Marriage Prep Class....

So yesterday was our second visit with our deacon (Deacon Robertson) at our church. My initial thoughts about this whole marriage prep thing was kinda frustrating. I mean, we need to go before the church, prove we are ready to be married, go through 6 months of marriage prep, 5 visits with a sponsor couple, and 2 family planning classes. That's alot!

Our first meeting was last Monday at 7:30pm. I really didn't know what to expect. I figured we would kinda chat & talk with the deacon briefly and he would schedule us for our classes, etc. Well, to some extent I was right. We did talk - ALOT. He asked us both together how we met, what we liked about each other, what we didn't like about each other, what made us want to take the next step, what made us attracted to each other, what goals do we share, what goals do we not share. Talk about question central. We also met individually with the deacon for one on one talks again touching on some of the questions we were asked together. At the end, we were given the Focus test, which consisted of about 200 questions on every topic from Financial to Communication to Sexuality. Yep... I was totally not ready for that. I'm not saying that it was hard by any means, I just didn't anticipate on being at the church for over 2 hours, taking a test, and being questioned over & over about our relationship. All in all, it went okay, we left after 9:30pm and at that point all we could think about was food, lol. So we picked up something quick & headed home.

Last night was our second meeting with Deacon Robertson. Same time, 7:30pm. We started out by talking again, Deacon made a list for me & Danny and asked us questions regarding our commitments to certain things. For example, the first one was how long was the longest we had spent at any particular job. Others were silly, like how long we have been baseball fans, how long we lived in certain places, etc. It was a fun little exercise, just to show a pattern or to see differences in each other in the field of commitment. We all already know that I blew Danny out of the water with the commitment times - LOL Afterwards we went over our test results from the Focus text we had taken the previous week. I was very pleased, overall we scored 81% compatible. Each section was graded individually but this was overall. I was also very happy to hear that we scored 100% on the section regarding the holy covenant of marriage. Deacon told us that its rare for couples to score 100% on this part so he was very pleased with our results. I love that the most important area for me, was also the most important for Danny. Like all couples, the areas where we differed a bit where around career, and communication. Things that were not a surprise to me, had they been a surprise or things I didn't know then maybe, just maybe I would be concerned.....but nope. We both already knew this. Towards the end, we were each given workbooks that we will be using together with our sponsor couple, and information to sign up for the family prep classes.

I wanted to write this post because it really made me kind of rethink this whole process. I looked at this whole thing initially as something we just needed to get out of the way. Yes, I do think its a little much, I mean we have to go through 6 months of this... but on the other hand, I like being able to spend time with Danny in church, alongside the Deacon and talking about us. Us in general, what we like, what we don't like. What we want in the future, how we will work through changes, and differences. I believe that every couple should go through some form of prep. Yes, most of the things are things we already know, but it does feel good to get them out. So while it isn't the highlight of my week, I do now look forward to our classes :)

He asked & I said YES! - Part 2

So a few weeks back, Danny's aunt & uncle (who have turned out to be my favorites by far) handed me a memory card and said, "There might be some pictures on here you want" I came home & popped it in. They were right, my smile went ear to ear as I scrolled through pictures which made me once again re-live that special moment when Danny popped the question!

My original post HERE had one picture my friend made me on her phone and a link to the video! Yes, video, apparently the WHOLE world except me knew this was occurring, and I was so blessed to have it recorded!

So here are a few pictures taken that night, I will add this: Looking back on that night, certain parts & that very moment are a blur, I was so shocked, overwhelmed and happy. These pictures truly show me the joy & love of the people who surround us. Enjoy!

  

Danny's brother Javy // Tomas, Adriana, Me & Danny

Danny's Mom & Aunts // Danny's Aunt & Uncle (my favorite ppl ever)

Danny's Parents // My mommy

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He gets on the mic saying he has an announcement to make......

All the sudden, I feel eyes start to stare at me & I'm wondering... "What is going on here?"

                                                     

Looks over at me & says "I just wanna ask you a question...." (you know what's next - lol)



Pure shock....

 Happiness

                                        

                               He looks more shocked than me, lol          ///           SHE SAID YESSSS!

 What an amazing night..... PS and Happy New Year!

Love,

Jess

Thankful Tuesday

So yesterday on my way home I made a quick stop to pick up a few things we needed at home. Of course, the minute I got home I realized I had forgotten some other things, isn't that the way life goes? Anyway, that stop led me to write this post today. 

While in the store, I stopped in aisle to read some labels (yes, I read labels) while I stood there, I overheard a girl talking negatively towards her mother. I sat in disgust trying to act like I was reading this label, but my ears just couldn't believe the things she was saying. Granted, I don't know these people, I have no idea what their home is like or what they have been through, but, sometimes (just sometimes) you can look at someone and just know that they are good people. I glanced over at the mom very briefly, she looked tired, worn out, and sad. I felt for her. She just let her daughter talk to her in the most disrespectful tone, and undermine her. The jest of the situation I caught was this, I saw the woman walk into my aisle (bread aisle) alone, she was looking for bread, and a few minutes later the daughter came up with what appeared to be makeup in her hand. She demanded that her mom purchase the items for her, the mom very nicely said, "sweetie, I only have $50 and we need some groceries, I will buy you that makeup when I get my next paycheck" I'm not even going to write what the girl responded. Let's just say it was harsh, involved curse words, and made her look like such an ungrateful brat! Yes, I said it, BRAT! It personally took everything I had inside for me not to run over there, grab her arm and say "Don't talk to your momma like that!!" I could tell by the items in her cart, that she indeed probably only had $50, let's just say she wasn't purchasing anything "gluten-free" or organically grown....real talk.

As I walked away, it made me think of my mom. I know each of us can all say "I have the best mom" and truth is, you do. My mom is one of my true hero's & she is absolutely beautiful. (literally)

I have so much respect & love for her. Growing up, the older I get, the more I see these things. The more I realize what she went through to raise my sister & I. You see, our biological father walked out on us, weeks after my sister was born. My mom was left alone (better off than being with that deadbeat) but still being alone with two kids, and one being a newborn. I still sit back and wonder how she did everything she did. She worked full time, overtime, she provided for us, she nurtured & loved us, we always had packed lunches, clean folded clothes, a clean home, good food on the table. She always made it look so easy, and we never went without. No holiday ever passed without gifts, but as a child you seem to expect those things, rather than appreciate them. Now that I'm an adult myself, I still wonder how she did it. Granted, we don't have kids yet, but sometimes I find its hard enough just to work a full time job, keep the house clean, put dinner on the table, and even start a load of laundry. She did it, alone, and never once did I hear her complain. If we wanted something in the store, she got it for us. I know now that she sacrificed alot. She bought herself nothing so we could have everything. She worked hard to take care of us, and to this very day, not one thing has changed. My mom is incredible. I feel like there aren't enough words in the world for me to tell her how much I love her, and how much I appreciate her. To this day, she will do anything for my sister & I, (and now Sofia) even if it means she goes without. I am thankful that she has found a man who makes her happy and spoils her the way she should be spoiled. I am thankful that she is here today, and still puts us first before anything else. No matter how rough times got for me, I still would always run home to my mommy, and she would still at the age of 30 years old, cradle me in her arms like her baby. 

Mom with Sofia on the day she was born

I could go on & on, but I won't. All I will say is this, your mother is your mother. She brought you into this world. You cannot choose your mom. Hug your mom, tell her you love her, tell her you appreciate her.

 

 

Weekend recap one day late....

Who doesn't love a 3 day weekend? I must say, it was nice.... yesterday I returned to work, my co-worker/partner had taken a vacation day so needless to say, I was SWAMPED. I felt like phones would not stop ringing and everyone I spoke to wanted to complain about something.

Moving on... so this weekend was definitely filled with fun & exciting things! Friday, I was off! I started out my day at Bora Bora Nail Salon getting a refresher manicure and classic pedicure (recommended to me by a fellow blogger) oooo, talk about amazing. It was so relaxing, seriously I already want to go back, but my nails obviously still look good. After getting my nails done, I walked into Freebirds next door grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to Memorial City Mall to browse around. I scored on some new summer sandals, you can never have enough really! AND I purchased my very first gift for my bridesmaids!! Winning!

After the mall, I headed toward the Galleria to pick up my best friend, we had an appointment with the florist at 3:30! Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of a zillion flowers everywhere, yes, I love flowers, what girl doesn't? I just can't justify spending ridiculous amounts of money on flowers for a 5 hour event, which will later die. Anyway... that being said I'm super excited to see what they create for me! I'm pretty much sticking to flowers for my girls, guys, fam, and maybe centerpieces.......maybe! I feel really confident in them, and the fact they are they SUPER nice is such a perk, they seriously listened to what I wanted, made suggestions, and are helping me get everything I want for the budget I have! Flowers by Minerva, in Bellaire......Need flowers? Look them up, you will not be disappointed! As a thank you, they even gave me some flowers to take home! LOVE!

After the florist, we headed over to our appointment at Ventura's to try on dresses! I was going to post some photos, BUT I have decided to wait until we order the dresses, and they come in .... the ones we tried were all colors of the rainbow, but overall it seems like almost everyone found a dress they liked, which was great, I just have to go back with my sister now for her to try on a few... she couldn't make it that day, so we'll be back once again!  

And last! After we finished up at Venturas, we headed up to meet our men :)  (Yes, we are still on Friday here) We met up with them at the Astros game! Club seats? Don't mind if we do.... the game was a blast, we had a great time & ALMOST made it on the big screen! Short but funny story, we we got to the game, we found a family of 4 in our seats (our guys weren't there yet) when we told them they were in our seats, the "mom" I would guess asked us if we could sit somewhere else because their tickets were apart, and they wanted to sit together?!#@? Uhh, newsflash, WE WANT TO SIT TOGETHER TOO, IN OUR SEATS! Sooooo, Adriana tells them, we'll sit here behind you, but if someone comes and we're in their seats, you guys will have to move.We eventually moved up to some better seats, and we enjoyed the game from there, however the camera guy totally recorded where our REAL seats were, and those people made in on the big screen, suckers.

Saturday was a good day, Danny was actually off from work, so we were able to spend the entire day together, I love hanging out with him. We ran alot of errands, I got an alignment on Nena, we went shopping and picked up some Easter treats for the kiddos, and then went home and relaxed together! Love snuggling up on the couch and catching up on DVR!

Sunday was Easter of course! We went to the 2pm mass, and afterwards headed up to Spring to meet the family for Easter dinner. We stayed for a short time, ate, talked and headed home a littler earlier than usual. We were both tired, and just wanted to get home, and rest up and prepare for the week. I was happy we got to see our sweet Sofia, and family for that short bit! 

 Easter baskets I made for the kiddos :D Can you tell which one is Sofia's? lol

 My little bunny wearing the bib we gave her in her basket.

I had these bloomers made for her before she even was born! 

I love that little bunny! 

Love, 

Jess

PS Danny's uncle gave me his memory card which I found out held MANY pics from Christmas and NYE! And for those of you that don't know, NYE is when Danny proposed! I will be uploading those this week to share! Woooo!