new marriage, new year, new blog!

Kevin and I talked about starting a new blog as a married couple and today I finally found the time to make it happen. So if you want to keep following us and our new life together, head on over to inlovewithourlove.blogspot.com.
Thank you all for your love and support!

the start of our happily ever after

Once upon a time I got married.
It's been 10 days and "wedded bliss" is now a term that I understand quite well.
Kevin is so good to me.
I love him so much.
Being married to him has been the greatest blessing of my life.
Since we got married we stayed at two different hotels, spent a few nights at our apartment and loved the fact that when I fell asleep watching a movie, Kevin didn't have to wake me up and take me home, but just to bed. We celebrated a quiet Christmas together, and saw Les Miserables. We flew out to Georgia and have been spending the week with Kevin's family. I got an ear infection, sinusitis, bronchitis and just felt miserable. We went to Mississippi for a day and had a reception there and stayed at another hotel. We've fallen more and more in love with each other every day.

Happy marriage. :)

armed with power

T-5 days people.

Now that I've gone through the temple and understand a little better about the covenants and everything, I am so unbelievably excited.

I love the temple. So so much. I can't wait to go back to be sealed to Kevin.

What a great feeling.

december has become my favorite month

So here's the thing.
The only thing that I ever want to blog about is my upcoming wedding.
But then I'm like "seriously, I have to write about something else! People don't want to keep reading about how in love I am and how excited I am to get married and how there's only 21 one days til our wedding (there's only TWENTY ONE DAYS LEFT!!!!) and how I'm so excited for the semester to end so we can get married."
And so what happens is that I don't blog.
But good grief, this is my blog, I can talk about whatever the heck I want and if anyone would rather not hear about all that mushy wedding love stuff, they are perfectly free to stop reading.

So here's a bunch of wedding/love/Kevin/exciting stuff.
In bullet format:

• Kevin and I FINALLY found an apartment. This has been the biggest struggle of preparing to get married. We searched for forever and things kept falling through and it was getting so frustrating and I was halfway convinced that we were going to have to live out of Kevin's car. But this week we got our apartment, and the best part is that it is the apartment that we wanted so badly but thought we hadn't gotten! Two bedroom, nice and spacey, cheaper than we were planning for, great location, awesome kitchen and living room. I can't think of a better place to have for our first home together and I am THRILLED. Twenty more days and it will be all ours. :)
• Christmas expectations have been a little bit ambiguous this year. Kevin and I are getting married three days before Christmas and we are sticking around Provo so we run into the issue of, do we spend the day with family? Do we sequester ourselves away from the rest of the world for as long as we can? And related to that, how do we do gifts? We are waiting to open our wedding presents until Christmas Day so we have things to open, but do we get big things for each other?
• Speaking of Christmas presents, I actually have gotten Kevin a little something. And it's been kind of a funny story. We signed up for Amazon Prime which means that we get free two day shipping. So I found a fantastic trilogy on Amazon for under 11$ and I bought it, but Kevin figured it out because he's smart and I had to use his email address to order it. But I was the one who told him that I bought the whole trilogy, he thought I had just bought Return of the King. Fail Amberly.
• Here's a story. My Women's Health class meets once a week and because of Thanksgiving and stuff it had been a while since we'd had class. My teacher asked if we had any good news and I raised my hand and said that I was getting married in three weeks. When my teacher found out what day we were getting married she got really critical that it was right before Christmas. She asked if we were going on a honeymoon and I said that we were just staying here. She got really upset and me and told me that I had to go on a honeymoon! I tried to explain our situation but she wouldn't let me get two words out, she just continued to criticize the way the Kevin and I are doing things. Some of the already married girls joined in and voiced their less than positive comments. It was a very frustrating experience and I was disappointed in my teacher. She went so far as to tell me to tell my fiance that he had to take me on a honeymoon or I wouldn't get a good grade in my class. It was really inappropriate and made me wish I had never said anything. I don't like to be criticized for the decisions that my fiance and I have made. We are doing this our way, and that's how it is. The end.
• I have my second bridal shower today. :) I'm really excited. My first one was a huge success and I'm looking forward to this one.
• Also, my best fran Ashley and I are having a girls night after the shower. We are going shopping...for things...:) It will be a party. I shaved my legs and everything.
• Kevin and I just realized that in exactly three weeks, to the hour, we will be kneeling in the sealing room. :) Now that is happy.
• I had a little date with my grandma this week, getting all of my temple clothes and dress. I'm going through in two weeks! 
• I am so excited to marry Kevin. I get more and more excited every day. I love him. :)

This is the end of my mushy marriage post. I hope that if you read it, you gleaned that I love Kevin and I can't wait for the next three weeks to fly by so we can be married and moved into our new home together. So excited!!!!

brace yourselves. i had a lot to say.

Today has been a sick day.
I went to the doctor yesterday and had a procedure done that has left me feeling really achy and crampy.
I made it through 3 1/2 hours of work today, but after taking two doses of two different painkillers in 3 hours with no relief, I decided to go home. I've been laying around with my warm rice bag watching 17 Again and wishing I could be cuddling with my handsome fiance.

Speaking of him, the rest of this post is going to be dedicated to bragging about what an amazing man I am marrying (in 58 days but who's counting?).

Kevin takes such good care of me. Today when I was being incredibly whiny and texting him at work about how miserable I was he said, "Oh honey I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?" (he's also incredibly sweet, obviously). Of course I responded that he should buy me lots of chocolate to which he said "Done. :)" Last night when I came home late from spending the afternoon at the doctor and at my parent's house, he rubbed my back and kissed my face and loved me which was exactly the treatment I needed. He's so good about doing that.

Kevin is such a hard worker. Seriously. He makes me feel like the laziest bum of them all while he works his behind off in all of his classes and his job. And then when I apologize for being such a loser he is quick to make me feel worthwhile. He never does or says anything to make me feel like he's better than me (even though he really is).  Yesterday Kevin took a 3 hour math midterm and got a great score. Then he gave a presentation on a group project that he has been working SO HARD on for weeks. Seriously, our days consist of this: We wake up at 5:30, meet at my car at 6:30 and I drive Kevin to school then go to work. Kevin works all morning on his homework and/or his job, goes to his classes, does more homework, and then more homework, then when I get out of class at 5:15 we both go home and have dinner and then he does MORE homework until 9:00 when he takes me home and then he usually stays up even later doing more work. I am so grateful for how hard my Kevin works. He is doing it so that he can provide for me and our family and I appreciate it so much.

Kevin is the sweetest, cutest, most cheesy boy I have ever met. He LOVES making those sweet comments that some people might gag on but that I just melt for. He tells me loves me at least 6 times a day, usually much more, he brings me chocolate ALL THE TIME. Seriously he just whips it out of nowhere. He is also constantly telling me that I am beautiful, even when I just got out of the gym and I'm a sweaty mess. He is constantly making this sweet gestures that just get me every time.

Kevin would do anything for me. I'm serious. If I ever asked him for anything, the answer would be yes (unless it was inappropriate or dangerous or something). And he does. He rearranges his schedule when I beg him to please please please come to women's health class because I desperately want him to be there with me when we are talking about fertility. He was planning on going to the doctor with me and wait in the waiting room so that he could drive me home, and would gladly miss his classes. And he would have if he hadn't had those darn midterms. Whenever I approach him with any idea, he listens to every detail, asks a few questions, and if he can see that it is important to me, the answer is always yes.

Kevin loves to cook and he is the cleanest boy I've ever met. We have had many a date at home, making homemade pizza or a nice dinner. I love it. He teaches me all sorts of things and doesn't mind that my best dish is spaghetti and that we eat hamburger helper once a week.

Kevin loves family. He adores his family and I know he misses them, being so far away. He has slid right into the dynamics of my family and he truly loves spending time with them. It makes him so happy to go to grandma's house for dinner or dessert and he will eat thirds and fourths because he knows that it makes my grandma happy. He teases my sisters and talks to my brother about his interests. Family is so important to him and we both very much want to make family a priority in our lives.

Kevin loves me and he shows me how much he loves me. He treats me like the daughter of God that I am. He has never ever raised his voice to me, except to yell across the parking lot "I LOVE AMBERLY HURST!" He has so much respect for me and he would do anything to avoid making me unhappy or disrespecting me in any way.

Kevin puts up with my crazy, hormonal, emotional moments. He chuckles at me when I ask him to bring me anything and everything to eat. He happily brings me 5 otter pops and makes sure that I don't get the purple or red ones. When I start bawling because I'm on my period and watching a movie about a woman who gets stuck in Iran he doesn't make me feel like an idiot for becoming paranoid but calmly promises that he won't turn into a crazy Iranian after we get married and he won't make us move to the middle east. He understands why I am upset when I'm that way and he's learning really fast what to do when, and what NOT to when. He works so hard to keep me happy and content and he does a really wonderful job.

I have a million and a half more reasons why I am so crazy in love with Kevin. But unfortunately, I really need to go to class. I can't really justify missing more school, and plus, Kevin is taking time out of his busy day to come to class with me. I have so missed his handsome face and I can't wait to feel his arms around me.

I love Kevin Stevens. I want the whole world to know it and to vomit in their mouth at how over the top cheesy and adorable we are. I am so that girl, and we are so that couple. And I plan to continue to be for the rest of forever, the end.

are we there yet?

In two months and twelve days, Kevin and I are getting married.
There is so much to do still, but we have gotten so much accomplished in the past week.
Invitations have been designed and ordered. Heck yes.
We have created a googledoc and posted it on Facebook so that people can give us their addresses.
My fiance is a flipping genius and made it so that it is set up as a survey, and we are the only ones who have access to their information.
Score to us. I absolutely hate putting my address out for strangers to see.
The doctor has been visited and the awkward pre-marital exam has been completed.
Speaking of that, I had myself all sorts of freaked out.
Like, by the time I made it to the doctors office today (over an hour early), I was shaking and sweating and Freaking. Out.
I went to our family physician so it was the lady who I have seen my whole life.
Like, she gave me my kindergarten shots.
And then today she gave me a pap smear.
She thought that was very weird.
But then the whole thing took like 7 minutes total and wasn't even that awkward at all.

So having those very big things out of the way, I feel like we could get married tomorrow and be absolutely fine (which means that we would not have a reception because we have done almost nothing for that, but at this point, I feel like I would kind of be okay with that).

Bring it on December 22, bring it on.

And here, I'll post another engagement picture that you haven't seen. :)

This is when we were dancing in the middle of the road and Kevin was singing to me. I love him. :)

some (long winded) thoughts on being engaged

Today I was sitting in my Family Processes class and a classmate sat next to me and started up a conversation. Now, if any of you know my mom, you would know that this is something that she would do on a regular basis, but I tend to try to keep to myself in certain situations, class being one of them. I rarely talk to people in my classes. Unless I am forced to. And then I do it resentfully.

But this girl was really nice, and we got to chatting a little bit throughout the class. I mentioned the words "my fiance", because I legitimately insert those words into as many conversations as I possibly can (I just love having it be known that I am engaged, I'm not sure why), so of course we started talking about how I'm getting married and stuff. I knew that she was married and then found out that she got married last year on December 21, just one day before our day. Of course she had all kinds of advice, a lot of which I just nodded and smiled and thought to myself (I'll make my own decision, thank you), and then she asked us how long we had been engaged. I told her that we got engaged on July 21, which was just over two months ago and her face kind of became shocked. She told me that she and her husband had gotten engaged at this time last September and had less than a three month engagement. I said, "I know right? I've already been engaged two months and have as long as your engagement to go. It totally stinks." She was quick to jump in and say, "No matter what you do, don't mess up, because it's so worth it." and then moved the conversation to other things.

Okay. If you aren't in the mood to hear a rant, stop reading, because I am about to get all up on my soapbox. I'm not mad or irritated at what this girl said, I just wish that I could have had the opportunity to clarify what I meant when I said that that being engaged was hard. Because at that phrase, "engagement is hard," people seem to automatically jump to the conclusion that it's the law of chastity aspect that makes it hard. I'll be completely honest with you. Kevin and I are doing great in that regard. Yes, we are very excited for the day when we will be able to express our feelings for each other in the appropriate way between husband and wife, but we have our rules and we (almost always) stick to those rules, we have a curfew, I have never at any time felt that I was in danger of becoming unworthy to enter the temple of God because of our behavior. When then temple is your goal, it becomes a powerful talisman against that temptation. Oh trust me, the temptation is there, but in my experience at least, it is overridden every time by something so much more important, beautiful, sacred and precious.

No. When I say that being engaged is hard, or that it stinks or that I can't wait for it to end is for other reasons (although the whole marital intimacy thing is something I am excited for). These reasons are as follows:

I cannot wait to stop living with 5 other girls. My roommates are all so nice, so sweet, and I feel very blessed that I am living in such a great place before I get married. But honestly, living with other people when you are engaged absolutely SUCKS. I want privacy, I want alone time with Kevin, I want to sleep in a room where I get to help dictate the rules, I want to have a refrigerator that is only filled with the food that I buy and that I want there, I want a place where I can cook a decent meal for my sweetheart without competing for stove space, I want the mass of pots and pans to end, I want a bathroom that is not the most awkward thing ever in existence, I want to be able to walk around naked without having the fear that someone (that I don't want to see me) will walk in on me, when my roommate is doing something in the middle of the night that is making it impossible for me to sleep, I want to be able to reach over and smack him (lovingly) instead of making concessions. The list of reasons why I want to stop living with 5 other girls could go on and on. I am so unbelievably tired of it.

The next reason is closely linked with the first one. I'm tired of sharing space with 6 boys in Kevin's apartment. We spend the majority of our free time there and it becomes slightly wearing. Boys are more smelly and less likely to clean their pots and much more likely to make racist, sexist or inappropriate jokes, even when I am sitting right there. It definitely bothers Kevin as well when his roommate makes a comment about freezing his balls off while I am in the room.

And the biggest reason that I am so flipping tired of being engaged is every single night at 9:00 when Kevin says, "okay I should probably take you home now." And I slowly gather all of my stuff, and I stall, and I drag my feet, and I kiss him a few times to hopefully distract him from making me go home, and we slowly walk across the parking lot, and we wade through the swarm of people surrounding my doorstep (that's what it feels like some nights), and we have a very public goodnight kiss, where who even knows who is watching, and then Kevin says goodbye. And I keep pulling him back for another kiss, or to tell him something that I absolutely had to say right then (which is usually something stupid like, I ate a grapefruit today), and I tell him that I love him many times in as many forms as I can think of, and all the while I know why I'm being such a weirdo and it's because that goodbye moment at the end of every day breaks my heart a little bit. I actually cry about it very frequently. That may sound completely stupid, but honestly, I miss him desperately in that eight hours til morning when I am going to see him again. It gets harder and harder every night and every single time he takes me home I think, "there is no possible way that I can continue to do this for three more months." I literally hate it.

So, for the girl who told me to make sure not to mess up, and for all of those who think, "a five month engagement?? Who do they think they are kidding? There's no way they will be able to stay morally clean!" I say to you, we'll be fine. The real struggle lies in the separation that we have to experience every single day, that I cannot wait to eliminate.

Three months and twenty five days. 

And now, enjoy an adorable couple of my love and I.

Dang we are so cute.

temple time capsule

About 5 or 6 years ago for a Young Women's activity we made these temple time capsules.

 I opened mine a few days ago, because I'm engaged to be married. :)

  There was stuff inside like a picture of our dream dress, temple and ring, some marriage advice and a wedding questionare. 

Most of it just made me laugh, like rediscovering that my 15 year old self wanted to serve crossant sandwhiches and after dinner mints at my reception.

 But there were a couple of really sweet things like a letter that I wrote to my future husband that Kevin and I read together.

 It was really funny to see how my taste had changed, especially when it came to the ring and dress.

I am so grateful that Kevin and I are going to have the opportunity to get married for time and all eternity in the Temple of our Heavenly Father. People ask me all the time how wedding planning is going, but honestly, the most important part of the day is already set in stone. We have the temple reserved. That's the thing I am most looking forward to, and if everything else is a disaster, I'll probably be a little miffed, but not much because all of that other stuff is just extra.

I'm just excited to be sealed to my love forever. What an amazing blessing.

wouldn't it be loverly?

I moved. Again. Two days ago. I still haven't unpacked.
Mandy is out of town. I'm in charge apparently. My boss is emailing me stuff. I'm BSing my way through making custom cabinets. Good thing my daddy is the one who designed it so I can call him when he's in Delaware.
We went to the dentist today. It was a party. My teeth are tingling still.
Getting Little Ceasars right after going to the dentist is a great idea.
High school volleyball gets me highly overexcited. It was fun to watch my cousin Sammy play. :)
Kevin got an iphone. I realized that we can facetime Cammie now and then I got really excited.
Today I ate a third of a cucumber.
We are going to Boise this weekend for Ashley's reception.
Basically I don't know when I'm ever going to unpack.
Maybe never.
What's the point? I'm moving again in four months.
And then I will be a married woman.
And I will live with a boy.
Named Kevin.
I love him.
And I will love living with him.
Because I'm sick of sharing space with 10 other people.

it's so sparkly

Today I decided that I should say some things on my blog.

1) I LOVE being engaged. I love it. We've been wanting to share our happy plans with others for a long time but haven't because it hasn't been "official" yet. Now that it is, I feel like yelling from the mountain tops (and I have). I love staring at the beautiful ring on my finger. I love getting congratulated all the days about our engagement. I love how everyone in the world keeps saying "I so knew that was going to happen." But most of all, I love that I get to have a public commitment to Kevin and that I can show the world how much I love him. Dang I love that boy so much.

2) I am so excited to get married. I'm super excited to be married to Kevin, but honestly, I have been ready for marriage for a while now. When I look back on the last year of my life, it's like Heavenly Father has been shoving me towards this, placing it in front of my face with neon flashing arrows making it impossible to miss. Marriage has been looming for me and oh boy am I glad that I came upon it.

3) I am in love with Kevin Stevens. Oh, I already said that? Silly me.

4) I have nothing else to say.

This is Kevin being flipping amazing at "dunking" a frisbee. He's awesome.