Love is in the air...

Since it's getting close to Valentine's Day, I thought it would be a good time to post about the "L" word ;)
I don't brag enough about my hubby and I blog a lot about our little man, but I am very blessed with such a wonderful man who loves the Lord, loves me unconditionally and works so hard for our little family!  As much as I hate to admit this, I am not always the greatest wife or the easiest person to live with.  But he tells me I am the best wife ever (which just proves that love truly is blind ;)  I can be in the grumpiest mood and he will hug me and tell me how much he loves me.  And even though as a stay-at-home mom I spend many of my days in sweats and tee-shirts with barely any makeup on, he tells me that I'm beautiful.  It's those little things that remind me of how lucky I am to have him for a husband!
For our first Valentines Day in 2004, he gave me a cd with a song he wrote for me recorded on it.  I had the song played at our wedding reception 16 months later ;)  The chorus says

"You leave me breathless I can't speak, sometimes I can't even breathe.  You mean the whole world to me.  And I mistake life for a dream, but I am not asleep, you are my reality.  I'm breathless."

I love the words to that song and it reminds me of how much he loved me even then.  We had not been dating that long when he wrote that song for me, but he loved me from the beginning.  My dad told me that Jeff won my heart with his love for me.  I think that is so true.  When Jeff and I first met and became friends, I didn't have romantic feelings for him but he was so sweet to me and truly cared about me and that is what made me love him. 
Two months later, he proposed.  I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when he gave me this ring

I now wear 3 rings on my finger symbolizing our engagement, marriage and five year anniversary.  I still can't believe how fast the time has flown by. 

This year we will celebrate our 8th Valentine's Day together.  I hope God gives us 80 more ;)



All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

♥

This little card always brings a smile to my face! You see, in college we had something called 'balloon time' in chapel where they gave out balloons to everyone who got one that day. If you wanted to give a balloon to someone, you would go to the bookstore and pick out a balloon (I think it was $1 ea. balloon) & card, write on the card and then in the next chapel service, you would be called up front to get your balloon(s).

Well, one day a couple months into my first semester at TTU, I saw 'Knox' (that is what people at school called Jeff) purchasing a birthday balloon for a friend. I had only met Jeff a few times at this point, but we would joke with each other a lot. I decided that I would tell him it was my birthday, too and see if he would get me a balloon. ;) Well, he did and it was the start of several months of flirting, silliness and drama before we officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Oh, and apparently he knew I was lying about the birthday thing...haha! And you will notice that he spelled my name Kierstin. That is what he used to call me. When we met and I told him my name, he said "I'm gonna call you Kierstin." Apparently that was easier to remember than Kristen? But that is what he called me for several months until it was just 'babe.' He still never calls me Kristen.

Half of a decade...

Wow... I can't believe it has been 5 years since I married my best friend, Jeff! We have experienced many changes in these 5 years (grad school {for Jeff}, a move, job changes, parenthood, etc...) but I wouldn't have wanted to experience all that with anyone else.

Since this anniversary was somewhat of a milestone, we wanted to do something a little special. We decided to spend a night (yes, just one--I can't leave my baby for too long!) at a bed & breakfast. I found the perfect one in Newport, TN called Christopher Place. It was better than I imagined it would be and we had the time of our lives! We had great food and enjoyed the amenities of the resort such as tennis courts, the game/billiards room and outdoor pool. We also had a romantic candlelit four course dinner at which Jeff gave me a beautiful anniversary band (that I already had to ship off to get sized) *sniff*

I am so thankful to have been blessed with these five wonderful years. I look forward to many, many more! I am posting a few pics from out little getaway. Enjoy! :)

Kristen