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My Little Girl’s Birthday Parties

SJ’s birthday is two weeks away and I am in full blown party mode. When I get going with party planning you have to use the emergency brakes just to get me to stop talking about cake and decorations.

 The theme this year is Tea Party. There maybe a sneak peak coming soon to share a little bit of what I am dreaming up, but until then let’s look back at some of SJ’s other parties.

I never would have thought of myself as “That Mom“. The big pinterest party type. But for the record, half of my children’s theme parties where pinned onto pinterest long before I had an account or even knew it existed. I just enjoy celebrating and creating, so birthday parties allow me to do both.

SJ’s first birthday was a cupcake theme. 

You have to visit the link to get the full effect with some close up photos, but thanks to my BFF who is a professional baker we had 70 GORGEOUS cupcakes that tasted insanely delicious. I want to recreate this for my birthday! Anyway, when I was pregnant with SJ we had announced to the entire church that we were having a girl by bringing pink cupcakes to a fellowship dinner. So that is what inspired this party.

The following year I was all pinked out, so I went a completely opposite direction with this Green Eggs and Ham party.

 This is my second most popular party on the pinterest circuit.  Again, you have to see the original post, but there are so many fun tiny details like green deviled eggs and green beverages. It was such an awesome party.

Then last year we went with a donut theme. I don’t know why all the themes are food related, but HEY it works. 

Click the link to see the incredible brunch spread with donut hole fruit kabobs, and a SJ’s adorable donut invitations. SJ’s offscreen name is Sedona and when she was just a tiny baby her two year old brother thought her name was donut. Sometimes we still call her our little donut so that is where the inspiration for her 4th birthday party came from.

Besides each party being food related there was also a bit of a book theme.

For the 1st birthday we gave her “If You Give a Cat a Cupcake” 

Then her 2nd birthday the book was “Green Eggs and Ham” of course.

 And lastly the 4th party was “If You Give a Dog a Donut” 

So this year I need to find a Tea Party Children’s Book. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I am so excited for the whimsical tea party that is just around the corner. It’s going to be in our teeny tiny apartment this year so that will be a challenge, but I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve. I think SJ and her guests will be delighted!

By |2015-05-18T04:19:04+00:00February 22, 2015|Parties, Uncategorized|13 Comments
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21 Reasons to Enjoy the Winter

The weather this week has gotten so bad that the Harlan Kentucky police department put out a warrant for Queen Elsa’s arrest. A massive storm has dropped more than a foot of snow over the past few days and yesterday the temperatures hardly ever got above 0! That’s not the norm for this area. Being a Kentucky girl myself, I thought it was awesome that the police updated their Facebook with

“Suspect is a blonde female last seen wearing a long blue dress and is known to burst into song “Let it Go!”  As you can see by the weather she is very dangerous.”

Seriously though, winter is one of my favorite times of year, but I understand why it isn’t all that popular when February and March roll around. Sure Elsa’s tag line is “the cold never bothered me anyway” but she was obviously in denial when she sang that song. I don’t care who you are, eventually the cold gets old!

Nonetheless, we can’t change the fact that there is still technically one month left before the spring equinox (March 20th) and if I remember correctly the ground hog did see his shadow. So let’s make the most of it! Here are is my personal list of…

1. You aren’t likely to get sweaty which is nice
for a lot of reasons.

2. You can keep your groceries or leftovers in your
car for long lengths of time because they will stay refrigerated.
3. Boots. Scarfs. Hats. Boot socks. Anything knitted. Leather coats. Wool sweaters. Trapper hats. Flannel. I could just do a list of 21 things that are exclusively winter fashion related.
4. The sheer joy and nostalgia of watching children experience a snow day!
5. Less skin is showing in winter. I know this
means there are lot of guys and gals that are just devastated that they
can’t  show/see butt cheeks and cleavage, but I personally DO NOT miss that
part of the warm weather.
6. On a similar note, no worries if you are pale and out of shape, this is NOT swimsuit season.

7. Winter Sports. If it’s cold and not snowy where
you are then this won’t apply, but just think of all the ways to stay active
that you can’t do in the warm weather; snowboarding, ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing,
and more!
8. Running your heater in your car is cheaper than running the AC or driving with windows down when it’s hot out. Same thing if you have a fireplace to keep your house warmed up!
9.  Hot chocolate, chai lattes, hot toddies, peppermint mochas,
and whatever warm drink you enjoy.

10. You
know how to dress each day. I love springtime, but don’t you hate those
in-between season when you start the day in a sweater and boots, but by 1:00 pm
you are absolutely burning up? Or when the weather changes so frequently that you can’t really plan ahead or easily pack for a trip.

  

   

11. No pesky bugs to shoo away.

12.  Short daylight hours means that kids settle
down and go to bed earlier than when it’s 9:00 pm and still sunny out so you
are trying to convince them that IT IS NIGHT TIME and they need to sleep! 

13. It’s the perfect opportunity to cuddle  up with the ones you love.

14. Favorite chili or soup season.   

15.  Whether it’s rough roads, snow days, or just nasty out you are forced to slow down and take it easy. Sometimes we need that extra incentive.

16.  It’s not HOT! When it’s 99 degrees out you’ll think about winter and either miss the cold, or at least stop whining about the heat. 

17.  It’s a season of hope, because you hope it will end soon right? 

18.  Less yard work

19.  A time for a relaxing with two of my favorite things, soaking in a hot bath and then curling up with a good book.

20. Some
amazing vegetables are in season this time of year like parsnips, leeks and chard.

21. Humidity
hair is not an issue and those rosy cheeks are cuter than any blush money can buy. 

I could keep going, but I was originally stopping at 20, so I am definitely cutting it off now. I hope this list is helpful for all those suffering through these final winter weeks. Hang in there and try to look on the bright side even if the bright side is an overcast cloudy day. 

By |2015-05-14T23:15:27+00:00February 20, 2015|Uncategorized|8 Comments
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Ice Cube Treasure Hunt

I was right! Yesterday school was cancelled and today too. What is one to do with all that snow and time off? How about a Treasure Hunt?

I just happened to be scrolling through my Facebook early in the morning, before the kids woke up and a friend posted a picture of some ice cube trays full of colorful ice and said she was going to hide them in the snow for a little scavenger hunt.

 I immediately fell in love with the idea and already had the necessary supplies on hand

Water
Ice cube trays
Food coloring
A snowy area

So I filled our Ikea ice cube trays with water and added food coloring to each one.

Then I put them in the freezer for four hours.

I was going to hide them in the snow, but that ended up not being necessary. I just picked out a living room size area in the ground and tossed the ice cubes up in the air, letting them land where they may.

The only problem was, we had 6 inches of snow and each ice cube sank like a rock being swallowed up into the white abyss. This heart shaped one was one of the only one I could take a photo of because the rest were completely invisible. 

It still worked out though. My little excavators immediately went to work looking for the rainbow treasure.

I helped point them in the right direction and showed them how to look by kicking through the snow and stopping when they spotted bright colors.

The challenge level with this amount of snow would probably be great for a youth group or even adults! Even though it was tricky for my group, and we only ended up collecting about half of the ones I made, the kids still really enjoy the whole experience.

They got so excited each time they discovered another fish, star or heart. The great thing about the whole idea of using ice is that the ones we couldn’t find are just going to melt away or maybe be a fun discovery for one of our dog walking neighbors.

If your kids are some of the thousands throughout the country experiencing back-to-back-to-back snow days then you may want to consider this fun little outdoor activity. It’s so easy, I threw it together without any preplanning at all! I will admit that next time I’ll ease up on the food coloring. I just used way too much and it got pretty messy. It washes off though, so it’s no big deal, but next time one drop will do.

All in all this was a perfect outdoor snow day activity that is fun for any age level. We’ll definitely do this one again some time.

Now time to warm up with some toasty hot chocolate and a hot bath! 
By |2015-05-18T04:19:18+00:00February 19, 2015|Crafts, Creativity, Uncategorized|6 Comments
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Our Extreme Weekend

We had an extra special long weekend and not just because of Valentine’s day. In fact the official February 14th Valentine’s day was really uneventful around here other than having donuts for breakfast. Seriously though, Holtman’s Donuts in Cincinnati are my most favorite among favorites when it comes to sweets.

Speaking of sweets J and I were able to go to the church’s Divine Desserts Valentine’s party.

Just before things got started our pastor’s wife approached us to see if we would be willing to volunteer to be dessert judges. Well you don’t have to ask me twice! We had to rank prettiest and most delicious and let’s just say I think I have found my new calling.

As if the night couldn’t get any sweeter we were also asked to come up for one of the many games they had, and this particular one was titled the “Hot Lips Contest”. It entailed slathering on the sample tube of lipstick you were given and then covering your spouse with as many kisses as possible in one minute.

 My brother and his wife were the winners. Keep in mind they got pregnant on their honeymoon and so far they’ve had three kids in four years. So I guess they give kisses like they have babies… in rapid succession. Sorry, I had to throw that one in there since I know they will see this.  

Moving right along, the next day we were able to enjoy some family time at the water park. 

WATER PARK? In February? In OHIO!? 

Why, yes actually.

Since it was President’s day J and the kid’s had no school so we went to an INDOOR water park called Coco Key. Someone got a groupon deal for us, and we weren’t about to let a little snow storm keep us from the family fun we had planned.

It was a little surreal trudging into the resort dressed head to toe in winter attire, before changing in the locker rooms. I couldn’t help, but crack up at the irony of it all. There were mothers dressed up like eskimos watching their children splash in the pool, there were mittens next to snorkels, and beach towels alongside snow boots.

The craziest part of all of for me were the 40 foot water slides! You spend about 45 seconds swirling around through the tube before getting shot back into the warm water inside. These rides really got my adrenal going, especially knowing that I was just one layer of fiberglass away from snowfall and icicles!

And I’m not going to lie, I am sure they tried to keep everything warmed up inside, but with it being less than 5 degrees out I’m guessing there is only so much you can do and there were some moments we were all shivering a bit. One thing is for sure, this is one family getaway we will never forget! 

The next day we should have resumed our regularly scheduled programing, but instead school was cancelled due to snow. So we decided to embrace the weather this time around and we went sledding, followed by a snowball fight.

 J was a little too aggressive as he may have forgotten how much older and bigger he is than everyone else. Being the loving father that he is though he allowed each of us to have a free throw and chuck a snowball right at his face. Don’t feel bad for him, he had it coming. 


I predict that won’t be the only snow day this week given the current forecast.

It’s snow time here in Ohio. That’s pretty much what’s been going on in our part of the world. How was your Holiday weekend? 
By |2015-05-14T23:15:27+00:00February 18, 2015|Uncategorized|11 Comments
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What We Have is a Forest Fire

This post is for my sisters and brothers in Christ. I’m going to quote Matt Walsh here because it expresses my point perfectly

“It would be difficult to explain all of this to someone who is not a Christian. Not impossible, but difficult. At the very least, it would require another 10,000 words or so to first convince them to accept the basic premise of Christian morality… But for Christians, we know that we do not make choices in a void.”

 

I am not going to beat a dead horse here. I’ll leave all the beatings for the movie, but if you want to read some great posts about why it’s destructive then I can lead you to dozens  hundreds of links about that topic. What I want to know is

Why does this come as such a shock to us?

To be clear, I understand this movie takes things a step further. It’s not just Christians that are upset about this one. Fifty Shades of Grey doesn’t just push the envelope. It shreds the envelope into a million little pieces and then burns it to ensure there will never be an envelope again. The thing that concerns me about all of this hubbub is that it is too little, too late.

Because sex sells, and even as Christians we have been buying it in BULK!


We have fueled this flame for a long time and now that it’s a forest fire, we’re like “Oh no. How could this be?”

I look at media these days and I can only imagine, according to what God says in His Word that it grieves him. Most of it is evil and full of a destructive sinful nature, yet so many of us as Christians EAT. IT. UP. I am not judging you. I can understand why sometimes the good outweighs the bad and you just have to live “in and not of” the world.

I do get that, but it breaks my heart that it takes a film like “50 Shades of Grey”, full of pornographic erotica mixed with violence and abuse to draw the line! Really!? We couldn’t have drawn the line 10 years ago with, I don’t know, The Wedding Crashers?

By the way, I didn’t see The Wedding Crashers, but I heard about it from some of my Christian friends that did spend money on the film and I also read the review on Plugged in online. If you read that synopsis you will know why all this rape, nudity, lack of respect for virginity, and all out perversion has been a staple in our entertainment for a long time. Obviously that is just one example of thousands. And for those that think if you haven’t read the book or watched the movies then you really can’t say anything, that’s like saying you have to eat poison first as a way to decide whether or not it is toxic.

50 shades of Grey is like Heroin. It might be worse than some of the other things we’ve seen, but drugs are drugs and sin is sin. I’m glad I have seen so many Christians publicly outraged by this movie, but what if we win? What if 50 Shades tanks at the box office? Then we go back to watching Mad Men and The Bachelor?  Do we just continue to be entertained by countless other forms of lust, infidelity, and the attack on sexuality and family that is rampant in Hollywood? I am stopping myself from giving a painful amount of examples, because it’s really not about a list of movies. I know that.

Which is why I am not saying we should campaign against every single movie that hits the big screen. This industry has no reference point for morality and I don’t expect them to accommodate  Biblical truths. I DO expect christians to. I guess. I mean, not to step on any toes.

I’ll admit I am extra conservative in that area, but even then, I am sure I have read books or watched a show that some people could find offensive. This is not about condemnation.

I just think we really need to step back and use this whole 50 Shades explosion to evaluate where we are as followers of Christ and ask “am I feeding this destructive culture?” The only way you can answer that question is to ask God and look in His Word (note the verse below). And while I am on my soap box, can we please stop calling anyone with conviction “religious” or “legalistic”.

Maybe it’s not too late to put out this fire. I just hope we can own up to the fact that maybe we had some involvement in it to begin with.

Psalm 101:2-4 NLT



I will be careful to live a blameless life- when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. 





This post is linked up with Grace and Truth, check out other inspirational christian living posts HERE.

By |2017-02-09T19:52:56+00:00February 16, 2015|Uncategorized|13 Comments
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When Richard Met Nancy

I first met Nancy in high school. I was in my senior year and near graduation. My kid brother had a crush on her. I encouraged him to ask her out. He was very shy and introverted however, so to encourage him I said, “Well if you won’t ask her out, I will!” He never did.
One day when I was leaving school, there she was, sitting on the grass, struggling to draw a sketch of my car for art class. It was an International Harvester “Scout” in what today might be called an SUV.
I stopped and chatted a bit, but I didn’t want to drive off with her subject matter, so I offered to help her with it. My family was comprised of artists, and drawing and painting were my strongest skills throughout school. I basically drew it for her. Our art teacher was wise enough to recognize that it wasn’t her work.
 This isn’t THE drawing, but this is what it looked like. I did this one on the computer.
After finishing the drawing I offered to give Her a ride home. She lived 15 miles away and required driving through a different state to get to her home. She didn’t want to impose, but I insisted “Not a problem, it is right on my way.” It was really 30 miles out of my way.
Soon after that was “Senior Skip Day” which was an annual event where classes were winding down and seniors were wanting to sow their wild oats. All my friends were trying to line up dates for the event.
Nancy was a junior, but I wanted to ask her out so I did and she accepted. By this time I was already falling for her and when she accepted my request, it was our first date, which sealed the deal for me; (1) because she was one of the most beautiful girls in our high school, and (2) she accepted.
Not unlike my kid brother, I was introverted and had a bad track record of being afraid of asking a girl out, but when I did being turned down. So I wasn’t going to let this one go if I could help it.
At the time I had my pilots license and was able to take Nancy for flights over the Vermont Mountains. We did everything together. It wasn’t long before we knew that we were in love. I always joke that she was my first and last date, which is the truth.
That is not to say our life has all been a romantic fairytale. Initially we had no moral restraint. We knew we wanted to get married, but I was heading off to college  and Nancy still had to finish high school. It wasn’t long and we got news that we were with child. I was wrestling with many sin issues in my life. I had no faith except for “dabbling” in Christian Science. Things finally reached a crescendo where I knew I had to change something, but had no idea how. I walked off the campus I was attending in central Vermont state and into the wilderness until I reached a clearing in the woods. I fell to my knees and prayed at a large boulder. I didn’t even know for sure if there was a God, but I didn’t know what else to do. God heard my prayer and I accepted His son Jesus Christ right there in the woods and THE greatest love came into my life.
Nancy and I both made that dreaded phone call to let our parents know the news. We had a shotgun wedding in the Catholic Church on New Year’s Eve. 30 years later on our anniversary we renewed our vows in our church with all our children present. Our pastor and spiritual father lead us in our vows.

Now we have been married 38 years. We have four children and six grandchildren to date.

Our favorite thing to do together is just spend time with our family. Our second favorite thing to do is travel. Nancy works for Delta and now that we are empty nesters we’ve been able to travel all over the country and even overseas. I joke that when we were dating I flew her around.

This is me with the plane I trained on.

 

38 years later she’s the one that’s flying me places (thanks to her employee benefits we both fly for free).
Nancy at the French Alps in 2014

                                                                      

  God has truly blessed us.
We are more in love today than ever.

This guest post was written by Richard Weaver and is a part of the series How We Met. You can find the rest of the series HERE on Messy Mom.com

By |2017-01-04T12:28:14+00:00February 13, 2015|Marriage, Uncategorized|13 Comments
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When Jennifer Met Scott


My husband and I met when I was just 16; we married 6 months later.I had been raised in a Christian home, but spent my early teen years running with a wild crowd. I ended up dropping out of school and then taking the California High School
Proficiency Exam. In the fall, at the age of 16, I enrolled in Jr. College.As Christmas of that year approached, I had grown weary of the weekly rounds of
nightclubs and the seedy life my friends and I were living. I can remember one night
being woken by my friend. I had been sleeping on the couch of her new boyfriend’s
apartment after a late night at a club, and an ex-girlfriend had come into the apartment
to threaten her. Terrified, we ran out the door and drove away. This was one of several
incidents which made the party life look less and less appealing.

In the early spring, after a few quiet months of going to school and work, my manager at
the clothing store where I had a part-time job finally convinced me to go on a blind date
with her boyfriend’s best friend. I had hesitated to become social with my co-workers
because I was uninterested in a boyfriend after my few years of craziness. There was
also one other small problem. I had lied about my age to get the job. This made an
honest social life seem a bit out of reach.

After several months of her telling me what a perfect couple we would make, she finally
convinced me to go on a date with their friend, and I am forever thankful that she did.

On our first date, my co-worker, her boyfriend and my date picked me up from my
home… in a pick up truck. With no back seat. So, my very first date with my husband, I
had to awkwardly sit on his lap in the cab of a tiny Toyota truck.

Our dates got better, and within three months of meeting, he proposed. My mom went
with us to the courthouse to give her permission for us to marry, and then we had a
lovely church wedding. Three years later we had our first child.

We will celebrate 25 years of marriage in September. We have had a lifetime of love, a
lot of kids, and loads of opportunities to forgive and to grow.

Although we didn’t start our married life as committed Christians, God was gracious to us and won our hearts. We have seen Him continue to pour out mercy and grace on us and our children throughout
our life together, and the latest gift has been the marriage ministry, Love After Marriage.
We went to a week long seminar and learned tools for reconciliation and communication
that have been instrumental in healing hurts and bringing new closeness and love into
our decades long marriage.

Marriage is a gift, and I am so thankful that God brought my husband and I together. He
is a God who gives good gifts.

 

Jennifer is a homeschool mom to seven children, and is married to her best friend Scott. They live on a small farm in Northern California and travel regularly to Mexico for outreach.
Her writing has been featured in magazines such as Above Rubies, Wild and Free, Home Educating Family, and Home School Enrichment and she is the author of the book, Bountiful Homeschooling on a Budget. She blogs at http://homeschoolingforthewholefamily.com or you can follow her on Instagram, @jennpepito. She is passionate about encouraging women as they love the husband and children God has blessed them with.
Thank you for joining us for this Valentine’s series of How We Met. Come back tomorrow for the final story of when Richard met Nancy! 
By |2017-01-04T12:29:09+00:00February 12, 2015|Marriage, Uncategorized|6 Comments
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When Andrea Met Mike

It was the summer of 1992. Hot Texas days and equally humid evenings. My high school BFF and I were constantly in search of ways to entertain ourselves while she was home from college and before beginning my 4th semester at a local college, we did what most 19/20 year olds did during that era…..go work out at the local fitness center! Yep, our free time pretty much consisted of step aerobics classes followed by a stop at the local frozen yogurt shop. Saturdays were laying out in her back yard followed by a trip to the mall and movies. There were many fun memories that summer as I had gained a lot of independence and was just living “girls just want to have fun” mantra if you can imagine.Looking back, I was in a bit of a rebellion period. I seemed to attract some not-so-great guys and went through a series of pointless relationships. But, much to my surprise, I caught the eye of a certain guy at the gym who was equally shy as he was inconspicuous.Part of our workout routine was making post aerobics laps around the upper track, and each time we passed “the guys weight section” I passed by my future husband (unbeknownst to me). One day another guy made it clear to me that his “friend over there” (yep, quiet one in the corner of the room) was wanting to meet me. I politely said, “who?” We joke about it know, but I honestly never noticed him. His well-meaning friend actually threatened Mike telling him that if he wasn’t going to introduce himself to me that he would just take care of it! Even then, it still took him a couple more weeks to finally approach me, but the rest is what you know as “history”.From our first date he captured my heart. He had such an easy way about him and these ocean-blue eyes that cannot be missed!

I loved that he was so real and uncontrived. Nothing seemed to be about impressing me, but just about getting to know me and making me laugh (which, he STILL cracks
me up). We began a casual relationship, then he went back to A&M the next month and so began our 3.5 year long distance relationship. As time progressed, I knew he was the one for me. He wasn’t as sure, as he was encouraged to “play the field” by well-meaning people.
We ended up getting serious but I always had an unsettled feeling. In the midst of my “rebellion” I was also dating this young, kind, caring man who also wasn’t as serious about Jesus as I wanted to be. I don’t recommend it, however, God who is so rich in mercy, did a miracle. Without going into all the details, we spent 6 months completely broken up. I spent that time getting my heart right again with God while he was going through some hard stuff too with his family. What I found out 5 months into this was that Mike’s sweet Mom was battling cancer again and was very ill and in the hospital. It was during this time that God began to do a separate work in Mike’s heart as he was being drawn to His Father’s heart through it all. We ended up reconciling and were engaged on Valentine’s day that year and married 3 months later. God is so GOOD!
 
Sadly, the week of our wedding, we learned that his mom’s cancer had spread to her brain. She was scheduled to have surgery to have it removed 2 days after our wedding! Selfless as she was, she insisted she would be in an induced coma anyway (her thought was, I will be asleep and not know if you are here) for 4 days so by all means, “Go on your honeymoon!” Which we did, and honestly, it was the rest and joy we needed to begin our new adventure. We came back ready to fight along with her as a team.
Rich in mercy, God supplied all we needed and grew Mike to become an amazing leader in our marriage during the issues with his Mom’s health. We ended up moving in with his parents during his mother’s last months of life. I recall waking up one night and seeing Mike in the wee hours of the morning , leaning over his mother’s hospital bed in the dimly lit dining room, reading Scriptures to her.
He spoke a beautiful eulogy at her memorial service. That young college kid, whom I met working out at the gym, was transformed into something so beautiful I wept in gratitude at the work I witnessed the Lord doing in his heart.
Since then we have experienced so much joy and adventure in our marriage. We’ve also endured   more heartache with losing my mom and our little boy, Marshall in the following 10 years…. Even then, God has blessed us with 6 sons who are so full of life and teach us so much more than we could have imagined!
I am blessed beyond measure. Through it all, I have seen how God works in our hearts when we are simply seeking His purpose in our lives, open to the blessings He wants to give, and just loving Him and each other.
 
Mike and I have been married now for almost 18 years (been sweethearts for almost 23!) and fall in love more and more each day. It really
does get sweeter.

This guest post was written by Andrea Studt, devoted wife, mother, and homeschool teacher. Join us for more romantic stories all week long during our How We Met series on Messy Mom.com 

By |2017-01-05T21:45:51+00:00February 11, 2015|Marriage, Uncategorized|9 Comments
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When Kailei met Brad

I’m Kailei.
He’s Brad.
And we are two best friends in love.
We might as well start from the very
beginning…
and then we will fast forward to the here and
now.
Brad and I met in Preschool.
Really.
We were instantly best friends… mainly
because I insisted on such!
One day, I noticed that Brad was playing with
another little girl.
I wasn’t okay with that.
So I walked up to him and said “Brad, I
need to talk to you!!”
He obediently followed me away from
Allie.
“You can’t play with other girls
anymore.”
Again, Brad agreed.
Some may say that this is where my bossy
nature began. I choose to call it life planning.
And our life-long friendship began.
 We moved on to Kindergarten and were blessed to be in the same class. 
I’m on the left. Brad’s on the right.
Apparently, I let Brad have more friends once
we reached Kindergarten.
Throughout elementary school, we remained
great friends.
Brad is Swedish, and each year he chose a
friend to play St Lucia as he told about the history. I got to do it in 3rd grade.
 We both ran for Student Body Historian
in 6th Grade.
And Brad beat me.
I’m not still bitter or anything
And then Junior High came. You know that
awkward age where you’re trying to figure out who you are and where you fit in?
When you want to make sure that you get to sit at the “cool kid’s
table” during lunch? When you want people to start noticing who you
are?
We sort of grew apart.
Then one day, we realized that we really
missed each other.
That it was silly to not be friends.
And then it was just like old times
again.
In 9th grade, we ran for Student
Council.
This time, I made sure that we ran for different offices.
And we both won.
We thought we were pretty cool.
Once we started in to high school, I think
that everyone knew that we really liked each other. A lot.
But neither of us would admit such things. We
were best friends. That was all.
The day I turned 16 was the day of the big homecoming
game.
I was so happy that I would be old enough to
go.
I really hoped that Brad would ask me.
And he did!! We were each other’s first date.
Maybe it sounds weird; maybe a 16 year old
doesn’t know such things,
but something about that date just felt right.
It just felt good.
It wasn’t awkward or weird at all.
It was perfect.
But then things got weird.
We started going on dates more and more often
and we were together all of the time.
It was fun, but we were getting worried. We
didn’t want a steady boyfriend/girlfriend.
We were discouraged from having steady
boyfriends/girlfriends and didn’t want
 to go
against what we felt was right.
Could two people who really liked each other
just be best friends?
So instead of rationally talking it out and
making sure that we were just friends, I cut things off completely. I still
remember the night that I explained all of that to Brad
and basically told him that I couldn’t see him
as much.
 He cried.
I felt like scum.
For about a year, we didn’t really see much of
each other.
I hated it.
And then, just like in Jr. High, we realized
that we really missed each other,
and became best friends again.
But it was different this time. More
cautious.
We had many common interests…
though Brad now claims that lots of them were
my interests that he jumped on board with.
We really liked American Idol, and even went
to an Idols Live concert.


We are both very musical and did Choir and
Orchestra.
We were able to go on a trip to Washington
D.C. with our music groups and it was a blast!
And we graduated from High School!!
Before we graduated, Brad already had a call
to serve an LDS church mission in Nicaragua.
He was off to South America, and I was off to
college.
Brad and I wrote every now and again, but
nothing serious.
I knew that he was loving his mission and
serving the Lord with all of his heart.
I knew that he was a great missionary.
Meanwhile, I was loving university life. I
loved going to institute and learning more about the gospel. I loved meeting
new friends and I really loved the education that I was receiving.
 I dated a lot while Brad was gone.
I dated good guys. But something was always
holding me back.
I wanted to serve a mission, but when I prayed
about it, it didn’t feel right.
I was sad, but listened.
Brad got home and we started dating
exclusively a few months after he returned.
Something didn’t feel right.
I was devastated. I had always thought that it
would work out once we were older.
The day before I broke up with Brad, I felt
that it was time.
I could now serve a mission.
We broke up.
Brad asked if it was forever.
I said yes.
I received my mission call to Argentina and I
could not have been happier!
My mission was definitely the most amazing
experience I had had up to that point.
It was wonderful to be able to serve the Lord
100% of the time
and not worry about anything else.
Again, Brad wrote every now and again, but not
often. He went to school.
He dated a lot. But he didn’t get
married.
Coming home, I was nervous to see him. I
didn’t know what would happen, if anything.
After all, I had told him I wasn’t interested
in dating again.
Only problem was, I was interested.
But would he be?
The first time I saw him again, I got that
tingly feeling. Something felt good. Right.
And I knew then that I would marry him.
Luckily, he was feeling something too.
We began dating very soon thereafter.
 Our first date after the mission was a
“thrifty ball.”


I taught Brad how to make Argentine Empanadas.
Basically, we just had a lot of fun. There
were moments where I had little “freak outs.”
I had only been home a few weeks when we
started dating exclusively.
That didn’t seem normal.
We were already talking about marriage.
That was fast!
I knew that it was right, but I just couldn’t
move forward.
Then, I went on a trip with my family.
And I missed Brad terribly.
I knew I couldn’t be without him.
So we got engaged.
And 5 months to the day of me returning home
from Argentina,
we were sealed for all eternity.
Thanks to Darby Elizabeth
Photography for the amazing
pictures!!
We don’t remember life without each other
and now we won’t ever have to.
We now live in Utah where Brad is attending
law school.
We have been married for a year and a half and
are expecting our first baby!
This year and a half has been a blast and we
are loving every moment we have together.
We aren’t perfect,

 

but we are perfect for each other.

Kailei and Brad have a blog where they write about the things they do to increase their love for each other every and they  hope to help readers feel inspired to do the same. From date nights to dinner, love notes to faith you can find it all at www.twobestfriendsinlove.blogspot.com
You can also follow them on Bloglovin, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram

For more love stories be sure to follow the How We Met series all week here at MessyMom.com .
By |2017-01-04T12:21:29+00:00February 10, 2015|Marriage, Uncategorized|11 Comments
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When Karin Met Cameron

For 28 years I always heard common clichés like, “You’ll find the one when you least expect it” or “Don’t go looking for love, let it come to you.” When I began graduate school, meeting a man, dating, and marriage where not what I was expecting nor what I was searching for. The dread of working full time while putting myself through school, writing papers, and late night studying consumed me as I attended my first class of grad school, Lifespan Development which now seems ironic. In the same class was Cameron, one of all four guys in that class… and one of only a hand full of men in the program for that matter. We were both beginning our graduate school journey towards becoming professional counselors. He sat a row ahead of me, constantly glancing at the clock anxiously waiting for the class to end.

Change began to happen one night during a group presentation. The activity was to list your negotiables, the values and beliefs there were flexible in a potential relationship, and non-negotiables, the values and beliefs that needed to be exactly matching for the relationship to be viable. We then compared it to the list of the man assigned to the group of 4 or 5 women. Out of five women in my group, my list came out more compatible for a relationship with Cameron than the all others in the group with only 1 category not matching out of 5 negotiable and 5 non-negotiable items. The leader of the exercise joked if there were going to be any love matches from this, but I didn’t think much of the match at that time and wrote it off as an interesting little activity. Later in the semester, Cameron flagged me down in the parking lot near our class one night to introduce himself and talk about our mutual interest in traveling to Peru as I had posted on Facebook about going someday. We made small talk from then on, but lost touch over the Christmas break.

A semester later, we ran into each other on campus. We enjoyed catching up, talking about the new classes we were enrolled in that semester, various theories of counseling, and discussing Viktor Frankle’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” which Cameron had loaned me earlier. Through our conversations, Cameron learned that at the time I was living in a notorious part of town (considered by some) and he expressed interest in coming to visit and checking it out for himself. One weekend in February he came over …and continued to come over every weekend after that (and I mean EVERY weekend)! We enjoyed doing things together like going to a roller derby, shopping in the farmers market, going for hikes and walks, and watching our favorite TV shows (Firefly is the bomb!).

Throughout that spring and summer, Cameron made an effort to come visit every Saturday and even came from his home 47 minutes from mine on Sundays to go to a small church I attended and worked at with the youth group. During that time we did a lot of talking about our background and faith. Cameron often mentions that during this time of our relationship, I really ran him through the ringer of questions and discussions concerning our personal relationship with Christ, general beliefs, and values. Honestly, I would agree with his account of being a 21st century Spanish Inquisition, but I had waited 28 years and had been on several dates with a wide array of men that after getting to know them I knew were not a good match for me. At first glimpse he didn’t fit the mold of what a “Christian man” looks like from my dreams and expectations … he sure didn’t speak “Christian-ese” or fit the image of the Boaz I was going to marry one day.

We had many discussions about this idea of the “Christian man” and how that can look many different ways. I was battling those ideas that I had in my head and what I was experiencing as a true connection. I even went as far as showing up at his door step fully prepared to end the relationship despite my feelings that this was a genuine, great thing. Ultimately, Cameron proved his heart for the Lord and for me through action and deed.

 

His relentless pursuit of my heart while daily seeking the heart of God was very evident. When I was in the throes of a dark, depressed, and stressful time, Cameron lovingly supported and comforted me. When I drove over a curb, popped all four tires, bent three rims, and ran over a baby tree late one night, Cameron took off work and came over first thing the following morning to serve me by assisting with the repairs. His thoughts are towards me and shows love in my love languages…quality time and physical touch (Although he argues that my love languages are all five!). His heart is filled with compassion for his friends, family, and the clients that he works with, and as we have discovered he is my “like opposite”. His strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa.

We’re only a year and a half into our marriage but Cameron has embraced his role as husband, protector, provider, and leader of our family (just the two of us and our little fur baby, Seren). We are working hard to honor God with our resources, choices, actions, forming healthy family habits, and planning for the future. However, it isn’t as story book as it may read. There are disagreements and hardships. I have said it is like running the 3 legged race of your life, for life! In the words of Cameron though, the sweet is never as sweet without the bitter…I’m sure he took that from a movie, he always quotes something. I know this though…this man was well worth the wait, not only as my first kiss, but also as the man I would marry and do life with, together

 

This guest post was written by Karin Schober and is a part of the series How We Met. Join us for more romantic stories all week long on Messy Mom.com
By |2017-01-05T21:41:27+00:00February 9, 2015|Marriage, Uncategorized|9 Comments
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