Our Honeymoon/ Nate turns 29 today!

Nathan and I on our honeymoon in Jamaica! More pictures to come...

Me and Nate doing a sing-along at the piano bar. Good times!

We even met some new friends, Lorna and Darren, from Kansas City (courtesy of Nathan...he is so outgoing)! One day, we all went on an alligator/waterfall excursion, which was a blast! I will have to post some pictures of the excursion next time!

Snorkeling one day! Needless to say Darren, Lorna, and I were not feeling too great on this boat trip. A little too much salt water :).

Lorna convinced us we needed these romantic honeymoon pictures. There are quite a few from this evening, but this is by far my favorite. It was cheesy, but a lot of fun!

I am sitting in my office on a Wednesday morning anticipating Nathan's arrival home this evening (he has been gone on business for a few days) and reminiscing of our wonderful trip to Jamaica! We stayed at an all inclusive resort called the Sandals Whitehouse, which is the newest Sandals resort in Jamaica. Nate and I were there for 7 wonderful days! It was the most relaxing and care-free trip we have ever experienced. We got up early every day (probably because we took at least 2 naps a day), ate a huge breakfast, laid by the beach/pool, took a little mid-morning nap, swam a bit, took the Hobey-cat out, chatted with our new found friends, ate lunch, took a boat ride/snorkeled, played some cheesy games, took another nap during the afternoon rain, got ready for dinner, at a huge dinner, went to the piano bar, drank their delicious Jamaican coffee, listened to live music, checked out the nightly entertainment, and we ended each night with a good nights rest. It was the life!We decided it was SO much different than our home life because in Jamaica all we had to do was think about what WE wanted. We weren't concerned with anyone else's needs or wants. We weren't trying to help anyone or make any plans. While this kind of lifestyle isn't reasonable or desirable for either of us, it is certainly nice to get away for awhile and only care for one another. While we would love to return to Jamaica at least twice a year (ha ha ha), we decided it may be more reasonable to simply take a day out of our week to only care for one another (a privilege we will not have once we have children...my friends remind me of this often). We truly enjoyed every minute of the trip! It was incredible. Oh the memories...

Today is Nathan's 29th birthday! He won't get home until late this evening so we plan to celebrate with friends tomorrow night and family on Saturday. Nathan rarely (okay possibly never) reads this blog, but if by chance he ever does read this...Happy Birthday to the one who makes me complete...my steady husband! Your life on this earth makes mine better and for that I am always thankful! May you (we) be blessed beyond measure in the years to come! Woot Woot!

We're Back...

We washed each others feet as a symbol of servanthood to God, one another, and others for life.

It was incredible!

We returned from our week long honeymoon in Jamaica late Saturday night and have been very busy since then, but I wanted to at least give you all a sneak peak of our wedding pictures that were posted yesterday by our wonderful photographers (terakaylen.com). Our wedding was absolutely perfect! Nathan turned to me the next morning and said "our wedding day was the best day of my life" and I totally agreed with him! It was such an intimate evening for us and our closest family and friends...simple and elegant. It wasn't about a dress, or great decor, or pretty flowers, it was about our marriage! We threw the traditions out the window and did what was special to us and it was perfect!

I can't tell you how many times I just burst into tears that night as I reflected upon how truly blessed I am to have Nathan in my life! I would look at my family and friends and think about how much they have supported us and the emotions just overflowed. Praise God for such a wonderful wedding day and amazing honeymoon. More pictures and details to come in the future. We need to get settled in first (and in order to do that we will need to stay at home for at least a night, which we haven't done thus far...hopefully Wednesday night).

Looks like it's going to be sunny!

September 26, 2008 predicted weather by weatherchannel.com:

High of 82, Low of 59, Sunny with only a 10% chance of precipitaion.

FABULOUS!!!!!

10 Days!!!

I can't believe that Nate and I will be married in 10 days and headed to Jamaica in 11 (please no hurricanes)! Now it is just surreal. We can't believe it is coming so quickly. Tomorrow we should be able to see if rain is predicted. Say a little prayer for sunshine, but if it rains, we will be some wet, but also extremely happy people :)!

I can't wait to see my family and friends in a matter of days! This week some of my coworkers (more like people who work towards the same mission as me) are having a luncheon for me and I am excited to celebrate with them! On Thursday we are having a dinner with our closest friends (minus my lovely friends from other states). On Saturday, my friends Katy and Melinda are throwing me a Tea at Emma's Tea Room and that night us ladies are going out (oh yes...I am sure it is going to be real "crazy"). On Monday Nicole (Nate's sister) is having a lingerie shower (yikes...bring on the embarrassing moments) for me at her home. It looks like I am going to be pretty busy until the wedding. This is such a wonderful and exciting time for us! These moments are truly priceless!



Best moments of last week:



*** Seeing so many people show extreme grace, love, and support to a dear friend. It is amazing be a part of a family of believers who truly show the love that Christ has for us to others. I am constantly blessed by them and on Sunday, one of my close friends experienced that love. Thank you Jesus!



* Finding out that Sy and Dasha, and April are pregnant! I LOVE children and I am so excited that we are going to have 3 (Melinda and Geoff's baby Arden makes 3...no one is having twins that we know of) little babies in our lives very soon!



* Pizza, a movie, laughing, and the comfort of being with my best friend Nate.



* Having 10 of the kids over to our house for a movie day! They are the best.

*Running hills in the morning.



I didn't have any pictures of these great moments, so I decided to give you all a sneak peak of my wedding hair. I assure you that the left side doesn't look like the right, but this gives you an idea. Oh...and you get to see an earring. They are vintage...Woot Woot :).

How Could I Ask for More...

This weekend we had a dinner party at our house in honor of Geoff and Melinda becoming parents in the NEAR future! It was such a great time with our closest friends! We are SO excited to meet Arden Leigh! She is going to be such a blessing to all of us. If you are reading this, please pray for Geoff, Melinda, and baby Arden. We know they are going to be awesome parents and we can't wait to support them through this major life stage! We love you all!I don't think Geoff knew I was taking this picture. Melinda looks so cute though and it was my only picture of both of them from that night, so I just had to post it.

The lovely Ms. Natalie enjoying her awesome chocolate ball!

Chatting at the dinner table.

Mrs. Dasha workin' hard in the kitchen!

Mr. Brent's newest "bachelor" picture. Ladies...if your out there and you need a good man (and you are an awesome woman) , he IS available!

Other breaking news: I am going to start working part-time after we return from our honeymoon. Nate and I have prayed about this for awhile now and we have decided that it is just too stressful for me to work full-time while also working at least 10 hours a week at the Linc and serving the children in my "spare" time. Doors appear to have been opened so that I can keep my same position, but simply cut back on hours. I am SO SO thankful that Nathan is such an awesome provider for me because his willingness to provide has truly allowed me to fully take advantage of this awesome opportunity to spend more time with the kids. Thank you Jesus!

Only 17 more days until we get married!!! Time is flying. I know that despite my extreme organization, these next couple of weeks are going to be a bit hectic. There are so many last minute details and then the completely unexpected (like ordering different flower girl dresses on ebay today...they are SO cute!). Still trying to stay away from stressful thoughts and simply enjoy each day!

I have been playing an old Cindy Morgan song at work for the past week titled How Could I Ask for More. It allows me to refocus and think of how truly blessed I am! "Thank You Lord, How Could I Ask For More" is the main line of this awesome oldie. Isn't that statement the truth! All of these last minute details and the stressful moments that occur from planning a wedding and life changes are not important in comparison to the vast blessings in my life at this very moment! How could I ask for more?

More Engagement Pics...YAY

Look what came in the mail today! Nate just emailed them to me and I just had to share them! Mad props to Tera for her awesome work (terakaylen.com)! We absolutely love them. Enjoy!

23 days and counting...

I just had to write a "short" post to say that the time is just flying by at this point. Nate and I keep looking at my little countdown clock and can't believe that we only have 23 days left! We are so incredibly excited!!!! I know that our wedding day is going to be here before we know it! I am so excited that in just a few short weeks, I will marry my best friend. Nathan is such an awesome man and I feel so blessed to know that he is my partner for life. I am constantly praising God for providing me with someone whom I love to willingly serve and who truly makes me a better person simply by being himself. I always tell people that Nathan is my steady man. He doesn't come with all of these bells and whistles that I can't seem to figure out, he is who he is. He has always put everything out on the table for me to see....weaknesses and all. He doesn't change from one person to the next or one situation to the next. He is steady and strong, which for those of you that know me, is exactly what I need. I am so thankful for him and as the clock continues to count down, I can't help but overflow with joy.

I spoke with my grandpa Bob and grandma Coetta (my sister's biological grandparents whom have always been very involved in my life) yesterday and my grandma informed me that she had purchased a special grandma's wedding dress for our wedding. Her voice was just filled with excitement for our special day...I was almost in tears thinking about how much they must truly love and care about me that in their old age they would make an 8 hour drive to be here with me and Nathan for our day. My aunt Deb and uncle Jim will also be traveling all the way from Nebraska just to be here for us and I am thrilled that they are so supportive of me that they are willing to fly all the way here for just a few days! We made the choice to get married in Mooresville because we wanted to be married in the area where we are going to reside most likely forever or at least a good part of our lives. I know this has not been easy for my family and friends and I am so thankful that some of them have chosen to make the long trip to be with us for such an important day of our lives.

23 days...HUH!

P.S. The man trip went great! They all said they had a blast! They returned on Sunday and we had a cookout on Monday with everyone, which was a lot of fun. As for my weekend, I had so much fun crafting with Dasha and I even got to have a sleep over with some of the kids. We watched movies, went swimming, and ate junk food, which was a lot of fun! I will have to post some pictures of our new creations in the near future! I am SO bad about taking pictures right now and I know I am going to wish I had some pictures from all of the fun times we've been having here lately. I have the pictures from my last shower, but I don't have them electronically, so I will have to scan them in order to post them. I will if time allows :)

Hope you all are having a great week!