{ mr. staples }

Our sweet little greer is two weeks old. She has brought such a sweet spirit into our home and I can't imagine life without her. I love her SO much. But the last two weeks have been harder than I want to admit. I really don't remember it being this hard with Rowan. I remember being in pain, I remember sobbing a couple of nights when she wouldn't go to sleep, I remember telling my sister that it was HARD. But for some reason, this has been harder. I haven't gotten more than one or two hours of sleep at night since we brought Greer home. And when you are trying to recover, take care of yourself, take care of your two-year old who is having such a hard time adjusting to this new life of hers, and take care of this precious new baby PLUS not sleeping.. everything is much worse. I've had break downs that have even scared me. Well, what's the point of this? ....... Jord.

This guy has stepped up to the plate more than I ever thought possible. He's let me cry. He's listened. He's been the best dad to Rowan. He's called into work when we've had a rough night. He's cleaned the house. He's made dinner. He's done the grocery shopping. He's taken Rowan on outings. He's taken the screaming baby out of my hands so that I can breathe for a minute. Literally, He's done everything for me. I never want to forget this, because I truly don't know how I would have survived the last two weeks without him. 

I love him more than words can say. Literally, more than words can say.

{dear jord....}

you are the greatest dad/husband in the whole world,

and we adore you more than words can say!

happy 25th birthday dear!!

-wife, and baby rowan

{dads..}

happy fathers day to all the men in our lives..
our friends,

our brothers,

our grandpa's,

our own fathers.....

but i just want to say a happy FIRST fathers day to one of the best dads i know. me and rowan are the luckiest girls in the world to have this guy around. he's such a natural at being a dad, and he works so hard for us.

we love you so much dad!!
love, wife & baby ro

my valentine.....

i honestly am so filled with love today.

love for alot of things, and love for alot of people.

but mostly, love for my sweet little girl... and my sweet husband.

i know i've mentioned it before, but im really clingy these days.

and obviously, over-the-top emotional. 

on our date night on wednesday, i sat across the table from jord at olive garden

and just started crying. (dang hormones.)

we talked about our baby girl, and how excited we are for it to be the three of us,

but then we started talking about how different it will be....

and also of how much fun it has been for the last 3 years of it just being the 2 of us,

everything we have been able to do, the friendship & kind of marriage we've built.

thats when i started crying. 

i knew it was coming. big changes happen to everyone at some point. 

but i cant help but think of how sad i am to say goodbye to "just the two of us".

dont get me wrong: im so happy for this baby girl thats coming into our lives....

i love her already more than i can say,

but i cant help but be sad about closing the chapter on the life we have right now.

cause i know that things will never be the same.

jord, you are my best friend in the whole world.

there are a million things to say about how much i love you and why,

and what i love about you. 

but i'll save it for later......

 i honestly cant imagine loving you any more than i do right now.

although, i know i will.

here's to you, sweet valentine!

{twenty-four}

happy birthday to my sweetheart.

who makes me laugh harder than anyone i've ever known.

(if you cant tell, by the escapade i had to go through to get one picture out of him ;)

i adore you more than words can say.

love you babe.

husbands trip...

still husband-less. only for a couple more days.
but i thought i would share some pictures he has sent to my phone,
cause europe is as GORGEOUS as i pictured it to be.

{london}

{ireland}

gosh i miss him.

i laugh at what a paranoid freak i have been since he has been gone.
like jumping at the sound of my own car horn when i was the one who pressed the button,
or looking for the rattlesnakes the second i walk out of my house,
or screaming at the top of my lungs when the tarantula (i kid, i kid.. but easily the biggest spider i have ever seen) came flying on top of me when i tried to kill it. {i think a nest must have hatched, cause i have killed way too many spiders since jord has been gone}
im such a baby.

im finishing the summer semester tomorrow with my physiology final.
and then a three week break with the husband until we can start another semester all over again.
but let the countdown begin until i graduate in december, hallelujah!

i see london...

i have always wanted to go to europe, ever since i was a little girl.
it was that, and swimming with a dolphin, that have always been a lifelong dream of mine.
swimming with the dolphins? check.

so you can imagine the disappointed look on my face when jord said that his dad
was taking him on a guys trip to europe and i wasn't invited.
(he didn't say that, but it was understood). at first i was just jealous, and kind of mad?

but since he left yesterday, and i spent the first night of my entire life BY MYSELF, last night.
now i am just sad.
i dont like being that far away from him.
i dont like hearing every single noise in my house and wondering what it is.
i dont like waking up by myself.
and i sure has heck dont like coming home to a note on my door that says
"rattlesnake sightings in neighborhood, be aware" and
"your water is being turned off all-day tomorrow for maintenance."

please come home soon jord.
i miss you.

love, your really lonely, and paranoid (and terrified of snakes) wife


ps. got this picture on my phone from jord this morning. he's in london today, ireland tomorrow. i guess im trying to be happy for him?

mi amour

yesterday was the first day in 1.5 years that BOTH jord and i had the day off from work,
with nothing to do ALL day long.

we stayed in bed until 11
got up and made some breakfast
worked on some projects around the house
did a little cleaning
went to cafe rio for lunch
{im embarassed if you saw us... we were a sight to see}
got back in bed and watched a movie
laughed a lot
took a nap
got up and showered
had some of our best friends over for dinner
went and got some ice cream
{and watched a couple swing dance in the ice cream shop.. so random}
and then got back in bed at 11 and watched another movie
with treats. and eachother.

it honestly was the most fun i've had in a long time.
and i fell in love with him all over again.

birthday boy....

yesterday was jords birthday and because we were partying all the day long {ha}, i didn't post.

{i guess the world doesn't stop because you have a birthday, sorry babe!}
but i also couldnt pass up an opportunity to give a shout out to my more-than-amazing husband!
i love you soooooo much jord.. i just cant imagine life getting any better than it is right now.
im so happy to celebrate a day all about you, although you deserve much more than that.

happy 23 darling!

celebrating at chili's with the hopkins

and then the party started....









{look at the card closely.. its jords face :) so creative are those little hopkins.
jord wanted a tool set for his birthday, i thought the one i picked out was pretty good.}

thanks to everyone who came. we are so lucky to have such good friends.

happy birthday babe! love you

love, wifey

its all about the husbands...

I dont normally do these, but thought i'd give it a go... since most of you dont know my punkin...

1-What is his name: Jordan Spencer Staples
2- Where did you meet? singles ward up at utah state. i was good friends with his roommates before he moved in, so there was MUCH anticipation for 'the new roommate'
3- How long did you date before you were married? well, thats a funny story. not too long, we started dating in september, got married in may.... 8 months?
4- How long have you been married for? almost 6 months
5- Who said I love you first? jo-jo :)
6- When and where was your first kiss? ha ha.. on our first date. on my porch, at about 3 am. dont judge. okay, you can. :)
7- Who kissed who first? jord kissed me. you can imagine the shock that he would take advantage on the first date!
8- Who proposed? jord. can you imagine me doing something like that?
9-What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? seriously? just spend time together. we have a 'lack of' these days... so we cherish the moments.
10-Do you have kids? How many? not yet. but we would have three by now if it was up to him.
11- What does he do that surprises you? jord is really sensitive in a good way. but he's tough when he wants to be. he NEVER forgets to open my door, he always tucks me in, and he ALWAYS asks me to wake him up at night if im having bad dreams or need something. he says that EVERY NIGHT! i love it~
12- What's your favorite feature about him? his smile. i melt every time i see it.
13- What's your favorite quality about him? lame question...
14- Does he have a nickname for you? Babe, baby, punkin, sweetie
15- What's his favorite color? Probably blue? I don't know that he really has one.
16- What's his favorite food? i think its stir fry. but he eats anything.. and loads of it. have you seen the man? he's 6'6. he eats LOTS!
17-What is his favorite sport? i really dont know?!?! he's a fan of all of em i think.
18- What's a hidden talent that he has? jord is a really good singer.
19- How old is he? 22
20- What do you admire most about him? how much he loves the gospel, and the way he loves me
21-What's his favorite past time? Going out to eat, and watching some shows!
22- Who eats more? im happy to say that its not me.
23- Who is taller? jord, he towers over me sometimes.
24- Who sings better? we LOVE to sing together. we decided we're gonna be the next osmonds. you should hear us harmonize.
25- Who is smarter? street smart? or book smart?
26- Who does the laundry? We learned this past weekend that i will ALWAYS do the laundry! ;)
27- Who pays the bills? Both of us, i guess. although neither of us are good at managing the money... yikes!
28- Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Jord
29- Who mows the lawn? neither of us yet, but he WILL be doing it in the future!
30- Who cooks dinner? this is a sensitive subject because if there is {any} cooking done, i usually do it. but come on, he has 3 jobs and 13 credits, i have 2 jobs and 15 credits, and one of us is working till midnight 4 out of the 7 days of the week. we dont exactly have time to sit down and eat a home-cooked meal. but hey, its the life of a college student, right?!? i promise i will fulfill the wife duties when i graduate!
31- Who drives? Always Jord.
32- Who is more stubborn? i say its him, he says its me....Both of us can be stubborn.
33- Who has more friends? this is a funny question because when we are walking on campus together, we have a contest to see who knows more people. i always win.
34- Who has more siblings? definitely me.
35- Who controls the T.V. remote? we have reconciled on this and have to take turns. because i cant stand the discovery channel, animal plannet, or sci-fi weirdo space channels that he watches, and he hates F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
36- Whose temper is worse? ooooo... i dunno. neither of are actually too bad.
37- Who does the dishes? we use to take turns, and somewhere along the lines jord decided he didn't want a turn anymore.
38- Whose parents do you see more often? we see alot of both cause they are pretty close. but if i had to choose one, its probably mine. cause there are always people at my house! (lots of siblings around!)

thanks for readin! now you know my punkin!
i tag: jo, beeba, steph, mcCall, heidi, linsay, jennica, kali, kylee.. and anyone else who wants to participate! :)

be more grateful..

alright, so i feel bad for my last post. especially after an amazing general conference, highlighting "be more grateful" (i cant remember whos talk it was...) but im a college student, what can i say? I had one of those days where school and work had finally broke the last straw off the camels back. i felt like my teachers were out to trick me, despite the hours of studying i did on my tests.

can i get an amen!?!

(robyn.. aka mother-in-law.. i know we share the same feelings!)

so i decided i needed to be a little more positive.

AND wanted to tell you how grateful i am for this guy

-------------------------------------------------------------------------->

what i DIDN't mention on my last post, is that when i went home in tears because of my lame teachers (i even went to his office to stick up for myself, and i was SHOT DOWN!) i had a husband who let me cry for an hour on his shoulder, didn't complain when i got mascara all over his work shirt ---and he had to go to work like that--- told me what a good student i was, covered me up in a blanket and

tucked me in when i fell asleep, and then brought me home a treat [ my mom & sisters know how much that means to me :) ]

for HIM, and many more reasons, i am truly grateful.

hApPY biRtHdAy jO Jo!

jordan you are my heart and soul! thanks for being so supportive of me and loving me the way you do! i couldn't ask for a better husband- so to you, on this day celebrating your birth... i love you foreva and eva! happy birthday punkin!!

but most of all, we love eachother

i have learned alot about myself out here in north carolina. first, i've learned that i love and miss my family (alot!). i really have tried to put on a brave face cause im a big girl now.. married and all. but i finally broke down, i really really really miss them! but in the missing, jord and i have learned to depend on eachother, cause 'eachother' is all we have. its been hard to not have a familiar face anywhere, especially when jord is gone from 11:30-10:30 on an average day. but that small time that we get with eachother, i cherish. i didn't know that i would appreciate living out here this summer... probably cause i had a bad attitude :)... but i've definitely realized why we are here, and i know its because jord and i have come to know and love eachother in a way that i dont think would have been possible living in utah with both of our families twenty minutes away. i've spent too much time thinking about what im missing out on in utah (weddings, birthdays, family get-togethers) and not enough time on the blessings i've experienced since being here in charlotte. it really is amazing when you take a sec to count your blessings...

well, besides my testimony, we had a crazy, fun weekend celebrating our

two month anniversary!

(we take every excuse we can to go out and eat!)

OUTBACK comes highly recommended from us now.

and then we spent the day on sunday taking pictures of how much we have

grown up since we got married... ha ha!

but since today is our real two month anniversary..
i came home from a REALLY difficult day at work, and found this on our table. i couldn't be happier that i am married to the best husband anyone could ask for. i love you jordan spencer, im the luckiest girl in the world!

and if that wasn't enough, he came home with gerber daisies (my favorite)!  gosh, i love him..

ode to my sweetie..

no pictures or vacations this time..
i've got wedding blues.. im not gonna lie. yesterday, i was a bridezilla. yesterday, i was really sick of being engaged. yesterday, i worked 9 hours. yesterday, i blew up and however tough ( and "nice" of a bride) i thought i was up until this point, i wasn't anymore. i fell apart. there was only one thing that made me better. jordan. jord provided a shoulder to cry on. jordan wiped the tears off my face. jordan convinced me that the details of the wedding dont matter, (he didn't mean it, mom!) and that everything was going to work out the way it should. and then jordan suggested we read scriptures and pray.
thats my eternal companion.
and for all those reasons and so many more, thats why i want to spend the rest of forever with him. thanks for being so patient and understanding babe... i couldnt love you anymore!

we couldnt be happier...

im new at this... clearly. but i wanted to get a headstart into the blogga world. i know there has to be some unwritten rule somewhere that says you cant have a blogspot till you are married, or have kids.. but i am defying those rules, and hey: im well on my way

For those who dont know: We'Re GEttiNg mARriED!!
we met:
in the singles ward up here at usu
we started dating:
in september
i knew i wanted to marry him:
in september :)
we got engaged:
on friday, january 11
you kinda get sick of telling all the details to the engagement story, i'll do the best i can, brace yourselves, its a long one....

disclaimer: jord and i knew we wanted to get married, so obviously, i knew it was coming at one point. but i kept telling him that i would probably figure it out when he was going to do it because i over-analyze everything!little did i know.....
-on that friday, we were supposed to drive down to orem for my little brothers basketball game that started at 7.00 pm.. jord said, because his dad was going to italy the next day and would be gone for awhile, his parents wanted to meet us in salt lake for dinner before we drove to orem. (his dad really was going to italy.. which is why i believed this whole story).
we sit at pf changs for 10-15 minutes, and his parents call and say they are having car trouble. his mom 'wanted to get it taken care of' because his dad was leaving for a few weeks, and she didn't want to be stuck with a bad car. the dealer was just a few blocks away from the restaurant, so they would be there shortly. (mind you, they are sitting at their house in sandy the whole time.)
30-40 minutes later...... we ordered them food, sat at a table for four, which is totally distracting me from engagement AT ALL.
his parents finally call and say that the dealership is taking alot longer than they thought and they need to leave the car there.. and they need us to come pick them up. so we get directions ''to the dealership'' (they were really directions to where jord wanted to propose) and leave the restaurant.
6:45 pm... we are lost in salt lake trying to find this place and my brothers game starts in 15 minutes, in orem; i was gettin a little antsy.
jord finally says that we will stop and ask for directions, but insisted that I was going to ask
what is it with men and asking for directions?
we see a church where there was an event going on (on a friday night, only in utah) and jord says, come with me and ask, and i said no. so he pulls into a parking spot soo far away from the church and gets out and slips and falls- not on purpose- but thats how he finally got me out of the car, to go and help him. he starts walking to the opposite side of the church, nowhere near the people, or anything.... I WAS SO CONFUSED! jord explains and says he wants to go on a walk. seriously? i was starting to get mad. we are late, we are lost.. and he wants to go on a walk.
well...
we walk to the end of the parking lot where ensign peak is, that overlooks all of salt lake valley. it was all lit up and beautiful! jord starts his little speech, and im just thinking how weird all of this is, and especially how late we are. he starts to bend down on one knee and im still CLUELESS as to what is going on, which is how it was until i saw him pull out a box and i saw a ring. all i heard was, 'will you marry me' ( i missed the speech) and i started screaming. and then he said, "ANSWER ME!" and of course i said yes! i was so suprised, good job babe. yay, we are getting married!
the big day:
friday, may 16th
where:
getting married in the salt lake temple
and our reception is at thanksgiving point in the rose gardens