Love Story: Part 6

Over the next months, Adam and I became very close. He never judged me, always listened, wasn't ever turned off or annoyed with anything I talked to him about.

He became my best friend.

As those months progressed, I'll be honest. It got harder and harder for me to want to spend time with my girlfriends. I still loved them, sure, but Adam was everything I needed. In one super-handsome package. He listened to my problems, held me when I cried, was genuinely happy when I succeeded, and was a really good kisser. I just hope I was those same things for him.

Soon, it was time for my junior prom. Nothing too remarkable about this prom other than our (once again) fantastic outfits. My dress was magenta and orange, in a good way :) ...his suit was bright blue. He also wore a zipper tie. And tennis shoes. But (once again), he pulled it off and looked amazing. We posed for all the obligatory pictures for my parents, ate dinner at Piccadilly's in Wichita, and were witnessed walking into the prom by hundreds (that's how my high school did it, they set up bleachers outside the prom so people could come watch everyone walk in). It was an awesome night, and Adam kept his arm tightly around me the whole time, which was even awesomer.

Adam graduated from high school.

We spent that summer together, as much as possible. Unfortunately we still lived in separate towns, so seeing each other wasn't as convenient as running down the block, and I always had that pesky curfew to abide by.

My parents were awesomely cool and invited him to come with us to Colorado on summer vacation that year. That was a big deal for us...we got to spend 16 hours in the car together, he saw me with a towel on my head after a shower (he should've ran away then), and we slept in the same hotel room! Separate beds, of course...and my parents were also in the same room too. :) We even got to kiss on the top of Pike's Peak. Sweet.

I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm writing our love story with the help of the photo albums I kept throughout our dating years. Three and a half albums filled with photos of us. We were good about taking photos back then. Now...not so much.

The next "big" event I came across in the photo albums was the day Adam and I went muddin'. You think I'm being sarcastic, but this was the funnest thing ever. I wouldn't consider myself a "city girl," because let's face it, my hometown wasn't even a city really. But Adam was definitely a country boy. As mentioned in an earlier installment, he had a four-wheeler. I'd never been muddin' before, so I wasn't aware of how this worked. Adam patiently explained that I'd probably want to borrow some of his old clothes for the adventure.

It had just rained, so the dirt roads around Adam's house were a mess. We took off from his house, and he drove directly through a field. Didn't bother with a road. Adam, the professional ATV driver, and me, holding on tight to him for dear life. We found some big mud puddles (which I soon discovered was the goal of the whole thing), and Adam headed straight for them.

You can guess what happened next.

Mud went flying everywhere. In my eyes, my hair, my ears, my mouth. But it was so much fun! We kept going and found more mud, almost getting stuck a million times. After half an hour, we headed back to his house, both completely covered in mud. This was when we took the photos I'm now looking at. Adam's arms and legs were completely black, and he has this mischevious look on his face. He knew what came next.

I didn't.

Out came the hose.

Hose water is always FREEZING.

We hosed each other off as best we could, and then headed inside for real showers. I think I was still finding mud on myself a week later.

A few awesome things happened then. Adam moved out of his parents house, across their driveway, and into a little rental house they owned. He was "on his own." He started pursuing his education degree at WSU, and he finished that mural at his old high school that began our story. We also celebrated our first anniversary.

Let's back up. I must first mention just how cool it was to have a college boyfriend. I was a senior in high school and had this older man to talk to all my friends about. He did the sweetest things. He would drive all the way to my school while I was in class, find my car in the massive parking lot, and leave me cards, notes, flowers. He even brought me lunch, clear from Chili's in Wichita (where he was now employed as the cutest waiter ever) a couple times. On those occasions, I could basically only run out to his car, give him a kiss and a thanks, and take the food before I had to get back. He did all that, just to see me for a few minutes.

Since he lived in his own house now, we got to watch movies in his living room, cook dinner together, and just be alone. Adam's specialty dinner became the now-infamous "bowl of meat," which was basically ground beef cooked in sauces like A-1, and a side of instant mashed potatoes. We ate a lot of that in those days.

As our anniversary came around, I didn't know what to expect. Before Adam, I'd never been in a relationship longer than a month and so I didn't know the protocol for "big" anniversaries. Plus, even though I knew how sweet Adam was, I didn't know just how big of a deal he made out of special occasions yet.

He picked me up late in the afternoon on November 23rd, 2002. We drove out to the country near Newton...I had no idea where we were going, and I was wearing nice clothes. Hopefully this wasn't another muddin' adventure.

We stopped at the tiny little Newton Airport.

There was a plane.

It was a small plane, a 6-seater, I believe. Adam's dad had a friend who was a pilot and owned this plane. Adam had arranged for him to take us on a flight to celebrate our first year together. I was a senior in high school...this doesn't happen to people like me. But it was really happening. Wow.

Adam and I got in the seats behind the pilot and his wife, and we put our headphones on so we could talk to each other. We held hands. It was surreal.

Adam asked the pilot to fly over his house. So he did. We got to see all their land, their house, Adam's little house, the infamous silo. So cool.

We flew in to the Hutchinson Airport. There's a steakhouse there, and we had an awesome dinner with the pilot and his wife. I think Adam paid him for his plane with the steak dinner. A fair trade, I'd say. :)

After dinner, we flew back to Newton and Adam drove me out to his house. We walked into his house, and one of his friends was there, setting up a drum set in his living room.

To preface this, I used to be obsessed with the drums. I had drumsticks from the Hard Rock Cafe that I tapped randomly all the time. But I didn't have any drums, I'd never had any drums, and I most definitely didn't have any rhythm. It was just a pipe dream. But it was a dream I'd definitely shared with Adam.

So we got to his house, and there was this drum set in his living room. He'd asked his friend Isaac to set it up while we were away. Isaac stuck around long enough to show me how to play one measure of whatever (see? I don't even know the terminology), and then he left us be. I spent the next hour on the drums. Poor Adam. He had a turn too though.

And that...was our first year. There's nothing I would change. Adam was the best boyfriend I'd ever had, the best boyfriend I'd ever heard of anyone having. I was so in love. I know he was too.

But I still didn't get why he loved me.

He was the amazing one, I was just ordinary.

To be continued...

Valentine

I'm so looking forward to having two Valentines next year (okay, okay...if we count the dogs, it would be four).

But for now, to my one and only:

I love you so much.
I don't always know how to say it, how to show it.
I'm so grateful for you,
So blessed that God gave you to me.
As we start this new chapter in our lives,
I know I'm going to fall in love with you more than ever before.
I can't wait to see you as a dad,
To see how you will love our son.

Thanks for being amazing,
For being YOU,
For always always being here.

I love you, Adam.
Forever and always.

Tulsa

Last weekend, after our gender reveal party and before our Superbowl party, Adam and I made a quick trip down to Tulsa to visit one of his RC buddies, Brandon. We hadn't met his wife Cassie and their daughter Reagan before this visit, so it was great to meet them. They were really accommodating, and we even got an impromptu performance of them singing "It's Tricky" on SingStar. :)

Saturday evening we went to a restaurant called the Brook and ordered a TON of amazing appetizers. Nachos, cheese fries, macaroni and cheese, quesadillas....oh my gosh it was so good. And so much cheese. I love cheese.

Then we headed back to their house to just hang out. They have a Greyhound named Toe and an Italian Greyhound (the little one) named Moxie. As you can probably imagine, I spent most of the weekend schnuggling with these girls.

Moxie and I were BFFs by the time we left.

Here's their adorable daughter Reagan. I took this right in the middle of her lunch, so pardon her messy face. Reagan is such a good baby and took an immediate liking to Adam and I. Which I take as a good sign...hopefully our kid will like us too. :) I even got a couple open-mouth kisses from this sweetie!

Before we left, I wanted a family photo, but Adam had to ruin it, of course. Reagan just stared at him, like she knew he didn't belong.

There we go! Thanks Brandon, Cassie, and Reagan for letting us stay with you! We had a great time.

20 Weeks

Hooray!!!! Finally half way!!!
And I got my hair done this morning by the wonderful Sage (thanks Sage!) and I love it! My bangs are finally trimmed and we dyed the underneath layer DARK. It's so cute...I should try to post a better photo of it. And this week's photographer was Ginger. Thanks for taking my belly pic this week Geeenger!

How far along? 20 weeks
Weight gain: Exactly 10 pounds
Baby is the size of a(n): Cantaloupe
Food cravings/aversions: I'm really excited to get one of those Valentine's boxes of chocolates in a large size (hint, hint, Adam). Yesterday I had mushroom pizza at Knolla's for lunch and then I had to have it again for dinner. I could eat it again today, if only there were leftovers...
Sleeping: I switch positions a lot during the night and it's getting more difficult to do. I'm carrying 10 extra pounds I'm not used to! Last night as Adam and I were going to bed, I sat up in exasperation. Adam rubbed my back and asked what was wrong. I told him that I'm just not able to move around easily to get comfortable anymore. He thought it was "cute."
Milestones: Adam was able to feel the baby kick this week! It was really exciting, though he's not a freaker-outter like me, so he didn't get nearly as excited as I thought he should've. I asked him if this was becoming more real for him since I'm showing and he felt the baby now, but he said the sonogram made it more real than anything else. And I'm definitely feeling more movement and kicks now. Sometimes it surprises me and makes me jump a little. :)
Weird things I read online: My uterus is pushing against my other organs like my lungs, which will make me short of breath (glad to have that explained because I've definitely been feeling it). Also, little man is sleeping similarly to what he will after he's born. So that means he's awake and asleep as much as he will be in the real world. Crazy!
Interesting things that happened this past week/anticdotes: I cleared out the nursery and scraped the pink-and-red border off the wall. I took before photos, so I'll be able to show our progress. I got paint samples for the color scheme I want to use, so I'd like to start painting as soon as possible (ladies who work with Adam: I need some help convincing him to PAINT!). We got to see the nearly finished crib (sans stain) that Adam's dad is building us and it's BEAUTIFUL. My dad finished the motorcycle rocker (from the previous post) for us. Also, I've started thinking of the baby by the name we chose, so it's 100% the name we're going to use! But it'll still be a surprise for you all. :)

And here's a picture that just warms my heart. I was washing dishes last night after supper, and when I came into the living room, this is what I found. Proof that I'm not the only one who pampers our dogs. All my boys! Well, minus one I guess. :)

Things That Make My Life Interesting

This will be another new installment to the Dreher blog. There are so many weird things that go on around our house, I thought people should be privy to just how strange my little family is.

-Adam will never give a straight answer to any question he's asked. Conversations that should be quick, like, "What did you have for lunch?" Turn in to 15 minute discussions of me trying to get him to tell me the truth. Exhausting.

-Axl likes sleeping with a pillow on top of his head.

-Diesel must be "invited" up onto our bed at night. At his insistence, not ours. If we don't ask him to come up there, he sits on the floor next to my side of the bed, shifting his weight and whining until he's finally invited. So annoying.

Vroom Vroom

My dad built this awesome motorcycle rocking "horse" for our little dude. It's amazing! I can't wait til we can use it. And it's a Harley, of course. :) Thanks Dad!!!

Gender Reveal Party

Friday evening was our big gender reveal party with our small group and a few other close friends. The night before, I began the decorating. I'd gone to Hobby Lobby and purchased a bunch of blue and pink containers. And I went to Candyopolis in the mall for the candy. By the way, they charge and arm and a leg! I didn't realize! Anyway. Here are my supplies:

I realized I didn't have a tablecloth for the counter where are the goodies would be, so I used alternating blue and pink crepe paper in strips. It turned out cute.

We used cupcakes to tell everyone that we were having a boy. I got blue gumdrops and baked them into the center of the cupcakes. This photo shows my process. Luckily I was smart and used foil muffin cups...the paper see-through ones would've revealed the news before they upwrapped the cupcake!

After they cooled, I frosted them since you could see a little blue poking out.

Here's the goodie table. I also had a little thing for people to suggest baby names for either boy or girl. We got lots of...ahem..great suggestions. :)


Ryan and Melinda made their shirts. They drew babies but covered up the goods with duct tape so they could have their own little "reveal" moment.

Melinda thought boy...

Ryan thought girl.

Everyone wore either pink or blue, depending on what their guess was. I was going to take photos of each "team" but totally spaced out on that. To recap, the boy team did win out.

Team Girl was Adam (he had to wear pink since he originally thought it'd be a girl) Rachael, Risa, Ryan M., Val, Luis, Lindsey.

Team Boy was me, Matt, Ryan H., Chris, Melinda, Scott, Ginger, Joe, Avery, Audra, Justin, Reid.

Here I am, getting ready to hand out the cupcakes and explaining that they had to unwrap and bite in on the count of 3.


The moment of truth...

It's a BOY!

Rachael and Matt drove all the way in from KC for the party. And guess what? They got like 4 inches of snow that day and weren't sure they'd be able to make it. Read this if you don't know what I'm referring to.

Thanks for a big reaction, Risa. We can always count on you. :)



Adam had bought awesome prizes for the winning team, so he handed those out. They were grow-your-own dinosaur and foamy airplanes. Good job, hun.

It was a fun night and a super fun way to tell all our close friends. I'm glad we had the party, but I'm even more relieved that it's not a secret anymore. Keeping that secret was HARD. Harder than keeping the pregnancy a secret the first 12 weeks. I even slipped a couple times, so a few people knew before they were supposed to. I'm not real good at keeping secrets... :)

Thanks to everyone who came, you made it such a fun night!