Snail Mail

The Save the Dates went out Monday. I've already heard some of you received them. That was fast. We hope you like them. There was a lot of effort put in to them. We're looking forward to getting the invitations next. We're really excited and hope you all are, too.

We've been very busy with the wedding plans. Right now we're setting up interviews for a few reverends. We'll see how that goes. The one we originally wanted is already booked. We waited too long to get in touch with him. Bummer. But that's okay. We'll find another one.

The photographer has been hired. He's a super nice guy named Warren. His work is just gorgeous. We added a second photographer to capture more of the moment. I want the photo of me walking down the aisle and the look on Kevin's face when he sees me. I'm hoping he'll be surprised and happy.

Next up, a few surprise items. We'll see if we can afford them first. And then we'll start working on the invitation stuff. Yay!

Play it Again, Sam

We love music. It's a big part of our lives. We're constantly playing music. If it were up to me, the television would be off and the music would be on more. I used to fall asleep to music at night. Now we generally fall asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

So when we decided to hire a DJ I didn't think much of it. I was rather excited to be picking out music for the wedding. Until I realized how much music there is and how ridiculously difficult it is to find a song just to walk down the ailse to. UGH! Song after song. Hours and hours for weeks on end, and finally it happened. We actually agreed on a song. Two songs actually. The bridesmaids will walk to one song and I'll walk to another song. And they're both beautiful. Whew! So that's done. We easily picked a recessional song. That was a breeze for some reason. Now, I'm thinking there may be a few moments in the ceremony when we have a few key things going on that we'd like to have some nice music playing. I need to get in touch with the DJ again.

Speaking of the DJ, he should be pretty awesome. Well, actually, there will be two of them. There's one running the sound equipment. Then we'll have one that's actually getting the crowd involved and coordinating everything. I'm so excited. The owner of the company is going to take the lead on things. So it's gotta be good, right?

We've started compiling our Do Not Play List. Some of you will be disappointed. If you make a good case, we'll be open to changing our minds. But so far we're thinking:

The Electric Slide, Cha-Cha Slide, or anyother goofy slide
The Chicken Dance
The Hokey Pokey
Albequerque (This is not open for discussion, Kevin!)

Well, that's it for now. We do want people to have fun. There's other things we can do. We are hoping to do the Time Warp! Yay!

There's tons of music we have yet to think of. Of course, they'll be taking requests. We won't plan everything but we want a few key songs played.

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is over. In some ways I am relieved and in others I am sad. I love spending time with the whole family. But it was stressful. It's the first big holiday without Dad. I still wait to hear from him sometimes. That phone call right before I go to work checking in on me always cheered me up. Somehow he always knew when I needed to talk to him but hadn't quite gotten it together to call him yet. He was great in that way.

I said to Kevin this morning that I don't know how he survived the loss of his mom. His relationship with her was similar in some regards to mine with my dad. I still feel like there's a big gaping hole in the middle of my chest and abdomen. As if there was a great blow to my belly and all that's left is this void. Most of you will probably make fun of me for this but I don't care... Bella in the Twilight series describes the loss of her love similarly. She clutches herself tightly to keep herself together. I thought that was rather dramatic and kind of silly. But I get it now. Sometimes, it's all I can do to keep from collapsing. The nightmares have stopped, finally. When I close my eyes, I no longer see the image of a strong arms compressing Dad's chest or the deep purple of his face so lifeless on the gurney. I don't feel the heat from his hands slowly growing cold. Now, I hear his jubilant laugh. I feel the big bear hugs he used to give. Which, incidentally, my brother Kris has the best next to Dad's. A good substitution I think.

I was very thankful for my Uncle Larry's remembrance of those we lost recently, including his own mother and my father and my Uncle Spike's mother, during the prayer before our Thanksgiving feast. It was touching.  Of course, I cried. I do that a lot lately. Poor Kevin. He has greatly improved in his tear-wiping abilities. Mom is so strong. I don't know where it comes from or how she does it. I envy her. I know she has her moments, though. I think I just wear my heart on my sleeve. I do apologize to my those around me. Kevin says I'll always feel like I've been hit by a truck but eventually the truck gets smaller.

Thanksgiving with the Croaks was great. The food was amazing. We missed Grandma and Grandpa, and the Mitchell's and Jones'. I'm thankful all the cousins could make it back from school safely to be with the family. I really missed my brother, though. He went with his girlfriend to her family's house. Not having Dad there was weird and difficult, but expected.  Not having my brother was bizarre, making me feel slightly off. It was a strange feeling. I didn't like it.

Friday we had Thanksgiving with the Booth family. It was equally delicious. Karen and Tom are great hosts. The kids were very entertaining. Megan is sick. They had actually spent Thanksgiving at Lutheran's emergency department. They believe she has roseola. She's already doing better, though. She laughed and played. She's walking now. We just need her to practice with a basket of flowers. I suppose that can wait a few more months.
I was so spent from the night's shopping, though, I was a horrible guest. I passed out in the chair while icing my ankle. We made it an early night. I slept and slept and slept. And finally I felt rested but worn. If that makes any sense.

I'm sure I speak for both of us when I say we're very thankful for our families. And friends, of course. Without you all we wouldn't be where we are today. We are thankful for the love and support you've given us. We can't wait to share our wedding day with you all.

Save the Date!

September 2, 2011. It's a Friday. Mark your calendars. It's going to be a great big wonderful party. Kevin and I are getting married. Yay! I'm really excited. And I think he is too. The best part is talking with some of our friends and seeing how excited they are about the wedding. It just makes things that much better.

The Save-the-Dates are in and they look fantastic! I'm so happy with them. We heard about this site, Etsy, from some other brides that like to do things a little differently and a little more affordably. Etsy has tons of other things as well. If you get a chance, check out the site. It's pretty nifty! I ordered our engagement photos. They also came in. Everyone will be getting a 4x6. Thanks to Aunt Carolyn Withem for the photo! It was a candid photo taken the day after my father's funeral. It turned out perfect. It was just what we had been looking for in a photo. We had originally wanted some professional photos done in an actual photo shoot. That didn't work out. This was just a happy accident. Don't get me wrong, my aunt is awesome. She's totally great at photography. I'm not trying to downplay her abilities.

Well, back to what I was saying. We're also going to send out a brochure for Pheasant Run Resort. That's where the wedding and reception will be. It's a gorgeous place if you haven't been. There's so much to do as well. I'm really happy with our choice. It's right in St. Charles, close to the downtown area, if I'm not mistaken.

There will be so much to do if people decide to spend the weekend there with us. It is Labor Day weekend. So hopefully people won't have vacation plans already. Or maybe this can be their vacation plan!
The resort has three restaurants ranging in fanciness. There's a comedy club and a theater for shows. The pool is great. It's an indoor/outdoor. I had never seen one before. For those of you as sheltered as me, it's an indoor pool and you can swim under this partition to get to the outside. Now, September varies in temperature. It'll be the very beginning of the month so hopefully it's still warm enough to enjoy the water outside. We'll see, though.

Kevin and I are really hoping that our out of town guests will be able to spend some time with us. The thought is the morning after the wedding we'll have breakfast in the hotel. Anyone that wants to join us may. From there we'll see what people want to do. There's a beautiful golf course there. And I hear it's a pretty decent course. The guys are talking about going golfing. For the girls, there's a Mario Tricoci Salon. We could get massages or mani/pedis or whatever. If nothing else, we'll head in to the downtown area for some shopping. Mostly, I think I want to stay at the resort, though. I'm sure we'll find a way to entertain ourselves. The pool is a nice option as well. If you're bringing your kids, there's a game room to entertain them. Pretty sweet.

Things are coming along. We're just trying to get everything in order in a timely fashion. In some regards we're ahead of the game on things but in others we're a bit behind. My one girlfriend keeps telling me that if I plan everything now, I won't have anything to do next year before the wedding. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty awesome. I don't want to worry about all these things at the last minute. There will be plenty to do then, anyway.

So, look for your Save-the-Dates to be arriving shortly. Formal invitations will follow. And please mark your calendars! We want you there!

Boxes Galore

On this past Veteran's Day, we moved out of our apartment and in with Kevin's dad. We've taken over the basement. It's a finished basement. There had been a couple floods from the power going out a couple times in the past few years so there was no carpeting. Wednesday before the move, Lowe's contractors came in and put some awesome carpeting down in the bedroom and the living space. AND they did the stairs. They weren't supposed to but they did anyway. Bonus!

Because of my tendon rupture, stairs are pretty tough. We agreed to hire movers. We went with Hillstrom Movers. They're a family owned place. First of all, the office lady, Bobbi, was a blessing. She seriously helped me figure out what we needed and calmed me down when I thought I was going to jump out the window. When the movers actually showed up on Thursday, they were so great and efficient. So efficient, they actually packed up our dirty clothes hamper that we had planned on bringing ourselves because who wants to move dirty laundry. They were great. Highly recommend them. It was a better deal than any of the other movers I found.

So now we're in the basement. There's boxes as far as the eye can see. Seriously, we packed a million boxes and sent them to storage. I think the boxes are making boxes in the night when we're not looking. We set up the bedroom. Minor issue. The movers kept the frame. See, we got rid of the old bed and took Kevin's sister's old bed. The movers wanted to donate the bed to a local church, which was great. But they misunderstood what we were saying about the frame. So now we have a box spring and mattress on the floor. Not a big deal but there goes storage space under the bed until we can get another frame.

The living room is a soft yet warm yellow. Kevin painted the bedroom a nice shade of blue. Both rooms look fantastic with the brown carpeting. The furniture we have is mostly vintage. While cleaning up, Mr. Booth told us we could use this old coffee table and corner table. It dates back to about the '20's. It's a little beat up but it adds character. We love how it goes with everything. My favorite chair is this velvety burnt orange rocker with ottoman. I'm going to move some furniture around tonight to make room for it.

We're hoping with in the next couple weeks we'll be able to have people over. Once everything is settled, we'll hang the wall art. Which is my favorite part. Finding a home for things is my least favorite part right now.

One by one, we're emptying out boxes and getting things put away, though. Hopefully, we'll be set by Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed!

Say That Again!

May 27th... somewhere around the hour of five o'clock in the afternoon. Or is that evening. Either way, it was around five o'clock. Kevin was running errands and I was supposed to be packing. But I had worked all night the night before and was dead tired. I had decided to rest my eyes and snuggle up with a pillow for just a moment. No one would be any the wiser. I'd get up and finish packing for our trip to Memphis before Kevin could return home.

I heard Kevin's voice and felt him gently rubbing my side in an effort to wake me up. I was so tired, though, I couldn't open my eyes. I did manage to roll on my back. He was talking to me. I don't know what he was saying because I think I was still dreaming a little. Then I heard, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Uh-oh," I thought, "I'm totally in trouble. What did I forget to do?" So I agreed to the questioning.

"Will you marry me?"

Silence. My heart had stopped. My head had begun to spin.  "Say that again!" I hadn't believed what I heard. There was a strong possibility I had still been asleep.

"Why do I have to repeat myself?! Will you marry me?"

I bolted upright, eyes suddenly very wide. He was holding a gorgeous ring that looked far more different than any rings I had seen in the shops. Through choked up tears I said, "Yes!"
He tried to slide the beautiful ring on my short pudgy finger. It stuck. So, naturally, I forced it on. I just barely fit. I loved it instantly.

I asked him how he had known my size. He said he didn't. It wasn't in his control. He didn't pick the ring. I was confused. I didn't understand. He explained that the ring was my grandmother's. She had left her wedding band and engagement ring to me when she passed. Initially, the rings were divided between my two aunts. When the time came for me to marry, the rings were to go to me. My father had explained all this to him the previous Christmas. I was so touched I began crying. Of course! I'm a girl. I couldn't help it.

And that, boys and girls, is how he proposed.