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Sunday, September 30, 2012

A welcome home

Caleb's cousin (may as well call him a brother) Dillan came home from Afghanistan and on his way home from the airport yesterday, his entire street was lined with random strangers, neighbors, friends and family.. hands full of balloons, signs, flags and more. It was such a beautiful and overwhelming site. I really can't explain how incredible it is when you have that many people full of so much love around you. If you are from Cincinnati, you probably know how strongly active the Yellow Ribbon Support Center is, and them, along with our County Commissioner, Bob Proud, rallied up some people to welcome our great friend home. I will leave you with some pictures to see how amazing the turnout was.





These photos make me want to cry all over again, but praise God for keeping our Dillan safe!! I thank Him so often for watching over him. Dillan was awarded a purple heart while on his tour overseas, for helping some fellow soldiers rush to safety during multiple attacks. He truly is our hero :)

Happy Sunday all, what are you thankful for?

Saturday, September 22, 2012

A sappy love story.

Back on my blog grind.. isn't that how this goes?! I know this blog has gone nowhere, and its my own fault. I am ready to commit. Something has come over me this week, and I like it. I am more motivated than ever. SO... since I am using this blog as almost a personal diary so I can look back on this stage in my life, I should tell you..

I GOT ENGAGED!!!!


whaaat?! ;)

So, as some of you may know.. my (then) boyfriend came with my family on vacation to our annual spot of Hilton Head, SC. (gorgeous- you must go at least once!) Anyway...we arrived on Saturday (the 18th), and he casually asked me to take a walk on the beach later that night (thank God I showered). So around 7 we left the house and took a cute bike ride down, parked em.. and started on our slow walk. This was a Saturday.. our first night there, and each was practically no-mans land, where the heck was every one?! I didn't mind one bit though, I'm a total sucker for a hand-in-hand walk anywhere with my man. Isn't everyone?

After about ten minutes of walking, he mentions that we should take a goofy video (something we do often), send it to some friends and just tell them we arrived safely, and also a "look how jealous you probably are-- we're on a beach and you're not" kinda video ;) I prop my iPhone up against my bag and we begin talking to the camera awkwardly... (nothing unusual)...

About 40 seconds in, he says "lets go jump in the waves", and I'm all about THAT too. Who cares about wet clothes?! You're not on the beach everyday! So, we get up... start to walk towards the beach (video camera still rolling) and I completely run into him and he is at a dead stop... I throw my hands up without looking too obvious and am all "what the heck babe?! thought we were going towards the ocean!" and you know the rest.

He got down on one knee, whipped out the most beautiful perfect ring that my bare left hand never knew it had been missing, I back up- probably from sheer shock! and cover my mouth cause I am SO stinkin' surprised... and as he is reaching for my left hand, I finally give it to him... and he said the most simplest of sentences he's ever said to me. Something a little like... "Kayla, I've loved you from day one, and I've always wanted to do this. You make me the happiest guy on Earth and I can't imagine spending a day without you. Please, will you be my wife?" (there were a few silly comments in there too, but you get the gist).. I couldn't contain the river of tears that were coming. I first said "are you kidding?!" then.. smiled what was probably the biggest smile I've ever stretched across my face, and said YES! We did some jumping and crying and hugging, kissing, you know. All the while, the video is still streaming, and we kind of just forget about it being there.

I had always known I wanted to marry him, but never knew how badly I needed him in my life until he said he couldn't imagine spending another day without me. Those words are something every girl deserves to hear, and I am so blessed and thankful that God gave me him so early in life. We tried to not plan anything on vacation, but he was just as excited as I was.. and we did a little bit. After a few planning let downs, we have both been reminded that its not all about the decorations and colors, venue or attire, but that its about him and I, and God. We are striving daily to keep God the center focus on our relationship DAILY. It has been so much fun to plan so far, and I am just so excited that he will be mine, for the rest of my life.

If I haven't thanked you in a few days God, I truly am sorry, you've blessed me beyond belief and I am so thankful for everything you do for me.