Cheesy Love and Other Wins of a Pregnant Lady's Husband

Pregnancy doesn't happen only to women. No, their partners definitely feel the impact of the cravings, sleep deprivation, and mood swings. My Ryan's won some serious blog-worthy points lately as a pregnant lady's husband. (Men, take note...)

Yesterday I told him, "You ought to try being pregnant. Even for a month. I wonder how you'd handle it." He laughs when I say things like that, but I can't help but wonder what my triathlon-competing fat-free man would look like with my pregnant belly.

Although I hadn't really eaten it in years, there's only one food item I've really, undeniably craved: CHEESE, specifically of the Colby Jack variety. I confess in a 48-hour period last month I ate an entire pound. By myself. I've done better lately about rationing, but ran out of Colby yesterday.

I never wanted to be one of those "send the husband at midnight for pickles" kind of pregnant ladies. Yet, last night I mentioned - in a more whiny way than I'd like to admit - how much I wanted more of my precious cheese after a long day of work and grad school class. Ryan's much too practical for frivolous midnight runs to the grocery store. Or so I thought. I woke up for my 3 a.m. bathroom wake-up, took a visit to the kitchen and discovered this gem in the fridge:

"It's cheesy how much I love you." Oh, melt my heart!

 Isn't that so sweet?!

And for a couple months now, I keep finding all these little love notes around the house. Ryan knows I'm a "word person" and it means so much to me to see him taking time to love me how I love to be loved. A couple more:

In our baby bassinet: "I love you Mommy"

On our office door: "You are wonderful to me" with our wedding announcement. Yep, I married a keeper.

Prego update: This week marks the mid-way pregnancy point: 20 weeks! Next week we're finding out the gender of our first baby, and I may or may not have been keeping a paper chain since our last doctor visit three weeks ago. (Pink, blue, pink, blue...ending on a yellow "hello, baby Beck!) Excited is an understatement....and we both have an inkling this is a boy. We'll see...

Two in School

For only 11 more days, Ryan and I are attending the same university. We've been making the 6-minute drive together from our apartment to our Tuesday night classes ever since his car broke down a month ago. He goes to the construction building, while I visit the communication building down the hill.

We've been able to leave each other love notes in the car (when we're not driving together) and sneak in kisses after class. It's fun to be married and going to school. I realized when I caught this shot of the Weber State Stewart Bell Tower recently that these days of conveniently going to school together will soon pass by.

But that's okay.

You see, the countdown for Ryan's graduation has almost entered single digits. I'm so proud of him!

10 Simple Ways to Make Your Wife Happy

     

      While dream vacations and life milestones are important, it’s the simple things you do that make your wife happy. Show love and respect to your bride every day, and remind her why you were the best choice she’s ever made. Here are 10 basic tips for showing everyday love. Remember: Happy wife, happy life. (Hint: If you have a sign like the one Ryan's holding, it's likely  you're rocking the "husband" thing.)

     (Written originally for FamilyHow.com. See my article here.)

1.       Introduce her with a compliment. Saying something like “I’d like you to meet my beautiful wife,” or “Here’s my better half” goes farther than you may realize. Publicly recognizing her as your cherished partner validates that you love her.

2.      Embrace when you see her. At the end of a long day conquering office battles and keeping the kids from climbing walls, you could both use a loving hug. Make a point of showing you missed her and are glad to be reunited. A big kiss doesn’t hurt, either.

3.      Ask her how you can help. If this is a new one for you, she may think there’s a catch. With a sincere willingness to give a helping hand, ask how you can lift her burden. This gesture applies to more than yard work, but being in tune with her needs emotionally and spiritually, as well. Sometimes she just needs a listening ear.

4.      Let her pick the movie. Or, if you’re playing games, let her choose. She needs to know her opinion counts in your marriage. Taking turns with these simple choices makes it easier to compromise on the bigger choices together.

5.      Forgive her fast. She forgot to pack your lunch, or accidentally broke your TV remote. So, she’s human, after all? With all that she does right, let it go when she makes mistakes. After all, you’re no perfection yourself, cupcake!

6.      Hold her hand in public. Some women are less inclined to public displays, but when appropriate, reach out and squeeze her hand. With the reassurance you’re proud she’s yours, she’ll walk a little taller, and smile a little bigger.

7.      Write her love letters. You don’t have to be Shakespeare; the thought matters most here. Focus on specific things you love about her; the wrinkle in her nose when she laughs or how she finds joy in the little things. You can hide it in her makeup bag, under her pillow, or somewhere else she'll discover it. She’ll be happily surprised and treasure your words for years to come.

8.      Open the door for her. Chivalry is not dead. Opening the door is a gentlemanly way to take care of your lady. She likely grew up wanting to be a princess. Be her prince.

9.      Carve out time for consistent date night. In an on-the-go digital world, it’s easy to get caught up in the minutia of kids, work, community, extended family and even church responsibilities. Set aside a weekly special night just for the two of you. It doesn’t need to be costly or extravagant. Just make an effort to court her, as you did when you were dating.

10.  Let her fly. As her partner, you are in the best position to help her reach her dreams.

Precious Moment Two Years Ago Today

It's been 731 days since our debut as husband and wife, and there are moments I will never, ever forget. We'd prayed and hoped and prepared for this day, and were so blessed. The desires of our hearts really do come to us. Ryan and I were worthy, ready, and willing to start our lives together in the House of the Lord. Victory! We made it! 

For years I'd dreamed of this exact moment - coming out of the temple doors to meet our family. I pictured my new husband would be to my left and he'd smile at me with beaming eyes. He did. This moment was even sweeter than I'd imagined, and my Ryan went for a kiss dip. Looking through the pictures, this truly was the happiest day of my life - with family and friends and my love. It was a slice of heaven, and I miss it. I'm grateful we have pictures and a video - but wouldn't it be wonderful to transport ourselves back in time to relive our favorite moments of life?

Thank you so much to our family and friends, who were there on this big day. Especially our parents: You loved us then, you love us now. We love you. And with it's beauty and real-life challenges, we love being married. We are a team, and look forward to the future together.

Happy 2nd Anniversary, my love.

And happy birthday, William Goldman, author of "The Princess Bride." We have a few things in common, as I post here.

We LOVE you all!!!

Get your jump on, it's Leap Day!

I knew I was marrying into a jumpy-picture family when we did this at Yellowstone:

I like their concept of jumping when you're happy, and this was a jump-for-joy day:

HAPPY LEAP DAY!

Get your jump on ...

To my husband, who lets me fly

Ryan just returned from a few days in Reno for a construction team competition. Being apart gave me time to miss him. Thus, this post.

When I was a teenager, I read an Ensign article I highly recommend called “Home with the Hinckleys.” As quoted above, President Hinckley gives his advice on being a supportive husband, and his sweet wife shares her wisdom too. Their home sounded heavenly. I kept that article to remember the type of man I wanted to marry and the kind of home I hoped we'd have.

Today marks 18 months since we were married. I was blessed with my heart's desire; in a very literal sense, Ryan lets me fly all over the country. (Thanks, husband!)

More importantly, he gives me freedom to be myself. He knows me and still loves me anyways. He teaches me to be real and genuine. He supports my big dreams yet reels me back to reality when I get carried away. Even in our tense moments, he's the husband I hoped for - quick to forgive, quick to love me, and oh, so loveable.

His & Hers: Have Cake and Smear It Too

I was looking through wedding pictures today and smiled at our "cut the cake" scene. With my dream cake (including cup cake tower and specialty gluten-free topper!) we had quite the ammunition ready. We started as the picture of lovey dovey bliss:

... but then competitiveness took the better of us, even in our fancy outfits and this happened:

The cake battle raged for a good 90 seconds, and I can proudly say I've never seen one quite as fierce as ours. We both ended up smiling and cake-smeared like this:

Question is, who do you think will start the food fights when we have kids?

p.s. Many thanks to my dad for capturing these shots!

A Big Reason Why I Married Ryan

Just look at his mega-watt smile!!!

He makes me smile everyday...

Enough said.

Care to share? We wanna know ... what's a big reason you married your spouse?

BECKoning in a new era

Almost arrived...our wedding is the day after tomorrow!

After all the excitement, plans and preparations, endless hours of help from our incredible families, and seemingly continuous to-do lists...our wedding day is really almost here. Ryan's been wonderful reminding this Type A, get-it-done-yesterday girl that all the details really don't matter. And he's right.

What really matters is that we love each other and are joining our lives together, sealed in the House of God where we can unite ourselves with Him as we start a new family. We are so blessed to have such wonderful, supportive families and friends who love us so much. Thank you for your loving support.

I'm grateful beyond words to be here now, BECKoning in this new era with Ryan.

Next time I post I will be Mrs. Beck!

Love,
Crystalee

Two Weeks Notice

Here's my two weeks notice, Singlehood.

We've had a good thing going for quite a long time now. For years, you've introduced me to many opportunities, and I've learned alot from you. At times, I questioned if anything else could quite take your place. Let's admit it - you're just so fun and present such a variety of options! You've been good to me, but I have news for you.

I've found something - rather, someone - that fits me better than I could have hoped.

He's a dynamic kind, with a surprising range of skills rarely found in one person. In just the last two days I have witnessed him back flipping in the wee hours at the Salt Flats, and woo me silly dancing at the State Capitol during our wedding photo shoot (thanks to my ultra-talented uncle Tim Pannell), and spend the next day in the back-breaking task of lugging all my stuff three stories up to our first home. He built stilts for our bed with his bare hands and rugged know-how and manages to surprise me daily with all the things he can do. Most of all, he makes me forget about anyone else - and yes, Singlehood, that means you.

Yep, two weeks, and I'm gone for good. Joining the Married Club, and I couldn't be happier about it.

He put a ring on it...

...and it's official. We're ENGAGED! Woohoo! Dreams really do come true!

Here's highlights of Ryan's brilliantly sweet and thought-out proposal:

* Sentimental memories leading to Temple Square, yards away from where we held hands on our first date in 2006
* A suited chaffeur drove us to Ry's brother's place, decorated just for us (even with our faces on their wedding pictures - vision before reality)
* Lovely candlelit dinner coupled with dancing and happy talks of the future. We're getting married!

As the party-planning gurus we are, Ryan and I wasted no time with preparations for our big day. Thanks to our parents, a tank of gas, and a valley-gallavanting day seeing reception centers, we have all the reservations taken care of (temple, luncheon, reception) and the date is officially set for August 12, 2010.

And so the countdown begins for the day we'll start our journey together as Mr. & Mrs. Beck!

P.S. Thanks to Jim, Rob, Jen, Trisha and Ron for all you did to help with the proposal. We love you guys.