I Believe In Love.

A fairytale come true......

What girl isn't a hopeless romantic?  I'm sure there are a few but I am certainly not one of them.  I love romance and maybe even to my detriment.  I believe in love like in the movies.  I believe in love like the love between Jack and Rose in Titanic. 

My husband is a romantic and that is one of the reasons I married him.  A few weeks after we had been dating, we went for a walk in the park. He suggested we sit down under a tree and relax. He pulled a small jewelry box out of his pocket, opened it up and inside was a heart shaped diamond necklace. He asked me to be his girlfriend in the same way you would propose marriage.  Naturally, I said yes.




This month I turned 35.  To be honest, I wasn't excited about it.  Not so much the age, just the day itself.  I don't really get excited over my own birthdays.  I'd rather just get them over with and get on to the next day where things are normal again.  I thought this one would be the same. 

The evening before my birthday was absolute bliss.  That Saturday I had a consultation for a wedding.  When I have a consultation, I spend at least 3-4 hours trying to make this house look as if we don't really live in it.  When the meeting was over I had the house all to myself.  My daughter was having a sleepover at her grandparents and my husband was working until late in the evening.  A mother getting time to herself is a miracle in its own right, but time to herself in a clean house, that's unheard of.  I would have been completely content for my birthday with just that gift alone.

The next morning my husband offered to make me breakfast in bed.  In my head, I'm thinking, "Oh dear..... I really want a good cup of coffee. The only way to be certain it's the way I like it, is to make it myself."  He knew this before he even offered, I'm sure.  So I suggested that I would start the coffee and he could scramble some eggs. So I head downstairs in a half awake state of mind. I reach for the coffee pot handle.  I missed.  I reached again and realized my coffee pot no longer has a handle!!!!  The jumping up and down commenced!

A Keurig! I LOVE IT!!!!  I only have one cup of coffee a day but that might change.  This thing is so fun you just want to make cup after cup.  If anyone wants to have some coffee with me, let me know!  I'll make it for you. 

Per my husband we needed to be at my parents house by 11:00 a.m.  Really?  So I guessed we would be playing T-ball in the back yard, sitting on the deck, etc.  Off we went.  As I politely informed him that he had missed the turn to my parents he informed me we needed to go to Target on Route 17 in Fredericksburg.  My daughter wanted to get me part of a Lego set we build together.  He said all the other stores were sold out.  This was the only store in town that had it.  I was fine with that.  An extra hour to ourselves would be nice.  As we are driving on 17 I mentioned to him in my politest voice that we may have passed Target.  He tells me, "No, it's a little further up here."  I quietly wait for him to figure out he is wrong and that he has indeed passed the Target store.  As we get further and further away, I decide to mention that I'm certain he's passed it because it's right off of the exit.  We were a good 3-4 miles away at this point.  He tells me I'm right and he will turn around at the next light.  Three lights later I asked, "Babe, are you going to turn around?"  He smiled and said nothing.  We were not going to my parents and we were not going to Target.  He kept driving and driving.

When we pulled up to The Inn at Kelly's Ford Equestrian Center I sat there in the truck crying, my face buried into my hands.  I was so happy!  My husband was helping me check a wish off of my bucket list, to ride a horse.  It took me a minute to let it sink in, to really allow my heart to accept that this wish was coming true.

I love horses and have always wanted to ride one.  They are such beautiful, majestic and spirited animals.  It's like they can see into your soul with their big loving eyes. It's like unconditional love, rare and mysterious. 

We were booked for a one hour trail ride.  I was in heaven and beaming from ear to ear.

As I met the tour guide and she was brushing her horse Melody, she told me I would be riding with Brandy.  They brought her out of her stable and she was a beauty. 

The experience was just as I had imagined.  Everything went perfectly.  Below are some more photos from our day.  These were all taken with our iPhone.

 

At the end of the movie Titanic, the camera scans across Rose's dresser.  There was a photo of her riding a horse.  It's a scene that really stands out to me. I'm not sure if it's because I love horses or because she kept all her promises and lived out the adventures she promised she would.

The story of Jack and Rose is a fairytale but I believe in fairy tales, in love and in happy ever after.  Thank you Matt for helping to make my dreams come true. You have given me the best birthday I have ever had in my life. 

Next up honey is sky diving!  Get your parachute! 

"You jump, I jump" -Jack

Little Lauren, Fredericksburg Family Photographer

I love little Lauren.  When she sees me she melts my heart and she knows it.  Here are some of the images from our day at Belmont. 

So sad that it makes everybody cry

Here I am as a little girl.  I'm not sure how old I was when this story took place but I do know that I will never forget it.  Not that I remember it happening but that my parents have told me the story many times.

When I was a little girl, my parents owned one of those gigantic radios that looked more like a hutch than a radio.  They loved music and I remember it playing a lot when I was little.  They played country music and Motown.  I loved it all, but most of all, I loved Kenny Rogers.

So here's the story as it's been told to me.  One day they heard me crying.  They were calling out to me because they didn't see me in the living room.  They kept hearing the crying and calling out, "Heather, Heather honey, where are you?"  I didn't answer just kept right on crying.  They followed the sound and found me hiding behind the big radio.  My mom asked, "Honey, why are you crying?"  I said, "Mommy they played a song so sad that it made everybody cry."  It was Kenny Rogers singing, "Hey,won't you play another somebody done somebody wrong song." So I sat there crying about a real hurtin' song about a love that's gone wrong because he didn't want to cry all alone.

I grew to love and adore Kenny Rogers.  He was awesome.  Most of all I loved the duets he sang with Dottie West. I could listen for hours.  One day my parents must have been caught up in the moment.  You know what it's like when your feeling a song, feeling great and forget about everything else.  So they said, we promise we will take you to a Kenny Rogers concert.  We can't promise when but before we die you will get to go to a Kenny Rogers concert.

My parents are both still alive.  They have kept every promise ever made to me.  We are big on keeping promises.  Well, I'm now 34 turning 35 next weekend and we have still never been to a Kenny Rogers concert.  Maybe they thought I outgrew him. I'm not sure but it was the one and only promise that has yet to be fulfilled.  Granted they are still alive so there is still time.  My parents are still young, in their 50's. 

So the other night when rocking out to the ultimate George Strait.  (May I add that he is divine. Ahhhh good ol' George.)  I decided to hop online and see if George was touring again this year.  I was ready to hear him live again.  And there it was....I stumbled upon an upcoming live performance by Kenny Rodgers right here in Fredericksburg!  WHAT?!  I couldn't believe my eyes.  Only fifteen minutes from my house?  Get out of here?!  I looked at the ticket prices, only forty bucks.  What?  This was too good to be true.  I could nudge my dad's promise along and help him make it come true.  He just had his birthday and I gave him card with one of those homemade coupons "redeem for a father daughter date."  This was perfect.  Called him up, asked if he could go out on Saturday the 21st.  He said sure and asked what we were doing.  I was keeping it a surprise.  He would never guess.  This was going to be so special.

So last night over sandwiches at Cracker Barrel we talked, caught up on life and where we see ourselves in the future.  I reached in my purse, grabbed the tickets and reminded him of the promise he had made all those years ago.  It was a tearful moment for me.  I love my parents both very much.  I don't get much time with my Dad because of his work schedule so I want the memories we share now to be very special, ones that neither of us will forget.

I know I will never forget the time with my Dad last night.  Remembering those songs echoing through our home, seeing Kenny Rodgers with my Dad.  I love you Dad and thank you for being the kind of Dad that loves me in a way every daughter should be loved.  You are a good man, a soldier, a husband and father that I will love until my dying day.

Mom I love you so much too.  We spend at least one day a week together and have a great time, every time.  Thank you for making last night possible.  For being with Katelyn and playing fairies with her.  You're a wonderful mom and I am blessed to have the family God has given me.

Below are a few photos from last night.  None of my Dad and I are posted.  Because of his job, he prefers not to be on the Internet.  Those will stay in my heart and in my personal scrapbook.

Thank you for listening to my story.  I hope that if there is someone in your life that you love, you will cherish every moment with them and when the chance comes along to have a great time together, you take advantage of that.  Life is short.  Live it to your fullest, love to your fullest and make your dreams come true.

Carlos and April I Gaithersburg Maryland Wedding Photographer I

April and Carlos

April 13, 2012