So, Recently..

These past couple weeks have been a bit crazy around here!

I have made the decision to joing the Army, and I will be returning home in March!!! I will miss my friends and family here so much, but I need to do this for me. To get myself going on my own path. All I ask from y'all is that my decision is supported and respected. I don't have to explain my reasonings, just know that they are strictly noble and I love each and every one of yall for being absolutely amazing.

Jacob is worried, and he has every right to be. But he knows that I am SO proud of how strong he is. This isn't easy for him, he tells me he's okay with it, but this is so hard for him. I am so blessed to be marrying a man who is so supportive and loves me more than life itself. I will be home with him. That's been our goal for so so long, and I can't believe this is happening! We have gone through so many things that would break couples up, but it's only made us stronger.If the Army clears me, Jacob and I will be getting married before I head off to Basic. It's a huge step for us, but we are ready.Despite what others think reguarding us, this is for us and we are thrilled! If I am not able to join the Army, then our wedding plans will stay the same and he and I will enjoy every day together(:
To be honest, Basic Training scares me. But I'm excited to see how much I will grow as a person.I would like to stay in the military as long as I can. I mean, come on, Tricare ain't anything to sneeze at (; As long as Jacob and I are taken care of, I don't care. I'd love to make sure our future kids are taken care of too! It's gonna be a wild ride, but we can take it!(:

I love you baby, everything will be okay.

Love you guys

Sometimes, the Backseat Driver Needs To Shut Up.

You know the stereotype. Husband in the driver seat, wife in the passenger, driving down the road. Husband is searching for the destination while the wife is whispering alternate routes under her breath loud enough for him to hear.

Yeah. We know.

And tonight, I found myself doing that to Jacob.

I couldn't believe it.

Jacob and I have a type of teamwork that is virtually flawless 99.8% of the time. Except when I get worried about something and I push him. And for that baby, I am so truly sorry. When I worry, I get pushy with things that probably don't need to be pushed, and sometimes it's exactly what needs to happen and it works out. But it's true. The Backseat Driver really does need to shut up. Jacob knows what he is doing a lot of the time, and I know this. It's just the controlling woman chromosome that kicks in and I have this overwhelming need to make sure it gets done so I push him. And I really need to just step back, take a deep breath, and let him drive. He knows what he is doing. And I love that he knows what he's doing. So why can't I just chill?

Oh, yeah, I'm a girl. And a very chilled out, laid back one at that. But sometimes I get that nervous twitch and my sweet man knows that A)He needs to just ignore it or B) Listen very closely cause I'm trying to help him out. He's normally really good at which one to do. I don't have loaded questions or phrases like a lot of my other female counterparts do, so that is not the problem. The problem is my overly bossy streak that shows up uninvited sometimes. He is amazing for being able to take whatever comes his way advice wise or anything else and interperate into what he needs for that moment in time. Sometimes he needs to be pushed. Sometimes I do, or you do, or even the Cat in the Hat does. He is human and so am I. I hate backseat driving, yet sometimes its so easy to slide into that and it frustrates me becasue he doesn't need it a lot.

Sometimes, I really really really need to just shut up, and let him do his thing. He WILL get it done. In his own time, and not everything is on Paige Time.

I love you, sweetheart. I'm sorry for backseat driving tonight and being pushy.

I am an EXTREMELY happy girl to have someone who will grab my hand and hold it, even if we get lost casue we didn't ask for directions, and wherever we end up, we are happy and have a new appreciation of back roads and middle of nowhere. Especially when you have the man who drives the Getaway Car<3

Thank you for this amazing crazy adventure we are on, I wouldn't want it any other way<3

What can we say? We fell into mutual weirdness and we call it love.

Angels and Cowgirls

So, you know the saying, 'Angels among us'? Well, I used to not believe in them.

At all.

 

 

 

But sometimes, certain people are placed into our life that we never knew we needed until they were already there. Jacob is DEFINATELY an angel. He has earned his wings in Heaven.<3 Sorry sweetheart, this post isn't about you or us this time. This time it's about my other OTHER half. My UJT.

 

So, let me take you back roughly six years ago. It was an August day, I was literally on my first few days in a brand new school where I didn't know anybody. I was roughing out another day, beginning of my sophomore year, and I had band class. Oh, yeah. It was my birthday. Johnson had us doing outside rehersal in the Alabama summer heat, and out of nowhere this girl came up to me and said hi and introduced herself as Amber. She had no idea how much she had made my day. Just by saying hi. You know how you start talking to someone and it has that easy feeling about it? Like, you could talk for hours and look up and hours had flown by instead of minutes? Yeah, that was us. From that day on. We clicked! We were inseperable! She introduced me to some amazing people, and through different interests and other things, the other people and I have lost touch except for the occasional 'like' on Facebook, but not us. No, Sophomore year was one of the best I have ever had and it was allll thanks to Miss Amber Ruth(: We braved after school practices together, making fun of the random goings on in the band room while lounging on the floor or in the same chair, playing Extreme Red Rover..(; Competitions, classes, you name it.

 

This was also the first year I had gone to Disney in Florida and oh man. Did we have fun!! Rocking Roller Coaster was terrifying, but she was brave and the first go round she pulled us to the middle car and we LOVED it. So much, we went again and again and again. All at once. Somehow we got it into our pretty little heads that we were brave enough to sit in the very front row. Just us. She grabbed my hand in a death grip and for one silly moment I was absolutely convinced we were gonna die in that split second and hell, I grabbed hers just as tightly and boy did we scream our heads off!! It was absolutely hands down one of my favorite memories ever. I loved every second.

 

Junior year and Senior year came up quickly. She was a year behind me, but most wouldn't think so! We had so so so many more memories we filled in tose two years with. Prom dress shopping, boyfriends, sleepovers, band camp morning warmup rehersals where we couldn't work out we were laughing too hard(: Remember that? We tried to see how far away we could be from each other in the huge circle without laughing our heads off and it didn't work at all! We had laughing fits till we cried, taco bell runs before games, conversations about everything and anything for hours and hours on end, cried on each others shoulders, and endless hugs, everything and more. I wish I could dump all the memories into this blog, but it would be a thousand posts long.

 

I have had my future planned out with this girl since tenth grade. That's six years. Six amazingly wonderful years with the most incredible angel out there. I believe that there is someone out there for everyone. Their soulmate. Well, I have two. I know that may sound weird to anyone who doesn't understand, but there is literally no other way to put it. Amber has become a part of me. She and Jacob are the two people in my life I absolutely could not live without. I'm being dead serious. She is so much more than my best friend. It doesn't even scratch the surface. She is my sister. She is my lifeline, she is my lighthouse. Without her..I just wouldn't be able to function fully as a person. We have this plan, she and I. Our husbands are going to be best friends -Honey, you get along with everyone, so you have to best friends with Ambers future hubby, k?- and we will live super close to each other, and we are going to raise our kids together. That last one is going to happen for sure. I wouldn't be able to make it a single second throughout any pregnancy I have without her. She will be Godmother to our children, and will be a huge part of their lives. Just like I will be in hers. No other  person has ever made a bigger impact on my life than Jacob and Amber. I would gladly give my life, everything I have to you two no questions asked. She and I share a bond, a telepathy if you will, that no one gets but us. It can never be broken. One can't live without the other? Well, yeah. She is an angel in my life that will always fly with me, and I will be the one in the cowgirl boots right beside her through thick and thin. My life could never be totally complete without  her. She is the best sister, best friend, best role model, best everything that I have and ever will have. It's been much too long since I could wrap my arms around you, but Jacob and I will wait for you. I can't get married without my other other half right there with me. Un-Joined Twins. Forever. I love you My UJT, This one is for you<3

He Is The Best Thing That's Ever Been Mine

Taylor Swift really does have a way with words. Some of her songs are simply magical and creepily right on target with how I'm feeling. Kudos, Taylor.

But this one, this one is about Jacob. (:

My first interaction with this guy was by sheer coinocidence. Go figure. I had no idea when I turned around and saw him he was the love of my life. Nope. Not even a little bit.

But, I do have a confession..

I fell in love with his voice before I ever met him. The rest of him was just the icing on the cake.(:

He was crazy tall, like, gotta look up to the clouds kinda tall. Well, I am only five foot after all. Sheesh.

But anyways!

Like Jacob mentioned in his previous post, he was talking about little moments that stood out in his mind. Well, I have one in particular.

My first one was actually our first date. Remember, Jacob?

He had called me up a week before, and I was headed home with my friend Charissa. I answered the phone, grinning like a loon cause just seeing his name got me all girly and happy, and he announced that we have not had our first dat yet: We kinda had a couple times, but, ya know, those didn't count apparently(; and that he would like to take me out the following Saturday, if I was free of course. I pretended to check my busy, empty calendar and yup! I was free alright! So then came down to the Where? Well, you should never ask me that because I will always be up for anything and everything, as he has come to find out and I am horribly indescicive. So, he suggested the zoo and I got so stinkin excited! I mean, the most amazing guy ever had tapped into my inner childhood and knew exactly the perfect date for us and then a promise of a nice dinner afterwards. Y'all. Seriously. Could he GET any more perfect?! So, after I got off the phone I started squealing all happy and Charissa made me tell her everything and I was one very excited girl!!
So, of course I stressed all week about the perfect thing to wear, knowing he didn't care about all that, but I did of course. Saturday really sped up. It's like it knocked all the other days that ended in Y out of the way and by God he was gonna have his turn!

It takes me like, 15 minutes to get ready. Uh Uh. Not this day.

He came around to pick me up at noon, and I didn't come walking out until about noon thirty. God bless that man for not bolting, then! He gave me his usual spinny hug that I love so much, and we were off! Got to the zoo, and wouldn't you know it. The first warm day and all of Mnotgomery was there! Not a spot anywhere! So, I wasn't too disappointed and I suggested a movie because It would allow me to be close to him. He, on the other hand was VERY disappointed. I loved him a little bit more right then, because he wanted it to be perfect and it didn't turn out like his plan, it didn't matter to me. It showed me how much he cared to actually want it to be perfect. So off to the Rave we went. We ran into my best friend Amber and chit chatted for a few, and we ended up seeing Big Momma's Like Father Like Son. It wasn't the funniest, but I got to snuggle up so that was okay(:

We went to Outback and had a lovely dinner, we ended up sitting there for about three hours just talking each others ears off and we were totally happy doing it! The waiter really wanted the table, and we didn't move. Eventually we had to, and Jacob was still hungry!! I was shocked! We went to Walmart, cause, you know, that's where all small town kids go. I was so dang sleepy and we just wandered and I got a taste of wht he liked and vice versa, and he got me my first Pillow Pet. I was so touched because I had always wanted one and he just picked one up and handed it to me and we kept walking(: It's still one of my very favorite things. He dropped me off and he met my step-mom, and I was pleased. It had been the most perfect night ever. I knew that after that night, not a ton of stuff could ever top the way I was absolutely floating on cloud nine that night and how in that one night I was absolutely certain that this man was gonna be the man I married. I never told him that. I had decided that night that I was gonna marry that boy someday, and look at us now. two years strong and getting married(: Funny what one perfect night can do, huh? He made it absolutely perfect. I didn't care that the animals didn't see us, I didn't care that the movie wasn't that funny. What I cared about, I could never put into words and he is that best hting that's ever been mine. I love you<3

Valentine's Day

Having a bit of a rough night tonight. My brother had his girlfriend over all day today and she kept talking about Valentine's Day, and it got my mind going on overload. Being far away from my hubby is tough, especially when this time of year comes around. And when I'm on my period too. Unfortunately, it's my kind of night. Been a crying wreck today and I hate it. But, I know that it will be worth it in a few months. He certainly has a way of making me smile even when I'm upset. I guess I get jealous of all the other people who have their person. I have the love of my life, yet I can't have him in my arms on the one day of the year the candy companies want me to be.

Wow. How pathetic do I sound right now?

Sorry.


Really.


I'm so incredibly lucky to have the most amazing man in the world and I get to talk to him every single day. Best part of my day, actually(: So, I will be fine. Just wanted to say that little bit. We will mske Valentines Day amazing this year, just gotta come up with a plan. (:

I love you so much baby, happy almost Valentine's Day and TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY! <3 Best two years of my life<3

Never Gonna Give You Up

A dear friend of ours texted me last night. Her husband just deployed this past week, and she was getting worried. I felt helpless in my efforts to calm her fears. Because as confident as I was that he was totally fine, I couldn't promise her that. I know a lot of wives of soldiers have a lot of the same fears. I have had similar trials, but, not with my husband. With my daddy. My whole childhood growing up, I always knew the military. That's how my parents met. My mom had just gotten her wisdom teeth removed and my daddy came to see her..noticing similarities, eh? I didn't pick up on this at all until a couple days ago when my mom was telling me about it.

As a little girl, I wished on stars. I still do. And every night, I would go to my window and look up at the sky. Even if there were clouds, I knew that they were all up there somewhere, so I wished anyway. It used to be for a new dolly, or a puppy, and as I got a little older and more aware, I always used to miss my dad. He and my mom split up when I was 5 or so. He was still in the military, and as I came to realize later on in life, he submerged himself into work to fight the depression he had been struggling with for so long. He was often deployed, and every night, I wished for my daddy to come home. He was only able to call a couple times a month, and when he wasn't deployed he was always "in the field." I had no idea what the 'field' was, all I knew was that I hated it because it kept him from me. After every deployment, before he ever dropped off his bags or went to see his parents, he came to my two brother and I. Jumped from one flight to the next. I didn't realize what it meant, all I knew was that I got to hug my daddy and that he was in his uniform that I thought he looked so tall in.

It wasn't until his retirement ceremony that It hit me, everything that he had done. All the places he had been, all the people he met, the things he did for all of us. There was a year of my life I had nightmares every single night of my daddy getting killed by 'the bad man' I had seen on T.V. right after 9/11.

When I first met Jacob, he was days away from swearing into the Army. He went through MEPS and was told he was not able to join. I was so proud of him anyway, even thought the disappointment was more for him than he ever let onto me. I guess I always tried to stay away from the military because I resented it for keeping my dad from me, which is a silly reason. As we ll as fear, I guess. But now I'm revisiting the idea again and I'm not afraid. I just don't want to be gone away from my love. That is my biggest hang up with it.
But, if I am able to get in, Jacob and I will get married before I ever leave for basic and he will hold down the fort for me while I'm gone, and be taken care of in every way possible. Which is very important to me.

None of us know what the future will hold, because the course of life can change in an instant. But what I do know, is that I will be a teacher, and I am marrying Jacob. We will live wherever we are led to, but I would love to live in his town, teach in the schools he went to, and that our children will go to, and just engrain myself in his world and never leave. I am a traveler at heart, but now it's not just me. It's Jacob and I as a team. I want to share my love of new places with Jacob and eventually with our children.

I wasn't able to make myself feel better with soothing Kathy's fears, but I was reminded that I am incredibly blessed to have gone through what I have as far as the military child goes. I understood her fears. And it makes me want to hold Jacob a bit tighter knowing he wants to go into a dangerous career field. But no matter what, I will have him in my arms for as many nights as I can and I will have this incredible man as my husband until the world stops. So I'll just take this day by day and be grateful for everything I have and everyone I love and hold them all a bit closer to my heart.

I love you<3

What can I say? We are two people who fell into mutual weirdness and we call it love.

A Drop In The Ocean

I happen to love this song by Ron Pope. Actually, I love a lot of songs. Jacob and I tend to be surprised when we realize how many songs we have that apply to our relationship! (: Well, at least we will have an amazing wedding playlist! I recommend songs for him to listen to all the time, although, I think between the two of, we tend to forget to go back and look! So, as a nice little side trip for y'all, I will do my best to put up our playlist on here. If I forget some, The Loving Male will certainly fill in my blanks!
 Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not
You and Me
I Run To You
I Just Call You Mine
When You Say Nothing At All
She's Everything
Waitin' On A Woman
.Old Alabama
.Little Moments
.He Didn't Have To Be
Barefoot Blue Jean Night
A Thousand Years pt. 2
Wonderful Tonight
Marry Me
Ours
Mine
Safe and Sound
Woman Like You
I'll Wait For You
Don't Take The Girl
I Need You
Good Directions
Crazy Girl
Honeybee
God Gave Me You
Who Are You When I'm Not Looking
Kissed You Goodnight
If I Didn't Have You
All Your Life
Everything I Do, I Do It For You

Certainly not all the songs by any stretch of the imagination, but I hope y'all enjoy these!

Baby, I love you <3

What can I say? We are two people who fell into mutual weirdness and we call it love<3

I Would Walk Five Thousand Miles For You

So, as most of you know, we are battling one of the toughest challenges a couple and relationship could go through: Long Distance.

It sucks.

Like, a lot.

But, it has taught us some important stuff!

For example, according to many relationship and marriage experts, communication is the key to a long happy  relationship. Well, we have had PLENTY of time to brush up on our communication skills. In fact, we have it down to a science. We are quite good at it in fact.

Another key note is Trust. Yup. We are Roughly 3000 miles away from each other. So trust is a big thing. He has never given me a reason to not trust him. Ever. Most of the time he is really good about checking in when he gets home so I know hes not laying dead in a ditch somewhere. We are very open and honest with each other. If something bothers me, he's usually really really good at picking up on it, especially if it's something he did that bothered me, and we talk about it! Other times it's the other way around. Sometimes we argue, fight, but it doesn't change a single thing(: We just find something funny that cracks us both up and we are right on track again. That's what happens when you have a strong relationship, fights don't ruin it, nothing does. If anything, the arguments make you stronger because you can't always  agree!


I miss him more than he could ever imagine. But, 2012 was a banner year for us! I got to go back home to Alabama to celebrate his father getting married on the beach of Gulf Shores, 5 amazing days with my man. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and he was so incredibly handsome standing next to his dad. It gave me an image of what he will look like when we get married in a couple of years(:
Anddddd, he got to come out to Tacoma for Thanksgiving! Hands down the best Thanksgiving of my life. We had a bit of a time finding each other in the airport! He saw me before I saw him, but when I did, I didn't care that we were surrounded by hundreds of people, I jumped into his arms and gave him a big ol' kiss in front of God and everybody! Yup! Great movie moment right there, and I loved every second of it(:

I will be back home to Alabama sometime in Spring/Summer, just in time to welcome our brother -not blood- home from his forever long deployment in Afghanistan, and and for Jacob's big 21!! Can't wait to get his party together!! He is one lucky man, he will get a party every year because, I LOVE birthdays. ESPECIALLY for my Hubby, cause without him, I don't know what I would do!! He deserves it<3

It's really hard for me to not walk out the door and pull a Forrest Gump and just run. Run all 2, 700 something miles to his front door and never leave. But, alas, grown ups have grown up responsibilities and so I have to my Jimminy Cricket duct taped up and thrown in the back of my irresponsibility drawer and shut it.

I love you sweetheart.

What can I say? We fell into mutual weirdness and we call it love.

Little Things

Sometimes, it's the really the little things that count the most. Jacob is notorious for doing the little things that mean the most to me. For example, if I'm having a particularly horrible day because of work, or other things going on in my life, he has a way of slipping in a sweet word or a happy thought that seems to take my mind off of whatever it was that was bothering me. (: He doesn't know it, but I live for little moments like that. Sometimes it takes a little persuasion to get him to turn to his softer side, but I love every second I get it. He really is the kind of guy every girl desreves. You simply cannot go into a relationship and expect to change everything the person is to your vision of who he should be in your eyes. If so, then what reason did you ever have to enter into the relationship to begin with? You should fall in love with someone who has flaws, who isnt the perfect fairy tale prince that Disney gives to the girls. Look at him like your own Prince. The kind of Prince who doesn't want to hide you away from the rest of the world, who would rather show you off to his friends, and amazingly, his friends become some of your closest. One who plans a future with you, who makes silly noises juat to make you laugh,who can pick up the thread of a conversation and run a completely different direction with it and turn it into the best conversation of your life. Jacob has his own special way about him, one that I cherish more than anything else in this world. He and I can go absolutely anywhere and turn it into a spontanious date, especially just a run down to Walmart to get a pizza Lunchable, just because I mentioned I wanted it.When we first started dating,  he drove 45 minutes just to pick me up and go to Walmart and we ended up like two little kids in a candy store. Running up and down aisles, looking at all the movies and video games and picking which ones we would put in an ultimate movie collection, pushing all the buttons in the toy aisle and running away whem it actually worked, picking out Lunchables so I wouldn't starve at work, and he got me a Pillow Pet. We got back to my house and I knew he wanted to kiss me..and I was trying to play it off like I didnt know! I was so nervous because of all the feelings I had for him and we had been together for a month already and I hadn't kissed him yet!!

Ladies, if a man is willing to wait A WHOLE MONTH to kiss you because you just weren't ready, marry him <3

It was the most perfect kiss that ever existed. And that's all I will say.

It's the little things he does that mean the most. I don't need diamonds or huge trips to Paris -There's an idea!- I just need him. Being exactly who he is. I'm so proud of the man he is right this second, and who he will grow to be tomorrow.

So ladies, just let him do the little things in his own way. Let him be romantic in his own way, and most importantly, love him for exactly who he is, flaws and all. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is love. It takes hard work, trust, laughter and tears. It takes strength to handle all the bad and knowing pure joy to appreciate the good. He is my Happily Ever After. No matter what hardships and storms we face together, it can't rain forever. Eventually the sun comes out and our little corner of the world is at peace once again(: Isn't it lucky?

What can I say? We are two people in mutual weirdness and we call it love