Marriage

Alan and I are 3 months away from 5 years of marriage! It's hard to believe, but considering our twins are 2 1/2 and we have another on the way.... we definitely have the kids to back up the years :P



Our first two years were truly bliss. I am so glad we didn't get pregnant right away, because that time with just us was a wonderful foundation to have, especially when the challenges of raising twin newborns together arose.



Our wedding day was so so happy.

In Jamaica: Married about 5 months

On a beach in Italy: Married about 1 1/2 years. I almost don't like looking at our Italy pictures because I was so skinny!! Alan calls this version of me "Italy Krystal" mainly because it bothers me :P

 

Having two babies at one time was pretty hard on me and our relationship for a while. I feel we are stronger than ever now, of course I am also much nicer when I get sleep :P Here are the main things I learned that I feel have strengthened our relationship:

 

1. Men aren't robots, they have feelings too.

      -This one may sound silly, but after our boys were born I thought everything was about me because I was taking care of them full time. I didn't think about how my stress was affecting Alan, or how my expecting Alan to never have a break was not good for him or me. Sometimes we as women have to just be nice to our men, and it makes all the difference. Instead of nagging, which I was doing, and I always thought I would never nag!

 

2. Do NOT blame your husband for your stress or your kids' behavior.

    -I don't know how common this is, but I was wanting my husband to make everything easy after our boys were born, and if it wasn't easy, it was somehow his fault. This was so unhealthy for our relationship. As the kids get older, and we work on disciplining together, I think it's important we don't blame each other for how the kids behave, and instead work together to improve their behavior. But they are two year olds.... :P This is also why couple time is so important <3 em="">

 

3. Let go of bitter feelings. Don't be afraid to forgive and move on.

   - This one is so important. God definitely kept us together during our hard times when our boys were small. Alan was truly going way above and beyond what a "normal" singleton dad would ever be asked to do, and getting no credit for me. I was constantly asking for more, and actually harboring bitter feelings towards him that he didn't deserve, but that weren't going away. One day I listened to a sermon about forgiveness, and something just clicked. I had to forgive, let go of my bitterness, and love my husband like I always had before. Wow, such a huge turning point, it felt so good! And Alan responded immediately.

 

 

I have been thinking a lot about this lately, because Alan has been so awesome. He is great with the boys (especially now that they are so interactive!) He watches them almost every Sunday while I work. He is so loving towards me, no matter how I look or how the house looks when he gets home. He will take extra trips to the grocery store if I ask. When we both wake up at night he always reaches for me to hold me. I could not have asked for a better man, and am so glad I learned a few things, so I could be a better wife.

 



 



Dad-dy!

 (Pictures are of the boys and Alan playing with our remote controlled helicopter. 

Matthew in blue, Adam in orange.)

Today when Alan got home, the boys and I were playing together in the playroom. The gate was closed, but the door itself was open, so Adam saw Alan walk in. He was so excited he immediately stopped playing with me, ran over to the gate and yelled, "Dad-dy! Dad-dy! Dad-dy!"

Daddy didn't hear him right away (or he had to situate himself first), and he walked right past the playroom area. Adam immediate climbed onto the lower part of the gate and cried (literally), "Dad-dy, dad-dy, DAD-DY!" This time Alan walked over, and I have never seen such an excited little Adam. He started smiling, breathing fast and putting his arms out. (Matthew was excited to see Daddy too, he just wasn't as vocal today about it) Then we all 4 played in the playroom; Adam was glued to Alan's side. It was adorable. I definitely felt like I was being replaced as the favorite parent.

When we were all in the playroom, I gave Alan a kiss on the forehead. Adam (who was right there), immediately gave Alan a kiss in the exact same spot. Then (to test it) I gave Alan a kiss on the nose. Adam followed with an adorable toddler kiss right on Daddy's nose. Then I kissed Alan's arm, and Adam followed.

That was one of those moments that make you so happy to be a parent <3 Alan was smiling really big too. He is very loved :)

Alan was making the kids laugh so hard during the kids' bedtime routine tonight. We usually each snuggle with a child before bedtime. Usually Adam wants to cuddle with me, and Alan gets Matthew. Tonight I started to cuddle with Adam, but he wanted Daddy instead. Thankfully Matthew came to me :P As we were leaving the room though, Adam became upset, cried and reached for Mommy. :) I have to say I liked that he still remembered me ;) I cuddled with him for just a few minutes, and he was fine, and laid right down.


Today was just a great day with the boys, and then to see them loving their Daddy so much is just heartwarming!!

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Also update on cloth diapering : We had been having issues with leaking (with all the kinds of cloth diapers we had tried). We stripped our diapers, which helped but didn't cure the problem. So now we are doubling the inserts and we have had no more issues (I have extra g-diaper inserts I use, and then I also use our old "burp cloths" when I run out of extra inserts.) Our kiddos are "super soakers" (They love their milk, and drinking lots of water out of water bottles.. so lots of pee). I still love my SmartiPants the best!! And a friend of mine let me borrow a ton of cloth diapers, so now I have plenty for during the day, it is so exciting :) No leaks and plenty of cloth diapers = happy Momma. Now that I have extras, I have time to hang them outside to dry more often. In this (almost) summer heat they dry really fast and the sun bleaches out all of the stains. I have a feeling we are still far away from potty training, so I am having fun experimenting with the cloth.

Our Last Hurrah

Yup, I flew at 25 weeks pregnant for our second anniversary trip!! We went to South Dakota to see Mt Rushmore (which is really neat to see in person). We also saw lots of beautiful scenery in the Black Hills (where Mt Rushmore is located), went to several local restaurants (including the Corn Exchange Bistro and the Firehouse Brewery), and we we went to the town of Deadwood. Also, we stayed in a hotel that had a nice pool & indoor waterpark, which was very nice for relaxing :)

I admit I was nervous to go on a plane trip this far into my pregnancy, but I kept hydrated and moving around on the plane and bus rides. And a lot of people were praying for the safety of our babies. Everything seems to have worked out ok :) And I loved, loved, loved spending 4 days away from home with Alan <3 He is the best!

Also a highlight of our trip: Alan got to see the babies move from the outside for the first time!!

Here are a few pictures:


In front of Mt. Rushmore! So amazing to see it in person.


Standing in front of the Crazy Horse memorial model. This is the goal for the mountain carving in the background; it is a memorial honoring the American Indians. So far they have the indian's face done (which you can see in the background) & they are starting to work on the horse's face. It will be impressive once it's finished.

In Deadwood, SD after a play that depicted the death of Wild Bill (on the left). Alan got roped in to playing the bartender for the play. Jack McCall (Wild Bill's assassin) is on the right.

On the set of Dances with Wolves. I haven't seen this movie, but Kevin Costner was standing right in front of this desk in one of the scenes.

The indoor waterpark at the hotel. Alan enjoyed the slides in the background (the body of the slides run outside the actual building). I had the pregnancy excuse, so I got out of that :)

Nicknames

Alan's nicknames for my baby belly:

Fat Roll (That was earlier in the pregnancy)
B.W. or "Beached Whale"
O.B. or "Obnoxious Belly"
W.W. or "Whale Woman"

Ok, it sounds bad.. but it's more of a joke between us. I think it's kind of cute ;)

Nicknames for the baby (these were before we found out the gender(s)):

Gummy Bear
Dugan

True Love

Alan bought me dinner tonight so I wouldn't have to cook or even warm up food after working four 12 hour shifts in a row.

Me: Teriyaki Chicken Bowl?! You're my most favorite person ever!

Alan: You're welcome.

Me: Do you know what would make you even more my most favorite person?

*I start putting my feet up on the couch*

Me: If you gave me a foot massage.

*Alan starts walking away*

Alan: ...she loves me enough.

I never did get my foot massage :( However I did get yummy, much needed food! :)

The Journey Towards Our Engagement

Yes this is a little late, after being married a year and a half (and coming up on our 2 year "anniversary" of being engaged) to post this, but I want to have our dating life as part of this blog. This story was written by me for our wedding website early last year:

Alan had been coming to my church off and on for 4 years. (He was a member of a smaller church in the area with basically the same beliefs). I hadn't seen him for a while, so I messaged on AOL instant messenger on Friday night, February 2, 2007. We ended up talking for 3 hours and I told him he should visit our congregation again sometime. He agreed, but I didn't think he'd come for at least a few weeks.

The next day, he came to our church service. I had always thought he was really cute and sweet, but I'd been dating another person when he visited before. I wasn't going to hang out with the group that night, but I wanted to spend time with him.. so I went with him and our group to On The Border and to my house afterwards. On The Border made us wait 2 hours to get our food, but I didn't mind because I wanted more time to talk to Alan. I was upset that he didn't sit next to me when we finally got our table, but I learned later he thought I was still dating someone else at the time. Afterwards, our group went to my house and we played Pictionary and Cards.

At this point, I already liked Alan a lot. He came to church again the next weekend, and he asked me on our first date on Monday, February 12. He asked me to eat at Chili's and go bowling with him on the following Thursday, February 15. Of course I agreed, and I was really excited about the date. He picked me up at 7 and dropped me off at 10, which impressed my mom. We continued to date over the next few months, and on April 3, 2007 we decided to become boyfriend and girlfriend. :)

We continued dating, and I fell in love with his laid back personality, his jokes, and his sweetness (even if it was coated with sarcasm, which I also liked). We began talking about the possibility of getting married in the future. During the summer we traveled to Galveston and Oklahoma with several of our friends, and saw each other often. We had a great time dating each other, and we both wanted to marry each other. On Thursday night, November 8 at Lake Arlington, Alan asked me to marry him, and of course I said yes :)

April 2007 - Our first dance together.

June 2007. Me and Alan on the beach in Galveston, TX

July 2007 - Turner Falls, OK

Ramblings

I am looking out the window here at the hospital (yes, I'm blogging at work... I'll get to that), at 6:15pm and it's already dark outside. That threw me off guard! Boo to going back to Standard time. And this morning, sunrise was still 30 minutes off as I was driving to work. I do not like missing all of my daylight hours. :( I love the long days of summer :)

I have time to blog here at work because I am only taking care of ONE baby today. He is in isolation because he has (or had) a "superbug" that we don't want the other babies to catch. So, lucky him, he has his very own nurse. He is a cutie, and I've been able to spend a lot of time holding him (unfortunately I don't think he gets held very often)... but one sleepy baby is not enough to keep me busy for 12 hours! (I'm sure I would be busy for that long if I had a baby of my own at home.. but there are other things to do there.. and this baby sleeps all the time, lol). So this has been a looong day, but also a nice break from all the craziness that can happen around here :)

On a side note, my husband has been earning lots of brownie points lately. I also worked yesterday (I don't usually work Sundays), and I got home to all of the laundry done AND hung up (he always does the laundry, but sometimes we hang it up together), and he had ordered a pizza for us (not the healthiest meal, but I didn't want to cook, lol). Then this morning, he got up at 6am (as I was leaving) to take out all the trash, and he deep cleaned our cat's litter box (big job). I married a good one <3

Italia 2009

This year for the Feast we went to Sabaudia, Italy... both mine & Alan's first time in Europe!! We had a GREAT time and it really made me want to travel more.

On the beach the first day with Tonya & Virginia. This was Tonya pre-engagement :)

Alan and I. View from our balcony. (The lake is in the background, but hard to see in this picture)

We lost our tour guide, so I was hopelessly lost in Pompeii...but I love how confident I look in this picture, lol.

Me next to a rare clothed statue in the Vatican.

Alan & I on top of the mountain we climbed!

Alan is very excited.

The group (minus Virginia taking the picture) in front of the Colosseum.

Next, Alan & I would both really like to go to Australia, but I think that is going to wait several more years. We have to wait until we forget about the plane ride :)

1st Anniversary

Today, Alan and I flew back today from our 1 year anniversary trip to New York/Canada to see Niagara Falls and a baseball game in Toronto. 

I am blessed to have married a wonderful man like Alan! :)

While we were visiting Niagara Falls (walking on planks that werebuilt near the bottom of one of the smaller falls), Alan took a video that I think shows a funny/good example of a wife hesitantly trying to submit to her husband ;)

Notice I did not wholeheartedly submit to that ;) This video was taken on what they call the "Hurricane Deck." As you can see the water is coming down pretty strong, but what you can't see is that the water is freezing too!!

A few other pictures from our trip:

Geared up for our "Maid of the Mist" boat tour of Niagara Falls...

...where we road a boat like this. :)

At a Blue Jays/White Sox game in Toronto, Canada.

All in all, it was a good trip, but it was definitely great to be home again!!

Wendel the Kindle

My husband is one of the best gift-givers I know. He picks up on what people like/things that interest them. 

I love to read, and I had been reading a lot leading up to my birthday this year, but Alan was aware that I was frustrated I couldn't get anything done while reading. (When we can all get housework done while watching TV!)  

So, for my birthday this year, Alan bought be the new Amazon Kindle 2:

 http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Generation/dp/B00154JDAI/ref=amb_link_84345611_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0PXPHNPQFMN791G8W89G&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=477162311&pf_rd_i=507846

It's an e-book reader with e-ink that doesn't strain your eyes (and you can read outside, which you can't do if you download e-books to your computer), you can download books wirelessly, and my favorite feature... it will read your books to you, so I can get stuff done while I 'read'!! We thought it needed a name since it reads to us, so we named it Windel the Kindle ;)

I would never have bought this myself, because it's expensive, but I thought it was a very thoughtful gift from Alan! Thanks hubby <3 

New Year - 2009

Economy dampens celebrations for New Year's Eve

Fireworks, good cheer, but long shadows as world hails 2009

Most of the New Year's headlines were negative towards 2008 as being one of the worst economic years the country and the world has seen in decades. 

While this is true, 2008 was probably the best year of my life (and the most full of life-changing events). Here is a brief overview:

For the first 4 1/2 months of the year, I was engaged to a wonderful man <3

(One of our engagement pictures taken January, 2008 by Kami Flavin)

I was also finishing up Nursing School, which I graduated from on May 8, 2008. I was so glad to be done with college forever!! (Unless something possesses me to go back.) I went to the Pinning Ceremony instead of the Graduation Ceremony. The speakers played a short clip I had recorded thanking everyone for helping me get to that point. My parents pinned a Nursing pin on my on stage. It was really nice. 

(My future in-laws, my future husband, me and my parents at my Pinning Ceremony)

6 days later, on May 14, 2008 I got married to the best man ever. The wedding was beautiful and I loved sharing it with my closest friends & family. I was most excited about spending the rest of my life with Alan <3 

For our honeymoon we went up to Wyoming near The Yellowstone National Park. :) It was beautiful.

After the honeymoon, we started our life together in our apartment. We had most of our stuff set up before the wedding.

I had 3 weeks to be a housewife before I started my first "real" job as a Graduate Nurse at a Neonatal ICU. So I enjoyed setting up/decorating the kitchen and the rest of the apartment.  And of course spoiling my new husband with homemade meals when he got home. I had waited a long time to be a wife and have my own apartment, and it definitely lived up to my expectations ;)

(The first meal I made Alan after we got married. Isn't he adorable? <3)

On June 9th, I started my new job. I wasn't an RN yet though.. I still had to pass the licensing test.  So I stressed/studied over that until I took the test a few weeks later. When I finally took it, It was the worst experience of my life. I was sure I had failed it, and I knew the computer knew if I passed or not.. but I had to wait DAYS for the results.  I don't think I'll ever forget the feeling of dread I had waiting for those results.. but I PASSED. Thankfully! I became an official Registered Nurse on July 1, 2008! I was in orientation in the NICU until about 6 weeks ago.. and I have been on my own since then. I still love my job. I love helping the smallest and sickest babies "finish cooking" and getting them ready to go home with their families. 

Also in June, we adopted our two kitties, Hobbes and Lucy. Lucy is cuddling with me in my lap right now & being a sweetheart.  (As I was writing that, Hobbes got in my lap too, haha) No human babies in 2008 though ;)

(Me, our babies, and a book. I still have my work scrubs on. I thought I could stay awake long enough to get some reading in.. but I was wrong, lol)

(Lucy and Hobbes (younger) taking a nap on the couch... It's a hard life)

In October we went to Jamaica with Daniel & Virginia. Our first Feast together as a married couple.

(The four of us on the snorkel cruise)

All in all, it's been a great year filled with a lot of blessings. I am looking forward to what 2009 will bring. Unfortunately, Alan and I slept right through New Years this year because we are an old married couple ;) And because I had to be up at 5:20 for work! I did get my New Year's kiss later though ;)

***Correction*** Alan brought to my attention that he did wake me up at midnight to give me a kiss. I must have been out of it. So we didn't entirely sleep through New Year's after all ;)

Here's to everyone having a great 2009!

New Camera!

I ordered a Canon PowerShot SD1100IS off of Amazon last week. I haven't had a camera since mine broke October of last year, and we are going to Jamaica in few weeks, so what better time to buy a camera?? Considering my last camera was 3.2MP and this one is 8MP (with image stabilization)... I love it! Here is us playing around with our new toy:

Our Engagement - November 8, 2007

The night of our engagement was perfect, and I wouldn't change anything <3. We have a unique story that I feel is very much 'Alan' and everything I love about him.

Alan and I had been talking about getting married since June, 2007 where we only half-jokingly were taking about eloping while on our trip to Galveston. (Galveston was still intact then). We pretty much knew we would end up married, we just clicked.

Later that year I sent Alan the design of the engagement ring I wanted from bluenile.com (I was pretty specific) ;). The weekend before he proposed, he asked both of my parents permission to marry me. My parents both appreciated that.. and I thought it was so sweet for Alan to do that; I know how hard that must have been.

Alan bought the engagement ring in secret, but didn't keep it secret for long. I got it out of him that the ring was arriving on November 8, and that that was the date he planned on proposing.

I (very) impatiently waited for November 8th to arrive. Since I already knew he would be proposing that night, Alan made the engagement night special in a different way:

Alan picked me up and gave me flowers & a list of possible locations the engagement could take place. Alan instructed that I had to pick a locations, which we would go to. And I would continue picking locations until I picked the one where he planned on proposing. The locations were: Cliff Nelson, Lake Arlington, Target, UTA & Martin - all places that we went on our first few dates/had significance)

Cliff Nelson was closest, so we went there first. We had often gone to Cliff Nelson just to walk or jog. The first time we jogged together was at Cliff Nelson (where it also started raining on us :p). We were walking around the pathway, and Alan suddenly got on one knee. I thought, "he's already proposing? What about the other locations??" He pulled out a box from his pocket, opened it, and inside was a Ring Pop. He thought he was pretty clever :)

The next location I picked was Target:

We went to Target on our second date. He said he was going shopping for shirts and I really wanted to see him, so I invited myself along.

On our second date after we shopped, we went to UTA to study (we were both still in school). I had left my car in the Target parking lot, so he dropped me back off at Target. He kissed me on the forehead (our first kiss). So we reinacted that kiss on our engagement night before going inside.

Alan told me to look at some shirts inside. He had hidden a note. It said "Krystal, are you having fun?" This was also the wrong location though.

Next we went to Chili's. It wasn't on the list, but we were both hungry, and Chili's was where Alan took me on our first date.

At Chili's Alan gave me a bracelet. I wore this on my wedding day :)

We ordered the same food we had both gotten on our first date. No engagement ring at this location either. At this point, I suspected Lake Arlington was the location Alan had in mind, but I didn't want the evening to end too quickly. So I chose to go to UTA next.

At UTA we went bowling, which is where we bowled on our first date after we went to Chili's.

This was also the wrong location, and I got another Ring Pop.

But I got to see my sexy (then) boyfriend bowl <3.

This is where we "studied" on our second date.

Now I was ready for the ring, so I decided to skip going to Martin, and go straight to Lake Arlington. I couldn't imagine how he would have proposed at Martin.

Us at Lake Arlington. When we got out of the car, he asked me to wait, and I could hear him putting a ring pop in his pocket. I thought, "I guess he won't propose here; how could I have been wrong about the location?"

I could hear the Ring Pop in his pocket as we walked around Lake Arlington.

It turned out that he was just tricking me with the Ring Pop, which is completely Alan's personality. He got to one knee, took out the Ring Pop, threw it away, and then got out the real ring and proposed :) It was so sweet. Here is me with the ring.

The Lake is behind us.

It was a great night :) More to come on the wedding later.