The one thing I know for certain about motherhood is that mom's put every bit of their heart and soul into their kids. I know this, of course, by witnessing it my entire life. Mom's love with a selfless ability; they always put their family first, and their protective nature doesn't end once their children grow up.

Now that my siblings and I are all grown adults, I know that our mom still worries for us just as much now {if not more} than ever before. When we were kids, she was always there to watch over us and make sure everything was alright, and even though she has lost that control of being ever-present, I know that the worrying hasn't stopped. The fact that my mom worries, proves to me only how much she cares. That's the thing with moms, above all else, they are the most caring and compassionate people in our lives.

I have been incredibly blessed to be surrounded by some of the best mom's out there. My mom, my mother-in-law, Patye, and my sister-in-law, Alexsis, have each shown me the value in being a mom. While these three women are so fundamentally different, they each have the common thread of motherhood weaving through them. They each want the absolute best for their babies, regardless of how old those "babies" may be.

Here is a post to say thank you. Thank you, mom, for always being my confidant. I turn to you before I turn to anyone else. Our relationship is completely void of secrets and it always has been. Thank you, Pat, for raising incredibly gifted and motivated people. I am beyond blessed to have ended up with a person that takes his responsibilities seriously but that can also let loose and have fun. Lastly, but never least, thank you, Alexsis, for giving not only my brother but our entire family the greatest gift we could ever imagine. To all of you, thank you for raising some of the best, passionate, driven people I know. Look Ma, we all turned out wonderfully.

As always, we all got together on Mother's Day to celebrate the women who truly are the glue that hold this family together.

At my request, we played a few rounds of Clue. The fact that both Wyet and I enjoy spending time with our parents says something about how great our relationships are.

The newest parents in the family!

Three amazing mama's! {& a puppy mama too!}

My mom and best friend!

The whole crew! {all products of an incredible mom!}

The boys! We are extremely out numbered in this family.

Happy Mother's Day!

Of Course I Will

Over the past decade, many times I had hoped that one day things would work themselves out, and Wyet and I would end up together. For the past few years, I have been nothing but certain I would spend the rest of my life with him. Since the beginning of the year, I have known that this would be, by far, the best year of our lives. Regardless, I wasn't prepared and was hardly expecting what happened on April 11, 2015.

Saturday, April 11 was an ordinary weekend morning. Wyet woke up before me, as usual, and brewed us a pot of coffee. Rather than making us a home cooked breakfast as per usual, we went down to the local taco shop to indulge a little. Earlier in the week, Wyet had mentioned he wanted to go hiking so I was not surprised when he asked again if I still wanted to go. I love hiking and hadn't been since before winter so I was definitely ready for some fresh air.

As always, we packed a picnic lunch to take hiking with us. I made a few sandwiches and filled our nalgene bottles up with water while Wyet packed our backpacks. Needless to say, I threw on my best looking hiking outfit {compromising of a pair of mom jeans, hiking shoes and the grubbiest hat I own}, and we were off.

Wyet wanted to hike the Salt Creek Trail as he had just been on it the weekend before for a trail run. He wanted to show me how much the trail had changed since our last hike. We began our hike, and I must admit, it was amazing. We were finally getting outside and doing something. I felt like we had been cooped up in that little house for far too long. I was loving the sunshine and activeness.

Naturally, as time went on the hunger kicked in {and a hungry Carissa is never a good thing}. I began to get agitated and wanted to sit down and eat. Wyet kept insisting we go just a little bit farther - that there is a really nice spot to sit down just around the corner. This went on for close to an hour. Quickly, the hunger turned to hanger, and damnit I was ready to eat. After getting a little pouty {and snappy} Wyet finally found a place that he deemed worthy of our picnic area. Granted, it was beautiful. It was in a sunny patch right next to the creek with huge trees all around us. It was breathtaking.

As I pulled off my backpack to get our lunch, I asked Wyet if he remembered to pack a blanket. As he answered yes, I turned around to get it from him to find him not unpacking his lunch and relaxing, but rather down on one knee with that rare grin which he reserves just for me. Before I even had a chance to catch my breath he stuttered, "Will you? Will you marry me?"

As the tears streamed down my face, I was unable to speak. I grabbed Wyet and pulled him up onto his feet, and I hugged him like I haven't in years. That hug was an enormous release of emotion, passion and love. As I hugged him and cried he slid the most beautiful ring on my finger, and I remembered that I hadn't yet answered the easiest question of my life. Will I? Yes, yes of course I will.

Little did I know this was the beginning of the best hike to date! 

The last picture we were to ever take as "boyfriend & girlfiend"

Then, it happened!

Wyet always goes all out with every plan he makes! This was definitely no exception. He bought us this adorable picnic blanket for our engagement lunch. 

 

As happy as I am to marry him, he is just as happy to marry me!

This is a journal I gave Wyet 5 years ago. It has my thoughts on our relationship over the years and my plans for our future. It was so thoughtful of him to not only hang on to this for all these years, but to bring it to the spot he proposed to we could look back on our past and make plans for the future.

Wyet even brought a hammock so we could relax..

And pop champagne!

Once Wyet popped the cork, it flew! Afterwards, we hunted it down and saved it. {This was definitely a cork worth keeping.}

It truly was the perfect proposal. It was so well thought out, and it makes me smile to think of all the effort he put in to making this a day to remember.

Just like that, the love of my life became my fiance. 

And we spent the next few hours, swinging life away in our hammock and getting more giddy by the moment. To an unknowing passerby, it might look like the champagne was the culprit, but we both knew, we were crazy in love - and in that moment, I felt it more alive in us than ever. 

Details: Volume 4

I am in total awe that the first quarter of the year has come and passed. It seems like Christmas was just weeks ago, and yet, already we are in the second month of spring. It has always been the cliche that the older one gets, the faster time seems to fly, and I can certainly attest to that. It is a somewhat terrifying sensation to feel like time is getting away from us. Especially since the older I get, the greater life becomes. I don't want it to get away from me too quickly.  I want to feel every moment, not just go through the motions.

Life lately has been anything but dull. There have been monumental moments and everyday delights. Here is a brief recap of what has been happening in our life since I last posted. Although life moves pretty fast, at least we are making memories every step of the way.

Listening: To the wind, rain and chimes outside
Ditching: The gym - it's just too blustery to leave the house tonight
Witnessing: Wyet indulge in parkseed.com {a site where you can buy unique tomato seeds - planting season is upon us!}
Drinking: Valencia Orange Refreshers {in a poor attempt to completely give up Dirty Dr. Pepper}
Reading: A Dog's Purpose {with a stack of about 8 books in que}
Craving: Rootbeer Floats
Appreciating: The endless support from my friends and family {you know who you are}
Adjusting: {in the absolute best way} to wearing an engagement ring!
Realizing: That the happiest time of my life is right now

Catching sweet faces from Baby H before heading up to the Jazz game with the rest of the family.

Family time! Jerrod and Cameron got Jazz tickets from work, and believe it or not, wanted to share them with all of us. 

My date is always the absolute best looking :)

Easter is always celebrated well at our house! I got Wyet a seed started kit and a book on how to grow the best tomatoes. Naturally, the dogs had a few prizes in the basket as well. 

Murphy checking out the new toys!

Easter morning is somewhat like Christmas morning, you can't be expected to look flawless, only to look real.

The babies.

Baby Cat.

As always, we spent the afternoon coloring eggs!

Wyet surprised me with a kite! This was the first time I had ever flown a kite - in my life! 

Just like last year, we spent Easter weekend camping in the yard with pups. 

We even had a little bonfire and roasted hot dogs!

Obviously, the most important event this spring has been our engagement {which deserves a post all of its own. Stay tuned!}