LOVE

Once, for a college paper, my class was asked to choose one word and to try and define it. Of course, I chose the word love. Granted, when I wrote this paper, I was a Junior in highschool taking college courses and I had no earthly idea of what "love" really was. I tried my hardest to write the paper. I wrote on all sorts of things about love: the feelings, the different types and stages, etc. Well surely enough, I chose to define the undefineable. Go me! (insert sarcasm here) My teacher gave me a failing grade but gave me the option to write this paper over again. He gave me the option of choosing another subject or to just rewrite on this less than concrete word. Being the stubborn girl that I am, I stuck with my original subject. I handed in my rewritten, redefined paper and was given a B. I was pretty satisfied because I pretty much defined what my teacher called undefineable. 

Now, this little story leads to my story for today. 

I know most of my readers expect to see photos, but today is a completely different post. I feel as if I need to redefine myself a little bit. I love to write and I feel as if what better time to write when I'm feeling so loved|in love and I have nothing but time right now. 

So here I go, my story of ...

l o v e

Justin and I have been together a little on and off for the past two years. More on than off, but we have had 2 short break ups. The weirdest thing about our relationship is that after each breakup, we as a couple have reinvented ourselves. We started dating my Senior year in high school and it's clear to me now why we have done this repeatedly. We were young, still are, but we've grown. 

Within the last run our relationship has had, we have gotten stronger than ever. Justin has been the gentlemen I always knew he could be. (He'd totally squeeze me to death if he were reading this! ) The man is nothing short of opening the door for me, showering me in sweet gifts, random facebook statuses, and tons of surprise lunch dates. He comes to my home before I get home from work or school, and I come home and find my boyfriend by a fire with my Daddy drinking a beer and having a good "man talk". A southern myth is that when you find a man that acts like your father is usually "the one". It just always makes me shake my head when I catch Justin doing something that Daddy does. So strange. My dad is always fond of wrestling-playing around and so is Justin. One night, Justin grabbed me from behind and put me in a gentle headlock and said "Give up yet?!" I swear, my dad did the same thing earlier that afternoon. They're just so much a like. It's strange sometimes! 

Anyways, back to us. He has gone so far out of his way to make me happy lately and I'm just so grateful for it. 

These days, I've just been so smitten. Like I find it incredibly amazing that I can fall in love with the same man over and over and over again. It's refreshing to see our relationship moving in such a forward direction. I love him with all of my heart, there's not a single little piece of it that doesn't love him. I swear, if my toes could love, they would love him. (That's not in like a toe-fetish way or anything, just thinking of a random body part....like ears would work too, maybe lips ;) ) 

So where this story leads. I now know the word L O V E. I wish I would have never written that paper because love is something that can't be defined in a paper, no chance. There's no movie or even song that can truly define it because each person has their own definition. Mine is simply that love is when you are with someone that is completely everything you've ever wanted that keeps surprising you with their qualities that you never knew existed. My love makes me smile, even when he's not around or when I'm not talking to him almost every minute of the day. My love is knowing that I'm with a man that is so selfless and I never really realized it until I had to witness it.

I hope you all find a love like mine, if you haven't already. I may still be young, but I know a good thing when I find it. 

I mean what kind of boyfriend gives you outrageous Christmas gifts days before Christmas, and there's still more to come?! 

Check these out: 

The only reason why we exchanged gifts early is because he works on Christmas day and tomorrow night we're going to look at pretty lights at James Island (2 + hours away) and he wanted to be able to get the trunk inside and Thursday he works as well and then Christmas Eve, I get my other gift! And we have tons to do between all of that, so we decided tonight would be nice to relax and enjoy doing some gifts. 

The watch: something I have been wanting for quite sometime, but I didn't expect it to be quite as extravagant as this one! 

The trunk: I found on Craigslist one random night, I emailed the owner and told Justin about it and it turns out he emailed the owner and told him not to sell it to me because he wanted to buy it for me. I love everything about this piece. It has so much history and it smells so lovely! 

Sorry for all of the chattyness! 

Love to you all! And Merry Christmas!

Xs & Os!

p.s. As for the Diet Coke ornament, Justin's mom gave it to me last year! I think it may be from Cracker Barrel, but I'm not positive! Glad y'all liked it so much :D