My 17 Year Old Valentine

I asked Nicki to be my Valentine this morning. She said, “Yes!

This time it didn’t cost me anything.

It was a different story 17 years ago (as of Saturday, February 12). That time, it cost me a box of chocolates to get her to finally say yes.

It was the day of our Valentine’s Banquet (February 12) for the church we attended. We were not going to the banquet with each other, but I had my eye on Nicki for quiet a while. I was in seventh grade and she was in sixth at the time. My friend was ‘going out with‘ her best friend. That’s not why I liked Nicki, but it made things better. I asked Nicki to ‘go out with me‘ once already and she told me no, she liked some other boy in her class. Although they were not boyfriend and girlfriend. In fact, I don’t even think he liked her; I think he was still picking his nose and playing in dirt. So, I was down but not out.

Keep reading, this is an inspirational story that will make you want to keep believing when your backs against a wall and there’s nowhere to turn. They’ll make a documentary about this one day!

Someone in my class gave me a small heart shaped box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. It had a furry, cute little creature on it. I didn’t like chocolates and I didn’t have any money, but I had just been given all the ammunition I needed to win Nicki’s heart. I quickly penned a note, as to why Nicki should be my girlfriend and ditch the other guy. At the end of school that day I gave Nicki the box of chocolates and the note asking her to be my Valentine and my girlfriend. And when all hope was gone…She said “Yes!

We were together for a little while, I’m not sure how many weeks or months, but at some point we broke up. I remember my friend broke up with her friend and so I broke up with her. It saved us a bunch of fighting over which friend was right. Remember: we were in 6th and 7th grade.

- – - 5 Years Later – - – I had just returned to the church & school where Nicki and I first met to finish up my Junior year in High School. When I first returned I actually had another girlfriend who was outside of the school. After several months, I broke up with the girl I was dating and was not really looking to date. I was content hanging out with my friends. At the start of my Senior year, Nicki and I shared a class or two with each other and would have small conversations here and there. She claims I told her I would bleed for creed (it was a promotion to give blood in exchange for Creed tickets) for her, however, I think one night while she was dreaming of me she dreamed that conversation.

A friend of mine heard that Nicki liked me and suggested I asked her to the infamous Valentines Banquet this church put on annually. I guess as cheesy as I thought it was, I have to be thankful for it as it has been pivotal in my relationship with Nicki. I asked her, in between her tears of joy she said, “Yes!,” and it was a date.

I got Chicken Pox. At 18. The Valentines Banquet was not happening. I was not going around my classmates looking like that. However, Nicki still wanted to go out with me (remember tears of joy) despite the fact that I looked like my face was about to fall off. So we went to Olive Garden. It was February 12. We had a good time, as much as I could get her to talk.

On the way home, I pulled over and reminded her that it was 5 years ago to the day that I begged asked her to be my girlfriend (and it cost me a box of chocolates) and that I would like for her to go out with me officially starting that night. Just call me a romantic, pre-planner. She said, “Yes!” and we’ve been together for 12 years (married for 10) since that night.

Hold on, I just realized, I guess this time it cost me a dinner at Olive Garden :)

So, when you feel that your dream guy or girl is out of reach, the moral of the story is, a box of chocolates with a cute furry creature, a dinner at Olive Garden and begging could land you a lifetime of bliss!

Happy Valentines Day to my beautiful valentine, Nicki, the one I was almost meant to be with!

Join the Conversation…Do you have any exciting Valentine Stories?

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Conversations with a Seven Year Old: The Degree

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Interesting conversations Nicki and I have with our children…

This is a conversation Nicki had with Gavin this morning about earning money.

Nicki: “If you want to make good money when you grow up you’ll have to go to college and get a degree.”

Gavin: “How can I get my degree now so I can make a better allowance?”

Smart kid.

Other Conversations with our kids…

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10 Years Ago Today

nicki-and-me-3-spring-2010It was on Saturday, November 4, 2000 that my life changed forever. On that day, it appeared not to be a big deal, just a simple Wedding Ceremony. A small gathering of family and friends, a small wedding chapel, repeat a few words, say ‘I do!,’ and then the Honeymoon. Nothing much would change (so I thought), I practically saw Nicki everyday anyway, but now we got to live together. Hey! I’m a guy!

That’s why I tell everyone who says, “Wow, you two got married young!” that we actually got married “Young and Dumb,” however I had enough wisdom to land Nicki while she was dumb enough to say ‘Yes!

10 Years later…I have no way of telling all of the great and not so great memories that we have shared so far in a blog post, but I can say I am eternally grateful to God for giving me the greatest wife in the whole world. She has stood by me when I’ve  followed some of the dumbest dreams and ideas that have ever popped into someone’s head, she’s let me make horrible decisions (and only brings them up every once in a blue moon), she’s been hard headed and difficult (which I am thankful she’s not always been who I wanted her to be), she’s helped me grow and become a better person, she’s been flexible to not always demand her own way. She is loving and merciful when I am a little less so. She is a great mother to our three wonderful children, Gavin, Tristan, and Hailey. Simply put I love her for who she is.

As a bonus…she is an awesome cook and is sexier than your wife (and if you are a woman, she’s sexier than you)!

Happy 10 Year Anniversary Nicki, I love you and look forward to the next 10+ years together!

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Nine Years Ago Today

nickiNine years ago today, the most amazing and beautiful lady changed the story of my life with two small words, “I Do!”
Those two words sealed into history a love that’s never ending; even when we’ve felt like letting go, the love that we share held us together. I can’t count the stupid decisions I’ve made in my life and all of the wrong choices I’ve made, but one thing is certain and one thing is clear, asking Nicki to marry me was the best decision I have ever made, and at least I can always say I did one thing right! Our story has changed in many ways over the last nine years, together God’s blessed us with three amazing children who have taught us to love deeper and in ways we had never experienced. I am thankful God put our paths together all those years ago, and that today is just a reminder that we’ve just begun and that there are many pages to our story that has yet to be written.

Nicki, you are the greatest wife a man could ask for. Thank you for sharing the last nine years of life with me and for being a great mother to our children. I know you do a lot every week (college, your purse business, 3 kids, working at Cudos on the weekend, cleaning the house during the day, cooking dinner, helping me etc, etc, etc…….) but what is more impressive to me is that you do not complain and you do it with a personal sacrifice unmatched by many women. Thank you for doing all that you do selflessly. I look forward to next chapters of our story together :razz:

Happy 9th Anniversary! I love  you.

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Nicki Carnes “Lifetime Mother of the Year!”

Happy Mother’s Day Nicki, you are the greatest mom our kids could ever ask for and an amazing wife to me! I love you!

This video has been specially made just for you. Be sure to pay attention to the entire video, not just what they are saying, but what comes up on the screen, the award, etc…

CLICK HERE to watch the Video.

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Easter Family Photos

family-bwOur Family…

(Click on image once to open, click on new image to enlarge)

Easter 2009

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Married for 8 Years Today

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Today is a big day for me. I had the awesome responsibility to vote for our next President of the United States. I did so as a free man, there was no military presence at the voting precinct and I was not forced to vote against my will under threat of death. Today marks an even bigger day for me, it marks the day that 8 years ago my life was changed forever. It does not matter what direction our country turns in or if I had to live in a land full of oppression, I would still be the happiest man on earth, because I have the priviledge of being married to the love of my life and my best friend, Nicki. So today, this is a little of what I want to say to my wife…

On this day 8 years ago, you made the decision to start a new life journey with me. The many roads that we have traveled in these short 8 years have been full of twists and turns, hills and mountains, pot holes as well as smooth straight paths. I would be inaccurately describing it if I said it’s been anything short of an adventure.

Some of our roads were surprises while others have been of our own choosing, but no matter which road we’ve traveled we’ve come to the end together, and still we have many to complete.

I can easily say that after these 8 years we have a successful life. No we are not the wealthiest people on earth, ok, wealthy is not even in our dictionary, but we made decisions for our family that in 8 more years we will be thankful for. I cannot put a price tag on a loving wife that has sacrificed career and personal dreams to ensure that our children had a positive influence at home before being shipped off to school. The intelligence that our children have because of the influence of their mom is truly priceless and could never be copied by an outside daycare or child rearing source. I know at times its seems that your hard work making purses to help make ends meet goes unnoticed and is unappreciated, but I thank God for your dedication to our home, to our marriage, and to our children. In a self-serving and self-pleasing world I know that I have found a treasure in a woman who will put self aside for the good of her family. We are successful because we have 3 beautiful, healthy, smart, and loving children. All of them are growing into children, one day teenagers, and eventually adults who will be a blessing to the world around them; we’ve already seen this in their character and personality as they get older. I would trade riches any day for a beautiful, loving, healthy, and dedicated wife and for the three greatest children a man could ask for. This is just one of the many roads we are on, and when we get to the end of it, we will be a stronger couple, we will be stronger parents, and we will be stronger candidates for God to use. This 8 year journey has quickly passed us by and I can only hope that the next 8 will not be in such a rush to get here. Let’s not look too far in to our tomorrows, but savor all that God has blessed us with in all of our todays.

So, at the beginning of this new day together I thank you for sticking with me through all of my bone headed decisions; some turned out great while others made us dig to the surface just to get air. I thank you for being the best mom I could ever dream up for our children, for being a great influence on them, one that will lead them after Jesus throughout their entire life. I thank you for being dedicated to us, your family. I thank you for being you, and not anyone I may have tried to make you into over the years. I thank you for breakfast in the mornings and dinner in the evenings. I thank you for your creativity and allowing God to use those gifts He has given you. I thank you for allowing me to travel and experience some of my dreams while you hold down the fort at home. I thank you that you have given me the confidence and the trust that no matter where God leads us, whether it is a new town or just down the street you are going to be there with me when we get to the end of that road. Most of all, I thank you for loving me more than anyone ever has, more than anyone ever would, and more than anyone should. You are my very best friend…my everything! Happy 8th Year Anniversary!

I Love You,

Nick

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Family Pictures 2008

These are our first professional family pictures…ever! I think its the perfect timing now that we are complete with the 5 of us! The truth is, I refused to have my picture taken because I was self concious when I was 40 pounds over weight. If you saw most of our personal pictures, you would know why, but I also look angry in them because Nicki would catch me off guard and I would not be smiling. Click on the thumbnails below to see the full size picture, then click on that picture to see the whole thing (its complicated :) ). We took several poses, but these are the one’s we puchased.

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Aerie by American Eagle – Smart Marketing?

I have an American Eagle All-Access Pass, so their new underwear & lounge wear company, “Aerie” sent me a post card for a free pair of panties. If you are not familiar with Aerie they are a company for ladies, kind of like an American Eagle style Victoria Secret for 14-30 year olds (I may be off on my demographics) minus the lingerie.

Since I do not wear panties I let my wife redeem the card for the free pair. Something like an early birthday or anniversary gift, you know just in case I fortget when those special events come around! We walked into the new store at our local Mall, I loved the outside, it was cladded in brick, just like it was located at an outdoor Promenade. When you walk into the store everything is laid out nicely, the store was lit up brightly, and everything looked fresh. My wife browsed through the tables of the underwear that they were giving away as a part of their grand opening special. I was surprised that they had about 4 tables of free underwear, usually a store gives you one small section of free stuff and it usually looks like the items come from the lower quality products that they sell. Aeries was giving away their everyday $7.50 or 5 for $25 pair of underwear for their promotion.

We took my wife’s selection up to the table, and the store representative hit my wife with the BIG question, “Are you a member of the A-List?” – The store rep did not care if my wife said no, as she did, because as soon as my wife said no, the representative said, “If you would like to sign up for the A-List tonight, you will get another free pair of panties now and every Thursday you will be eligible to receive a free in store gift, just bring this card in and they will give you your free gift and punch your card.” “If you want to go pick out another pair of underwear, I will get you a registration form ready.” My wife’s response, “Ok!

My wife brings her selection back to the counter and as the representative is ringing them up, my wife fills out the simple form to be an “A-Lister,” and waits for the representative to finish her technical stuff at the register for the free underwear and to wrap up the free gifts. The next question from the rep was, “What color ribbon woul you like?” My wife quickly responded, “Pink is fine!” – The store representative wraps both items in a nice box and tops it off with a ribbon. Here’s a few things I noticed while all of this is taking place:

  1. Aerie got my wife into the store with an offer for a free product, something she would like but also with something she has to have.
  2. Aerie will retain customers with the quality of their product and by gaining the trust of their customers, even if the customer is in the store for a free product. The customer leaves realizing the company is not trying to scam them with a less superior product than what they typically sell, they want you to walk away owning something you can buy everyday.
  3. With a lot of people coming in Aerie for a free product, they are going to sell them more than what they came in for, because the group of people they are attracting will see something they like and want to buy it, and most will if they have the money (we are just too poor for anything other than the free stuff!) :)
  4. By earning the trust of customers like my wife, when they offer them a customer email program like the “A-List” they are going to have a great rate of participants because they trust that the other free gifts (every Thursday) are going to be at the same high level of quality. – By the way, my wife went into the store for a free pair of underwear, so they know they are attracting people who will come in for something free.
  5. It was easy to get someone like my wife to sign up for the “A-List” because she was already in there for something free and they were offering her another free product on-site.
  6. Finally, this is what I see as genius! This may not have been their intention, but I thought about it as I was standing there observing it all…what would have been a 3-5 minute visit to this new store turned into about a 10 minute visit. They kept us in the store longer, which forced us to look and observe what they had to offer during that extra time. I don’t think it is a mistake that all around the sides behind their cash register was full of product on their walls. As we were standing at the counter filling the card out and waiting for the lady to finish all that she was doing, it provided an opportunity to see more of their products. – As we completed our transaction which cost us $0.00, the store representative walked around the counter and placed the gift box in our hands and told us to have a great evening. We were never pressured to buy anything, it was a great experience. In my mind, it was great marketing of a new company and great customer service. I am sure my wife will return…and if I am with her, so will I!

Join the Conversation: What’s your thoughts?

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The Countdown Begins

8 days…and Hailey Elizabeth (Stallone) Carnes will be here. The surgery date was moved up from Thursday, July 24th to Tuesday, July 22nd, which I know Nicki is excited about. Thank you for any and all prayers that everything will go smoothly. My prayer for 9 months has been that Hailey will be born completely healthy and completely whole, and that she would be smart and beautiful…selfish I know! :)

Join the Conversation, What’s the next big thing you are looking forward to in your Life?

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