1. Levon and I met and became friends in 8th grade (which is actually when the picture below was taken).
2. We officially became a couple our junior year of high school after I received years of love poems from him :)
3. I don't receive love poems anymore :(, but I still think he is an amazing husband and daddy.
4. Levon turned down playing football at a small college to be a Boilermaker with me.
5. Freshman year at Purdue, Levon stayed in the same dorm that my Dad stayed in and my Grandpa (who is now in his 90's) stayed in their freshman years.
6. I stayed in the same dorm that my sister lived in.
7. If you haven't noticed, we are a Purdue family...my greatest childhood memories are going to West Lafayette for homecoming games. My grandpa would always have yellow Gatorade and Pringles waiting for us. My sister, me, and Julia would wear temporary tattoes on our faces and get our picture taken with the World's Biggest Drum, the train, and the Golden Girl.
8. Another very fond childhood memory: taking nature walks with my Dad around the big lake that he lived on for a while. He would try to teach us the types of trees, point out birds, eggs, beavers, and more. He taught us to respect animals and nature in general.
9. My Dad made me a walking stick that he carved my initials into.
10. We would swim out to "Duck Poop Island"
11. My Dad, sister, and I would sing the oldie song 'Book of Love'...we each had our own parts. My part was, "chapter 4 you break up, but you give her just one more chance!"
12. He also built us a really cool treehouse that was shaped like a boat.
13. And he created a grocery store in the garage complete with stocked shelves and pads of paper to write out receipts.
14. My mom was very conscious of dental hygeine and Brooke and I never had cavities growing up.
15. My mom was crowned Miss Newburgh when she was 16.
16. I was obsessed with babies when I was younger...it seems that Jocelyn is following in my footsteps.
(dang, look at those bangs!)
17. Levon's favorite childhood memories include riding dirtbikes and fishing with his Dad and brother.
18. Levon is named after an Elton John song.
19. I'm a control freak, I'm pretty sure I inherited it from my Dad.
20. I worry way too much just like my grandma.
21. Levon's passion is fishing.
22. He also hunts, golfs, and does weightlifting.
23. I don't really have a hobby, unless blogging and facebook count.
24. I watch too much tv, and have "shows" on every night.
25. Levon always lets me have the remote unless we are watching tv in the bedroom.
26. Jocelyn loves Veggie Tales, Elmo, and Barney.
27. Levon proposed to me on Christmas Eve our junior year of college.
28. He promised my Dad we would wait until after graduation to get married.
29. We had an extremely modest wedding...we wanted to have money for a down payment on our house.
30. In our first house, the roof leaked 3 or 4 times...we were so ready to get out!! Lived their only 2 years.
31. We think the house we are in now is perfect for our family of 3.
32. The dogs used to be inside at the old place and now are outside dogs...it makes things so much easier! We spend time with them daily though.
33. Reo is 130lb. and Reagan is 113lb.....BIG dogs!
34. We named Reo after the town we got him in.
35. I brought Reagan home without asking Levon first. Thankfully, he let me keep her.
36. I named her Reagan because Levon wasn't going to let me use it for our daughter.
37. I love older names like Sophia, Evelyn, Estelle, etc but Levon doesn't.
38. I got the name Jocelyn from a little girl at the preschool where I worked. Her parents got it from the movie A Knight's Tale.
39. We never planned for me to be a stay-at-home mom, but now can't imagine life any other way.
40. I used to be terrified of dying, it consumed my every thought.
41. In July of 2003, I asked Jesus to come into my heart and life and save me.
42. Jesus took that fear of death away instantly.
43. One week later, after constant praying on my part, the guy who once told me "I'll never be a Christian, if that's what you want we can't be together" walked down the aisle at church to publically proclaim that Jesus was now his Lord and Savior.
44. It blows my mind to think of the plan God had for our lives all along.
45. As soon as we wanted to get pregnant, it happened.
46. I ended up having an emergency c-section because I wouldn't dialate past 9.5 and it had been too long since my water had broken.
47. As soon as Jocelyn was taken out of me, the doctor said, "She has long eyelashes like her Daddy!" People have been saying she is his clone ever since.
(some may think this is a freaky pic, but I love it...she does kind look like an alien)
48. Some people think she looks just like her cousin Grace.
49. We have the same friends that we had in high school, and I get together for dinner with my girls almost weekly.
50. Levon and I don't buy each other cards and gifts for anniversaries, birthdays, or holidays... we usually just celebrate by going to dinner.
51. I love sushi with a passion.
52. Levon can't stand listening to me eat, says I'm loud...I have no clue what he is talking about.
53. Levon would rather do anything other than paint a room.
54. Jocelyn has 3 cousins, Grace 7, Anteneh 5, and Luke 5. She also has another one about to be born on Levon's side...a girl, Savannah.
55. We are pretty sure she is going to be an only child, unless we decide otherwise when she goes to school and I get a job with maternity coverage.
56. Jocelyn has slept with us almost every night except a few since she was born. We prefer it this way. The Family Bed is a good book on the topic.
57. I nursed Jocelyn until she was 18 months...my mom did the same thing for us.
58. I prefer to do all the diaper changing, bathing, feeding, etc. for Jocelyn. Levon and I are both really happy with the way we do things in our family, despite other people's opinions.
59. Obviously, when I'm not around, Levon does those things!
60. I am allergic to cats, even though I had them growing up.
61. I have horrible eyesight.
62. Levon has perfect eyesight.
63. Neither of us needed braces. (hopefully the same will be true for Joce)
64. Levon was the first person in his family to graduate from college.
65. Levon has 4 bullet holes in his body. Did God have a plan for his life or what?!
66. Neither of us can dance.
67. I love everything pregnancy and baby related.
68. Levon and Jocelyn both talk in their sleep, Joce often laughs.
69. Levon and I went on a mission trip to Jamaica for a week in 2006. We played soccer and did Bible studies with orphan boys age 8-20. We also visited a baby/toddler orphanage.
70. We never went on a honeymoon.
71. I love going to garage sales.
72. I am so interested in antiques, visiting historical places, and extremely old pictures.
73. My sister and I used to fly by ourselves all the time to visit our grandparents in Florida. We had major flight attendant attention, but I can't imagine sending Jocelyn off by herself when she is that age!!
74. I was allowed to watch the movie Jaws when I was little and was terrified to swim in the ocean once we got to Florida.
75. I collected angel figurines when I was younger.
76. In high school during Spring Break, I got angel wings tattooed on my ankle...have regretted it ever since.
77. Levon also got a tattoo in high school, but doesn't regret it.
78. I had an extremely easy pregnancy and worked up until the day I went into labor, which was the day after I was due.
79. I have no sense of style, and usually buy what is flattering, comfortable, and inexpensive. I wish my friends could dress me every day :)
80. I am extremly paranoid and always read into what other people say.
81. I had parakeets in grade school named Romeo & Juliet. My mom made me donate them to my school for a class pet because they would poop on the wall. My teacher had to give them away because they were way too loud for a classroom!
82. We also had hamsters who ate their babies and each other. Jocelyn will NOT be getting rodents. It was a bloodbath!
83. Levon's family used to raise Chows.
84. I broke my arm when I was only 2 years old jumping from twin bed to twin bed with my sister. I told the doctor that my grandma did it.
85. Jocelyn loves fruits, vegetables, seafood, hard boiled eggs, everything! She is thankfully NOT a picky eater YET!
86. My mom was extremely glad that she didn't have boys, and was thrilled that I had a girl.
87. If Jocelyn would have been a boy, her name would have been Samuel James. Although I love the name Eli too.
88. Levon admitted to me that it wasn't reality to him that we were having a baby until after she was born. This is crazy to me because my pregnancy was all I talked about!
89. I can't stand when people feed my child with unwashed hands or smoke even remotely close to her or any kids.
90. Levon hates to be late and instantly loses respect for people who are. He used to go to class 30 minutes early in college.
91. Jocelyn started walking at 9 months and seems to be advanced in physical development ever since.
92. Jocelyn loves horses just like her Mimi and cousin Grace.
93. She loves to be outside and is drawn to water, fish, deer, and things her daddy is into.
94. Levon is hoping she will be a softball player when older, although I'm sure any sport will do.
95. It's hard for me to not have piles of stuff everywhere.
96. Levon is pretty organized.
97. We are going on our first real vacation in just a few weeks...to Florida! We are so excited!
98. We will be spending the first part of our vacation with my grandparents who live in Cape Coral. This is the first time they will be meeting Levon AND Jocelyn, which is crazy considering we've been together 10 years!
99. Levon owns a small fishing boat with a friend, and Jocelyn and I love when he takes us out with him.
100. We eat grilled food almost every night even throughout the winter.
