Friday, November 30, 2012

Happenin's

I am rather far behind so here are tons of pictures to get you caught-up! But I would like to mention that Juliet is growing physically and mentally so much!  She is really into repeating EVERYTHING she sees.  Her verbal language is growing and she really seems to understand almost everything we say to her.  Her current favorites are wiping people's/dog's/baby-doll's noses (I recently had a cold ;)), throwing balls, rocking baby-dolls and stuffed animals, and kissing anyone and everyone on the lips!  She keeps us laughing and she really is so fun.

Micah and I cooked a Mexican dinner one evening.  It was the first time we had actually sat down and ate a meal with just my parents.

Thanksgiving in Virginia at my grandparents' house.




Juliet giving her kisses!

And Juliet is into choir directing....taught to her by her grandmother :)


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Micah's Version

since most of this story is the same, i am just reposting lara's last 2 blogs with my comments in bold/underline.

Micah Krishnan is a R.N. in the Army and currently is working at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC.  Micah and I met once back in our teen days, (which lara doesn't actually remember. i do. its probably the only thing i remember and she forgot so make note of it) but we really met in June 2010 at a party at Leah's house.  Leah is Micah's sister and a good friend of mine that worked with the Youth Group at my church while I was a youth and then has been a great friend ever since.  The party at Leah's house was in part for Micah and I to meet, and meet we did!


Micah and Leah in June 2010 during his visit to Asheville.
Leah's little Naomi and me at the party where Micah and I met in June 2010.
After the party Micah and I emailed back and forth for a while  but the emails gradually stopped as I was in Mexico and Micah was finishing up school and and working in Utah.  I came home from Mexico for Christmas 2010 and Micah planned his Asheville visit to coincide with my trip.

(let me add some timeline context. summer 2010 was the one i spent mostly out of the country traveling AK/europe taking a little vacation from/for life. having just finished treatment, i was still not sure of much. I had not yet heard if i was going to able to commission and go on active duty or if i would stay in utah, i had an informal invitation to try out for the utah guard special forces if the army nursing gig fell through, i was also given the option to take a medical discharge and just get out free and clear. needless to say, my head was about to explode with all the chaos. Fall 2010 came around and i got back into school to wrap up the last semester of my nursing degree, this was about the same time lara left for a 10 month trip to mexico. then towards the end of the semester (and lot of work and a major medical clearance later), i got word that i was accepted onto active duty and would be heading to d.c. followed by a quick change to washington state followed by another quick change back to d.c. ...that one took a few letters and some serious string pulling by some brass (aka high ups in the army). that brings us to december 2010...side note, this was the 1st time i asked her out. and she said no) 

I had made a list of things I wanted to eat while in the States, and Pumpkin Pie was on the list.  While in Asheville, Micah made me Pumpkin Pie from scratch from the pumpkin. Major points for him.  For various reasons things didn't work out and I was headed back to Mexico and Micah was headed to Texas.

We went out for Margaritas during the Christmas visit in 2010.


Christmas 2010 and I'm wearing the scarf Micah brought me from Turkey.

Then I got pregnant.  I just assumed Micah and I would stop talking all together, even just as friends, but he was an incredible friend during my pregnancy running a 5K with my big pregnant self (and yes, i kept up) and buying my unborn baby the books "Good Night Moon" and "Buenas Noches Luna".


 Juliet was born September 19th.  Micah was in town a week and a half later with his family.  Juliet and I spent the day with Micah, Leah and kids, Micah's parents, other siblings, a cousin, and Micah's grandmother all the way from India!  Micah was in town once again for Thanksgiving and we all ran the 5K Turkey Trot together.
Becki, Leah, Micah, and me at the Turkey Trot 2011
 
After thanksgiving we really lost touch for the first time since we had met.  I was learning how to do life as a mom and Micah was now living in the D.C. area.  In June of 2012 I headed up to D.C. because my friend Lizeth and I were bridesmaids in a wedding there.  I called up Micah to show us around.
Micah, Lizeth, and me in D.C. in June 2012
 
We had a great time in D.C. and then it just so happened that Micah was heading to Asheville for a visit the following week.  So, we were around each other for about two weeks straight.  These visits brought a few things back to the surface but I figured it was just a temporary thing.  Then in mid-August Micah told me he was coming to Asheville for a weekend.  He came, made his intentions clear, and we officially began dating on September 1, 2012!  I like to say he has been waiting on me ever since that party in June 2010...but you can ask him yourself to confirm and hear his side of the story. its true... :)  Girls are suppose to make guys wait, right?


To help you get to know Micah better....

-He is half Indian.  Micah says he is 50% Indian and 100% American.
-He is left-handed and born in July.  Probably the two reasons I agreed to date him.
-He can do a push-up with me sitting on his back.  Of course we all know I'm a light little thing :)
-He really likes to use napkins but I am teaching him to just lick his fingers more.
-If it is extreme he will like it.
-He is probably the most fun uncle anyone could have.
-Micah's favorite color is black/gray and he pretty much only wears black/gray shirts.  My favorite colors are hot-pink and rainbow; and I know he appreciated the pink glitter candles I put on his most recent birthday cake :)
-He loves to cook and is really, really good at it.  Win for me.
-And he is a pretty decent skier.  See video below.
-AND, Micah is now my fiancee!  Proposal details to come in another post soon!

as far as the proposal, well i think she got it pretty much spot on so i won't bother adding anything to that. instead, let me introduce you to the new lady! 

meet lara....



-lara has amazing style and always looks good next to jeans and gray (which pretty much works out perfect for me...as you can see above)
-she's a lefty
-born in july! 
-lara, unlike me, has run a marathon...something she likes to point out when i drive her car sporting a 26.2 sticker   (I have run TWO marathons...by the way)
-she loves a good adventure almost as much as a nap
-she's an all american carolina girl with a sweet southern accent! 
-like me, she likes a good challenge. and she's already challenged me to both a rib and wing eating contest...(we haven't gotten to it yet, but i'll let you know when i win)
-this is her room...which is funny because my room has always been partly painted black, with black sheets, black curtains, and well...a lot of black. 







-she finished her undergrad and grad degrees in spanish and spanish education...which might have been a little over the top because i often hear her say "i can't think of how to say it in english"....which i like to point out is her first and primary language. 

 -her favorite food is a tie between chocolate and ice cream. and her favorite desert is frosting
-and lastly....lara is an amazing mom to a beautiful little lady named juliet! she's been a great friend, was so much better as a girlfriend, and i couldn't dream up a better fiancee! i couldn't be more excited about the future with her!

Friday, November 16, 2012

The Proposal

Micah came to Asheville into this past weekend because my story of becoming a single mom and God's faithfulness in my life was shared at the Asheville Pregnancy Support Services Gala.  He left D.C. right after work on Friday evening and arrived to Asheville at 3 a.m. on Saturday.  Saturday morning, unbeknown to me, he met with my dad to ask if he could marry me.

Micah and I are both obsessed with our birthdays.  Because Micah had spent his 19th birthday in Basic Training and didn't get to celebrate, I declared Sunday as his 19th birthday.  We celebrated all day with birthday cake, the La Zoom Tour, presents, and a massage.  When we got back to my house I was so tired and so ready for bed.  We walked in and my mom was still up waiting for us.  She excitedly said, "How was your evening?!?!".  I said, "Good.  I'm tired and going to bed."  Apparently, my mom knew that Micah was going to propose that evening, but Micah motioned to her that it had not happened yet.

So, Micah told me we had one more thing to do.  He took me into the back yard where he made a fire and had chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers to make s'mores.  We had done this about a month before in D.C. and had a great time so I just figured he was being sweet by recreating it again.

After sitting there a little while I could tell he was getting really nervous and I thought "what is about to happen to me?".  He handed me a box, but not a ring box and I thought, why is he so nervous to give me jewelry? I opened it and inside was a necklace. 

Micah: "Will you marry me?"
Me: "Are you for real?"
Micah: "Yes."
Me: "...... yes?!"
 ...........
Me: "This is so sketch.  Do my parents know?"
Micah: "Yes! And so does Leah, and Caroline, and ....."
Me: "Ok! Then, YES!"

Micah then started telling me about how he had had the necklace made.  It has two Indian rubies (which is both of our birthstones) that he bought in India three years ago.  One ruby is the central stone and one ruby is part of the clasp.  Then each of the rubies are surrounded by white sapphires which are Juliet's birthstone. 

My only "requirement" for being proposed to was to be surprised, and to say I was surprised would be putting it nicely.  I was more like confused, in denial, and shocked.  I think it took me till the next day to settle into excitement!

Micah was so thoughtful to give me something with so much meaning.  I have always wanted my grandmother's ring (which we will get next week!) so he wanted to give me something else from him.  The original plan was to give me the ring and the necklace at the same time, but apparently I am the only one who knows where the ring is at my grandmother's house, and they couldn't ask me :) 

I later gave Micah a hard time for being so nervous and for not even having a speech to say to me before he proposed.  He said he had a speech he just couldn't remember it. haha (...Therefore we will be doing tradition wedding vows so he can just repeat ;)   jk, jk)


I think I have left the "in shock" fog and I am sooo excited!  I can truly see God's hand over our relationship and getting us to where we are today.  It's so neat to look back and see how God has woven our story through the most unlikely circumstances.  Our relationship is definitely a story of His grace, faithfulness, and goodness.

*Micah's version of this story might be a little different so feel free to ask him sometime ;)

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Meet Micah

Micah Krishnan is a R.N. in the Army and currently is working at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC.  Micah and I met once back in our teen days, but we really met in June 2010 at a party at Leah's house.  Leah is Micah's sister and a good friend of mine that worked with the Youth Group at my church while I was a youth and then has been a great friend ever since.  The party at Leah's house was in part for Micah and I to meet, and meet we did!

Micah and Leah in June 2010 during his visit to Asheville.
Leah's little Naomi and me at the party where Micah and I met in June 2010.
After the party Micah and I emailed back and forth for a while but the emails gradually stopped as I was in Mexico and Micah was finishing up school and and working in Utah.  I came home from Mexico for Christmas 2010 and Micah planned his Asheville visit to coincide with my trip.  I had made a list of things I wanted to eat while in the States, and Pumpkin Pie was on the list.  While in Asheville, Micah made me Pumpkin Pie from scratch from the pumpkin. Major points for him.  For various reasons things didn't work out and I was headed back to Mexico and Micah was headed to Texas.

We went out for Margaritas during the Christmas visit in 2010.

Christmas 2010 and I'm wearing the scarf Micah brought me from Turkey.

Then I got pregnant.  I just assumed Micah and I would stop talking all together, even just as friends, but he was an incredible friend during my pregnancy running a 5K with my big pregnant self and buying my unborn baby the books "Good Night Moon" and "Buenas Noches Luna".


 Juliet was born September 19th.  Micah was in town a week and a half later with his family.  Juliet and I spent the day with Micah, Leah and kids, Micah's parents, other siblings, a cousin, and Micah's grandmother all the way from India!  Micah was in town once again for Thanksgiving and we all ran the 5K Turkey Trot together.
Becki, Leah, Micah, and me at the Turkey Trot 2011
 
After thanksgiving we really lost touch for the first time since we had met.  I was learning how to do life as a mom and Micah was now living in the D.C. area.  In June of 2012 I headed up to D.C. because my friend Lizeth and I were bridesmaids in a wedding there.  I called up Micah to show us around.
Micah, Lizeth, and me in D.C. in June 2012
 
We had a great time in D.C. and then it just so happened that Micah was heading to Asheville for a visit the following week.  So, we were around each other for about two weeks straight.  These visits brought a few things back to the surface but I figured it was just a temporary thing.  Then in mid-August Micah told me he was coming to Asheville for a weekend.  He came, made his intentions clear, and we officially began dating on September 1, 2012!  I like to say he has been waiting on me ever since that party in June 2010...but you can ask him yourself to confirm and hear his side of the story.  :)  Girls are suppose to make guys wait, right?


To help you get to know Micah better....

-He is half Indian.  Micah says he is 50% Indian and 100% American.
-He is left-handed and born in July.  Probably the two reasons I agreed to date him.
-He can do a push-up with me sitting on his back.  Of course we all know I'm a light little thing :)
-He really likes to use napkins but I am teaching him to just lick his fingers more.
-If it is extreme he will like it.
-He is probably the most fun uncle anyone could have.
-Micah's favorite color is black/gray and he pretty much only wears black/gray shirts.  My favorite colors are hot-pink and rainbow; and I know he appreciated the pink glitter candles I put on his most recent birthday cake :)
-He loves to cook and is really, really good at it.  Win for me.
-And he is a pretty decent skier.  See video below.
-AND, Micah is now my fiancee!  Proposal details to come in another post soon!