Boy gives a gift

Boy proposes to Girl.
Girl says yes.
Boy gets leave.
Girl goes to visit.
Boy takes Girl to Tiffany's.
Boy buys Girl a bracelet.
Girl says goodbye.
Boy goes to war.
Girl plans a wedding.
Boy sends a gift.

Christmas time.
The most wonderful time of the year.
Usually my most favorite time of the year.
I love the shopping and lights. The songs and the decorations.
But this year has been very different.
Having J gone has been really difficult.
I haven't been happy and full of cheer... but actually kind of sad and down.
It's hard missing our first Christmas together.

J mentioned that a Christmas gift would be arriving for me.
And it sure did.
From New Jersey.
I wasn't really sure how that happened or what to expect.
But I eagerly ripped into the shipping box and this was staring back at me:




I instantly knew what it was. I've become familiar with Tiffany & Co.



I slowly opened the little blue box and found a little blue pouch :)



And inside the little blue pouch...



Once again, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Not only had he not forgotten me on Christmas but he picked out an amazing gift that I was totally not expecting. I am constantly amazed at how he listens to the things I say and takes them to heart. Somehow, all the way from Kuwait, he managed to remember something that I had pointed out in the store months ago. Then he managed to have it sent to me... IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!

Complete with the little blue box... and red holiday bow :)

And if I wasn't lucky enough... I found this note:



March cannot come soon enough! Only two and a half months until I marry my very best friend. The man who loves me more than I ever thought someone could.

Boy uses webcam

Boy meets Girl.
Boy and Girl become friends.
Boy falls in love with Girl.
Girl falls in love with Boy.
Boy proposes to Girl.
Girl says yes.
Boy goes to war.
Girl misses Boy.
Boy misses Girl.

I knew it would be hard.
I knew I would miss him.

But the thing is... J is not just my fiance. He is my very best friend.
For quite a while, we've been inseparable. We've spent every spare minute together, and even worked together. We've been together from the time we got up in the morning, until going home at night. Going from that, to not seeing each other for several months, and having limited contact... needless to say it is incredibly difficult.

I know that communication in the Army is limited when they are overseas. I get that. But I have been blessed with an amazing guy, who truly loves me. I have heard from many of the girls whose husbands, boyfriends and fiance's are overseas as well (or who have been in the past). I hear over and over how little they hear from their significant others. So when J got to the middle east, I was pleasantly suprised when I got a phone call right away. And then another. And another. And another.

I have continued to get phone calls, and emails throughout the time that J has been gone. Sometimes that means that he has to get dressed in his full fatigues, walk for quite a ways, wait in line, and call me from a phone there on the base. Sometimes it means balancing a laptop on a chair in the middle of their tent. But whatever it takes, he contacts me. He calls me, he emails me, and on a very special occasion, he will Skype with me!



I am so thankful for my hardworking fiance. I am so thankful for a man that loves me so much that he will walk across the desert in the middle of the night just to talk to me for a few short minutes. Over and over again.

Sometimes I feel a little like I'm 16 years old, and that cute boy in my English class looked my direction and smiled.
And then asked me out.
I get butterflies when I hear his name.
I find myself daydreaming about the next time I will see him.
When my phone rings and his ringer plays, I am a bit giddy.
And I've even scribbled my name and his last name across a paper or two.
Yep, I'm basically a glorified 16 year old girl.

But I am absolutely in love with this man.
And I am so blessed that he loves me just as much.
Maybe more :)

Boy gets leave

Boy proposes to Girl.
Girl says yes.
Boy leaves for war.
Girl plans a wedding.
Boy sits in Indiana.
Girl misses Boy.
Boy gets leave.
Girl goes to visit.

My mom likes to say that the Army needs a wedding planner.
If you've ever known anyone in the Army... you have probably heard the saying "hurry up and wait." Seems to be the Army's unofficial motto.

So when the date finally came on J's orders to head out... I had no idea what would happen next. But I shouldn't have been surprised when he ended up sitting. And waiting.

In Indiana.

Right before shipping out, they gave the guys a few days off. But with the rule that they couldn't go more than 200 miles away from the base in Indiana. Well, California is a little farther than that. So... I hopped on a plane and headed out to Indiana. We had a great time and even headed over to Chicago while I was there!

Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.


We walked all over Chicago trying to find this fountain. It's the one from the opening credits of "Married with Children". Which I've never even watched by the way.


Dinner at the Crackerbarrel.


When I found out there was a Tiffany and Co, I got VERY excited. I have always wanted to go inside of one. I started telling J how much I've wanted to go in and about the girl growing up with the Tiffany's bracelet that I used to stare at and love. I told him about the little blue boxes and how cool they are and all the wonderful things Tiffany's is made out to be. So we went to check out the store and it ended up being closed. I was disappointed but figured we'd move on. But J was determined to get me in there, so we came all the way back the next day.


We headed into the store and looked around and I saw THE BRACELET. J insisted that I try it on, even though I knew it wouldn't be coming home with me. We finally got a lady to help us out and as soon as I got it on my wrist and started smiling, he said to the lady "We'll take it!". I tried to keep my mouth from falling open in disbelief. As she was ringing it up, she asked if I'd like to wear it out or box it up. J smiles and says, "She wants the little blue box."


So out of the store we went, with a little blue box, a beautiful bracelet and a sweet memory of how wonderful J is to me.

It was such a fun day and such a nice gesture. He did something he knew I would love just because. There didn't have to be a reason, or anything expected in return. He did it just because he knew it was something I wanted. I love how thoughtful he is of me and how many things he picks up on without having to even ask him. He really pays attention. And he is genuinely romantic. It isn't forced or pre-planned. He doesn't have to think hard about it... he just is.

We had a great time, and I can't wait to see him again soon!

Boy leaves for war

Boy proposes to Girl.
Boy goes away to training.
Girl misses Boy.
Boy misses Girl.
Boy comes home for leave.
Girl is happy.
Boy leaves for war.
Girl is sad.

2 weeks. That's all we had.
And it's over.
Just like that.

Even with all the memories we made in 2 weeks... it's just never enough.