throwback thursday: 365 days ago.

matthew has been home from his mission for 365 days.

who would have thought that in merely one year we would be married

with baby number one on the way?!

if you were wondering how awkward i looked after not seeing matt for just over two years, let me remind you...

maybe it's the pregnancy, but i actually got all teary eyed watching the video of our reunion.

words cannot describe how much i love this boy and how lucky i feel to call him mine.

although the two years we spent apart were hard at times, they were some of the best two years for us to grow together as a couple, and to grow as individuals.

one year ago

today

picture coming! ha

see the full documented reunion and story here

throwback thursday - the time i dated a persian boy.

my husband gave me permission to post this so no worries.

one summer night in 2011, the girls and i decided to go get delicious drinks at chili's.

we then ran to walmart to buy toothpaste.  while we were at walmart, this guy seriously was following us everywhere.  once we got to the parking lot and were going to the car the same guy approached me, asking my name.

i knew immediately he was from another country

1. because he looked it

and

2. because he barely spoke english

he kept telling me i was so beautiful and asking me for my number.

i found out he was from iran and he had only been here one month.

because i'm a funny human and often times find myself in weird situations, i decided to take his number instead so this little dealio could be on my terms.

(plus, i had this goal of kissing a foreign man before matt came home so i figured this was my chance)

meet reza. who first told me his name was tabaa, but then i found out was really reza.

26 year old. persian. national swimmer. man.

so reza and i began texting, in very broken english mind you and it was quite hysterical.

he was always inviting me to do things or come over, but i was skeptical and creeped at first.

then, one day i decided to meet him.

by myself.

yes, i'm a crazy human.

well you see, i found out that my dear friend reza had only been in the U.S for one month, and ten of those days he spent in jail.

hahahaha

that situation is a whole different story itself.

it was actually quite a sad situation, he did something that he had no idea was illegal in the U.S.

i felt bad for the poor chap, because in a way he was set up and taken advantage of, which landed him in jail.

so rather than run for the hills, i gave him the benefit of the doubt.

he actually was one of the nicest, sweetest boys i've ever met.

he was super respectful and very eager to learn english and american culture.

in turn, i learned a lot about the persian culture.

one day, i invited him to orem summerfest parade with the friends, so they could see how hilarious this foreign boy was.

we crammed seven people in my car and away we went.

good times were had.

i continued to hang out with him for a bit.

every time i was with him and i would go to leave, he would give me some sort of food.

one day, he filled the front pocket of my purse with persian nuts.

i'm not sure why he always gave me food, but he felt it was necessary.

so, like i said, my goal was to kiss a foreign man.

and that i did.

here's how it went...

we were sitting there talking one day about nothing in particular.

i had a bracelet on my wrist that said "FEED."  it was a charity/donation type of a deal.

he asked me what "feed" meant.

i'm sitting there trying to explain it, talking about food and feeding babies and what not and he just does not understand.

he whips out his phone and google translate and then says, "uh huhh, ok feed! i get it"

he looks at me, plants on right on my lips, and then says, "I feed you!!"

hahaha not quite my foreign buddy.

apparently it doesn't translate quite directly.

needless to say i checked that goal off my list.

a few days later, i was leaving out of town and he gave me this stuffed animal dowsed in his cologne "to remember him" while i was away.

after my trip, it all kind of faded away.

i used to see him from time to time at school.

but now i can say that i semi dated and kissed a persian boy.

a first look.

a few weeks ago matthew saw me in my dress for the first time.
and this is how it went...

it was pretty great :)
i sure love this boy.
photos taken by tregani 

i shall post more bridal/groomals soon!

love,
amyLynn

the airport.

**this is extremely long, but something that i definitely want to remember, so be ye warned**

april 11, 2012

i couldn't sleep the night before.  i laid in bed tossing and turning. one minute smiling, the next crying.  my emotions truly were all over the place.  for you see, i had been in this position once before.  i knew that i would and could get through it, and i knew that it was going to be so much different, so much better than the time before, but i couldn't help but make comparisons.

finally, around 4am my nerves subsided and i was able to fall asleep imagining our airport reunion.

i woke up at 9 and literally felt numb.  i couldn't move or eat, nor did i want to.  i probably sat in bed for a good hour just starring straight ahead.  it was far too early to start getting ready, so to calm my emotions i decided to do what any human would do....watch khloe and lamar...duh!!

i think i watched a solid 4 episodes.. so thank you odom's for passing the time.

i finally began to get ready for the airport adventure.  at this point i had convinced myself that i didn't want to go to the airport.  i was feeling like i needed to vomit, but i knew i would kick myself in the face if i didn't go.

by the time i got ready, this is what i looked like.

with an hour left until go time, i headed to the grocery store to get balloons and a big ass dr. pepper.

i felt i deserved it.

i then headed over to matt's parents house where i made a complete fool of myself, it was awesome. 

 once i began talking to them and the realization set in that this was really happening my nerves disappeared and pure excitement set in.  i was dancing around their kitchen clapping and making up songs.  

they laughed to humor me, but secretly i'm sure they were freaked out. 

finally, at 2:30pm it was time to leave for the airport.

with signs and balloons in hand, and of course my dr.pepper (which i didn't even drink, just held for support)

we headed on our way.

naturally on the car ride up i took my jacket off to avoid tacos.  i was a hot sweaty mess.

we made good time and got to the airport with about 45 minutes to spare before his plane landed.

while waiting we of course took pictures.

matt's high school/football buddies

my support crew = best ever.

matt's brother, SIL, and nieces and nephew

matt's dad and baby haven.

there's a million more pictures of us waiting, but i will spare you.

so we get news that the plane has landed and i'm peeing my pants by this time.

i got super quiet and kind of just stood their doing my own thing.

being super awkward as always

this pretty much sums up my feelings.

AWKWARD AS.

matt's mom had gone up the escalator so that she could be the first to see him and get the first loves.  it was awesome, because we couldn't see matt but all of the sudden she starts jumping up and down and disappears.  

next thing we know...

isn't he the cutest thing?!

while that is happening, this is what i was doing....

 pretty much my reaction for the next ten minutes or so.

there were about 30 or so people there to greet matt, so i decided i was going to let him say hello to everyone first and wait patiently for my turn.

it was so precious though, every time he looked at me he would grin so big and wink.  it pretty much melted my heart.

finally, FINALLY, it was my turn

as soon as we hugged, all of my nerves were gone.  i truly couldn't stop smiling.  it was so cute because when we were taking pictures he would grab my hand and squeeze it.

he was hilarious at the airport because he didn't know what to do.

he was like a dog running around distracted by everything.

at one point we were talking...

 and he interrupts and asks if he can show me his yo-yo tricks

i quickly learned that yo-yo equals security blanket. haha he pulls it out when he doesn't know what to do. it's quite precious... and to be honest, he's got some mad sick yo-yo skills.

the next thing he requested was a "fat point" picture or the "mission point" i don't really quite understand it, but i did receive multiple pictures in the past two years with the fat point, sooo here it is.

the rest of the airport experience was filled with smiles, pictures, and more smiles.

because matt was still technically a missionary, we said our goodbyes at the airport and i didn't get to see him again until he got released.

needless to say, the airport was such an amazing experience.  it was almost like nothing had changed.  as soon as i saw his face and hugged him, i knew that the feelings were still there and then some. 

i want to punch blogger in the face right now because i have some pretty sweet video footage to show you of the whole experience but it won't work, and i'm annoyed.

also, our first kiss was so precious.

i will tell you about it another day. tomorrow perhaps :)

thanks to these women for taking the above pictures/video

that is all for now.

love,

amyLynn