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Jun. 25, 2008
39 Weeks, 15 Years.
I'm trying to keep my blog updated at least every two days so that I don't leave you hanging, wondering if I've had the baby yet. So this is my "nope-baby's-not-here-yet" post. I am 39 weeks along today. If I make it past midnight, and I most likely will, this will be my longest pregnancy. Ever. I'm beginning to feel overdue and haven't even arrived at my due date yet!
I would LOVE for this baby to arrive this Saturday. This Saturday is my (deceased) grandpa's birthday. I miss him a lot. Alek was the only child of mine to get to meet him. He died when Alek was just 4 months old, at the age of 89. I have him to thank for my THICK THICK hair. He had more hair at age 89 than my hubby does now (sorry, honey). Probably double, actually. (sorry again) And he never got that white/gray hair that older people get. His hair was a lovely dark gray. He was a goof-off, always joking around, trying to act gruff. I loved that guy. This Saturday would be nice.
Even tomorrow would be kind of cool. Tomorrow Kenton and I will have been married for 15 years! Fifteen YEARS! My how time flies. So in honor of our anniversary, I want to write about how we met and a little about US.
I remember the day I met Kenton as if it were yesterday. I was 13 years old, he was 14. I had attended Modesto Christian School from the time I entered kindergarten and was just starting my freshman year there in high school. Kenton went to a heathen public school up until he decided to attend Modesto Christian, as one of his older sisters had. One of my good friends, who attended the same church as Kenton, introduced us.
She said, "Alyssa, this is Kenton. He's cool!" And Kenton, being the EXTREMELY shy guy he was back then, just smiled (without showing his teeth) and semi-nodded his head. First impression? I thought he was SUCH a nerd!
Sophomore year. I can't remember when I found this out, whether it was that year or later on (I think later on), but this is the year Kenton started to "like" me. I never noticed and was too busy having fun.
Junior year. Kenton still "liked" me. I had a "bad boy" type boyfriend that year. (Kenton, don't read this part) He was um, hot. :) I was still pretty goody-goody back then. We were pretty serious but I broke up with him for lying to me. He didn't actually lie, he just left out some very important information as to his whereabouts with his friends the night before. And someone at church told me they had seen him at a party. I went straight to his house and broke up with him. I could not and still cannot STAND people who lie. And even though I really liked the guy, I decided I was done with him. He actually cried (and cried and cried) when I broke up with him and begged me not to. Weird, for a guy that was the "bad boy" type.
Anyway, that was the end of that and that was the year I started to notice Kenton more. I don't think I recognized it then though. But I do remember having a friend who really liked Kenton and wanted me to talk to him and see if he'd ask her out (for something coming up- don't remember what). It was then (looking back) that I realized that I was starting to have feelings for him, because even though I told my friend I'd ask him for her, I was hoping nothing would come of it. I remember that day perfectly too. Kenton was THE HIGH SCHOOL SUPERSTAR BASKETBALL PLAYER. :) Seriously. He didn't just get MVP of his TEAM, he got MVP of our LEAGUE! He was SO awesome to watch. And so humble. And so sweet.
Anyway, he had just played a game in Turlock, where at halftime (or was it the end of the game!?), just before the buzzer went off, he took a shot from half court..... and swished it! He was so good at that. He was an awesome 3 point shooter and was one of the few that could slam dunk the ball too. Now THAT was exciting and really got the crowd going!
So after this most exciting game was over, I went up to him to talk about my friend. After I asked him, he looked a little disappointed and simply said, "No!" with a sound in his voice, like, are you crazy? (and not because my friend was not popular or not a looker- because she was!)
My respect for him went up quite a bit for that. I mean, he was a TEENager. A high school GUY. And he turned her down?! For what!?
Senior Year. Kenton still likes me, but he's starting to get a little impatient. We had a mutual friend that was used as a messenger (this makes me laugh thinking back on it- so childish!). She would tell me that he was about to give up on me. I would tell her that I liked him (which I did by that point and knew it!) but I was not wanting to be in a relationship my senior year. I just wanted to have FUN! And, deep inside, I just KNEW that once we started dating, that was it. He'd be my last boyfriend. Ever. And I was just not ready for that. I had some wildness I needed to release first. (I was not as goody-goody by then)
But he was just too irresistible. He asked me to the homecoming banquet and I said yes. And so began our first date; I was 16 and he was 17. In fact, before I say more, I have a picture of this first date!
Like the 80's hair? Modest dress? Know what I think is hilarious about this photo? Can't you just see how SHY poor Kenton was back then? See my hands? See his? I think I scared him. He had waited for me, you see, since our sophomore year. I was his first date. The beginning of many firsts, in fact.
So we had a lot of fun on our first date. And the dates became more & more frequent after that. I remember holding his hand at the movies, but don't remember what we saw. I also remember our first kiss. It was so sweet, just like him.
We used to just TALK. And talk and talk. One night, after one of our dates, we were parked in front of his parents house in my old '67 Mustang (which I still have, btw!). We sat out there for at least an hour just talking- talking about our childhoods, talking about everything. Just really getting to know each other. Before he got out of the car, I asked him for a hug. He leaned over to hug me and as we moved our heads to a more comfortable position, he snuck a quick kiss. Just a quick peck was all, on the lips. And then he did it two more times. And that was it. So sweet. So different than the other guys I dated. Oh, and my elbow also accidentally honked the horn at some point. Oops!
Well, I'll just say from that point on, we were glued at the hip. I kind of lost a lot of my friends that year because I highly preferred to spend time with Kenton. I ended up having an awesome senior year despite the fact that I had wanted to remain "single" that year.
We both had awesome basketball seasons. The girls team was undefeated in league and made it pretty far into the finals. They guys did too (I think they made it even farther), and of course Kenton even had some college scouts checking him out- a few offers came of that too!
What I think is so funny about our high school basketball careers is every single year in high school, Kenton was voted "Best Offensive Player" by his team. And every single year in high school, I was voted "Best Defensive Player" by MY team. We both kept the plaques we got for those awards, and later on in life, after we were married and when we had our first house and actually had a "spare oom" (only 1 child then), we hung those plaques side by side in our den. I still think it shows what a great match we are.
We had our graduation parties together. Marriage was mentioned by some of the guests even then, since the church he was going to at the time is known for waiting for their "one and only". Once a couple starts dating, it's pretty much assumed they'll eventually marry.
We started college. I had known since 8th grade or so that I wanted to become a nurse. I'm a first born with a type A personality and am ambitious. When I have a goal, I achieve it. Kenton on the other hand is the baby of the family AND the firstborn son. His personality is much more laid back than mine. Like I said, he was extremely shy back then and I was very outgoing. So I started my nursing pre-req's right away, while Kenton spent a few years or so changing majors.
After dating for 3 years, at ages 20 & 21, Kenton FINALLY asked me to marry him. We were married 6 months later- 15 years ago tomorrow. Here we are on our wedding day, my hair my natural color. LOL! (I know it's small, but it's the only scan I have on my computer)
So I finished up my last year of nursing school during our first year of marriage and graduated at the age of 21. Kenton was still changing majors at that point. Hee-hee!
So I was the main support for a while, which was fine at the time. He worked with his dad some, and worked as a Lab Tech at Gallo Winery at some point and at a veterinarian's office some. At one point he was taking classes for vet school (HARD classes!), even got to the applying for vet school step, but was not accepted. Vet school is HARD to get into- much, much harder than medical school even, due to the number of vet schools/spots availabe. His grades were good, but, well, let's just say affirmative action did not help him any back then. So he just continued on at Gallo for a while.
So first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...... oh yeah! Baby in the baby carriage! Alek was conceived probably exactly on our 3rd anniversary. We were so excited! We had been trying for 1.5 YEARS! Infertility was a hard thing to go through. I never thought I'd have problems getting pregnant. So we were just very excited. I had been able to save money from working and had enough for a down payment on a house. So in Oct. of '96, we purchased our first house. Alek was born March of '97. That house was sure a good investment....
I finally talked Kenton into becoming a nurse. It's such a good job- one that you can go just about anywhere and find work, and the pay is decent too. So he started nursing school fall of 98. Next came a most devastating miscarriage in Dec. '98. Then came Gracie in Sept. of '99. Kenton graduated from nursing school in May of '00. Gabe was born May '01. Millie was born in Dec. of '02. We moved to WA in Oct. of '03. Josiah was born in Dec. of '04. We had the 2 miscarriages since- one in July '06 and the last in May '07 and now of course, I'm waiting for my little baby girl to make her entry!
We've been through a lot- mostly good times, some bad over the last 15 years. We've grown up a lot too! And thankfully, we've grown TOGETHER. He's mellowed me out and I've perked him up. He's no longer shy. Kenton is the type of guy that everyone likes. I don't believe the man has ever had an enemy. He's very pleasant to be around. Very, very rarely grumpy or moody. He has a great sense of humor and knows how to make me laugh.
I married the most wonderful man in this world. I have absolutely no regrets about my life. Kenton is the best dad ever. He loves his children dearly and my gosh, do they ever love him! That's one thing the man never feels around here- unloved. They yell "Daddy!" when he wakes up (he works nights, sleeps during day) and run upstairs to attack him when they hear him walking down the stairs. They run to him when he gets home from work. They run to him when he has to leave. He spends time with them and enjoys them. He gets down on their level and rough houses and plays with them. He takes an interest in their lives and *knows* them well. He's patient with them, kind and caring. It's very obvious how much he loves his children.
He's not the type to dole out compliments frequently, but shows me in other ways that he loves me (like nightly massages- don't hate!). And honestly? I'd rather take a massage than a "you're so beautiful" just about any day! Compliments make me feel uncomfortable anyway. And he NEVER complains- if I'm behind in laundry and he can't find socks or the house is a mess or dinner is late- he just never complains. I think he knows I try my best and do have some bad days, but I'm so thankful that I've never heard him complain ONCE about the house or anything else you could think of to complain about.
He is my best friend. I'd rather be with him than anyone else. I cannot imagine what life would be like without him and hope I never have to find out.
So after 15 wonderful years, happy anniversary, honey! You are THE best. Ever. |
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Jun. 26, 2008 - Awesome!
We are coming up on our 11th year this September.