Connecting two hearts together...

The other night my love and I were watching Karate Kid.  It's a cute movie...definitely cheesy but very cute!  And that Jaden Smith... he's gonna be a heart breaker!  Look how stinking cute he is..

Aw!  I want to call him mine... ANYWAY!  Haha!  There is one scene where cutie pa tutie Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan are walking on a path to the advanced Kung Fu place..I don't know what or where it is but it's in China.  All the sudden Eric asked me if I saw the Love Locks?!  What?!  He skipped back so I could see and along the path there's a chain just covered in Love Locks!  It was so cool!  Why?!  Because we have a Love Lock!  What is a Love Lock?! 

Love, compassion, trust, and pride are but a few of the many emotions that we as human beings feel towards each other. These emotions connect us, but it is often difficult to adequately convey their strength and significance to those we love. Sometimes mere words aren’t enough, and in those occasions a gift that symbolizes our love speaks what words can’t.

Following the example of this beautiful ancient custom, our modern world can now connect through life’s most precious moments. The love padlock is a representation of love between two people; it is the healing of broken hearts, the bond between friends, and the solidarity within a family—more simply put: it is togetherness. It is not solely about the lock itself, but much like a diamond ring represents the lasting bond of marriage, so does the lock symbolize a movement towards love, acceptance, and unity. Lovelocks™ is honored to place “Lovescapes” around the world so that we all may enjoy and share in the binding messages each Lovelock conveys.

Our “Lovescape” locks and accessories were artfully designed with the care and love we hope they will communicate. It was our privilege to design a piece of art that will be both a personal joy, and a universal symbol of love. Each padlock features a double heart design and is delivered without a key, meaning they lock only once, and once the lock is sealed it is kept sealed forever.

It is our desire that each Lovelock placed on a “Lovescape” will bring joy and create lasting memories which future generations can enjoy and embrace.

Connecting two hearts together

Our love will be forever

 

Love Locks is huge in Europe and Asia! It's finally making it's way over to the USA!  When I first learned about this I couldn't resist...we HAD TO DO IT!  So we bought a lock and locked our love away forever! :)

Locking our Love!

Connecting two hearts together... Our love will be forever.

Bridal Pictures

I love our bridal/wedding pictures!  My hair was perfect.  My face was clear :)  (I know I'm not the only one who stresses about breaking out!)  My dress was gorgeous!  My man was so sexy in his tux!  And when our kids look at our pictures they're going to tell me how old fashioned we look in them :(  Oh well!  I'll love them forever! :)



Yes this is the picture at the top of my blog.  I just have to say... this picture has not been edited.  The sun glinted off my ring the same time this picture was taken.  Yep my ring is this sparkly :)

Some of these pictures I love because they are just pretty.  Some show off my beautiful (silk!  Can you believe they're fake?!  I know they look SO real!) flowers!  I love the faces Eric shows off in some of them :)  I love my silly, sexy husband!  But most of all I love that I can (and will!) always look back on these pictures to remember this special time in our lives.  The BEST time in our lives!  (Can we do it again?!  I miss my dress and all the attention that comes with getting married haha)  And I do have to admit...we are one good lookin' couple! ;)  Now, please excuse me while I go put on my wedding dress...

Wedding Announcement

This was our announcement!  It's very plain buy very perfect :)

(Front)

(Back)

I love the announcements that have tons of cute pictures, colors everywhere, and that are very cutesy but this worked for us.  I wanted the focus to be on us.  I wanted it to be very straight forward.  Mission accomplished! :)

Although if I could change one thing.. I would've spelled out my middle name..looks kind of silly with my initial just hanging there haha!

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

I had a horrible dream last night.  So scary.  I dreamed my hubby was shot and killed!  Like murdered!  (We watched Batman and turned if off to go to bed right as the parents were shot..that's probably where this dream came from.)  You know how you can't usually remember what you dreamed?  Well I remember this one so clearly.  I remember exactly how I felt when I knew Eric was dead. (Funny how I can't describe to you how I found out but in the dream you just know it..you know?)  There are no words to describe how horrific it was.  That's where my title comes into play.  Exquisite horror of my reality.  This would be the worst thing ever to experience.  One of my bestie's lost her husband not even a year ago and I have witnessed the horror's she's been through to be able to start healing and the pain she's suffered.  I think I felt a fraction of what she's been through last night. (I love you Ash and look up to you so much!)  I think the dream became too much for my mind to handle because all of a sudden I was awake.  I was wide awake and yet it still felt so real.  I lost my Eric.  And then the crying began.  I snuggled up to Eric and even though he was very much alive, the feeling of horror, pain, despair, rage, and helplessness just took over.  I don't even want to feel how sad my life would be without Eric in it ever again!  I promise to try my very hardest to love Eric the most I can everyday and to never take him for granted. 

What I love about my Eric

• He loves me no matter what.  Always and forever.
• He's one of the hardest workers I know!
• When he's working out (with his iPod in) or in the shower he randomly starts singing...LOUDLY :)
• He smells SO yummy.
• His laugh is the best sound in the world...especially when he REALLY gets laughing!
• He's the best kisser ever.
• When he winks at me I melt a little inside :)
• When he's singing in the shower... it's usually a song he makes up about me in spanish. (I'd like to think it's all good things about me ha)
• He makes me want to be a better me every single day!
• He is my very best friend.

Love this picture!

See?  We're definitely better together!


My husband has made me laugh.  Wiped my tears.  Hugged me tight.  Watched me succeed.  Seen me fail.  Cheered me on.  Kept me going strong.  My husband is a gift from God that I will have a friend forever.  I love my Eric.

We're engaged!!

I wish I would've been blogging back when we really did get engaged :)  It would've been so much more fun to announce!  Anyway here's our story...it's a little corky and will feel very spur of the moment BUT it's so us :)
The week before Valentine's Day (2008) Eric asked me if we could eat Panda Express (the meal we had on our traumatic first date :)) on friday! I told him we could just get it now but he told me that he wanted to wait til then.  Since Valentine's was on a thursday and he had school that night he wanted to do a special date for us friday night!  Then he proceeded to tell me to not be surprised if he blindfolds me...What?!  I interrupted him right then and told him to STOP talking.  He looked kind of flustered and apologized. (He was just a little excited and the poor guy can't keep a secret very well when he's excited.)  Haha should I be thinking something special is going to happen friday night? :)  We set the time for our "normal, please don't expect anything special to happen tonight" date around 6ish.  Eric wanted to do it earlier than that but I had a client scheduled for 4 and it was a color.  I usually spend 2 hours to color, cut, and style and have a little time for sufficient gossip :)  But I told him I'd hurry as fast as I could!
Well friday rolls around and I made sure to have my hair curled pretty, get my nails done nice and sparkly (you know in case anything sparkly ended up on my finger that night) and picked out my cutest outfit!  I wasn't "expecting" anything that night but hey!  It pays to be prepared right?!  My 4 o clock appointment showed up and I did her hair in record time!  Seriously an hour and 15 minutes!  (I wasn't excited about my date or anything cause I didn't know what was going to happen ;)) I hurried home and Eric picked me up shortly after.  It was already getting dark (and we needed daylight!) so Eric asked me if we could go for a short walk instead of dinner first.  As I was popping the batteries in the camera I told him I didn't mind :)  We pulled up to Tonaquint Park (same park as our first date) and took a little stroll around it then we went back to the picnic table that we first ate at and Eric bent down on one knee, told me how much he loved me, then popped the question!  Of course I said YES!  (In case you're wondering where my camera is at this point that I made sure had fresh new batteries for...I left it in the car dang it!)  After that we went to dinner at my favorite restaraunt, got icecream with friends, and I got to show my pretty ring off all night long! :)
Just to let you know...we did have a great little date Valentine's night (Eric ended up not having school that night) complete with a movie, pizza, icecream, and flowers!  Eric would've proposed that night I think except everyone told him it was so lame and cheesy...I would never want to compromise his manliness so there was no complaining from me :)

Engaged: February 15, 2008
Eric and soon to be Courtney Brinkerhoff :)
Enjoy some of our engagemnet pictures!

I totally would've posted a "Yay we just got engaged!" picture BUT I lost those too when our computer crashed :(  ALWAYS back your pictures up!

Solo Por Ti...

Caution: Try not to fall in love with Eric as you picture him translating this song :) And yes I'm listening to this song as I blog so be prepared for some sappiness!                                                                                                                           

Solo Por Ti
By: Josh Groban

Dime que haría
De mis dias?
Quien soñaría
Si no estas?
Como podría
Respirar el aire, lejos de ti
Cuando no estas aquí?

Solo por ti caminaría
En la infinidad
Afrontaria contigo
La eternidad
Solo por ti

Dime lo que
Siente tu alma?
Dime porque
Vive en mi?
No se, pero voy muriendo
Lento, solo, sin ti
Triste me quedo asi

Solo por ti caminaría
En la infinidad
Afrontaría contigo
La eternidad
Solo por ti

Te dare mil poesias
Las escribire para ti
Cantare mis melodias
Con la musica de tu alma

Solo por ti caminaria
En la infinidad
Afrontaria contigo
La eternidad

Solo por ti caminaria
En la infinidad
Afrontaria amar por la enternidad
Yo solo
Solo por ti

Translation:
Only For You

Tell me what I would do
With my days?
Who could dream
Without you there?
How could I
Breath the air, far away from you
When you're not here?

Only for you, I would walk
In infinity
I would face
Eternity with you
Only for you

Tell me what
Does your soul feel?
Tell me why
It lives in me?
I don't know why, but I'm slowly dying
Alone, without you
I remain sad

Only for you, I would walk
In infinity
I would face
Eternity with you
Only for you

I will give you a thousand poems
I will write them just for you
I will sing my melodies
With the music of your soul

Only for you, I would walk
In infinity
I would face
Eternity with you

Only for you, I would walk
In infinity
I would face to love for all eternity
Alone, only for you



This song is gorgeous!  Please listen to it the first chance you get!  I loved this song even before I knew what it meant.  What does it mean to me now that I know what it means?!  This is our song.  Yes we have a song :)  And isn't it just so cute, and sappy, and romantic?!  Aw I love it!

This song made me realize I love Eric :)  Here's the story:

Eric was over one night just hanging out and for some reason I got on the computer and started showing him songs I liked.  Well I loved this song :Solo Por Ti: but had no idea what it meant.  Then I realized Eric speaks spanish!  He can tell me!  So we listened to the song together then I played it a second time and after each line Eric would translate.  The word to call the feelings I felt is love.  I was in awe, scared, surprised, emotional, excited, shocked, and everything else you can imagine!  I'm in love with his boy!  Every time I hear this song it takes me back to that moment and I still remember how it felt!  It was so scary and exhilarating all at the same time!  This song marked the beginning for me (Eric was already head over heels :)) and I never looked back!  

Eric is my best friend, my support system, my partner in crime, and my lover. I don't want to ever find out what life would be like without him.

He's a HOT little number in his pick up truck..

My man bought a truck!  He was more excited than all our nephews combined on Christmas morning :)  I've never seen him so excited about something.  (Here's hoping he was that excited to marry me??!)  Eric totally deserves this truck and I'm so happy for him!

Here's to hoping I can drive this beast!  :)

Picture happy?

Not today!  Today is a sad day!  Remember how I said more dating pictures to come?  Well here you go!

I hope you enjoyed that...  It's all we're getting :(  Our computer crashed and we lost all of our dating pictures because I didn't back them up.  Ah!  Stupid!  And sad!  Safe to say.. I learned my lesson!  ALWAYS have multiple copies of pictures!
It's funny to think my kids will read this and tell me how ancient digital pictures are...ah!  I don't want to get old and outdated haha :)