Show & Tell Tuesday: How to Win Your Heart

Hey hey! 

It's another "Show & Tell Tuesday" link-up today, and today's prompt is: "What Wins Your Heart?"

Okay, so this question sort of stumped me when I first read it last week because I think this has changed over the years. When my husband and I were engaged, we each took the quiz that reveals your "love language." If you haven't taken this quiz before, do it! It reveals SO MUCH about you and your spouse! The five love languages are physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and gifts. So, seven years ago, my love language was physical touch first and words of affirmation second. 

And then we had a son.

And then a daughter.

And there was SO. MUCH. TOUCHING.

I held babies, I held hands, I gave piggy back rides, I wiped snotty noses, and I just got completely OVER the touching. When I finally give the last bedtime kiss to my kiddos, the LAST thing I want is to be touched anymore. I just feel liked I'm touched by small hands ALL. DAY. LONG. so yeah, that love language has kind of died for me.

Sorry, hubby. ;) 

We still cuddle and stuff, but yeah, I usually just want my space. Bless him.

I WILL say, though, that I am ABSOLUTELY still one who responds to words of affirmation. One of my all-time favorite things is when my husband leaves me little notes. If he leaves town early in the morning or we switch cars for the day or something like that, he'll often leave me a little sticky note saying "I love you" or something silly, and it just seriously makes my day. A simple "I like that shirt" or "your hair looks good today" or "thanks for all you do for our family" goes a LOOOOOOONG way with me. 

I have noticed being married for almost six years now that my husband tends to express his love through acts of service, so I am trying (TRYING!) to get better at appreciating that. I haven't washed my car or filled up my own gas tank once in the last four years. (Side story - I actually tried to fill it up myself coming back from a bachelorette party recently, and it was SO weird. Like, I almost didn't know how to do it.) My hubby does the dishes most nights, helps me with the laundry, takes care of the trash cans, and brings me a cup of coffee in bed every morning. I am SO spoiled, you guys. It's not my love language at all, but I'm learning to appreciate it because he's seriously just the most generous and helpful guy ever.

So, that's my heart! I'd love to hear how to win yours!

Also, if you missed my Noonday announcement yesterday, check it out HERE! I'd love you to join me on my journey to help create a better world through style! If you are interested in hosting a trunk show, be sure to let me know! The new line launches in just 16 days...and it is FABULOUS! All proceeds from my Noonday sales will benefit our family's adoption.

Have a great day, friends!  

When RIGHT. NOW. Doesn't Happen...

If you are the mom of a toddler like me, you understand their need to have what they want RIGHT NOW. Not in five minutes. Not tomorrow. Not next week. 

RIGHT. 

NOW. 

The scene was not unusual for our, ahem, dramatic one. We were leaving the library, and Kate decided she wanted to "drive" my car. (Translation - sit in my lap, turn the steering wheel, and push lots of buttons she shouldn't be pushing.) It was over 100 degrees outside, Carter needed to go to the bathroom, and it was nearly 6pm, so we needed to get home for dinner and I told her she could drive once we got home.

Cue massive tantrum.

She arched her back and resisted my attempts to get her into her car seat. Forcing her arms under the straps and holding her stomach against the back of the chair were required to get her safely buckled in. All the while she is screaming her little heart out, demanding, "I drive, Mommy! I drive!" 

"You can drive at home, honey. Five minutes," I told her repeatedly.

 The exchange continued over and over again until I gave up and simply stopped responding. My poor sensitive one, meanwhile, had his ears covered up with his hands, trying to drown out the wails of an obviously mistreated sister. God forbid she wait FIVE MINUTES to get what she wants.

The eight minute car trip seemed endless, but we finally made it to our neighborhood and sister got to drive. (Side note - she actually started crying AGAIN once she got what she wanted. No clue. It's tough being one.)  

As I thought about what happened in the car later that night, I began to wonder how I could better respond to her incessant demands. They seemed to come all day long, and I needed a new strategy.  It was then that I began to remember all the times I had demanded something of God RIGHT. NOW. 

As a newly single woman at 23, I watched many of my friends get married, feared I was shriveling up into an Old Maid, and pleaded for Him to bring me my husband RIGHT. NOW.

When I wasn't pregnant after returning from our honeymoon, I demanded He give me a baby RIGHT. NOW.

When I was looking for a job after graduating, I begged Him to bring me a position RIGHT. NOW.

And then it hit me. I am no better than a screaming toddler who cannot wait FIVE MINUTES to get what she wants. God sees me just like I see my child. I want things on MY TERMS, and I want them RIGHT. NOW. But God knows better.

God knows that my understanding of time is not His. Waiting a year to reveal my husband to me may have seemed as endless to me as that eight minute car trip seemed to Kate. But God sees a bigger picture and knows that my prayer will be answered on HIS terms, and in HIS timing.

And thank goodness for that.

Blake and I have said many times that if we had met each other at ANY other time in our lives, we wouldn't have worked out. Despised each other probably. He was a rebel and a jokester who roamed the halls of his high school making faces in classroom windows and didn't really take anything seriously until about a week before we met, and I have always been a project-minded person who was upset by a 97, follows rules religiously, and needs encouragement to let loose. We would've annoyed the crap out of each other up until the day we met. But at 24 and 26, we were finally on the same page.

No coincidence. God knew that.

So, to my incredibly impatient soul sisters who are longing for something RIGHT. NOW. and aren't getting the answer they want, remember that God sees the bigger picture of your life. He's got a plan whether you can see it or not. Trust in that.

His timing is perfect, His timing is on purpose, and His timing is worth the wait.

Oh, and if anyone has suggestions for not losing your friggin' mind dealing with a strong-willed toddler all day, send 'em my way! :)

Show & Tell Tuesday: Favorite Vacay

Well, I'm linking up again today with Momfessionals and sharing my favorite vacation for Show & Tell Tuesday! This one was super easy for me...my favorite vacay ever was most definitely my honeymoon! 

Blake and I spent 6 glorious...GLORIOUS...nights at the JW Marriott in Guanacaste, Costa Rica after our wedding. It was literally perfection. 

 Best strawberry mojito EVER...that's real sugar cane!

 How cute is my hubby?!! :)

 The sand legitimately looks like this...it's beautiful.

 Lots of lounging...

 Gorgeous sunsets...

 Two of the nights we were there, we took the shuttle from our hotel into the nearby town of Tamarindo and ate at local restaurants. This one was our favorite by FAR - a super cute little place called Nibbana. We actually went here twice. :)

 We did a lot of this...

 ...but we did venture out one day for ziplining!

 Lunch at a cute little spot down the beach we walked to called Lola's.

Take me back!!!!! :)

Show & Tell Tuesday: How We Got Engaged

I'm linking up with Momfessionals again today to share for Show and Tell Tuesdays! I am excited to read today's posts because who doesn't just LOVE a sweet love story?!! This week's topic is on how you met or got engaged to your spouse, and since our story about how we met isn't super exciting (mutual friend at happy hour), I am going to share our engagement today.

The story really begins after just six months of dating when, unbeknownst to me, Blake had asked for my parents' permission to propose in February of 2009. He knew we needed to secure a date with the church WAY in advance because I was a teacher at the time and had to get married during the summer, and on top of that, I wanted to get married at basically the most in-demand church in Dallas, Highland Park United Methodist. So, after a mere six months, my parents gave him their blessing and they secured June 19, 2010 as our wedding date. (Note to future son-in-law...we most likely will NOT give a blessing that quickly. Now thinking as a parent, that was SO fast!)

Flash forward to May, and he went on a family vacation with me and my parents out to LA to visit my brother, Stewart, and his wife, Gillean, for Memorial Day. The trip was going very smoothly, and Blake had decided to propose on Saturday night when we all had reservations at the Chart House, a beautiful restaurant in Malibu overlooking the Pacific Ocean. My parents were in on it, but my brother and sister-in-law were not, and he was planning to surprise them. 

That morning, we took a bike ride through Santa Monica where Stewart decided we should pull a prank on my parents and started devising a plan. Gillean and Stewart are MAJOR schemers and love pulling jokes on people, so as we rode down the bike path, he started convincing me and Blake to have a very serious (and loud) pretend fight and break up at dinner that night. I played along and thought the plan sounded hilarious, but looking back, I remember Blake being very ambivalent and almost irritated at the whole idea of a prank. We concocted a whole story, and I clearly remember Blake simply smiling and nodding...he was clearly NOT excited about this idea. ;)

Throughout the rest of the day, we perfected the plan, and Blake continued to play along, all the while knowing it would never come to fruition because he had an even bigger surprise. As dinner approached, I remember my mom making a BIG deal about what I was going to wear, and we got into an argument because she wanted me to wear heels and I wanted to wear flats. She was ADAMANT that I needed heels, and I remember being so irritated when I caved and then Gillean picked us up in flats. (Girl mom problems!)

As we were getting ready to leave, I remember Blake insisting that he needed a jacket. (It was 75 degrees out...and Blake is NEVER cold.) I remember we got into a little scuffle because I absolutely detested the windbreaker he had brought, and I did NOT want him wearing it to a swanky Malibu restaurant. I ended up reluctantly relenting,although I was quite angry during the drive there, and little did I know, he needed the jacket to hide the ring!

As we arrived at the restaurant, we walked in to check in for our reservation, and Blake immediately asked me to come outside "to take a picture." I told him sure, but that we needed someone to come with us to take it. He insisted we didn't, I protested (I'm stubborn, y'all), and he finally just pulled me outside. Blake had never been to this exact restaurant before, so he didn't really know where he was taking me, but we walked around the side of the building...to a parking lot.

Lucky for Blake, there was a little bench there for the valet customers, so he sat me down there. I kept asking about the picture, and he kept talking about how special the last nine months had been...said a lot of things I don't remember...and then, all of a sudden, there he was, down on a knee. In a parking lot. On a cliff in Malibu.

I don't remember exactly what I said, but Blake swears that my answer to his proposal was, "Duh! Of course!" 

Really?!

 

Who says "Duh!" when they get a proposal for marriage?!!

This girl.

 (My brilliant answer became the theme of a few engagement parties.)

As Blake went to open the box and put the ring on my finger, his hands were shaking so much that it dropped onto the ground. We both absolutely PANICKED because were up on a cliff in the dark with nothing but ocean below us, and we were both convinced it was a goner. Thankfully, Blake has eagle eyes and found it, and as we stood up to kiss, the four valet guys erupted into applause.

We walked back into the restaurant, and to the absolute SHOCK of my brother and his wife, I proudly displayed my gorgeous new ring. The prank died pretty quickly after that, and we spent the rest of the night eating, drinking, and sharing the news with our family and friends.

I could not be more blessed to be married to a man who proposed in a parking lot and almost lost the ring. :) 

 

 

Link up and share your story!

Show and Tell Tuesday: My First Link-Up!

So, today is a first for me. I am linking up with one of my favorite blogs, Momfessionals, for Show and Tell Tuesdays! I've never done a link up before, but when I read her post this morning, I just LOVED thinking about all the wonderful days I've had and which one I'd like to live over, so I decided to give it a whirl. :)

So, the question is what is your Groundhog Day? In other words, which day would you like to live over and over again? There are SO MANY days I'd love to go back to and do again. The birth of Carter, the birth of Kate, my 30th birthday in Jamaica...but I kept coming back to our wedding day. I think I'd live that one over again for a lot of reasons, but primarily because it was the catalyst for the rest of the joys I've experienced since.

The day was truly perfect. I started the morning with a run because I'm excessively type A, and I knew I'd need to burn off some nervous energy that day with the stress of it all. I'm not sure if it was the run or just a God thing, but I was shockingly calm the rest of that day.

My bridal luncheon was that morning, and I just loved starting the day with all my amazing friends and family.

After that, we were on to hair and makeup...and come on, who doesn't love being pampered like that?!

The ceremony was absolute perfection...crying flower girl and all. My best friend and I were married, surrounded by all the people we love, and then we danced the night away at the reception. I made it a point to not get stuck introducing myself to strangers and just ENJOY my wedding and reception, and it truly was just a big, loud party. We had an absolute BLAST, and I would live that day over again 1000 times if I could. 

This was truly the happiest day of my life to date. I really could go picture crazy with this because I had the most amazing wedding photographer EVER, Andrea Polito, but these are some of my favorites. Without this day, none of the other beautiful things that have happened would have been possible. And on that note, I am SO excited for the next Show and Tell Tuesday...engagement stories! Who doesn't love a good engagement story?!! Can't wait to share ours. Hint: My ring almost fell into the Pacific Ocean.