We heart our mommas

Mother's Day was nice:)

Derrick spoke in church about mothers and he even mentioned me and our soon to be baby.

I told him that with M Day, our anniversary, AND my birthday all in the same month,

(and the fact that i am not exactly a true blue mama yet), he wasn't allowed to get me anything.

He surprised me with a beautiful heartfelt card. It was one of those Papyrus cards that are all

decked out with rhinestones and some artistic designs, i loved it.

But what he wrote inside was the sweetest part.

One thing I love about Derrick is that he always has a lot to say.

And since that is usually the case with me too,

we keep ourselves busy with convos about everything under the moon.

But when Derrick puts sweet thoughts on paper, I just melt.

He doesnt focus on being poetic or using fancy words to woo me, he's just honest and loving and I can

tell he puts so much thought in every word and that means the most to me.

Okay okay.. no more gushing!

Anywhooo.. I was also surprised to get a package in the mail from my amazing sister Kari!

She gave me a book called The Artistic Mother. I am so excited about it! It is a book that inspires and gives creative motivation to a mama with a busy life. There's so much to it that I wanna do.

I love Kari, she's so thoughtful and she always picks the best gifts:)

We had dinner at Derrick's parents house. We didnt want his mom to cook on her special day, so we had a bbq, Derrick's dad makes some delicious french fries in his dutch oven!

All of us kids volunteered to bring sides, but of course the one day we dont want

Melanie (his mom) to cook, our side dish did not turn out! I felt horrible!

I'm not even gonna say what it was that I did wrong, its too embarrassing... haha.

But the lovely thing about mothers is that they are so forgiving and loving no matter what.

I'm just glad we gave her a gift we know she'd love.

She deserved it, she's so good to all of us kids.

It's nice having one of our mom's so close to us.

I wish I could have seen and hugged my mom on Mother's Day.

But instead, we got to chat on the phone for a while. I love talking to that woman, she makes me laugh and we understand each other sooo much more than when I was a feisty teenager...

because now I'm a feisty wife and soon-to-be-mother, and she can relate to that:)

My mom really cares about every one of her five children.

Our lives are all on different levels right now and she is always in tune and aware of how we all are.

She's always been there to listen and gently guide, never forcing. I love her for that.

I have so much to learn from her while I start my journey in to motherhood.

How it all began..

I am Bryana and I am married to my soulmate. I am dead serious people. I am from California and lived in a suburbia like place where the houses were so close that I am pretty sure the neighbors could hear every time we sneezed. The grass is green all year round, and to get anywhere, EVER means at least 30 minutes of traffic. I always thought I would marry someone who was just like me, they would appreciate art and we'd go to concerts, and live at the beach.

Then I met Derrick, an all American kind of guy who grew up working on his grandpa's farm in Idaho. Literally, a potato farmer. Where he grew up, you couldn't even yell to the neighbors from the edge of the driveway. He says "spuds", calls soda "pop", and regularly attends the Demolition Derby at the State Fair. While I was listening to Indie music, he was drumming to Metallica.

One may wonder how two people from completely different worlds ended up with each other. Lets just say God knows exactly what He is doing. He knows how to get us at the right place and at the right time, we just need to be ready for it.

I love this quote by Winston Churchill:

"To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder to do a special thing unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour."

We were both blessed to have served the Lord in the Ohio Cleveland Mission. I am so glad we both made that choice to serve the Lord. We met some amazing people and were able to see miracles happen. Not only did we see the Lord bless so many others, we individually were blessed to grow in ways that would not have been possible if not on the mission.

With that said, Derrick and I have enriched each others lives with our unique backgrounds. I can now say that I have learned a little bit of farm lingo, and I have a deeper appreciation for providing for ourselves by growing our own food. I even attempted a mini vegetable garden last year... not everything grew but I'm still trying! We go to the lake in the summer and snow machining in the winter. Derrick has a love for the beach, he even tried surfing with by brother last summer. He has a growing appreciation for the arts and I even got him to like some of my music. Those things are fun, but in the end, we have the same goals for this life and eternity. We love cooking together, laughing about everything, and we never run out of things to talk about. And most importantly, he doesn't just put up with my girly, dorky, and demanding self, he loves me for it.

And that is just a glimpse as to why Derrick Likes is my soulmate.