Valentine's Day Extravaganza - Ross' Top Ten

My final post with Mama M. for this week. 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Today's theme: Ten things you love about your love!

1. I love the fact that he is my best friend and I am his.
2. I love that he is such a great dad to our daughters.
3. I love that he works so hard to make our house a home. He has put so much time and effort into this house and I truly appreciate everything he's done.
4. I love that he knows just what to do to make me smile or laugh when I'm having a bad day or I'm in a bad mood.
5. I love the feel of his big strong arms wrapped around me tight. He always knows when I just need a hug.
6. I love that he tolerates all of my quirks and annoying things I do.
7. I love that he is forgiving when I make mistakes.
8. I love that he can make me laugh when I feel like crying.
9. I love his smile and laugh.
10. I love that he is such a good provider for our family.

Happy Valentine's Day!! Hope you have enjoyed all of my V-day posts this week. Back to normal tomorrow!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza - Photo Day

Joining Mama M. at My Little Life all this week. For those of you getting tired of all the sappy, lovey dovey stuff, it's almost done!

Today's theme: Photo Day

From our wedding day - June 4th, 2005

Chicago Trip - Summer 2006

My friend Krista's Wedding - October 2006 (12 weeks pregnant with Alexis)

Cardinal's Baseball Game - July 2009 (33 weeks pregnant with Isabel)

Valentine's Day Extravaganza - Special Love Edition Of 5QF

I'm following along with Mama M. all week long on her Valentine's Day Extravaganza. And it's also 5 Question Friday!

Today's theme: A very special 5QF

1. What is the one thing your love does for you that you can't live without?


Well....this is kind of a tough one for me for some reason. I guess I would say that I wouldn't want to live without his love. He knows how to make me feel wanted, special and loved and that would be pretty hard to live without.



2. When did you know your love was "the one"?

About a week or so after we started dating. I just knew he was going to be my man forever. It took 4½ years for us to tie the knot, but I knew from the start he was "the one".



3. Does your love have a special ringtone on your cell?

For years his ringtone used to be Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On". Last time I switched phones, I didn't personalize anyone, too much trouble to move contacts from the sim to phone and then have duplicate entries.



4. What are you attracted to most in your special someone?

It's hard to pick just one thing, but I guess it would have to be how thoughtful and loving he can be.



5. Did you know when/where he/she was going to pop the big question?
 
I had an idea, but I never would have expected it when he did.
 
Check back over this past week and you'll find all of my Valentine's Day Extravaganza stories! HAPPY FRIDAY!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza - Big Blue

Linked up with Mama M. yet again today!

Today's theme: Tell the story of your love's biggest romantic screw up

All right, I'm not really sure what to share on this one. Some of our early dating screw ups are just too personal to tell just anyone.

We were on a bumpy road and hit lots of pot holes in the first few years we dated. I'm thankful for those years, because I firmly believe they made us who we are as individuals and as a couple. I also believe that all the struggles we had then, made the first year of our marriage much easier. I've always heard that the first year is rough, for us it was great! Yes, we had to adjust to living together, but that is the case for anyone that has even just a roommate.


The only really goofy thing happened on our second Christmas together. Ross gave me one gift. Now, that in and of itself isn't a horrible thing. But, take into consideration that we'd only been dating for a little more than a year. And during that time, Ross had proven himself to be a great gift giver multiple times.

My one gift was a winter coat.....................Ugh! A big, blue, puffy, ugly coat. I didn't need or want a winter coat, especially as a gift from my boyfriend. HELLO???  Had you learned nothing about women over the last year we've been together? But, apparently, he thought the coat I had was a little lacking in the warmth department, so he decided to get me one he thought was more appropriate. In hindsight, it really did reveal his caring and thoughtful personality, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time!

Now girls, I'm in no way a fashion diva, but this coat was just plain booorrrrrrrrring. I had a nice black leather coat that my parents had given me a few years back and I was quite content with it, and had no need for a different coat.

So, yes, Ross tanked that year in the gift giving department. He had made up for it in years since though. He's a very thoughtful and creative gift giver!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza - Wedding Memories

I'm playing along with Mama M. on her Valentine's Day Extravaganza this week.

Today's theme is: What is your favorite memory of your wedding day? 
 

There are entirely too many to pick just one!  So, I'm going to share several with you.

First off, I should tell you that I was probably one of the most laid back brides ever. I didn't get worked up about much of anything. 

I didn't even get all that upset when it was discovered that my bridal gown was no longer available and I had to pick another one about 3 weeks before the wedding. (I ended up falling in the love with the new one, I liked it way better than the first one I chose!)

 

Wedding day dawns beautiful and rather warm. It was June 4th, 2005 and we hadn't had a really warm day yet that year. Until that day, I think it decided to get to about 90°. Thanks a lot, just what I want, sweating like a pig in a huge gown and melting makeup. So everything is still cool until about 4 hours before the wedding, and I sort of have a little melt down.

We got married at a church in St. James. We were going to do a few outside pictures at Maramec Spring Park before the wedding. Hair and makeup was done 1 hour and 15 minutes away in Park Hills. I know, why so far away? Well, I had worked at this shop as a receptionist and I knew all the girls and they had an awesome Merle Norman makeup lady there and that's just where I wanted to do it.

As you all know, girls and hair and makeup doesn't always stay on schedule, so it was looking like we would be late to my own wedding and I still had to dress once I got to the church. I called the photographer and canceled pictures at the Springs. 1.} because I thought it would make the wedding late and 2.} because it was hot and I didn't want to start sweating that profusely until I was shakin' my boo-tay on the dance floor.

I was still kind of flipping out about being late, my wonderful sister/matron of honor reminded me that they can't start without me and it would be okay. 

 

We get to the church and flurry around getting dressed. (We also wanted to do pictures before the wedding.) I'm finally starting to calm down, but I'm still a little on edge. I swiped a swig of the Crown Royal that Ross had filled his groomsman's flask with. And I stepped outside to have a last cig before the ceremony was getting ready to start. Yes, I used to smoke and I thoroughly enjoyed. But, I gave it up for my health and my kid's sake.

It was windy as all heck out there. I wasn't worried about my hair because it had at least a half of can of hairspray on it. So, I'm puffing away and all of sudden, the wind whips my veil around right onto the cherry of my cig, burning a hole into it. Yikes! I get all worked up again, but thanks to Sue, my awesome wedding planner, we fixed it with some clear nail polish and it wasn't even noticeable. 

Now, let's move on to the ceremony. Ross and I are standing on stage, gazing lovingly into each others eyes while one of the wedding songs is being played and there are some technical difficulties with the sound. Still not sure what happened but it sounded awful. So, I gave the cut it signal across my neck and we move on. 

Okay, now we're getting to the good stuff! I told you I had too many to pick just one! Sorry if I'm boring you, but I'm having a blast thinking about all these memories.

 

I wasn't exactly at my goal weight when I got married, so I was wearing some tummy controlling granny panties under my gown, and had plans to put on the sexy ones before Ross and I got to our hotel. It was hot...and I was sweating. I don't know about you brides out there, but I had to have a little assistance from my bridesmaid when I used the potty. First time in there, they had to help me pry my sweaty, granny panties back onto my caboose. Second time in the bathroom, I said....*cover your ears, bad word I usually don't say coming up*, screw it, and threw them in the trash can and went commando the rest of the reception!

 

Fast forward past lots of dancing and a lots beers later...it's time to head to the hotel 2 miles down the road from the reception hall. Ross and I had the truck. Now, anytime we've gone out in the past, Ross is always the one to keep it together and he drives us. He informs me that he is drunk and can't drive. Huh? What's that all about? I've known you for 4½ years and this is the second time I've seen you actually get drunk. So, while I wasn't in the best of shape, a bunch of us were driving back to the hotel at the same time, so I knew I could make it. I'm sure it was a pretty funny sight to see me hauling it into the truck in my wedding gown.

We get back to the hotel and Ross, my charming, wonderful new husband decides that he can't wait to get up to our room to relieve his bladder. He goes behind the truck and takes care of business. Didn't think a thing about it until the next morning when the wedding party and a bunch of my family meets for breakfast. Sue, my wedding planner, is telling us that she saw this guy in the parking lot last night messing with his crouch and then she realizes he's peeing in the parking lot. And then she realizes it's Ross peeing in the parking lot! Yes, thank you, I know that my hubby is slightly red neck sometimes, but I love him to pieces!

Well, that wraps it up, those are some of my favorite memories from my wedding day. Hope you enjoyed!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza - He FINALLY Asked

Once again, I'm linking up with Mama M. over at My Little Life. 

Today's theme is: Engagement stories

Oh what a special, wonderful day this was!


Our dating years weren't exactly the best years of our lives. We started dating in December 2000 and before our engagement, we had broken up 4 different times and had already had one brief engagement that we broke off. Neither one of us were ready for marriage that first time around.


But, things had been good between us for quite a while and we had tossed around the idea of marriage again. We both knew we wanted to spend our lives together, just hadn't figured out the timing yet. In February of 2004 we decided we were going to ring shop so that he would have an idea of what I liked when the time came.


We found the perfect ring for me at Helzberg Diamonds 

 

 My ring is in yellow gold. (This was the only picture I could find.)

I didn't know it at the time, but Ross actually purchased the ring that day. The sales people kept me busy looking at stuff while they were taking care of the transaction and he had the ring in his pocket and went back later for the boxes and paperwork. 

I actually had suspicions that he had purchased that day, because they slipped up on some of the paperwork they sent home with us to look over. There was a brochure about diamonds and selecting the right one based on the 4 C's, an engagement guide for guys and some other things. There was a card that had all the information about the ring we had been looking at. It had a purchase date listed on it and the first inspection due date 6 months from that day. I asked Ross what that was all about and he shrugged it off and said that it was just a sample they gave him of what it would look like. Yeah, uh huh, nice save babe!

My birthday is on March 30th and I kind of thought maybe he was going to propose to me that night at dinner. *Long pause for dramatic effect*. No proposal at my birthday dinner. I was pretty disappointed but tried not to let it show. 

My birthday was on a Tuesday that year. On Friday April 2nd, we were leaving with my parents and some of my siblings and going to Kentucky Lake for the weekend. Ross arrived at my house early that morning and we were still packing up. He went to St. Louis Bread Co. to get some bagels, a mocha for himself and a hot chocolate for me.

  When he got back, I was in my room putting stuff in my suitcase. My back was to the door when he walked in. I told him to just put my hot chocolate on my dresser behind me. He didn't respond or say anything, so I just thought he was sitting in the chair by my dresser waiting for me. I turned to get something...

....and he was on one knee holding the ring up with a big cheesy grin on his face. I let out a big squeal, followed by tears of joy as I blubbered how much I loved him and was clinging to his neck like there was no tomorrow. I think at some point in all the hub-ub he said something along the lines of, "Will you?" Of course my answer was "YES!"  

My family was as surprised as I was that he had done it at such a strange time, but leave it to Ross to do it his own way, in his own timing. That's one of the reasons I love him so much! I was so excited that I made my family wait to leave, so that I could run over to Sam's Club and show my best friend my ring!

I absolutely love my ring and I get so many compliments on it still! It is quite sparkly. Here is the band that we got to go with it:

 

Our wedding date was set for June 4th, 2005.

 

Valentine's Day Extravaganza - Date Stories

I'm following along with Mama M. all this week on her Valentine's Day Extravaganza.

Today's theme is: Your favorite date story (good or bad!).

I'm a little ashamed to admit, but I had to ask for hubby's help on this one. We didn't do a lot of different things on our dates like a lot of couples do. We were pretty boring, out to dinner, go to a movie or rent some movies to take home. I know...boring, but it worked for us!

But, he reminded me of one of our more special dates. We had been dating for a few months (2001) and Ross picked me up and told me we were taking a drive and going someplace special.


We drove for a while and then a while longer still. We finally reached our destination. Elephant Rocks State Park. This is one of my favorite places of all times! Here is a picture of me as a child at Elephant Rocks:

 

We used to go to Elephant Rocks at least once a year when I was a kid, so I love it there.

Well, that day, Ross packed up a picnic lunch and we had a great day. Strolling hand in hand along the paths. Stealing kisses when no one was looking our way. Climbing up the rocks and looking at the breath taking views of the valley below.

We were very much in young love at the time, so it will always be a good memory. I don't think we've been back to Elephant Rocks since that trip, but I'm thinking that this summer or fall, we should go back there. It's a really beautiful place in the fall. The view from the top is amazing when all the colors are turning.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from our special date there. And I don't have any of our older pictures to share this week either. I have no scanner and I was still a film girl for our dating years. Didn't go digital until we got married.

I don't think we really ever had a bad date so to speak, unless we had an argument of some kind. (We had a lot of those in the early days ;)

I do have a bad date story from before I met Ross though. I was on a first date with a guy named Nathan. One of my friends had talked me into going out with him, against my better judgment. The date went okay, he was a big dork though.

Trouble started when the date was over. We had met at a gas station and I got into his car with him. So, when he dropped me off at my car, he took off before I even got in my car. Very un-gentleman like if you ask me. Wouldn't have been so bad....but the car didn't start. Needless to say, he did not get a second date.

Okay, one more goofy date story before I go.

This time, it was a guy I worked with, who had been asking me out for quite a while. I totally didn't like him in that way at all, but just to get him to leave me alone, I agreed to a date.

I was 18 at the time and Peter was probably 20. He did not have a drivers license, his mother took him where he needed to go. (Not knocking that he lived at home with momma, but he could have had a license at least.) So, I had to drive on our date. He wanted to take me out to eat in St. Louis. (I was living in Farmington at the time.)

We headed up to the city and went to a Ruby Tuesday's (I think??) at South County Mall. We get there and he tells me that I have to wait outside. He disappears inside and finally comes back out and says our table is ready.

He leads me into the restaurant and our table has candlesticks and rose petals scattered all over it. {*So embarrassing* First date mind you.} So before we even get a chance to order he pulls out this little black box. It's a beautiful gold cross necklace and he asks me if I would like to be in a serious relationship? WHOA, what just happened?? Are you kidding me?

That was the most awkward drive I've ever made from St. Louis to Farmington (and I've made lots of trips between those two places). As politely as I could, I told him I couldn't accept the gift and that I wasn't interested in being in a serious relationship with him. It was weeks before he would even look at me at work. Oh well, not too long after that debacle, I met my love!! And we all know how that story ends!

 

 

 

Valentine's Day Extravaganza - How I Met My Love

I've decided to follow along with Mama M. at My Little Life this week with her Valentine's Day Extravaganza. I'm not usually that big into Valentine's Day. (I used to be when Ross and I first started dating.) But, I thought this would be a fun thing to do this week and would make for some good stories. I've been feeling a little blank in the brain for blog posts anyway!

Today's theme is: The story of how you met the love of your life.

Well, hop aboard my time machine (well, we probably don't need a time machine) and travel back with me to November 2000. I was 19.

I had gone out on a date with one of my customers (Donnie) from the bank. (I was a teller at New Era Bank in Farmington.) We had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. I was kind of disappointed too because he was cute and seemed really nice. I found out a few years later that when he called and asked for Jessica, they just assumed he meant me, because I was the outgoing one. But he was really wanting to go on a date with the other Jessica. Whoops! The other Jessica and I both worked the drive-thru windows. But I was the one that was always joking with and talking to my customers. The other Jessica was a lot more quiet and shy. 

Anyway, back to the real story. It was fate that the mistake had been made. While Donnie and I had no romantic chemistry, we did become good friends. A few weeks after our date, he invited me to a small party at his house. And who did I meet? The man of my dreams!

Ross and Donnie were best friends. I was instantly drawn to Ross. Donnie and I were kind of still dating I suppose, but not anything serious. So, I spent a lot of time talking to Ross that night. I remember one of the things that stood out the most on that first night, was the sound of his voice. I could have listened to him talk for hours. He just had one of those smooth, deep voices that is pleasant to listen to. I also fell in love with his smile. And he's tall! (6'4" then, now he's grown another inch and is 6'5") That was always one of the things that I thought would be a requirement. Or at least I would really like it if my guy was tall.

The night went on and Ross and I played pool together and got to know each other some more. Ross' college roommate (Matt) was there and he got a little drunk. They had some Bob-A-Rino's pizza that night and it's New York Style as far as size goes. It was a supreme pizza and had all kinds of onions, peppers and all that nasty junk on it. I remember Matt pouring Vodka all over a slice of it and then eating it. *Gag* Ross being the good guy that he is, drove his roommate home and deposited him in the bathtub for the rest of the night.

For some reason I had insisted that Ross call Donnie's when he got back to his dorm room. It was only a 10 minute drive, but I've always been a mother hen. So, he called and we talked on the phone for a long time and then he decided to come back to the party. We had a great night getting to know each other.

That next week or so, I got a strange phone call from Donnie saying that he was leaving town for awhile and not to try and contact him. "Okay, that's super weird." Me being the super nosy person that I am, wasn't just going to let it go, because we were technically still dating and I wanted to know if it was okay to move on to Ross. So, I decided I was going to track Ross down. I knew he lived in the dorms at MAC (Mineral Area College) so I headed over there to see if I could find his car and I was either going to start knocking on doors 'til I found him or leave a note on his car. He happened to be pulling out as I was pulling in and I managed to flag him down.

I thought since he was Donnie's best friend he would know what was going on with Donnie. He didn't really know what was going on either, or at least he didn't share it with me at the time. Anyway, I was putting a bug in Ross' ear to get him to have Donnie call me. Ross was headed out when I had flagged him down, but he promised to call me later and let me know if he'd heard anything.

So began the week we spent numerous hours getting to know each other better. I worked evenings at a beauty salon that was just minutes from Ross' dorm, so he would come visit me at work and then I would go hang out with him when I got off work. I realized pretty quick that he was the guy for me. We had to get a hold of Donnie, just out of courtesy to let him know we wanted to start dating. Finally after a week, Ross finally talked to Donnie and got the green light to go ahead and started dating me. Donnie was happy for us so nothing was weird between the two of them at all. 

On Saturday December 2nd, 2000 we had our first "official" date. It was my work Christmas party that night and he met me after wards and we went to the Elks with some of my co-workers. That is the day that we consider to be our anniversary.

 That is the story of how I met Ross and how we started dating. 

More lovey dovey stuff to come this week!