An Engagment

*Read Fall Creek Hike first!*

We get to the top and he says:

"see wasn't it all worth it?"

I look around and say:

"yes"-however i am searching for a place to sit my ass down and take a break for a moment

With my back turned to him -spotting a giant log that looks like a good seat

I hear "Nicole!"

I turn around and ....

I turn around quickly to see him 

down on one knee in front of me 

with the ring in his hand!

I scream "STEVEN" and instantly cry!

As I look into his eyes,

He tells me he loves me and that he is lucky to have me.

(however i feel like the lucky one to have him)

He says "i know you have waited a long time for this

I just hope its been worth the wait"

(3.5 years and the purchase of our home is more that worth the wait for this man)

He tells me he wants to spend forever with me, he even used my whole name

(that will be the last time for that!)

*at this point i still haven't really looked at the ring i couldn't help but look at him*

I of course said "yes" between all the tears!

He truly is my best friend, my one and only.  I've never been so happy in my whole life.

even though he made me hike for an hour and a half for this it was completely romantic and more than i could have ever asked for.

Due to the fact that i had barley put any make up on and was red in the face and sweaty we didn't get any amazing pictures but we did get a few.

He did an amazing job picking out the ring.  its exactly what i have always dreamed of.  its simple but completely gorgeous! and i had no idea this was gonna happen! 

*good job surprising me baby!*

I would not change a thing about this day.  I normally don't give him enough credit when it come to planning things or being romantic.  he bus be getting soft in his old age!

i just want to thank all of our family and friends for all of their kind words with our announcement.

Now its time for the planning to begin!! 

Here are a few pictures of the ring i cannot stop looking at it

Fall Creek Hike

Well the Mr. decided last week that we should go to Santa Cruz! 

I thought that it was an amazing idea 

seeing as I hadn't been in 8+ years 

and he has NEVER been!

A lovely lady on IG had just recently gone hiking with her boyfriend to Fall Creek which is inside Henry Cowell State Park. Her pictures were beautiful so I thought that's exactly what we were going to do while we were there!  

Oh and of course go have some pizza by the ocean 

(which never happened)

Sunday morning we woke up had coffee 

and breakfast at the bar, 

in our kitchen that is not an actual bar 

you'd go to on a Friday/Saturday night! 

As Steven went to check the oil and tire pressure on the truck I took care of a few things in the house and then got dressed so we could head out! 

While I was brushing my teeth he comes up stairs to get ready and proceeds to ask me "you gonna put make up on?" I give him a look and say "no, we're going hiking there is no point." He asks again and I say "well obviously you're trying to say I need it so fine!" 

(This will be important later!)

Santa Cruz is about a 2 hour 40 minute drive from our house. 

We didn't turn the radio on once on our way down there. 

It was so nice to enjoy the drive and each others company.  Laughing at the horrible drivers and dreaming of our future together!

We finally made it to the parking lot and began our hike. The weather was perfect, the air was crisp and the canopy of trees above us was breath taking. I love nature and this was at its finest. This place was amazing, so quiet a place that I could turkey spend forever in!

The redwoods smelled amazing, the blue skies peaking through the tops of the trees here and there was heavenly.  every way you turn the view was the same but it never got old.

The first map we read said it was about 2 miles to Fall Creek.  Shot 2 miles is nothing we got this!  

As we hiked we followed the signs that said Fall Creek to the left Fall Creek to the right. 

I just have to say something about the kind of people you meet on the trails.  They are all the kindest people.  

They say hi and ask how you are and how your day is going so far!  I can barley get the bag girl at the market to say hi to me.  

I'm not sure if its the kind of people who hike or if there is something in the air that makes everyone so nice and friendly but i wish everyone in the world was this way because it would be so much enjoyable!

At this point we had been hiking for close to an hour and a half now.  we had seen many streams, 

creeks and waterfalls along the way but still no Fall Creek.  

We had the feeling we had missed a turn somewhere along the way .. OOPS!

Steven said "lets just go a little farther, then we can turn around and go back." (i was hungry now!) I agreed with this even though i was hot, sweaty and sore.

While hiking up the last hill  he was a little ways ahead of me and i wanted to die and just stop.  I kept saying "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him"

(obviously i never would, i love that man too much.)

We get to the top and he says:

"see wasn't it all worth it?"

I look around and say:

"yes"-however i am searching for a place to sit my ass down and take a break for a moment

With my back turned to him -spotting a giant log that looks like a good seat

I hear "Nicole!"

I turn around and ....

Come back later for what happened next!

Advent Study

So I have decided I would join in on another bible study session with Good Morning Girls.  

I did one over the summer and LOVED it but failed to complete it.  

So here we go AGAIN ...

http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/

This is a 4 week Advent Study-Keeping Our Focus on Jesus.  I think this will be good because I truly believe that the true meaning behind Christmas has been lost.  It is very important to me to always remember and have it said in our house what Christmas is truly about so that when we fill our home with children they will know what that day is really about!

If you're interested in joining in go to www.GoodMorningGirls.com and read a little more about them and what this Study will offer and if you decide its for you then subscribe to their emails and you will receive your free eBook so you will be able to join in!

I am hoping to be able to post once a week about my studies and possibly have a button so we can do a link up!

Hope you join along on this study to Focus on Jesus this Holiday season

Nativity

In appliance love

Well here's another one to home ownership! 

 *cheers*

While cooking dinner last Sunday and enjoying a bottle of wine, we heard a "tick" I thought it was the lid to my pot I had placed on the stove about to break so I removed it and put it in the sink and heard "tick" we'll shit now I'm confused! Then all of a sudden it gets faster "tick tick tick" ... "tick tick tick tick" ... And I look at the stove and all the burners were sparking like they were trying to light.

Ahhh of course I freak out thinking my house is gonna blow up so we reach around and unplug it from the wall. Thinking it rest it self, we plug it back in and it kept sparking, well seeing as we were in the middle of cooking dinner we had to finish so we dealt with the "tick tick tick" and finished our dinner quickly then unplugged the stove.

After dinner we took apart the stove to see that the mice had found their way into the stove top (again) and made a nice home.

*BOO*

So of course we were both beyond discussed that we didn't realize this earlier ..

So bye bye old nasty stove and hello new one :)

I was made we had to buy a new stove when we needed a dishwasher or fridge but I cook every night so its a necessity.

I love our new one way better 

Its the simple things in life that make me happy.

Baby Fever

Well every where I turn its like guess who's pregnant?, we're having a ..., baby this baby that.

I'm going to SCREAM!

For my whole life my dream has been to be a wife and a mother.

For almost a year I've been off birth control (bc) and nothing has come of it. We're not really trying but still what's up?

Since I knew "how you get pregnant" I've always had a feeling, strong feeling, it would be very hard or not possible at all for me to get pregnant. Just a feeling I have never actually been told that. 

Now to add to my fear I've been hearing and doing research about the HPV Vaccine Gardasil and the damage it has done to many girls. I was given this shot a few years back as well as tested positive for HPV and had a procedure done to remove the abnormal cells that were cause from a form of HPV.

Well so the damage that has happened to girls who have revived this shot which by the way is given to girls as young as 11. Yes 11, just blows my mind. We do not believe in vaccines (this will be another post) so I don't have to worry about this for our children. Anyways Gardasil has been the cause of death in almost 50 young girls, it made a young girl in Australia infertile, and has been the cause of ovarian cysts and infertility. This is very scary and makes me want to go out and get all the tests done to make sure things are ok down there!!

I tell myself it will happen when it's suppose to. There is a time for everything. But I say that because I'm hiding my true feelings and honestly I'm scared to death .. Scared beyond words. I really do hope it will happen when it's suppose to but deep down I'm worried.

Sorry for this ramble of a post I had to get all my thoughts out cause I'm going to flip out.

I'm truly happy for all my friends who are pregnant and those about to have their babies, even in my sad days I truly and happy for them all but I'm still sad it's not us.

I'm sick of people saying "it will happen when it's suppose to." Or "I thought you two wanted to be married first? Why would you be considering a kids now?" And "you're still so young, you shouldn't worry" .. I want to tell them all to just shut up. Gah