Dear Journal: And I Thought I Loved Him Then

Hope everyone enjoyed the Week of Love!!!! I know I did. Valentine's Day is a funny thing. I've had several conversations with different people about this day. Many think it's dumb and pointless. And some boycott it altogether. I will admit that some have grand expectations for the day that sometimes leaves them with disappointment. I agree with many that Valentine's Day is kind of a silly day to officially declare a holiday and the commercialization of Valentine's Day has caused women to have unrealistic expectations of what their significant other should do for them. Some dislike the holiday because they don't want to receive something just because their spouse feels like he/she has to. It's unthoughtful to just send flowers because it's what is "supposed" to be done. I agree. Some say that observing this holiday is not going to save a marriage just by doing something nice once a year for their better half. True. But, what's wrong with celebrating those you love? I enjoy celebrating anything! And I certainly love celebrating my love and happiness for my husband. So, I say, I think it's a great reminder early in the year to take some time to think about the one you love and to express your feelings whether it's through a gift or through your actions and words. I say, "can it hurt to take more time to be thoughtful about your marriage?" No way!

The history of Valentine's Day is quite interesting! "One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death..According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl--possibly his jailor's daughter--who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival... The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes." (For the article in its entirety, click here.)

Does it surprise you that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines!? HAHA

Well, to all you Valentine haters out there...If you're already a very consistently thoughtful spouse, then I'm sorry you aren't inclined to take an extra opportunity to express your gratitude and affection for your love. And if you struggle in the "thoughtfulness" department, now is a great time to try a little harder! A little thoughtfulness goes a long way. That's what keeps marriages fresh and fun. Shannon and I are living proof of that...

I love this photo from Kandylane Photography (kandylanephotos.com). It's silly and it truly captures how we feel for each other. Crazy in love!

We started our Valentine's Day with these: Red Velvet Pancakes with berries and chocolate sauce!

Shannon presented these to me: They were gorgeous and fragrant hot pink roses!

When Shannon walked through the door that morning, I met him in the garage with a hug as usual and there was a little gift bag on the door with some Hershey hugs for him and some new chap stick that informed him they were for kissable lips and that now he needed to make out with me! haha. Have you tried the new Blistex Raspberry Lemonade? You should. It makes for yummy kisses! :) Then when he opened the door there was a trail of Hershey kisses and rose petals leading through the house, up the stairs, and into the bedroom. There he found a Can O' Dates for both of our use (for more details click here), a love coupon, and this sign:

(click here for this awesome site where I get a lot of my ideas)

Then, because I jacked Shannon's phone a couple days before to program in several "alerts" in his calendar, there was a reminder that popped up every hour from 10:30- 5:30 telling him to check in different areas of our house. In the different places I had hid the cards above with memories of us on them: the "ABC's of us" (idea from here) I left 3 blank for him to write down a few memories of us too and I will combine them altogether and put them in our memory box so that years down the road we can re-read them and laugh. Most of the memories were silly/fun ones.

For example: "C" said: "Care Bear Cups. Remember when you surprised me (while we were engaged) with a picnic. You even got some "bubbly" cider and care bear cups bc you knew I loved them. Too bad our cider slipped, dropped on the ground and broke!"

or

"L" said: "Lingerie: Remember one time I came home from school and I caught you lighting a candle in some jean lingerie contraption where the back pockets hung over your butt cheeks but the rest of the jeans were missing? I was relieved to find that this was all a joke for me and not some weird thing you do alon. Phew."

or

"P" said: "Phone Messages: I will always remember the voicemails you would leave me on my phone when I was at Murray. Once you sang, "good morning Beautiful." I never erased it. Then, you would frequently tell our story on a message. Like, "You remember when this returned missionary fell in love with this southern gall?..." When I'd answer the phone, you'd always say, "Can I talk to the prettiest gal in Kentucky, please?!"

It was so fun for me to write these down and reminisce of so many fun times. Shannon thought it was fun to read through them and he got a kick out of it. Keshlyn enjoyed helping hide the cards around the house.

Later that evening, Shannon took me to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory where we shared one of our favorite meals and then we shared some Banana Creme Cheesecake. Then, he took me bowling! It was so fun. The first bowl for me I knocked down 9 and got the spare. I thought I was gonna be on fire, but every turn after that I blew! HAHAHA... Shannon bowled 136 and me...a BIG OL' 41!!!!!!! This 4 year old boy next to me bowled a 50! I got beat by a 4 year old. In my defense though, he got to use the bumpers! :)

We spontaneously decided to go to one more place before we went back home but I'll leave that unsaid and the rest of the night was wonderful. That's all I'll say about that! This is a PG site people! haha.

In honor of the blessing of my wonderful marriage, I wanted to share excerpts from my journal. Shannon has never even read this. If you don't keep a regular journal, I encourage you to start. I can't express how special and dear it is to me to be able to go back 7 years ago and read about mine and Shannon's first valentine's day and the feelings that I had. As I read through my entries, my heart is overwhelmed at the realization of my blessings and the words of Brad Paisley's song rushed through my head: "We'll look back someday at this moment that we're in and I'll look at you and say, "I thought I loved you then..." Tonight, I dedicate this song to you babe:

February 15, 2005.

"Dear Journal,

Oh my goodness! I have sooooo much to tell! So, I was in the best mood ever on the day of picking up Shannon at the airport. He lights up my life. Just the presence of him makes me shine. It's amazing what he does to me. It's amazing how love brings out the best in a person. So I drove o Nashville on Thursday after class and didn't have much trouble finding the airport and I anxiously waited Shannon's arrival. I was so excited I couldn't stand it! I right away noticed his legs when he was coming down the escalator and then slowly his gorgeous face was revealed. He turned the opposite direction of me and then I yelled, Shannon" and he automatically turned his head and I ran over to him and he picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him and he kissed me. Time stood still. I am so much in love. Even more now than before. After leaving the airport we went to grab a bite to eat. We then went to walk around the Opryland Hotel which all of my friends told me was awesome. As we were leaving the hotel and roaming around outside around the pretty scenery, we just embraced and swayed as though we were slow dancing. It was awesome.Even though it was freezing cold outside, I had never been more warm inside and out. He pulled me onto a bench with him cradling me and he told me that he had no words to describe how much he loves me. And he also asked me, "so remind me again how I am so lucky to deserve a gal such as yourself?" I don't understand this question because it is me that does not deserve him! We then giggled and held each other and then he pulled me up from the bench and kissed some more and then he went on to say how much he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and then knelt down on one knee and asked me to marry him for eternity! I cried and was so choked up I didn't even look at the ring. While he was trying to put the ring on my finger (the wrong one too haha) I was trying to pull him up to hug hi and kiss him. It wasn't until he asked me did he do alright with the ring that I looked at it. It was beautiful! I was so impressed that he picked it out himself with no help... After this we walked back to the car where he showered me with gifts for Valentine's Day as though he hadn't already done enough! (NOTE: This was the "officially official proposal with a ring. If you're new to my story, read the journal excerpts here for the unofficially official proposal) ...

...we headed back to Mammy's where we were staying. We stayed up quite late cuddling. On Saturday night (while we may or may not have been kissing :) I heard something, I stopped and said, "do you hear that? It's raining." He looked at me and grinned and said, "let's go." He got up and jerked me up and then walked twards the door...he walked outside and said, "come one!" I yelled back that I was putting on my shoes and he yells back, "no shoes!" So I hurried after him and then he picked me up in the cold rain, spun me around and kissed me. He is such a sweet and romantic person. It was 3 AM and all that was going on it in the world was the rain and us. I told him that I has always wanted to kiss in the rain. We were soaked.

( Shannon had flown home to Vegas as I wrote this last part. )

I don't know what I would do without Shannon.
Shannon and I are going to read the scriptures together tonight over the phone. I can't believe I beat him with the shower deal! (we would often get off of the phone to race and shower and then call each other back. Apparently I was much faster this night!)

Hopelessly in love with Shannon.

Love,

Keshia"

Chubby Cheeks

If I have never expressed just how much I am in love with my baby boy I must make it quite clear now that he is THE cutest little chubby baby with rolls EVER and I am so glad he is mine! And...the best of all...he's such a good baby. He is quite content with playing on the floor with toys while I run around getting things done but he also will cuddle me whenever I want to as well! YAY for me! Keshlyn was NEVER a cuddler...(takes after her daddy.) :) I love him to pieces and can't get enough of his happy cheeks! Take a look at how much he's changed. I didn't have the idea to take month to months until he hit 3 months. Bummer. But, I love it anyway. At 3 months he was just a roly poly/butterball with no hair. He balded early! Haha. But he's growing it back now. Ky-boy, please always give your momma big hugs and let me kiss your cheeks! :)

And just because I can't get enough of him..here's another cute pic. He was wriggling so much that I cut the "6" out of it, but isn't he darling?

Just Because

I ...

love fuzzy socks
Hate getting out of bed in the morning
Feel exhausted no matter what
Hate finger prints on my mirrors...makes me cringe
Don't bathe my kids every night...oops
Like the way I feel after a good work out
Could care less about fake nails
Hate rough feet!!!
Would like to dye the ends of my hair pink...probably won't do it. But I like to think I could pull it off
Hate talking on the phone
Love games in big groups
Am a simple gal. Could care less about owning "Tiffany & Co" or any other fancy shmancy jewelry or overpriced purses
Love to cuddle my baby boy :) finally a cuddler in this house! He's so squishy!
Love my baby girl's singing. She's quite the song writer
Love laughing with my handsome husband
Am grateful for my life
Think HOA is stupid. ( and yes I've heard the opposing arguments and I still think it's ridiculous.
Love "twinkling lights" and keep white ones in my kitchen year round.
Think reading is way better than watching tv
Like music that has meaning or tells a story
Hate california
Like being in the middle of nowhere
Love to dream
Like to write in my journal
Love collecting pictures of my family to capture memories
Like to spray perfume in my hair.
Hate doing my hair. If I could be attractive and bald, it would be so tempting to shave it all off!
Have a sweet tooth (Smores are absolutely one of my favorite guilty pleasures!)
Won't wash dishes in a sink of water. Floating food is gross.

AND

I absolutely love hearing the garage door open in the mornings. it means Shannon is finally home from work. :)

Merry and Bright

This little gal makes life Merry!

And this one makes our lives bright!

We are so blessed as a family. Our Christmas was SO merry and bright!

 

 The fun thing about Keshlyn's age (2 1/2) is that we got to really talk to her about Christmas this year and she was able to understand a little bit and get excited. We don't really talk about Santa or do that whole world tradition. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year and want my children to know why: because I'm grateful for the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Teaching in Primary at Church, I would ask during this season, “Can you tell me about Christmas” or “What is Christmas about?” The first things those children think of are presents under the tree and Santa. Now, if I ask them who was born on Christmas Day (even though he really wasn’t), they’ll answer,  “Jesus.” But, he’s NOT the first thing they think of when talking about Christmas.  I don't like the idea of asking my children to make a list of what they want or hope to receive for Christmas. I don't want to have them focus on themselves and make materialistic demands.  Shannon and I want our children and family  to look outward during the Christmas holiday. I want to form traditions that revolve around the birth of Christ like going to live nativities or reading the account of his birth in Luke. I've also never liked it when I hear adults ask different children “What did you get for Christmas.” Is it a competition? What if a child’s parents couldn’t really afford what that child asked Santa for? Should parents feel the pressure to fulfill a child's list of toys and spend beyond their means Or should our children be brought up focusing solely on becoming more like Christ and honoring His birth through service and giving?  I just find it a little funny that here we have this holiday, CHRISTmas and somewhere along the line, the world threw in Santa Claus and commercialized what is supposed to be a purely religious holiday. Most people disagree with my thoughts and that's ok. I don't judge others for having a tradition rich in "Santa Claus." I'm not saying it's bad, I just feel like for my family, I want to go a different direction. The idea of Santa is good: he is very giving and loving. But, I don't need a mythical example of someone who exemplifies giving and service when I have the ultimate example that came on a Silent Night and was laid in a manger. :)

To try and accomplish the true spirit of Christmas, I started a new tradition with my family: A service Christmas advent calendar. I came up with this idea and searched the internet to see if anyone out there had done one before and of course, I found a website where I took some ideas from. I can't for the life of my find it right now to give a shout out! Grrr. Every day in December until Christmas, there are cards that have a scripture about service/Christ on one side, and then on the other side of the card is a service to do as a family. It’s a Random Act of Christmas Kindness. 

 

We had a BLAST doing these. We did things like: Pull people’s garbage cans up to their houses on garbage day, tape money to vending machines and redbox movie machines, drop off anonymous treats, gifts, and money to families in need; hide money in the toy aisle for those buying gifts, buy the cold Salvation Army ringer a hot cocoa in Kentucky, randomly "kidnap" a family’s kids to babysit so parents could have a free day (etc...) It’s an incredible feeling to get an inkling of how Christ lived his WHOLE life: in complete service.  As our family read the scripture each night and had a discussion about how our service is a gift to Christ, our home and hearts were filled with love. I’ve grown from this experience! We hung each tag/card on the tree after each one was completed. I hope that our family will do this for years and years to come and it will be what my children think of when Christmas comes to mind: serving and giving to others in honor of Christ’s birth.

Craft:

I wanted to make this before Christmas and with going to Kentucky and such, I just didn't have time. But, I saw a picture in a magazine with allof these beautiful ribbons flowing down the tree. I fell in love...but not enough to pay the $79 they were asking for the piece. As I looked at it, I knew it would be SO CHEAP and simple to make so I did today for next year! 

The lighting was bad, and my tree is beyond dead so the limbs are sagging and the ornaments have fallen, so the tree looks terrible. My ribbon looks cute though! :) It's way cuter in person. Next year I'll probably add more ribbon. All you do is take a wire or elastic and make it into a circle. Then you measure out different ribbons and tie it around the ring to place at the very top of the tree. The ribbon flows down the tree and you can tuck it in branches along the way if you'd like. I love it. You can't see all of my little ribbons in this picture. Rats. Oh well. Better picture next year! haha

 

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Girl Talk

This is a post about my fave raves right now when it comes to beauty products!

Nail Polish- Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails: Pink Rockstar. Forget paying for "Glitter Nails!" 2 Coats of this stuff looks like you had it professionally done!Love the color. I'm wearing it right now!

Biomega Volume Shampoo and Biomega Moisture Mist: Oh.My. Goodness. I was on a mission a month ago to find a miracle product because my hair has been looking dull and dry. And the Biolage I tried was not cutting it. I found this new brand that doesn't have any drying sulfates and I had to try it. My hair has not ever looked healthier or shinier! I love the Moisture Mist in place of a conditioner, because you spray it on your hair wet and don't rinse it out. It's lightweight and makes your hair feel soft.

Biomega Behave (Smoothing Elixir)- This stuff is awesome for putting just a teeny bit in your hair to smooth it out and protect when blow drying and styling your hair. I'll tell you- my hair curls super easy when I use this stuff.

Aquage Uplifting Foam- You want some lift at your roots so it doesn't look so straight, limp, and lifeless? This stuff ROCKS! It's the best "root lifter" I've used. I got this recommindation off of this other girl's really great blog about hair: thesmallthings.com

Aquage serum: (if you are a biosilk infusion or Chi Silk lover and you want to try something new...this stuff is AWESOME~ and it smells like heaven.)

Marakesh X Leave-in Treatment. High Tide: Great hair treatment a few times a week. If you're a It's a 10 lover, give this a shot for something new. It's a little cheaper and it's incredible

Paula's Choice Skin Recovery Moisturizer with Antioxidants and SPF 15- LOVE this stuff. You should wear SPF EVERY DAY! Lots of people look at me crazy when I say that, but even in doors, UVA rays penetrate through your windows. UVA are aging rays. Prevent signs of aging and skin cancer by wearing a moisturizer with SPF every single day.

Paula's Choice Skin Recovery Hydrating Treatment Mask... This is 1 of my 2 MOST FAVORITE skin care products for my face. I have seen a HUGE difference as I've used this. I can't live without this stuff. It's the only thing I have found that truly hydrates my skin so much that it is constantly soft, smooth, and supple. If you have any trouble with dryness, flaking on your face, or feeling like your face needs a "drink," You must, must, must try this. It's a "mask" but it's like a lotion. You put it on your face and leave it for at least 15-20 minutes, then you can wash it off or leave it on for greater moisture. It's not greasy. I leave it on and it makes all the difference.

My 2nd most favorite product ever for my face is Alpha Hydrox Retinol Res-Q. You wear this cream at night on your face and wake up to amazingly smooth, soft skin. This product in combination with the product above makes my skin look so youthful and flawless. Plus it has Retinol in it! It's a cousin to Retinoids (prescribed by a dermatologist only) which helps reverse and prevent aging signs. If you start using Retinol when you're young, you could do so much preventative care for your face. We always want to "reverse" or undo things when we're older, but why not just prevent why we're young!?


MACs Mineralize Satin Finish Foundation. It leaves a dewey, J-Lo-skin type finish. It really is a good foundation. Used in conjunction with MAC's dual fibre brush (That I've raved about in previous blogs), this foundation glides on and seeps into your skin. I'm not usually a fan of MAC's foundations, but I haven't tried them in years, so I thought I would try and I liked!

Julie Hewett Cheekies. Cream Blush in the color "Jami." Ever used cream blush? Lots of people have never even tried cream blush because they're nervous. If you have really oily skin, cream blush is not for you. If you have Normal to dry, to combination skin,cream blush could be a new favorite beauty product for you! I LOVE cream blush. It soaks into your cheeks and looks natural rather than having a powdery blob sitting on your cheek. For me living in the desert, I have normal to dry skin. This cream blush is perfect for me because I don't ever have to worry about the powder blush clinging to any dry skin on my cheeks and looking uneven.

I truly love MAC's gel eye liner. Always have. It is creamy and glides on very easily. There is great variety in color. It doesn't dry out like Loreal's HIP cream liner does. BUT- somedays I'm lazy and don't feel like grabbing for the pot of gel liner AND an eyeliner brush. (Pathetic, I know.) SO- I'm also crazy about liquid liner in a marker form. I do not do well with straight liquid liner. I love the long lasting and boldness of it but my hand is a little shaky sometimes. Even on myself. So, for people like me, they've put liquid liner in a felt-tip marker form. IT IS THE BEST! It's easy to apply and looks bold and stays put. It doesn't smudge or fade like pencil liner can.Maybelline's Stiletto felt tip liner and Loreal's Lineur Intense Felt Tip Marker are both great choices. Their performances are the same. Just different brands.

Mascara will forever be my struggle in this life! I've tried several that I didn't like. One of which was Voluminous which I raved about in my last product post. I don't know if they've changed the formula or if I've just tried so many that I've raised the bar? At any rate, I don't like it anymore. Others I didn't like or were just
"ok":

MAC's False Lashes
Falsies
Voluminous Million Lashes (HATED. Made hard and brittle. Lashes broke off!)

Ones I like:
Maybelline's Full & Soft will always be a great choice (as long as they don't change the formula or brush! ha). For just great looking lashes day-to-day, pick up this tube. It doesn't give drama or any great length, but it does grab each lash and make them look full.

Telescopic Carbon Black- someone recommended this mascara to me a while back.. At first I didn't like it. It's very wet which means that it grabs lashes in sections. This makes your lashes look skinnier and not very full, BUT it makes CRAZY long-looking lashes and it's a dramatic black. Some days I just want to feel like I have some really bold, long lashes. That is when I pull this mascara out.

Clinique's All about eyes concealer. Love this stuff! The tone of it is great for highlighting under the eye. It makes me look much more well rested than I really am! :)

I just purchased NARS Illuminator...We'll see if I like it! I'm sure I will. I like looking like I'm glowing!

It SNOT funny!

So anyone who knows our family very well knows that Shannon is an avid booger picker. Day in. Day out. It's a Dang good thing he's sexy! Well, Shannon also loves to snot rocket in the shower. I personally think it's disgusting. If you, for some reason, don't know what that is, Snot Rocket is defined here! haha
Shannon always goes on about how great it is to clear your nose out in the shower. Well, after 6 years of marriage I finally decided last night I needed to see what all the fuss was about. And the verdict- it'S NOT funny! Yuck! Ick! Gross! I just don't see how Blowing snot in the air which then causes some of it to run out of your nose towards your mouth is satisfying! Gross!

Oh and just for the record Shannon is no longer allowed to hock loogies (which is short for lung cookie) in the shower.  One day I got in the shower only to see the remnants of his large slimy glob of spit mixed with nose snot in the bottom of the shower. I screamed my head off and wondered why I willingly chose to live with a stinky gross boy! Hehe. Like I said- it's a good thing his cute factor far outweighs his ICK factor! :) For more on "Lung cookies" go here! (Gotta love urban dictionary!)

**********************************************************************************
on another note, My MIL came into town yesterday to grab Keshlyn for the night and she kept her all day today until 7:30pm! And since Shannon worked today I had myself a little Project day! And this is what took me hours...A menu board. It took quite a while to write the ingredients on the back of each card and also notate the cook book and page number where the recipe can be found. I love it!!!! It's gonna be so quick to choose cards and flip them over to see my grocery list!

Birth Announcement

Ky turned 3 months on October 23rd. So, I'm a little behind but I don't care because I am IN LOVE with the announcement. I'll be mailing them out tomorrow to close family and friends. A sweet gal who digitally creates birth announcements whipped this up for me! Thanks Kate!

And yes, I jacked this idea from pinterest. The lyrics are from a children's church song that I grew up singing with many other kiddos and it is still sung today. It's just perfect for my baby Ky. <3