I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas weekend this year! Ours was full of emotion and lots of shredded wrapping paper. Unfortunately, my brother, who is a CNA at an assisted living facility, had to work, but he came for his lunch break to open presents and eat with us. It worked out perfectly.

Christmas Eve, we made “ninjabread” men, pumpkin pie, and our traditional DIY ornaments from Target. I got our ornaments from the little section of cute things when you first walk into Target. When I went back to get some more for the rest of the family, I couldn’t find them anywhere! So get them as soon as you see them if you want to use them! They’re so fun.

Garrott built Truett a Lego table by hand. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it still far exceeded any expectations I had drummed up. Truett is absolutely ecstatic about it.

Of course, me being a photographer, I surprised my mom and grandma with photo albums from Mixbook with our family photos throughout. They both teared up, so I think they liked them!

Garrott had a massive, 200 lb (I know its weight because I had to help him carry it in) gift wrapped and placed in the living room. I had an idea of what it was, but I kept it to myself because I absolutely love surprises. I wasn’t surprised when I opened it, but everyone else was. It’s a Nordic Track spin bike that I’ve been wanting for years! I’m pumped about it! Of course, I’m sick now, so I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. But the moment I feel better, I’m hopping on it. Garrott got to use it last night and he graced me with a lovely biking shirt with a wolf’s face on it (see the pic below, hehe).

The BIG surprise happened after all the other presents were opened. Garrott handed me a very heavy box (not as heavy as the spin box) wrapped in gold paper. I thought it was shoes for the bike! I opened it gingerly as everyone watched me. I saw two weights from his workout stuff in the box and some paper towels. It was then that I realized what was happening. I pulled out the weights and then saw a ring box. Of course, started crying immediately. Then I heard my best friend’s voice on the phone – he had FaceTimed her since she was working (RN) that day. When I heard her voice, I really started to cry. Garrott approached me and said “will you remarry me?” Of course, it was a yes without hesitation and he then told me to open the ring box. I said “Wait, no! You have to get on one knee and open it for me and then put it on my finger, DAMMIT.” He complied and then I cried harder. And as he was trying to meet all my demands, he was trying to also take pictures of me because that was also a request of mine (to have a photographer there, but this was obviously perfect too). So, I’m standing there, UGLY crying and Truett is like “What?!” and no one answered him so he just went back to playing with his Legos. Garrott has a camera in one hand, a ring in the other, on one knee, trying to get a halfway decent picture of me as I’m trying to keep mascara from getting everywhere and looking hysterical. It was mildly chaotic, but every bit of perfect for us and our lives. We went into our room after we hugged everyone and I finished crying my eyes out. I looked down, and guess what he was wearing … BIRKENSOCKS. Yes, I mean Birkensocks because he had his socks on with the Birkenstocks (read previous blogs to get that one lol). Absolutely perfect “us” proposal.

You’re probably wondering what the heck do you mean, ‘remarry’? So, we were engaged the first time back in February 2021 and had plans for a wedding in August 2021. Shit hit the fan a little, and we decided we just weren’t ready and needed to pump the breaks. We actually separated for a few weeks and decompressed. We ended up getting back together and making amends with each other. We got into counseling and started learning how to be a healthy and happy couple with books. Among those books were His Needs Her Needs and The Anatomy of Peace. I highly recommend both of those books regardless of the state of your relationship, or even if you’re single! Now, it’s like we’re entirely different people together. We’re genuinely happy and we set aside time every day to just be together, talk, snuggle, whatever we’re needing that day. I gave him full control of the wedding (minus the photographer and my dress, of course), so I don’t turn into bridezilla again (I get real obsessive over details because I’m a freakin wedding photographer and it’s exhausting for everyone).

So, that’s the tea! We’re so excited for this new chapter in our lives and so happy Christmas of 2021 was amazing – I hope it was for you too!

XO

Kensey