my moms house to head to Victor Ville to have some lunch and do a little shopping as an early birthday celebration for me since everyone had today off. I want Ryan to take off a day in March for Max so we decided he would just work on my birthday...tomorrow. We went to a steak house, and then stopped at a few stores before finally coming back to my moms. My mom and I went to the grocery store in town and then went back to her house for dinner. I would go into more detail about our day but there's really not too much to say, we had an awesome day, and I just realized how long this post is going to be hahahaa! So tomorrow is my 25th birthday, and I have a nail appointment early in the morning, a midterm and 4 quizzes later on...AND an online class starts. Oh well, at least I'll be extra busy!

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Twenty One}

21: The Hands.

Gabriella's little hands seem to be always dirty, It probably doesn't help that she sucks her thumb either. With her hands she has learned textures, fed herself, and made huge messes! I love her little hands. I have even painted her finger nails (minus the thumbs) a few times.

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Twenty}

20: When They're Home.

When we aren't out doing things while Ryan is at home, we are normally all in the same spots doing the same sorts of things. Ryan is (as said in a previous blog) on "his" couch, I am on the big couch, Max is on the floor in front of us playing with toys, and Gabriella is either playing with Max or sitting on mine or Ryan's lap. We spend our down time in our comfys (jammies) just relaxing together. There are no expectations, there is no hustle or bustle, we just hang out and talk, read, watch T.V. and play.

Thanks for documenting this for us Allison!
Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Nineteen}

19: When They're Gone.

The kids and I spend the last half of our week days without Ryan so I thought a picture of something that we do while he's gone would be perfect for this. When Ryan is working the kids and I do the everyday normal things. We play a lot, we eat, we color, we clean up their rooms, just the regular things moms and kids do while dad is away! Today we sat and watched some cartoons (well I was reading, Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks...I just finished The Hate List today too awesome book BTW!) and Max and Gabriella munched on some Cheeto Popcorn, then we decided to sit down and play with Max's Khung Zhu stuff.

Thanks to Allison for taking the last two pictures =).
Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Eighteen}

18: Going Out.

Well I'm gonna have to cheat on this one too!
We hardly ever go out! With 2 kids, school, and a husband who works full time, there is hardly ever even a night that we would even consider going out. Not only that but Ryan works nights so when he goes out at night...its to work. Luckily though when we went to Universal Studios we also went to dinner and we just happened to take a picture together! The next time we are going to be able to be out at night without the kids is probably going to be our anniversary coming up in April, but I doubt we will even get away for that long, as most of you know getting away like that with kids is nearly impossible. So here is a picture of Ryan and I taken with my camera but not by me. (Thanks Evette)

I LOVE that he is so much taller than me! I'd be hard pressed to finds a man that isn't taller than me but I still feel so lucky that he is so tall and makes me feel so protected.

Gah...he is just so handsome.

Okay enough gushing.

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Seventeen}

17: Staying In.

The kids and I stay in almost everyday. I only leave the house every couple of days to run errands because we don't have a second car right now (One more week and we will!). So I decided to take a picture of Ryan and I since its not so often that we are able to just lay in bed and watch TV for a little bit, but this morning we got to. I thought it would be kinda neat to just take a picture of our legs and feet as we laid in bed.

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful Thursdays- 12

There have been a few instances in the last few days that I've really had to look to God and ask him to show me how to handle myself and my temper. Obviously this has nothing to do with my kids or my amazing husband, but with people from outside of our bubble. I have a hard time with NOT telling people what I really think, in the last few months I've taught myself to hold my tongue when it was absolutely necessary. There are some things though that I literally have to fight with myself to control the urge to tell someone to **** off. Bringing Jesus into my life more and more has helped because now I know to go to him and ask him what I'm supposed to do. Do I tell the rude lady at the grocery store she needs to find a new job since she obviously cant do the one she has, or do I smile politely and figure out whatever it is on my own. Do I tell that girl she is so full of s*** that it is starting to come out of her mouth, or do I ignore everything and remember how much more blessed I am than her because I do have God on my side. Do I listen to the negativity of others and let it bring me down, or do I stay positive and ask Jesus to help brighten someone elses day. I know that the actions of others really shouldn't interfere with MY life but I cannot help but be bothered by the idiocy of some people.

So what I'm trying to say is that I'm thankful for...

111. the patience that God is teaching me to have when it comes to other peoples issues.

ALSO I'm thankful...

112. that no matter what ANYONE says, I came first in my husbands life back then and I never stopped being in his mind.

113. for the lady at the store who heard me talking about my coupon being expired so she gave me one of hers that wasn't expired yet. (So nice!)

114. for Tracy vanDam Fotografie, without her and her business I dont know who would document our family as it grows.

115. for my mom who kept my babies overnight.

116. for friends who like to surprise you.

117. that my sister is coming to visit finally!

118. for the flowers that I got for Valentines Day that are still looking beautiful!

119. for Valentines Day clearance stuff! So fun!!

120. for my sister in law who ALWAYS listens to me. =)

{Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. --Psalm 37:7-9 AMEN!!}

What are you thankful for this week?

Talk to you soon,

J

The Joy of Love {Day Sixteen}

16: Together (Self-Portrait)

I'm totally going to cheat on this and tell you, this picture is not from today but it is from my camera and I am the one who took it. As I said in a super long blog before, we went to Universal Studios this past weekend, this picture is from that weekend. We were standing in line to ride The Simpsons Ride and I took it just for fun. It turned out cuter than I thought it would since it was from such a weird angle but that's good!

I LOVE Ryan's face in this picture!! It's not too often that when we take pictures I get a GENUINE smile out of him (he's not very good at smiling on the spot hahahha) but he was so happy and so happy to let me get it on camera. I love when that happens! I try not too whip out my camera on him too much because I want him to want to take pictures when it matters and not be sick of it from all the times it didn't matter. Luckily for me this last month he has been so good to me and has let me camera stalk him a few times for these blogs, he knows when something is important to me

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Fifteen}

15: Kiss.

This one was a little hard for me! I dont really like to post very many pictures of Ryan and I kissing. Sometimes I feel like its kinda personal to be putting out there...I have posted a few over the years...like 4 tops I think. But most of the time we dont even take pictures like that because it feels like that should be something we do in private, its not really for the world to see. I'm sure we all know that most people dont enjoy seeing PDA all over the place. Ryan and I don't kiss every 5 seconds when we're in public, we don't feel the need to practically dry hump each other so people can see how in love we are (GAG). We hold hands, we're nice to each other, and we treat each other like humans, not pieces of meat...that's for the bedroom (hahahahaha!). Sooo after all that is said I decided to post a picture of Max kissing me on the cheek. That isn't too invasive for me, and plus I haven't done a post about him in a while.

Max is definitely not the easiest person to get a picture of, so I'm feeling pretty lucky that I got this on camera. =)

Talk to you soon,
J

Our Weekend Away & Valentines Day

{Caution, this blog is long and there are quite a bit of pictures!}

This weekend the husband and I were able to get away with two of our very best friends for a day and night. We went to Universal Studios Hollywood all day on Saturday and then spent the night in an amazing room at the Hilton Hotel. Universal Studios was so much fun! I have never been there and neither has Ryan, so we were so excited to experience everything there is to offer there. After we got a locker for our sweaters we started the day off by going into the Haunted House thing...not my cup of tea. I'm a HUGE crybaby when it comes to scary movies! I hate to be scared!! So the whole time I just kept my head down and eyes closed while Ryan led me through the whole thing. Even with me not seeing anything I was STILL SCARED!! We went on every single ride there, well we didn't explore the Curious George world hahaha. I wont go into detail about every ride because then this blog post would be even longer than it is already going to be (haha), but I will tell you that I enjoyed every single thing we did! We went on a tour of the Universal lots and that was my favorite thing we did all day. We saw movie sets AND we got to go down Wisteria Lane (Where all the Desperate Housewives live!) there were a few little motion rides on the tour that were a lot of fun too. I love just about anything to do with movies, or celebrities, so I was totally enthralled by this! We ate lunch at the Flinstones Bar-B-Que after the tour and it was delicious! After we did some shopping and had our caricature drawn the park was closing down so we drove across the street to our hotel and got ready for dinner.We decided on mexican food and went to eat at Camacho's Cantina. It was super good food and by the time we got to eat it was around 10:00 so we had a drink and ate our food, then took a cab back to the hotel and decided to play a board game Evette and Nick had brought along. We had so much fun just hanging out in the hotel playing our game and laughing that we ended up staying up super late!

The next morning was really relaxing since check out wasn't until 12:00 (!!) we just took our time getting ready and getting all of our stuff together. After check out we went over to Ventura Blvd. and parked so we could do some shopping in some of the vintage stores. We knew there was a Fat Burger along the way so we had lunch there and it was so ridiculously good I totally indulged, I haven't had a burger in MONTHS and I knew this was the place to get one. Ryan got a HUGE burger, a XXL with everything PLUS cheese, bacon, chili, and an egg...he didn't finish it like we all thought he would but he put away about 3/4 of it! We stopped by Trader Joes to pick up a few things and then decided it was time to head home so we could all get back to the real world.
After a 2 hour drive we got to go pick up our kids! This weekend was the first time I've ever left Gabriella overnight with someone (my mom). When we dropped them off I cried a little after I got back into the car. This last month has been pretty hard and a few things have changed. I've weaned her from nursing completely, this was REALLY hard for me mostly. Gabriella is pretty adaptable, she just goes with the flow, I on the other hand was the one who had to get used to not nursing her before laying her down for the night and not nursing her right when she woke up in the morning. She also has been becoming more and more independent, this is a great thing but super bittersweet. Now it was time for me to let her be somewhere overnight without me, and wake up without me being there...you can imagine my heartache. She obviously wasn't forever traumatized. Max always does great when he spends the night with my mom (Grandmom) he loves to have sleepovers with her! We hung out with my mom and brothers for about an hour and then headed home to spend some time with the kids and wouldn't you know it...they both fell asleep in the car on the way home!! So we came home and put them to bed, Ryan watched TV for a little bit while I got some things done and put together all the kids Valentines Day bags. After all was said and done we sat down together on the couch to watch the Grammys before hitting the sheets.
This morning I woke up to a vase with beautiful flowers a card and a...Coach bag! In the bag was a beautiful Coach wallet, which I've never had. In my flowers was a single rose and Ryan told me he wasn't going to get roses this year because he had last year and he knows how much I prefer other types of flowers over roses but he just HAD to get me at least one because to him it isn't a Valentines Day without a rose, there was also a little I Love You balloon in them.

 

I gave Ryan his gift also, a new pair of Anarchy brand sunglasses, and he absolutely loved them. He wasn't expecting them at all which makes it that much better.
I decided I would wait to give the kids their Valentines Day bags until later on in the day when Atalaya and Chace would be here too to open theirs. In the mean time Max's class had a Valentines Day party which was a lot of fun! I signed up to bring the plates and cupcakes so I got some heart shaped paper plates and these cupcakes with red icing and little bumblebee rings on top that said BEE MINE. I LOVE doing stuff with Max's school! After the party we came home and had to wait a few hours for Atalaya and Chace to come over and...they LOVED the bags! I don't think they were expecting them at all!! I took a few pictures that I'll post. I bought each of them things that suited their personality that way no one would fight over anything and my plan worked! As soon as they were done taking everything out of the bags they right away started asking me to open stuff for them, which is a sign that they're too pumped to wait!

Valentines Day for me is all about showing the people you love just how much you love them. Things definitely dont say I love you, but the fact that you thought of that person when you were buying them something is what makes it mean more. I love my husband and my kids and I love Atalaya and Chace too.

I hope you enjoyed that NOVEL hahahaha!

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Fourteen}

14: Wedding band/Jewelry

My husband loves his wedding ring. He only takes it off to put lotion on and when hes using certain machines at the gym (he doesn't want to take a finger off haha). Although its super simple and all that it was exactly what he wanted when we were ring shopping for him. I plan on getting him a new one with some bling bling one of these days and when I do, I'll be sure to post a picture of it!

Happy Valentines Day!

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Thirteen}

13: Routines.

I chose Gabriella as my little love today because she's the only person that has a pretty set in stone routine. We do the same things every day at the same times, and I love it! I LOVE knowing whats coming next and I love being able to plan. We start everyday around 7:45 and I get Max up and get him dressed, and then I go get Bella out of her crib. Now out of all the things we do together in a day this is by far my favorite thing. I LOVE to see her smiley happy face and her big blue eyes that always look like I've just made her day. Now that her hair is finally growing it looks so crazy when she gets up!
So here's a shot of her this morning when I went in to get her out of her bed.

Talk to you soon,
J

The Joy of Love {Day Twelve}

12: The Eyes.

I am always teasing my husband about his eyes. They get real squinty when he smiles and laughs. Sometimes when we're laying in bed watching T.V. I can't even tell if hes awake or not because his eyes look like they're closed! His eyes are a really beautiful hazel color and he has these long thick lashed that most girls would love to have.

He's watching T.V. right here but hes not laying down so his eyes dont look as closed as they do when he's in bed but you can see the beautiful color they are and you can see his amazing eyelashes!

Look at his laugh lines. Makes me smile to look at this.

Talk to you soon,
J

My first blog post from my phone! Wonder if its a success...
(Looks like it was! This is great!! Now I can blog while I'm on the go! hahaha!)

The Joy of Love {Day Eleven}

11: Dreams.

Ryan and I have hundreds of dreams for our future. We dream about building our own house, about having our dream wedding, about our kids graduating from college, getting married, and having kids. We dream about having two brand new cars. We dream about the regular everyday things that most married couples do but as of late...well for the past year we have been planning a trip to Jamaica. We have been thrown slightly off course by unforeseen circumstances but we both know we will get there. So I thought instead of posting something about a dream that isn't really within our reach right now, I would post about a dream we know will be coming true very soon.

These are just a few of the pairs of swim trunks we bought for Ryan. =)

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful Thursdays- 11

This week has flown by! 

101. I'm thankful that Gabriella is pretty much over her cold.

102. That Max got a smaller bed for his room! There's so much more room for him and Gabriella to play now!

103. That We are finally getting a day away without kids this weekend!

104. For the gifts my inlaws sent!

105. That the pain of weaning Gabriella has finally gone away!

106. For a husband that lets me plan our days off. ;)

107. For Evans second chance. I will NEVER stop thanking Jesus for saving that little boy.

108. For books.

109. That we got to see Ryan's sister and her husband! (Who live in Texas but were here for a visit.)

110. For Sype! I get to see my sister nearly everyday thanks to it! Today the inlaws were also able to see the kids open their gifts! 

I am thankful for millions of things everyday but I can never say enough how thankful I am that I am alive and that my kids and husband are alive and healthy. God does all things but keeping us this way is his number one gift. 

Talk to you soon,

J

The Joy of Love {Day Ten}

10: Space- Where They are Comfortable.

My husbands favorite place ever to be is on our loveseat! It even permanently smells like his body wash!! He lays across it whenever he watches TV. As soon as he gets home from nearly anywhere, right after hes done whatever he has to do around the house he sits right down on what I call "his" couch hahaha! When I told him I was going to take a picture of him lounging he was thinking I was going to put that as his hobby! Hahaha that made me laugh so hard! So just to clarify, he doesn't spend all day on the couch since he works, and when hes home he doesn't neglect his fatherly/husbandly duties either. =) He just relaxes when he can on his couch.

I don't know what hes going to do when we finally get a sectional! =)

Talk to you soon,
J

p.s. sorry about the camera strap =/ I didn't notice it until right now.

The Joy of Love {Day Nine}

09: Passions and Hobbies.

As I've said before Ryan LOVES to work out. In the last year (2010) he has only missed maybe 60 days of gym time. He goes for about 2 hours every single day and he really does do work hahahaha. His gym buddies and him have like lifting contests you could call them, they challenge each other to lift more weight than they can. Usually Ryan wins...according to him at least. ; ) I only complain about it every once in a while because sometimes I just want him to stay home, but I try to keep that to a minimum because I know it makes him happy. So I decided to take a picture of him working out with his IronGym (yeah he works out at home too) and post it. I didn't want to go to the gym and embarrass him by taking his pictures in there (so thoughtful of me haha!).

Talk to you soon,
J