The High's & Low's of Getting Married

I have been thinking a lot lately just how my life will be dramatically different in just a mere 102 days. It's a tradition in Young Life to ask your peers what your high's and low's were for the week. I have carried this tradition onto my relationship with Nick and will also do so with our kids. I think it's a good way to find out one's praise reports and prayer requests. So without further adieu, here are my high's and low's of our engagement.

Highs:

1. I will become a wife in 102 days.
2. I will gain a husband in 102 days.
3. In 102 days I will be celebrating life and our new marriage with the people we love and adore the most.
4. I have learned more about my relationship with Nick than I ever imagined as we have been tested throughout this whole process.
5. We have grown even closer during the last 8 months and I hear it gets even better.
6. I have enjoyed every single decorating and planning aspect and the closer I get to the actual day I have seen myself become even more creative and because of this, I am sooooo excited to see everything come together!
7. My bridal shower is going to be great and I am really excited to see everyone!
8. My bridesmaids are just so amazing and perfect and they're dresses are so freaking amazing I want one myself!
9. I think October is the perfect month for us to get married.
10. I get to have sex for the very first time in 102 days. Sorry dad.
11. I am excited to be able to decorate our own place.

Low's:

1. Money. Plain and simple. Just money. Weddings are damn expensive.
2. I don't know how I mangaged to pile on so many projects I want to sometimes pull my hair out.
3. Finding a place to live. Nick and I originally started looking for houses to buy; however, we put in a couple of offers and they fell through. The reality of us not living in a home sucks...I really wanted it. I also really love this house on Robinhood Lane that we didn't get and that sucks.
4. Because of # 3, we have now decided to rent a condo near the beach because it would better for my commute as well as how cool would it be to live near the beach?! Sounds great but we have 4 weekends left that we can go look at condos and that stresses me out so much.
5. This one is hard to admit, but because of #1, #2, #3, & #4, I have found Nick and I arguing more, I hear this is normal but it still is hard as I am trying to not lose it so much and know there is a plan.
6. Not knowing where I will be in 3 months worries me and just adds more to my plate of Low's.

I know that this list above me will not be the same in 3 months, and I also know that this is temporary. However, it is still hard. I am a firm believer that no matter what, God will not give you more than you can handle. But sometimes it is really difficult to remember that when you are in the midst of a storm. My friends who have recently gotten engaged or married seem to have everything kinda fall into place for them but for us, not everything has. I understand that Nick and I have been blessed during this process. Afterall, finding a venue, honeymoon spot, florist, DJ, Officiant*, Photographer*, and Baker have all been very easy, I'm talking, it took 1 phone call and we got it. So I guess there has to be something that wouldn't just work out but why do we have to get in arguements over this? I know that a million other couples have had the same fights and stresses as we are right now and this is, indeed normal but it would be so much better if our home would fall into place as well.

I know that God has a plan for us, I know that in just 3 months we will look back and A)be forever grateful that this is over and B) think it wasn't all that bad. I try to realize that this is life and this is the way God intended it to be. There is a lesson with everything we do, maybe this lesson is to teach us patience, maybe it's to teach us to have stronger faith, maybe it's a lesson to learn more about one another, I sorta have a feeling it's all three.

I hope that within the near future I can post about our new place and how great it is but for now I leave you with this post. My praises and my prayer requests.

*Our officiant and photographer are my brother in law and his mom. So awesome!!

I Got a Log

...seriously, I got a log...see --->

Some of you may remember this post. And those of you who don't remember it, let me refresh your memory. In the very beginning of our wedding planning process, I immediately knew what kind of theme I wanted....Simple. Rustic. Elegance. Seeing as we are on a budget and I have endless ideas floating through my head at all times, I decided I would be doing about 90% of the decorating myself....something I really really love doing. I knew that I wanted mason jars with candles in them, and that I would be doing picture frames on each table that would serve as our table "numbers"....but what would these fabulous finds be sitting on?! Everytime I imagined the center pieces they just looked bare. I don't want anyone to come to our wedding and think that it looked bare....I just didn't know what else would work. And that's when I saw a picture from another wedding, where they used circular wooden disks as the base. I was immediately drawn to that picture and knew that I had to have that at the Gray Wedding.

But how would one go about getting these wooden disks without A) having to pay and B) getting arrested because we were cutting a tree down. Well I can tell you that we didn't have to pay and that we didn't have to cut a tree down, but we did get the log....and now I am happy, excited, and ready to cut some wood!

Oh and how did we get this log you may ask? Well, my very handsome and strong fiance got it for me of course ;)





Isn't he cute?!

love.....

Reasons to Smile

Whenever Nick and I argue or if we are just plain not in a good mood, I try to always have us tell each other 5 things that we love about one another...it *usually* instantly puts us back in our happy place, so I am doing the same today while at work.

10 reasons why I should smile:

1. It's Tuesday, not Monday and this is my first day of work this week. T-4 days until the weekend.
2. My dear friend, Lacy Marie Santerelli Cascadden (soon to be) Atchison is getting married this Sunday. :)
3. Nick is off work until Thursday.
4. We spent a lovely day in LA buying fabric for the wedding...and I got the guy to go lower on the price.
5. I have had 5 full days of good runs in....in a row...(this never happens)
6. We will be going on our annual family vacation in Mammoth in 11 days.
7. Also, in approximately 11 days I will be sipping my first cup of Looney Bean. Which is quite possibly the closet thing to Heaven you can get right now.
8. I will be an Aunt in about a month :)
9. I have 4 months until we get married :)
10. I have the best fiance in the world and I am truly blessed.

I felt the need to write this blog after a customer was rude to me over email. I think it worked. :)