Ahhhhhhh...

     Last Sunday when we were at church, I looked down at my right hand and saw the ring I wear on my finger and it reminded me of how it got there.  I reminded Kelvin of it and we smiled together reminiscing about that day.  That gave me the idea to review some of the greater moments in this Loring Journey as a journal post.  I know a lot of you have been following me since I was doing my Knot website when we got married and my Babysite when we were pregnant, but lots of you have never heard the stories.  So, this post will be dedicated to the "Ahhhhhh.." moments we've had :-)

How We Met...

     Picture it...summer 2005...Little Rock, AR (lol...my homage to Sophia Petrillo).  I was a young tender Roni (sp) on the brink of my last year in pharmacy school finally seeing my dreams starting to crest over that high and rugged mountain.  I had no thoughts of being a Mrs right then.  I only had thoughts of being Doctor :-)  However, I knew that I wouldn't always feel that way.  So, I told myself that if the right guy came along that I would settle down and do right...lol!  A friend of mine mentioned a friend of his and how he would like to introduce us.  I wasn't really all that excited to meet anyone new after a string of disappointments in dating, but I figured what the heck!  Enter stage left- Kelvin Loring.  It's funny to me now that neither one of us seemed to be interested in getting to know the other the night we met.  By chance, he was given my number by our mutual friend and decided to go ahead and call me.  After a little phone tag, we talked and then went out on our first date and the rest is history....or at least the next part of this post :-)

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Our First Date...

   Kelvin arrived a little late to pick me up for our first date on August 19, 2005.  I can remember seeing Mama peek out of the blinds in the kitchen as we drove off...lol!  We went to dinner at TGI Friday's which is since the place we frequent to celebrate what I have sweetly termed our "month-a-versary".  The funny thing about this is that I had told a friend of mine who's name starts with K that I would text her and let her know what I thought of him during the date.  So when Kelvin excused himself to go to the restroom, I pulled up K in my phone and texted "He's a Winner!"  I didn't think to double check the name until after I hit send and guess which K I had sent the text to---you guessed it, Kelvin...lol!  I was mortified!  We laughed about it when he got back from the bathroom.   That little blooper seems to be the trend of things when it comes to he and I.  I always somehow am the ditsy one...lol!  We ended the date by going to Cajun's Wharf and sitting out on the deck.  It was awesome!  The thing that stands out most about our conversation was romance and showing it all the time so that holidays don't seem all that big of a day given that any day could be treated like a holiday.  He's stuck to that too!

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The Proposal!

    It was the morning of June 16, 2007.  We had talked a little more frequently leading up to that date about getting married in December of whichever year we would get engaged so that we could go to Times Square to ring in the new year for our honeymoon.  We had been looking at and talking about rings and getting married since our first month of dating.  The day before that was my mother's birthday and I had taken her out to P.F. Chang's to celebrate and was pooped after that.  Kelvin could sense I was tired so he simply told me that he had an old ring that belonged to his mother that he wanted to show me the next morning.  I didn't think anything of it.  The next morning he pulls out this ring to show me and it basically was a thin white gold band that was so thin it looked like a washer...lol!  However, I was under the impression it was his mom's so it had some sentimental value and I loved it!   He suggested we look at a catalog and try to find a band I thought would look good up against it.  So, we looked at a jewelry catalog and I picked the band with the baguets (sp).  Next, he told me he had one more ring to show me---I'm still not suspecting anything.  So, out comes a jewelry box from the store and at this point I finally get it.  He proposed and I guess we can all conclude I accepted...lol!  I think he did an amazing job with the ring he selected for me.  I get complimented on it daily!  I still find sentiment in the hogwash he told me about this little thin ring so I've worn it on my right middle finger since that day.  I have NEVER taken it off.  It makes me smile every time I look at it :-)

Our Wedding...

   Kelvin and I were married December 29, 2007 at 1:15pm.  That's the day I changed his life forever...lol!  I can see him rolling his eyes at this as I type...lol!  We decided that we would have a simple small wedding because it had already felt like we had been married for a few years at that point anyway.  So, I cut corners a lot of ways---amateur photographer, DIY invitations, silk flowers, etc.  At the end of the day, I think we did pretty good.  But, there's got to be a few glitches if this is making the post, right?

So, DIY invitations are great if you can restrain yourself from printing more and passing them out like church programs every time someone asks you about your wedding...lol!  For a wedding that was supposed to be for 100 guests, I passed out over 200 invitations!  I didn't think much of that considering we got married on a holiday weekend, until we walked into our reception room and it was OVERFLOWING!!  Several people had to go home :-(  I hated that!  Had I expected a lot of people, it would have been the other way around though so I know it wasn't going to be perfect by any stretch.  The wedding was a blast!  As always, the wedding day had to come to an end on a bizzare note.  A friend of mine (and she'll know who she is when she reads this) had spent the night with me at our apartment the night before the wedding.  She and another friend had the responsibilty of bringing my car back to the apartment after the reception, getting her things, and locking the apartment back up.  So hours after the reception ended, Kelvin and I finally arrive home and were talking about how he should carry me over the threshold until we see the light on through the window of our apartment.  Neither of us remembered leaving any lights on inside, so he joked "Wouldn't it be crazy if someone was in our apartment?!"  Yes it would be crazy and yes it was...someone in our apartment!  It was one of the most awkward moments of our entire marriage...lol!  That friend ended up just barely leaving before our dinner reservation that night so we ended up having ZERO down time to enjoy being alone that night.

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Vegas...Baby!

   For our 1 year wedding anniversary, we took our 1st (and possibly our last) trip to Las Vegas!  I don't think either of us were all that impressed.  Kelvin swears Brooklyn was conceived there though...lol!  Maybe we should have named her Las Bregas...lol!  Anyhoo...I digress.  That's the last trip Kelvin and I have taken by plane together.  I think we're coming up due for another one some time soon...

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The Big Preggers...

   Kelvin and I had already decided that when we got married we would officially "try" to get pregnant after our 1 year anniversary.  So, we were super cautious first-timers.  We made sure all i's were dotted and t's were crossed.  I knew my body like the back of my hand(...ok)  and we were very successful.  First time out the gate, Brook was on her way.  I can remember stocking up on First Response pregnancy tests and some Dollar Tree ones for those I just have to test moments.  I tested a few days before my monthly visitor was to come and got a NEGATIVE.  So, I had already started researching ovulation predictor kits so we could be a little more accurate next time around.  However, a few days later when no visitor was apparent; I decided to test when I was at home alone waiting for President Obama to come out and be sworn in as President.  I used a Dollar Tree one since it was a "just can't wait" moment.  But, the thing was positive!  So, I rushed to get one of the "good" tests and it was positive too!  So, I took another Dollar Tree test and that one was positive!  It was an indescribable feeling!  I had to find a creative way to tell Kelvin the good news so I went to Hallmark and got a gift bag and a Congrats on Your New Baby card.  When he got home, I gave his "gift" to him which was the positive test wrapped in plastic of course.  I remember him asking me over and over again, "Are you serious?".  I don't think I had ever seen him smile so big (to that point).  I will never forget that day!

Then There Were Three...

   I'm going to let everyone off this little trip down memory lane here although there are so many more memories I can recall.  You guessed it---this is the part where I'll talk about Brooklyn's arrival into the world!  As much as I've always fantasized about being a mother some day and as many books as I read and shows that I've watched; there is NOTHING that you can see or hear or do that can prepare you for motherhood.  It was such an overwhelming feeling of love, concern, and responsibilility since the first time I heard that little cry.  I can remember hearing her cry for the first time and becoming overwhelmed with emotion that my emotions totally took over my thoughts of what was going on around me and just crying and smiling and being excited all at the same time.  Brooklyn was (and is still) absolutely beautiful to me!  She's always seemed so smart and self-reliant too!  I thought I had a pic of her holding her own oxygen to her face...lol!  I guess this sweet little shot of her will just have to do :-)



Well, if you took the nostalgic journey with me today---you've made it to the end of the road for this post, but never for this blog and the Loring Family :-)

....I'm so glad we've spent this time...together!....  (I'm so silly :-0 )