Our Love Story

I don't think I've actually ever written down the story of how Kent and I met and eventually fell in love.  So, with a week until Valentine's Day I think I will take on the challenge and type it all out.

It all started with a hamster named Nosy.  Mine and my brother's hamster actually.  One evening Kent's aunt came over to visit my momma (they were best friends growing up) and she brought with her her nephew, Kent.  He was 6, I was 4.  I wasn't too sure of him.  He was wanting to play with Nosy and I wasn't up for sharing, but before the night was over I warmed up to him and even let him brush Nosy's fur.

Fast forward 3 years.  My family and I started attending a different church. Kent's family were already members of this church.  The first time I remember Kent during this time was when I went to a baby shower with my momma.  I wasn't your typical girly, girl who liked looking at baby clothes and baby things and oohing and ahhing over babies.  I had much rather run and play and kick a ball around.  Kent was also at this shower but he had escaped in our church's gym.  I quickly came to my senses and joined him.  I remember running and playing and just having the best time.  We had found some sort of rolling thing and were pushing each other on it.  Sadly, Kent's grandmother (who I would later lovely know as Granny) came to pick him up.  I can remember watching him leave and feeling sad.  Like my friend was leaving way too soon.

Probably a year or so went by when I started noticing Kent more as a potential boyfriend than just friend.  Yes, I was only 9 or 10 by this point.  But you know how girls get those type of crushes on boys.  Thankfully, he was starting to feel the same way.  A friend of mine ending up calling him and asking him if he liked me (so embarrassing now, but it's the way it happened) and he said yes.  So we were "boyfriend and girlfriend". During that summer Kent cut grass and would later spend some of that money to buy me two necklaces.  One was a cross that had a verse on it and another was a sand dollar necklace that he got while at the beach.  The sand dollar necklace got broken (my brother sat on it) and the cross necklace I kept for many years.  Kent even asked me out to the movies, but my parents vetoed that idea very quickly.  Instead, we went to a football game together.  Kent ate a  pickle (why I remember that I haven't a clue).  At this point I was keeping a diary of things going on in my life.  I wrote in my diary that someday I would marry Kent.  Sadly, a month or so later Kent and I broke up.  He gave some lame excuse to his friend who relayed the message to me.  I was pretty heartbroken.

Over the next 5 years we didn't talk much, although I tried to flirt with him but he seemed too "mature" for me.  He had other girlfriends, I had other boyfriends. But for me, I always held on hope that one day we would get back together.

Once, while I had another boyfriend, my daddy stopped me in the hall way and looked me dead in the eye and told me that one day Kent and I would get married.  I blew him off because at that point Kent and I had several "false starts".  "I like you, you like me..." but nothing came together.  I was tired of being strung along.  Plus, I was 14 at this time.

Eventually, my boyfriend and I broke up and again Kent had caught my eye.  But this time I wasn't going to go after him.  If he wanted to be my boyfriend he would have to let me know.

One day while IM'ing with a friend of mine he told me that Kent was over at another friend's house and that they were planning on talking to me, but would try to lead me to believe that Kent wasn't there.  Sure enough another IM pops up and this guy friend starts asking questions like:
GF(guy friend): Do you like Kent?
Me: I don't know.
GF: Well, if you thought he liked you would you like him?
Me: I don't know.  Maybe.  But we have already been down that road and he never follows through.
GF: Maybe he will this time.  But only if he knows if you like him.
Me: Well, he will have to let me know that on his own.

The whole time they are thinking they had out smarted me.  It was quite comical on my end.

A few weeks go by and Kent starts hinting that he does like me.  So we had a "serious" conversation outside McDonald's one night. He said he really did like me, but wanted to make sure he was ready for a relationship. (In my mind I was thinking here we go again.. another false start).  I told him I understood and he could let me know.  Another few weeks go by and a group of us went out to eat.  When the bill came to the table Kent paid for both of our meals.  The next night Kent asked me to be his girlfriend.  Literally, he asked "Will you be my friend."  Very sweet and cute.  I still smile when I think about it to this day.

A few weeks later I knew I loved him.  I was 15 and yet it was very real to me.

A month later we had our first kiss.

A day before my junior year of high school Kent and I were "separated by our parents".  I am sure you can figure out why on your own. (It's not a proud time in my life.  A time that I do regret now, but it's still part of our story.)  It was a sad day for me.  I went to school the next day with red, puffy eyes.  Over the next almost year we tried to "talk, sneak notes, get friends to give each other messages" what have you, but it was really hard.  Everyone around us was telling us to move on.  If it's meant to be then it will be.  But my heart was breaking every time I saw him and couldn't talk to him.  Kent got into a wreck that was pretty bad.  Thankfully he only sprained his arm, but I couldn't even talk to him about that.  Again, it was just really hard.

May 13, 2000, (my 17th birthday) my parents surprised me at Ruby Tuesdays with allowing Kent and I to see each other again.  I was thrilled, excited, nervous and happy.  I had the best senior year.  I got to go to prom with Kent, enjoy senior activities with Kent, have him at my graduation, all of it.  It was a really good year.

On June 9th, 2001, Kent asked me to marry him. You can go to that link and read all about it.  It was a pretty remarkable proposal.

Finally, after meeting almost 15 years earlier.. going through many ups and downs, changes, growing up, letting go, coming back together, etc.  We were finally married on March 16th, 2002.

But our love story doesn't end there and won't end until death do us part.

Until then, our love story will keep getting written...

I'm looking forward to every jot and tiddle.

Happy New Years (late) and Upward!

2012 is already flying by.  And as you can tell from my lack of updating, keeping current on my blogging was obviously not one of my resolutions.  So far our new year is starting off well.  The O'villers are keeping busy.  Jon Kent and Nathan are playing basketball with our church's Upward program.  They are loving it.  Jon Kent moved up to an older boy league.  He is doing well with it.  He is the youngest player in his league and has scored several times.  He is also really good at stealing the ball.  As for Nathan, this is his first year playing and he is having the best time.  He does get bored with it after half time.  Especially since he is the youngest player out there and all the older kids keep the ball from him.  But he is giving it his all and has attempted several shots.  He's a ball hog though.. gotta work on that.  Zoey is doing cheerleading for Upward.  This is her 2nd year doing that.  She really enjoys it and has really gotten better since last year.  Sometimes I have to ask her how a cheer goes... getting old is hard on the mind.  Zoey is also doing dance, still.  We have through May.  I'm  not sure we will do it again.  We'll see once this year is over.  She enjoys it, but there is so much more she wants to do and there is only so much time in a day.  Again, we'll see.  Jon Kent and Zoey both just started karate.  This place isn't your normal karate place.   They do several mixed martial arts.  The kids have just started and already have really taken to it.  It makes our lives busy with all of this stuff going on, but it's keeping the kids active and that has been great.  As for Kent and myself.. we are doing our normal stuff.  We both joined a gym.  I have really loved it.  They have child care so in the mornings after I drop the older two off at school Nate and I go to the gym and he gets to play with new kids and I get an hour or so to myself and work some stress (and fat) off.  It's a win-win.

And with that, you are up to date on the O'villers. :)

Christmas 2011

We had a overall good Christmas.  We took things slow, didn't over plan our days and just enjoyed not being pulled in all directions.  The kids had different "fun" things to do, via Jeffery our elf.  We decorated cookies, made cookies, went to Monkey Joe's, made rice krispie treats, colored, read books, played at the park, played with new toys, played with old toys, played the wii, the kinect.. just a lot of playing and hopefully memory making.  We did our "new tradition" of family presents.  It went over very well.  The kids enjoyed it and I found them talking to each other about their excitement over what the next present would be.  I know it's something we will do again.  Hopefully, memories were made and in the end that it wasn't about the toys or the different parties or activities that we did.  Hopefully it will be about the time spent as a family.  Having memories to look back on and hold on to for the rest of their lives.

Christmas in Dixie

We just did our "3rd Annual Whirlwind Christmas Trip to Alabama".  I am still tired from it all.  We had 3 different family gatherings.  The kids were spoiled rotten and Kent and I were, too.  I greatly appreciated all the gifts I was given and loved seeing the smiling faces when people opened their gifts from us.  That really is the best part.  Seeing the look on someone's face when they open their gift.

While "home" I got to spend some solo time with my daddy and help him with a few things.  It was nice to be able to do that.  The older I get the more I cherish those times.  I know life can slip away so unexpectedly and it's what you make of it while you have it.  It's always hard going home though.  I know my momma won't be there and we drive right past the cemetery on the way in to town.  The heartbreak is always there, even though this is the 2nd Christmas without her.  It doesn't get easier.. you just adjust.  I guess I said all that to say that no matter the material gifts you may get.. it's the gift of time that should be most treasured.

Christmas Traditions

I'm always curious to hear of other people's traditions they partake in during Christmas.  There are so many wonderful ones and it's so neat to see how other families celebrate the season.

Growing up we always had a tradition of the Christmas mouse.  I have no idea how this got started or if it was handed down from a previous generation.  About a week or two before Christmas we would find a gift in our stockings.  It was usually a cardboard candy cane that held about $10 dollars of quarters in it.  And that candy came was green and white (the colors of the bank my momma worked at) and had the name of the bank they came from (again my momma's bank).  You would think we would have put that together a lot sooner... That tradition went on until I married and moved out...although now that I think about it I believe  it did visit once or twice more after I was married.   Another tradition that happened in my house was on Christmas Eve after my brother and I were tucked away in bed, my parents would exchange gifts to each other.  The older I got the more I wanted to sit in and watch.  I finally got to do that I believe the last two Christmases I was at home.  We also did the cookies and milk for Santa but we also left out marshmallows for the reindeer.

Now that I am married and a parent I have tried to carry some traditions on as I've grown my family.  We do the Christmas mouse and my kids always enjoy checking their stockings to see if it's came yet.  It's usually just a small toy, but they loved it just the same.  Kent and I exchange gifts on Christmas Eve just like my parents did.  And yes, marshmallows are still left for the reindeer.

Some new traditions we have made our own over the years are cutting out pictures to make a list for Santa (for those who can't read and write yet), baking a gingerbread man, baking and decorating cookies that the kids leave out for Santa, Jeffery the Elf (he is always up to something!), on Christmas Eve after lunch we exchange gifts from each other (the kids buy each other a gift from the Santa shop at school and Nathan gets two gifts from the Dollar Tree to give to Jon Kent and Zoey), Christmas Eve we go to church and have a sweet and wonderful time with our church family, Kent reads about the birth of Jesus and why we truly celebrate Christmas and then he reads the Night Before Christmas, right before sending the kids to bed we make sure to check to see where Santa is at and then hurry the kids off to bed. The last two Christmases we have spent quietly together.  Since we are in South Carolina and all our family is in Alabama we aren't rushed from here to there.  We enjoy each other, enjoy our new gifts, sit down and eat a feast of a meal together and just enjoy the ease of the day.  I am always so reflective and thankful for my many blessings.

A new tradition we are starting this year is gifts of family time.  This year, 3 nights before Christmas Eve we will open a present.  Inside will be a family activity to do together.  One night the gift will have glow-in-the-dark necklaces, sticks, etc. and we will play hide-and-go seek in the dark.  Another night the gift will be a night of family fun on the XBOX playing the Kinect.  And a third night the gift will be silly string and the kids will be able to have a silly string fight.  I am the most excited about this new tradition.  The gifts the kids get will be played with and enjoyed but eventually forgotten.. but this.. family time and making memories that will be held on to forever.

This is the second Christmas I am having to spend without my momma.  And I feel like last Christmas we were just going through the motions, trying to get through the day to say that we survived.  I enjoyed my time with family, but I was still so raw after the unexpected loss of my momma.  So this year, I want to give the gift of memories so that may kids can remember the traditions and take comfort in them when I am gone.  Prayerfully that won't happen until they are well in their years, but whenever it happens I want them to have the memories to hold on to.  I know it's the gift that keeps on giving from my parents.

Happy 6th Birthday, Zoey!

When Jon Kent was almost 5 months old, I found out I was pregnant again.  It was April Fool's Day 2005.  And what a surprise it was!  Zoey's due date was November 30, 2005.  15 days after her brother was to celebrate his 1st birthday.  But in true girl fashion.. she was late.  She wasn't quite ready to make her beauty known. So for two more days we waited.  When finally she was born on December 2, 2005 at 7:07am.  Weighing 6 pounds, 13oz and 21 inches long.  She was perfect.  10 fingers, 10 toes and a sprinkling of brown hair.  Our family was complete (so we thought).

In 6 years Zoey has been the spice of glitter in this family.  She is a girly girl who likes to build mud castles.  She likes to have her hair fixed and her clothes to be pink.  She likes to wear lipgloss on her lips and dirt on her knees.  She's outgoing, caring, kind, friend to everyone, talkative, curious, loving, sweet and just Zoey.  If you have ever met Zoey you will always remember her.  She just has that sort of effect on people.  How it has already been 6 years I will never know.  But I am thankful for all 6 years that I have had to spend with Zoey and I pray that she has 106 more to come.

Happy Birthday my sweet and beautiful little girl.  I am so proud to call you my daughter and thankful to have you as my sweet and only little girl.  I love you!

Happy 7th Birthday, Jon Kent!

I'm not sure how we got here, but somewhere along the way someone hit the fast forward button.

Seven years ago today, at 5:05pm, Jonathan Kent Owens, Jr. was born.  He weighed a tiny 5 pounds, 8ozs and was 19.5 inches long.  He was our miracle baby.  Our baby that healed our hearts after losing two babies before.  He was tiny, perfect and ours.  I will never forget rubbing my lips across his blonde peach fuzz hair and thinking how blessed I was to be holding this precious baby.

Over the last 7 years there have been many more times that I have held Jon Kent, watched him run, watched him learn, watched him be an amazing big brother and again thought to myself how blessed I am to have him as my baby.

Jon Kent, thank you for being my first baby.  For teaching me unconditional love.  For making me a mommy. I hope that your 7th birthday was all that you dreamed it would be and I pray that you have 107 more birthdays to come!  I love you!!