My Man

This man

Rocks my world. He's hot. And sweet. And forgiving. And loving.

He's goofy.

We can be silly together. And, I love that about us.

And apparently, we can rock out the Snuggie pretty well :-D

He's my past, my present, and my future.  He's my world.  My love.  He lifts me up and prays with me.  What sweeter thing is there then a man praying with his wife. Ok, so listening to children praying is pretty darn sweet too...but alas, we have none yet.

I love you Steven.  I dread leaving you to go home and work and to get things setup for when you come back. But, even though i'm not gone yet, I am already anxiously looking forward to seeing you step off that plane in July. Then my love, we are (hopefully) going to the beach for a week.  And, we're going to relax like it's going out of style.

Ok, enough mushy gushy stuff.

For now at least, haha.

10 Things I Love About MY Man

Happy Valentines Day all! I hope you all are having a fun, love filled, relaxing day! I know I am. Today's theme brings this love filled feast to an end.  So, what better way to celebrate Valentines Day than to profess all the things you love about your other half!
       To my love:

Here are 10 things I absolutely love and adore about you.  Baby, I'm smitten by you :-)

So, here they are in no specific order.

1.  I love the way you hold me. It makes the rest of the world disappear.

2.  I love the way you say, "Hold my hand tighter" in that cute little voice you use when you want to be closer to me.

3.  I love how dedicated you are to me and our family... all 2 of us!

4. I love how you dream and what you dream about.

5. I love the way you smell.

6. I love your undying love for me and how you pray for me and with me every night.

7.  I love how you push your glasses up your nose when they're falling down. And no, not literally up your nose, haha.

8. I love that no matter how busy you get with graduate school you always make time for me. And, how you leave me little, "SHMILY" notes in random places.

9. I love how patient and forgiving you are!

10.  I love the fact that God has allowed me to be married to you.  I truly am the luckiest girl alive!

I love you, Steven Wayne Bockmann... Happy Valentines Day!!!




       

  

My Love and I

Today is the second to last day of the Valentines Extravaganza week! Today is all about the photos, baby!  I am big on pictures.  I love being able to "document" my life and love looking back through pictures and remembering what I was feeling at the time.




Today's theme is, favorite picture of you and your love. Sigh. I'm having trouble with this one because there are soooooooo many pictures of Steven and I that I love.

But.....

dun, dun, dun....

I've narrowed it down to 2 favorites.  I don't know which one to pick so I'll post them both and you guys tell me which one is YOUR favorite :-)

Photo numero uno!

 

Photo numero dos!

   

Ya'll know what day it is?

It's Friday! Well duh, I'm sure ya'll knew that already. Look at me underestimating the intelligence of my readers, gosh. This week has flown by... tear. I don't want it to! It just means that I'm one week closer to losing my husband to school again.  Oh well.  Gotta do what ya gotta do, right? I'm gonna enjoy each and every second I have with him.  Yuppers.

Tonight has been spent watching episode upon episode of Criminal Minds. Love that show.  But, the night wouldn't be complete without some goodies!  We decided to venture out in the snow today and went to the bakery to get some non cellulite inducing bread ;-) I love bread. I've also learned how to make the carbs not go to my thighs.  Steven wonders why when i'm eating it he hears me quietly chanting, "You will not go straight to my thighs, I will not have saddle bags, You must listen to me crazy carbs."

Ok, that was a little dramatic, eh? I don't really talk to my bread. But who said I didn't think those things? Hahahaha. Anyways, we got to the bakery and these cute, pink frosted, complete with sprinkles, doughnuts were staring at me. I just had to have them. So have them I did :-) I've got a great husband, have I mentioned that yet?

Whew, that was a mouthful :-) Get it? Ugh, my joke making sucks. Haha...

Ok, moving on... Today is Five Question Friday - Valentines style! I'm ready to talk about my love! Ready to listen...or read about him? Now, ya'll listen here. Make sure to jump on over to Mama M's blog to read other marvelous entries. I promise you won't regret it :-) Ok, let's get goin'.

1. What is the one thing your love does for you that you can't live without?
Hmmm.... this is a good one! Gosh, there are so many things I could write, but i'll spare you guys the mushy gushy details of it all :-) If I had to choose one thing, it would probably be how my love holds me every night we go to sleep. Not one night has gone by that he doesn't get in bed, roll over and hold me, and quietly whispers, "I love you." Ahh... I love it.  Or when i'm upset he'll beckon me over to him and hold me until I'm ready to get up. Also, that's one advantage of being small/short...I can climb on that hunk of a man's lap like a little child, haha!

2. When did you know your love was "the one"?
I knew for certain that I wanted to marry him and that he was "the one" about 3 months into dating him. However, we were only 16 at the time so that dream had to wait for about 5 1/2 more years to come true, haha.

3. Does your love have a special ringtone on your cell?
Before we moved here to Germany and got less fancy phones, I had a special ringtone for him, but it wasn't a special song or something.  And, when he called his picture would pop up. Now when he calls it simply flashes, "Hot Husband," hehe.

4. What are you attracted to most in your special someone?
Physically? Physically, I LOVE his big blue eyes! I also love his neck. Weird, I know. I love how strong his neck looks.  You know how some guys have these small, skinny, "I could break it easily", necks? Yeah, not those kinds, haha.  And, he also has nice hands... and legs... and a nice tummy...ok, ok! I just love all of him!

5. Did you know when/where he/she was going to pop the big question?
I had a general idea of what month (August) it was going to happen in. And, every weekend that he didn't propose, I started narrowing down the dates, haha. The night he proposed I remembering thinking maybe that it was going to be "the night." But that's just because he was being extra sweet that night and was pampering me too much :-) But, I had no idea of how we would ask me or where.  So, I'd still say he surprised me pretty well!





      

What were you thinking?!

I am just loving these Valentines Extravangaza this week! It's given me something to do while I'm stuck over here in Germany for a little while :-) So, onto the theme for today.... romantic screwups. Ouch. This post should be interesting.

I don't know about ya'll, but I have a perfect marriage. No fights, no yelling, no "I'm not talking to you" moments, no attitudes....nothing. Ah haha, righhhhhhhht.... That's just what I like to think. In all honesty though, we really don't fight.  Bicker sometimes, oh yes, but fight? Not so much. Ever since I read that today was going to be about our "romantic screwups" I've been racking my mind trying to think of anything. I even asked Steven.

So....let's see... romantic screwups that i've encountered. Hmm.... you mean besides the time Steven dumped me at my birthday party? It's alright though, because he admits now that it's the biggest mistake he ever made So, to all ya'll dating people that think that you should break up to "fix" your problems instead of staying together to fix them.... don't listen to what other people say, they're wrong!  Hehehehehe. And yes, I had Steven's permission to share that, we laugh about it now... kinda ;-)

Moving on...

Steven's biggest "romantic screwup" is one that we laugh about now.  In fact, we've had a good couple of laughs about it recently. Oh, the lives of newlyweds.  Onto the story...

We had only been married a few months when this happened.  I had always told Steven that I cannot wake up to that annoying beeping noise of an alarm, but instead have to wake up to quiet music. For some reason, when i'm sleeping I get in such a deep sleep (especially right before the alarm goes off) that if there is a loud noise it will literally terrify me when I wake up.  I guess waking up to that noise it the equivalent (to me at least) to having someone, while you're still dead asleep, come and blow a trumpet over your head. Yeah, not good. So anyways, I guess one day Steven got tired of not hearing the alarm go off (even though I would and then would wake him up) and decided to make it so the next morning, we would be shocked awake by the annoying and super loud sound of beeping.  Ohh...that was not a good morning. Side note here, Steven always sets the alarm SUPER loud.  So, the next morning rolls around and I'm peacefully asleep dreaming about tutu's and candy. Kidding, I don't dream about that.  All of the sudden there is this ear shattering screech of a beep, and I am literally jumping out of the bed. It scared me so much!  Oh, bad move baby, bad move.   Steven starts laughing. I am furious.  Hey, we all have our pet peeves, right?  Let's just say long story short, I was not happy and Steven was well aware of the fact that I wasn't happy. I think the first time we exchanged words, happy words that is, was about 1 1/2 hours after the incident had happened.  Needless to say, if Steven didn't believe me before that happened, he believed me then :-)

However, Steven has learned that I really mean it when I say I don't like to wake up to beeping, I apologized immensely for overreacting and for ignoring him, and we moved on.  Lots of hugs, kisses, and "i'm sorry's" later... it was like nothing had ever happened :-)




      

Goin' to the Chapel...

It's day 4 of the wonderful Valentines Day Extravaganza, booyah! Yep, I'm trying to bring that word back.....booyah! Ok, I'll stop now :-)

Today we're sharing our favorite wedding memory... insert collective "awwww."  My wedding was the one of the best days of my life! However, I think every girl says that ;-)

Let's see my favorite wedding memory is...... hehehehehe. Well, I have a few ;-) I'll share just two with ya girls!

My absolute favoriteist (is that even a word?!) memory ever is, the moment I walked down the aisle towards my soon to be husband and seeing him grinning at me.  What a moment.  I was literally hanging onto my dads arm in fear of collapsing in the aisle due to my unbelievable fear of walking er....being in front of tons of people.  However, my sweet dad talked me all the way down the aisle. But, halfway down the aisle, I saw this looking at me:

And, I'm like, "Dang, that boy looks good! Ooooohh, and he's all mine!"

And then there's me....

 

And, I'm thinking, "Uh, could all these people stop staring at me? It's making me nervous...oh crap, I'm tearing up! Ahh...the makeup artist dude didnt' use waterproof mascara! Ah, happy thoughts, happy thoughts!"

So, that is my 1st most favorite cherished memory of the whole wedding.  We had a really fun wedding filled with tons of great food and great dancing.

That was a good day because I finally had my man (legally) and my wedding band to make it all official and everything :-)

Now, my second most favorite wedding memory is being able to crawl in bed with the hottest and sweetest man I know alive and say, "Oh yeah....you're all mine til' the day I die!" What a great feeling knowing that I was going to bed as his wife... plus, he's the cutest thing to wake up next to!

        

It's a Love Story Baby Just Say Yes

Let's talk about love....

Let's talk about us...
Let's talk about life...

Oh sorry, I was just singing along to Celine Dion, "Let's Talk About Love." Ok, embarrassingly enough I had to google "let's talk about love" just to see if there were any songs that had that phrase in it.  Can't say i've actually ever heard the song.

Er... okay back on track.  Today's topic for the Valentines Extravaganza is proposal stories! Aw, don't we all just love it when our man opens up and proclaims his undying love for us? I know I do!

Steven proposing to me was a day that I never thought would come.  We had been dating for almost 6 years and we knew we wanted to get married, but when was another issue.  A couple of months before he graduated college I started getting anxious. Ya see, all of my friends were engaged and getting married very soon. Were we? Oh no.  Eh, you know the saying, "Good things come to those who wait"? Yeah, Steven said that all the time to me. My response was, "Um...i've been waiting for a long time, haha. However, I knew my time was coming.  We had been discussing him going to grad school in Germany and had discussed that it wouldn't happen unless he could bring me with him. Who would go to school overseas and leave their girlfriend of almost 6 years behind? No one in their right mind.  So, when August (of 2008) rolled around, I knew that the proposal was right around the corner. See here's the thing, Steven was thinking of going to grad school and leaving in Jan. of 2009, and he wanted me to come with...which meant that in order for me to come we had to get married.  We also had discussed how we wanted at least 4 months to plan a wedding...which meant that August was my proposal month.

So, when August rolled around, every date we had I thought, "Oh, could this be the day?!?" I remember one time in particular we went hiking at Umstead Park. We were hiking on this pretty trail, the sun was setting, everything was perfect. All of the sudden, Steven stops walking and is just looking at me admirably.  My heart started racing... Oh my gosh, is this the day?! Nope, false alarm...he was just looking at his awesome girlfriend :-)

Skip a few weeks and its the day of August 28th.  Steven had called me earlier that week asking me if I wanted to go out to a nice dinner because he had been really busy with stuff and said that I deserved a nice dinner for (in his words) putting up with him.  That afternoon, I decided I wanted to wear a cute sundress and I remember my mom coming in my room telling me, "Oh, dress up... you're going to a nice dinner." Or something along those lines.... Hmm...I thought, that's interesting. But, I concealed any hopes I had and didn't let Steven know that's what I was wondering. Steven showed up with my absolute favorite flowers, stargazer lilies. And then, we went to dinner at Firebirds (super good restaurant) and as we were leaving the restaurant, I walked behind Steven a few feet.... ya know, just to check him out. That's what I told him at least, but I was secretly looking at him from behind to see if I could see any box shaped objects in his pockets, hahahaha! I still felt kind of nervous that night and kept wondering, "is this the day?".  After dinner, I asked to go to the mall and we walked around for a little bit before leaving.  We started driving around and all of the sudden Steven starts turning into this park.  I'm all like, "Oh my gosh, are you taking me dancing?!?" Background info here: while we dated, Steven would randomly make a mixed CD and surprise me by taking me dancing in the park, very cute.  So, dancing in the park was nothing "out of the ordinary" to me.  I'm still clueless by this point.  We park, get out, he turns on the music and we're dancing to "Brown Eyed Girl".. I think, haha.  That song ends, we're still dancing, and the song "Going to the Chapel" starts.

Um... that's an interesting song of choice, Steven. Steven?! Where are you....oh my gosh, you're on one knee!  That's what was going through my mind, haha.  I remember telling myself to smile because I was shocked that it was actually happening.  So, after many minutes of screaming, laughing, kissing, hugging, and jumping up and down, I finally realized that I should probably look at the ring! Hahaha, I was so happy that he was proposing that I could've cared less for the ring!  Long (really long, huh?!) story short, I said yes, we were engaged for 4 months and happily married on January 17th, 2009.

The night we got engaged

 

He did good!

       

Best Date

Valentines Day extravaganza numero dos! Today's topic is best date.  Hmm.... so many to choose from! Ya know, when you've been together for 7 years, you have lots of great dates :-) But, I'll spare ya'll pages of what I consider our "best dates" and write only about one.

Me and the hubs, we've got dating down.  We had almost 6 years of dating before we got married, and that boy knows how to date.  He was never late to pick me up, always came to the door to get me, made sure to talk to everyone in my family (all 398395 of us, haha... just kidding there aren't that many people), always opened the car door for me, usually pulled out the chair at dinner for me, always kissed me goodnight, and loved me like it was going out of style.  And, he still does all of that.

One of my favorite dates we had was on our 5th year anniversary.  We got all dressed up and went to a really great restaurant called, Mura, which is an upscale Japanese restaurant.  But, before I go any futher, let me go back a few days.   A few days before we were going to celebrate our anniversary, I had called Steven because I had seen online that you could request private rooms. These rooms were awesome, they were little rooms that went all along the main section and you had your own little pull curtain. In each room was a table that you sat around.... on the ground. But, you weren't' really on the ground because it was actually a ledge with cute pillows that you sat on to make it look like you were sitting on the ground. Whew, that was a long description, haha.  Ok, so I had called him and asked him if we could get one of those rooms because it would be really cool and mean a lot to me. Well, he calls back a little later and says that no, we couldn't get one and made up some excuse as to why we couldn't get one.

Now, fast foward back to where I left off before the insanely long description of a private room, haha. So anyways, he comes and picks me up and while we're parking mentions that we have a reservation under his name.... for a private room! I was so excited! He had just been tricking me the whole time, whats new :-) We eat dinner and went and saw a movie. But, the reason this date is one of my favorites is because of what we did afterwards.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love... and I mean LOVE doughnuts.  But not just any doughnuts, my absolute favorite are Krispy Kreme's doughnuts.  Growing up, my dad would always take us kids there when the "hot" sign was on to get some....so, it's just something special I love doing.  I know, Mama M is probably gagging while reading this due to her hatred of doughnuts. Hahaha. 

So, after the marvelous dinner and funny movie, my awesome husband surprised me by taking me to Krispy Kreme to get doughnuts... and yes, the "hot" sign was on ;-)

I'm pretty easily entertained and made happy, so the simplest of dates sometimes are my favorite :-)

Here's a picture from that amazing date!

       

Crazy little thing called love...

I am so excited! Do ya'll know what this day next week brings?! Valentines Day! Yes!  Mama M had the great idea of doing a Valentines Day Extravaganza and everyday we answer a new question about our loves or best friends (if you don't have a bf/husband). Ah, I love talking about luhveeeeeeee baby. Whew, i'm getting all nervous just thinking about him... Back to what I was saying, so starting today the questions start.  After you write them, link up back to Mama M's blog.

Oh, I just love this holiday.... a whole holiday devoted to love... and chocolate, and kissing, and handsomness. If that's even a word...

Here's the low down on the questions for the week per Mama M's blog:

Sunday (tomorrow): The story of how you met the love of your life...or, if you haven't yet met the love of your life tell me how you met your best friend!

Monday: Your favorite date story (good or bad!!), or the best night out you've had with your bestie!

Tuesday: Engagement stories!! (If you'd like...throw in a photo of your bling!)

Wednesday: What is your favorite memory of your wedding day (or, tell me your favorite memory with your aforementioned best friend!)?

Thursday: (per suggestion of Mr. Wonderful) Tell the story of your love's biggest romantic screw up.

Friday: 5QF...love style! I've put up a thread specific to this 5QF...check it out here and offer up your questions!!

Saturday: Photo Day...show me a favorite photo with your love or your best friend!

Sunday: Ten things you love about your love!

Ok, let's get this love fest kickin'!

 

I'll do this post from my point of view and then add Steven's in at the bottom for the fun of it :-)

So today is about how my awesomely hot, patient, and funny husband and I met. The Earth stood still the day Steven and I met, our first meeting was that amazing. Ok, ok, so the Earth didn't stand still. But, it sounded good, right? Let's jump back 8 years all the way to the summer of 2002.

How it happened according to me:
Almost eight years ago, I was an avid camper at Providence's church camp.  While my friends and I were gushing over the hottest guys at camp, in walked a group of guys who I hadn't met yet.  I remember we were sitting there laughing and talking when this one guy in particular kept looking at me and smiling. At first I thought maybe something was in my teeth.  But after a quick look in the mirror I realized that I didn't have anything in my teeth and that maybe he was just overwhelmed by my awesome jokes.  I didn't think much of it for the rest of the week but after I got home I decided that I wanted to invite him to my 16th birthday party.  Not thinking that I would ever see him again.  To my surprise, he showed up!! I was smitten by his good looks and awesome taste in clothing and I knew I had to get to know him more.  After my party, we didn't talk much but right around Christmas he started calling me.  I will never forget how excited I was to hear his voice. After we had gotten to know each other for a few weeks, I went on a ski retreat without him.  He surprised me by having his friend Ryan give me a letter in which he asked me out.  I immediately started screaming and jumping up and down and proceeded to run down the stairs, while pushing old women out of the way.  And this is where Steven's story begins.... 

How it happened according to Steven:

Little did Kimberly know that I had seen her before camp.  A friend and I were working at the church when Kimberly and her friend walked by.  Both of us guys became very uninterested in what we were working on, and I immediately began to focus on this amazing dark haired angel that seemed to float into my field of view.  I had no idea who she was, but knew that I needed to find out more.  Luckily, my friend from work was working with her during VBS and could fill me in on all I needed to know.  So when camp arrived, I made sure to bump into her during free time.  I couldn't stop staring at Kimberly, and I think she thought that something was wrong with her.  But I couldn't help myself...so I stared.  After camp, this angel of a girl seemed to disappear from my life.  I didn't hear from her again until I received an invitation to her 16th birthday party...which was the next day.  So I rushed out to get her a present.  Her birthday party was at the pool and wow does she look amazing in a bathing suit.  However, after the birthday party she avoided me for another four months until sometime around Christmas.  A mutual friend told me that Kimberly kept talking about me....so after I got my knees to stop shaking....I mustered up my natural suaveness and gave her a call.  We began to get to know each other over the next month, and I knew that I was falling in love.  So when Kimberly went on a ski retreat with the youth group I decided to ask her out.  However, I was not going on this retreat.  So I gave a letter to my friend Ryan with specific instructions to give the letter to Kimberly on January 25th...so he gave it to her on the 24th, and she opened it early. And, that's where our story begins, January 25th, 2003 (we celebrate the 25th because that's the day she told me yes).

He might kill me for putting this up, he says he looks like a dork by the way he asked me out. I thought it was cute, oh well.

So, the rest is history... we dated for 5 1/2 years before getting engaged, were engaged for 4 months and married on January 17th, 2009... almost 6 years after we met. And, I just celebrated 7 years a few weeks ago with my best friend and truly, the love of my life :-)

The end!

Stay tuned for more mushy, gushy, lovey dovey, romance related stories tomorrow! Ya'll come back now!

       

Date Nights

I'm starting to see a trend in my date nights with Steven lately.

Here's a picture of our date night a few days ago

 

And, this picture is from tonight's date

Notice a trend? Yeah, me too :-) But, I wouldn't have it any other way! He's almost done... I keep getting so excited for him because I know how excited he is.  Monday he has to go and print out a poster of his model to hang in the conference center.  It's going to be about 10 feet long and five feet tall! WOW! But, if I may say so... it will be the best looking one ;-) I got to spend the day in studio w/ him and everyone else who is fervently trying to finish up their projects. It's crazy that he's already done with 1 semester - it flew by.  He's one step closer to reaching that dream job.  I cannot wait for that day.

We had to get one picture of us tonight - pretty cute guy I think!

 

This one is for all our friends and family in Raleigh. See the snow on the ground? We just got that tonight... all 1 1/2 inches of it! Let's just say, I don't think we'll be going sledding anytime soon, haha.

I absolutely love this song, "Never Alone" by Barlowgirl.

Never Alone

I waited for You today

But You didn't show
No no no
I needed You today
So where did You go?
You told me to call
Said You'd be there
And though I haven't seen You
Are You still there?

[Chorus:]
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I"m never alone

And though I cannot see You
And I can't explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You've placed in my life

We cannot separate
You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

[Chorus]

We cannot separate
You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

[Chorus]

Our anniversary celebrations wouldn't be complete without these things:

 

Yep, hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and cheesecake with a cherry topping - delicious!  And yes, we are those people that hold the can of whipped cream in our hands and apply more as soon as it's gone.  Hence, why the bottle is now empty :-)

One Wonderful Year of Bliss

Today, is Steven and I's one year anniversary! I cannot put into words how much I love this man... he truly is the best husband in the world.  In my humble opinion :-).  This year has flown by faster than any year in my whole life, and I wouldn't trade one second for anything!  I've been blessed with the most patient, loving, kind, funny, attractive, talented, hard working, husband.  I cannot wait to see what these next few years bring.  I love you, Steven Wayne Bockmann, and I am so lucky to be yours.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the best day of my life, January 17th, 2009!

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

One Year Anniversary Celebrations!

If you know me, you know that I like week long celebrations.  I've always had week long birthday celebrations, parties, etc.  So, of course our one year anniversary would be no different :-) Since everything is closed on Sundays in Germany, and our real anniversary is on a Sunday (tomorrow), we decided to start the celebration tonight!

We got all dressed up and went to our favorite Italian restaurant. Now, don't ask me the name, because I can't remember, haha.  I don't think I've ever actually looked.  Now, we're back home after a very delicious dinner, and getting ready to watch a chick flick. Yeah, my man knows how I roll.  Tomorrow we will celebrate with cheesecake (thanks momma B!), more chick flicks and reminisce about that cold day last year when we made it official!

Here are some pictures to sum up our anniversary date tonight! I love you Steven, and can't wait for many more years with you!!!

 

Prepare yourself... this is a picture only post.

Gasp, what?! Yep, I'm here to bore, I mean entertain you with random pictures I just found from when we were home :-)

First, I must share these next two photos with you. I find them quite hilarious.

Should I wonder where my husband gets his silliness from? Hmm, no, I think not!

I guess the old saying is true here: Like father, like son!

Now, onto more serious stuff. Ha, right....

Ok, I'll stop writing since this is suppose to be pictures only, haha. We'll see how that goes :-)

Some of the American goodies we brought back

 

My momma and me!

Daddy-O and me rockin' out my brothers new sunglasses!

No words can give this picture justice, haha

Family numero dos

Steven and I call "him" Mr. Spanky.

How can you not love this face?