Day Three Hundred and FIfty-Three

The Giraffe Comes to Her Senses

Adam drew this for me last night while I was in the process of throwing one of the biggest fits of our nearly one year of marriage. Me: crying like a baby in bed, angry at the world. Adam: (probably) giggling at my childish tantrum, thinking about how much he loves this crazy, passionate, and emotional woman. I am very sensitive. It's no secret. And when someone hurts my feelings or abuses my trust, I don't take it easily. That's what happened last night. And so, I cried about it. While I was crying, Adam (who was upset as well), found a way to channel his feelings into something positive and ended with this result. 

When I made my way into the kitchen after Adam served me dinner, I saw his little project and immediately, a smile crept across my face. I wasn't in a smiling mood, but he found a way to brighten my world in that moment. What I saw when I looked at this was:

Griaffe + Polar Bear = <3

Which to me, meant:

Kendall + Adam = Love

He's so sweet, I thought. He's so genuine, I thought. 

I went to him after seeing this and offered my apology. I asked him to forgive me for disrespecting him and for taking my anger out on him when he, in fact, wasn't the person I was upset with. He accepted my apology, forgave me, and made sure I knew how much he loved me. 

This morning, after mostly laughing off what happened the night before, I went to make myself and Adam breakfast and once again, saw the drawing. I laughed, grabbed my camera, and took a photo. 

Tonight, I again told Adam how much I loved his long legged drawing. But I was curious,"Why did you make the polar bear stand like that?" I asked. He laughed. "You don't get it, Kendall?" He said. I shook my head. The whole time, he thought I got it. I didn't know what I was supposed to get. "Kendall, the polar bear is the number 4." And that's when I hugged him like crazy, professing to him just how much I love the man I married.

Sure, the picture said:

Giraffe + Polar Bear = <3

But it also, more importantly said:

1 + 4 = 3

143 is Adam's way of telling me he loves me. 143 means "I love you." 

The word "I" has one letter. 

The word "love" has four letters. 

The word "you" has three letters.

The license plate number on Adam's truck reads: 1432476.

That means: I love you so much Kendall Conley.

It's just "our thing." It always has been. Since the very first time we told each other "I love you."

Now look at the drawing! See it?! Ah! He's so wonderful! And I'm so blessed.

Ok, enough of that mushy stuff. Onto Isaac. 

I'm not sure if this exact storm above is a result from Hurricane Isaac, but I've never seen such an alien-type rainfall in my life. So, I'll chalk it up to Isaac. I captured this image while on my way to Channing's house for a much needed girl's day.

Isaac is currently making land contact right now in Louisiana. It's classified, as of now, as a category 1 hurricane, but it's moving painfully slow, which is very bad news for New Orleans and the surrounding areas. A slower hurricane movement means that it'll stay in the area for a longer amount of time. Not good. Hopefully, the preparations to rebuild the levees and infrastructure around the city will save those in Louisiana from the devastation that Katrina brought 7 years - to the day - ago. 

Channing is a 3rd grade teacher in a city 20 minutes North of Jupiter. Today, they cancelled classes because of the storm. And so, we got to hang out! She invited me over, and mostly, we talked, and talked, and talked some more! Like always! And then, we went to the store for some dinner grocery shopping. Meatloaf and twice baked potatoes were on the menu and I was so excited to bring Adam this special dinner between his doubleheader. Here, Channing is teaching me how to select the best potatoes. Truth: I've never purchased single potatoes like this before. Always in the 5 lb bag...because let's face it, Adam will eat every last one of them!

Channing showing off her chef skills! A secret family meatloaf recipe to die for! Mmmm. So good!

I've never made meatloaf on my own before, so she showed me the ways. There's no getting around this part of the preparation. You've gotta just get in there, get your hands dirty, and mush up those ingredients! She mentioned how cold her hands got. Gosh, I never considered that! 

In the nick of time, the meatloaf came out of the oven, we plated it up nicely, and I rushed out the door after a wonderful day spent with a girl that I absolutely adore. I got to the clubhouse with a few minutes to spare, and when my handsome man came out to my surprise, he was excited, happy, and thankful that he didn't have to eat another clubhouse meal! And he loved it! Success! Thank you, Channing for such a nice day. You're the perfect company and I cherish every moment we spend together!