This week Mark and I finished up one part of the marriage preparations that our church is having us complete before we get married - couples counseling! Although, they were careful to tell us many times it wasn't counseling, but just guidance and advice about what we can expect between now and forever.
The church paired us up with sponsors from our parish - a super nice couple who just celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary. They were full of stories and tips of how they have made their marriage work when times got tough, and the importance of their faith along the way. We found our meetings with them to be extremely helpful, and also really pretty fun! We realized there were so many topics out there that we just assumed we agreed on, without ever really sitting down and talking about them. Everything from children to shopping to our extended families to how often Mark will play golf or I'll go out for drinks with the girls - we discussed our expectations and communication styles and the best ways to resolve conflict along the way. I've said it before, but I think a class like this - even if it's one day for just an hour - seems to be so beneficial. I know we took so much from it, and will miss heading over to our sponsor couple's house every other week! Not only did they make great snacks for us to munch on while we were there (note to self: candy corn + peanuts = yum), but they provided a great example of a loving family and the importance working together to put your marriage first, no matter what life throws at you.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Engagement Photos!
We (finally) took our engagement photos!
After a week of absolutely gorgeous weather (As in sunny and 72 degrees. In November. Thank you, Texas weather), I was stalking the forecast for our rescheduled e-pic photo shoot. There was talk of a cold front coming in the day before, and possibly some wind and light rain. I prayed in church the weekend before for this storm to hold off just one more day (judge me if you must, but we really did need to get these photos taken and off the To-Do List!) and was thrilled when we got up to Muenster around lunch time yesterday and it was still warm and sunny.
After some quick showers and sprucing-up on our part, Brooks and Leigh, from Brooks Whittington Photography, showed up at my parents’ place for the shoot. I had a couple places scoped out that we wanted to take photos at, so we made a quick game plan on where we’d go first. Much to my surprise, Brooks already knew about the photos I loved and even knew about my steal-of-a-deal white dress! Turns out, he’s came across my blog and had read about my inspiration pics (umm.. hi Brooks!).
So we headed to downtown Muenster to get started. It was a little awkward at first, because there are so many people everywhere, staring at us, while we canoodled outside of the bank. And the grocery store. And some restaurants. We had some pretty serious gawkers - one guy driving by even came to a stop on the road in front of us to stare. Maybe he thought we were celebrities? A few frantic outfit changes in the car later, and we ended the day taking pictures at my parents' house, as the sun was setting and the longhorns were eating. Yup, eating. I'm really curious/excited to see how they turn out! Brooks would show us a few of them on his camera screen every now and then, and they all looked fabulous! He told us it would take about a week and a half to get them all edited and up online and even said he really wanted to get me one to post here on my blog. Thanks Brooks and Leigh for a fun shoot! I'm counting down the days until we get to see the pictures!
After a week of absolutely gorgeous weather (As in sunny and 72 degrees. In November. Thank you, Texas weather), I was stalking the forecast for our rescheduled e-pic photo shoot. There was talk of a cold front coming in the day before, and possibly some wind and light rain. I prayed in church the weekend before for this storm to hold off just one more day (judge me if you must, but we really did need to get these photos taken and off the To-Do List!) and was thrilled when we got up to Muenster around lunch time yesterday and it was still warm and sunny.
After some quick showers and sprucing-up on our part, Brooks and Leigh, from Brooks Whittington Photography, showed up at my parents’ place for the shoot. I had a couple places scoped out that we wanted to take photos at, so we made a quick game plan on where we’d go first. Much to my surprise, Brooks already knew about the photos I loved and even knew about my steal-of-a-deal white dress! Turns out, he’s came across my blog and had read about my inspiration pics (umm.. hi Brooks!).
So we headed to downtown Muenster to get started. It was a little awkward at first, because there are so many people everywhere, staring at us, while we canoodled outside of the bank. And the grocery store. And some restaurants. We had some pretty serious gawkers - one guy driving by even came to a stop on the road in front of us to stare. Maybe he thought we were celebrities? A few frantic outfit changes in the car later, and we ended the day taking pictures at my parents' house, as the sun was setting and the longhorns were eating. Yup, eating. I'm really curious/excited to see how they turn out! Brooks would show us a few of them on his camera screen every now and then, and they all looked fabulous! He told us it would take about a week and a half to get them all edited and up online and even said he really wanted to get me one to post here on my blog. Thanks Brooks and Leigh for a fun shoot! I'm counting down the days until we get to see the pictures!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Perfect Proposal, The Finale
Who would have thought the story of our engagement would be so freaking long?! I started telling it here and here. Here's the big finale!
After Mark's strange phone call, we kept driving towards McKinney and eventually ended up in a newly constructed neighborhood called Adriatica. We'd driven past this spot several times before and often admired the amazing homes along the water and imagined living in one someday. We'd watched as a bell tower was built along the lake's shore and tried to guess what on earth it was used for.
Mark turned the car onto the road that led directly into the development, right up alongside the bell tower. He told me he had arranged for us to take a tour, and my first thought was that we were going to tour one of the huge houses we had always admired. I said something along the lines of "Take a tour? Are the owners at home?!" It wasn't until he had parked and gotten out that I realized he meant take a tour of the bell tower. We got out of the car and met a lady and her young daughter, who took us into the tower and started leading us up the stairs to the very top. Her little daughter tagged along with us, and we all made small talk on the way up.
We had to climb some pretty steep steps and ended up at the very top of the tower by the bell, where you could see great views of the surrounding areas. We had barely gotten up off the ladder that led us up before our tour guide said something about "some work she had to take care of" downstairs, but we could take our time up here enjoying the view, and then she and her daughter quickly left back down the stairs. She was not smooth at all. Her excuse to leave so quickly seemed a little to rehearsed. At this point... I knew. Something was definitely up!
We spent a few minutes looking around at the neighborhood below and taking some pictures before Mark took me aside. He had brought up his camera case (which I did notice was a little larger than usual.. but I figured he had brought binoculars?) and took out a small black box. He got down on his knee, said some really amazing things that I knew were amazing, but seemed to be going in one ear and out the other, and then opened the box and said, "Amanda, will you marry me?"
I had a somewhat out of body experience when he was down on his knee. It was like I was watching the scene from above, seeing me there is this momentous occasion in my life. I kept thinking "OMG this is really happening! Pay attention to what he's saying! OMG OMG." And then in an instant he was done talking and opening the box and I saw the ring and again thought "OMG" and I think I even reached for it to put on, instead of letting him take it out and put on for me. We spent a few more minutes up at the top of the tower together, taking some pictures and (mostly me) exclaiming "we're engaged!"
After awhile we walked back down the stairs and met the nice lady and her daughter who had helped conspire with Mark for this whole plan. She wanted to see my ring and actually got goosebumps on her arm when I showed it to her. Turns out her entire family is in the jewelry business and she knew all kinds of weird diamonds code words that she was asking Mark about and she concluded that it was the perfect ring. Which I already knew! We said our goodbyes and thank you's, and then Mark and I hung around and walked around the lake before calling our parents to spread the news. We finished the evening with dinner at Samson's, a new restaurant right across the water from the bell tower.
It was the most perfect day :)
After Mark's strange phone call, we kept driving towards McKinney and eventually ended up in a newly constructed neighborhood called Adriatica. We'd driven past this spot several times before and often admired the amazing homes along the water and imagined living in one someday. We'd watched as a bell tower was built along the lake's shore and tried to guess what on earth it was used for.
Mark turned the car onto the road that led directly into the development, right up alongside the bell tower. He told me he had arranged for us to take a tour, and my first thought was that we were going to tour one of the huge houses we had always admired. I said something along the lines of "Take a tour? Are the owners at home?!" It wasn't until he had parked and gotten out that I realized he meant take a tour of the bell tower. We got out of the car and met a lady and her young daughter, who took us into the tower and started leading us up the stairs to the very top. Her little daughter tagged along with us, and we all made small talk on the way up.
We had to climb some pretty steep steps and ended up at the very top of the tower by the bell, where you could see great views of the surrounding areas. We had barely gotten up off the ladder that led us up before our tour guide said something about "some work she had to take care of" downstairs, but we could take our time up here enjoying the view, and then she and her daughter quickly left back down the stairs. She was not smooth at all. Her excuse to leave so quickly seemed a little to rehearsed. At this point... I knew. Something was definitely up!
We spent a few minutes looking around at the neighborhood below and taking some pictures before Mark took me aside. He had brought up his camera case (which I did notice was a little larger than usual.. but I figured he had brought binoculars?) and took out a small black box. He got down on his knee, said some really amazing things that I knew were amazing, but seemed to be going in one ear and out the other, and then opened the box and said, "Amanda, will you marry me?"
I had a somewhat out of body experience when he was down on his knee. It was like I was watching the scene from above, seeing me there is this momentous occasion in my life. I kept thinking "OMG this is really happening! Pay attention to what he's saying! OMG OMG." And then in an instant he was done talking and opening the box and I saw the ring and again thought "OMG" and I think I even reached for it to put on, instead of letting him take it out and put on for me. We spent a few more minutes up at the top of the tower together, taking some pictures and (mostly me) exclaiming "we're engaged!"
After awhile we walked back down the stairs and met the nice lady and her daughter who had helped conspire with Mark for this whole plan. She wanted to see my ring and actually got goosebumps on her arm when I showed it to her. Turns out her entire family is in the jewelry business and she knew all kinds of weird diamonds code words that she was asking Mark about and she concluded that it was the perfect ring. Which I already knew! We said our goodbyes and thank you's, and then Mark and I hung around and walked around the lake before calling our parents to spread the news. We finished the evening with dinner at Samson's, a new restaurant right across the water from the bell tower.
It was the most perfect day :)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Bridal Boot Camp - Ahh!
Today is a big day for two (very different) reasons:
1. Today is my birthday! This year is the third birthday I've spent with Mark and the first one when I didn't wish for a diamond ring when I blew out my candles ;) Instead, I wished to survive these next 8 months and enjoy the wedding planning/engagement process. I already feel like we're taking this time for granted and not having as much fun as we should be. Aren't you supposed to be living on Cloud 9 during your engagement, enjoying all the bride-to-be excitement and attention? Walking around with a sparkle in your eye and a glow on your face? I feel totally normal, so I'm wishing to get back into the Engaged Gal Bliss and not take this time for granted. I know that we're about to get swept up in the holidays, and then before we know it we'll be in January and six months away from the big day!
2. I survived my first day of Bridal Boot Camp! Yesterday was Day One of the five week class. I arrived somewhat terrified, and then one hour later I left knowing this is just what I need to kick my booty back into shape and get me ready for a wedding dress (and a couple bridesmaid dresses in the meantime!). I ran more last night than I have in a reallllly long time. We did sprints across the baseball field and back… like four times. And most of the people in this class are fast. Like really fast. I had to really push myself so that I didn’t end up being the last person to cross back over the line. Plus, we did tons of strength training and arm work. Strapless dresses, here I come!
We are going out to celebrate my big 2-7 tonight, and I get to choose where! I already know where I want to go… pizza at Fireside Pies! But don’t tell my boot camp instructor. We are supposed to turn in food journals every week and I’m pretty sure stuffing your face full of pizza and wine is not on the approved menu. Shh.
1. Today is my birthday! This year is the third birthday I've spent with Mark and the first one when I didn't wish for a diamond ring when I blew out my candles ;) Instead, I wished to survive these next 8 months and enjoy the wedding planning/engagement process. I already feel like we're taking this time for granted and not having as much fun as we should be. Aren't you supposed to be living on Cloud 9 during your engagement, enjoying all the bride-to-be excitement and attention? Walking around with a sparkle in your eye and a glow on your face? I feel totally normal, so I'm wishing to get back into the Engaged Gal Bliss and not take this time for granted. I know that we're about to get swept up in the holidays, and then before we know it we'll be in January and six months away from the big day!
2. I survived my first day of Bridal Boot Camp! Yesterday was Day One of the five week class. I arrived somewhat terrified, and then one hour later I left knowing this is just what I need to kick my booty back into shape and get me ready for a wedding dress (and a couple bridesmaid dresses in the meantime!). I ran more last night than I have in a reallllly long time. We did sprints across the baseball field and back… like four times. And most of the people in this class are fast. Like really fast. I had to really push myself so that I didn’t end up being the last person to cross back over the line. Plus, we did tons of strength training and arm work. Strapless dresses, here I come!
We are going out to celebrate my big 2-7 tonight, and I get to choose where! I already know where I want to go… pizza at Fireside Pies! But don’t tell my boot camp instructor. We are supposed to turn in food journals every week and I’m pretty sure stuffing your face full of pizza and wine is not on the approved menu. Shh.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Boo!
We're headed up to Stillwater for the UT-OSU game tomorrow! This will be our third time to go to our rival game, and I'm felling pretty good that it will also be the third time Texas wins while we're there! It's turned into a mini tradition for us to go to the game each year, and it always seems to fall right around my birthday, which makes it extra-fun!
us at the game last year, in Austin
Mark's brother/Best Man is home for the week (all the way from China!!) to come to the game with us. So it's me and two Cowboys headed up to OSU. I think I may be cheering alone this year!
us at the game last year, in Austin
Mark's brother/Best Man is home for the week (all the way from China!!) to come to the game with us. So it's me and two Cowboys headed up to OSU. I think I may be cheering alone this year!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
It Rained on My Parade
Well, ok. Not on my parade exactly, but on our engagement pic day? Yes, it rained. Hard. And it was freeeeezing. And windy. And if you know me at all, you know I hate the wind with a passion. Sigh. We have to reschedule. For November. Isn't it cold in November?
I was a grump all day yesterday. Mark and I both took the day off from work and spent the weekend up in Muenster, where we were going to take our pics. The weather was perfect Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Then come Monday morning, the temperature drops twenty degrees, it rains off and on for the entire day, and the sun decides to skedaddle. Not exactly the weather we're looking for to create those oh-so-perfect shots. So I moped around all day and cursed the skies. At one point my mom said to me "well let's not let this ruin our day," to which I grumpily replied "it already has! my day is ruined! ruuuuu-iiiiiiinnnn-eddd." (yeah, drama much?). My mom's response? "Well fine, but don't ruin our days too!" Mark got a good laugh out of that one.
Humph.
But we did make the most of our day in Muenster. First, we finally sat down with our florists and talked about what we wanted. Colors, flowers, linens, candles, sticks, lanterns, wood, iron, crystals.. we pretty much want it all! They are going to put together three sample budgets/levels of decor that they can do, and then we'll pick and choose from there. I'm excited to go back and see what they put together for us!
After leaving the florist, we decided that since we didn't have to go home and get all done up for our e-pics, we would road trip it to Denison to check out A-1 Rentals. We wanted to look at linens and try to pick out some colors. It didn't take both my mom and me long to realize that we of course LOVE the super-expensive, $30 each linens. Go figure!
So the weekend wasn't a total bust, but I am still bummed with-a-capital-B that we didn't get to take our pictures. For now, it's still on the To Do list.. and I'm sure ready to start crossing things off!
I was a grump all day yesterday. Mark and I both took the day off from work and spent the weekend up in Muenster, where we were going to take our pics. The weather was perfect Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Then come Monday morning, the temperature drops twenty degrees, it rains off and on for the entire day, and the sun decides to skedaddle. Not exactly the weather we're looking for to create those oh-so-perfect shots. So I moped around all day and cursed the skies. At one point my mom said to me "well let's not let this ruin our day," to which I grumpily replied "it already has! my day is ruined! ruuuuu-iiiiiiinnnn-eddd." (yeah, drama much?). My mom's response? "Well fine, but don't ruin our days too!" Mark got a good laugh out of that one.
Humph.
But we did make the most of our day in Muenster. First, we finally sat down with our florists and talked about what we wanted. Colors, flowers, linens, candles, sticks, lanterns, wood, iron, crystals.. we pretty much want it all! They are going to put together three sample budgets/levels of decor that they can do, and then we'll pick and choose from there. I'm excited to go back and see what they put together for us!
After leaving the florist, we decided that since we didn't have to go home and get all done up for our e-pics, we would road trip it to Denison to check out A-1 Rentals. We wanted to look at linens and try to pick out some colors. It didn't take both my mom and me long to realize that we of course LOVE the super-expensive, $30 each linens. Go figure!
So the weekend wasn't a total bust, but I am still bummed with-a-capital-B that we didn't get to take our pictures. For now, it's still on the To Do list.. and I'm sure ready to start crossing things off!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Perfect Proposal, Part 2
When I last left off, Mark had asked me to dinner and told me to wear something nice. I convinced myself not to get my hopes up, and assumed he just wanted to go out to dinner somewhere nice, nothing more. That Friday at work, I wouldn't even let myself think about our plans, because I was always hyping our dates up and expecting anything and everything to be THE NIGHT when he proposed.
He told me to leave work right when I got off and go change, because he wanted to go eat dinner early (clue # 1 that this was something unusual!), so I raced out of the office at 4:00 on the dot. When I got up to my apartment and unlocked the door, I jumped because he was already in my living room, dressed nice and waiting (clue #2! Why did he leave work early?). At this point, I am still ignoring all the signs that something is up, and proceeding as if all of this is totally normal.
"Oh hi! You scared me. I didn't expcet you to be here already.. is that what you're wearing?"
Now to prove to myself that I wasn't expceting anything at all to happen, I hadn't even thought about what I was going to wear. When I saw Mark in his Sunday best (so out of character for him!) and could tell he was anxiously waiting to leave for dinner (Ummm why? It's only 4:15!), I scrambled into my closet and tried to quickly pick something out. I grabbed a dress that I had always liked and put on a pair of dressier than usual shoes. In my head I briefly thought "hmm is this the dress I am going to get engaged in!?", but then quickly pushed the thought out.
I barely had time to run a brush through my hair before we were out the door and on the road. I didn't ask any of the normal questions while we were driving ("So, where are we going to go eat?") and just pretended like this was all perfectly normal. Then there was clue #3. Mark's cell phone rings and I hear the following (one-sided) conversation:
Hello?.... Oh yeah, we're just on our way.... ok... ok... ok... ok... ok... ok.... Great, see you soon.. Bye.
He honestly must have said OK about 8 times! I turned and looked at him after he hung up and asked who had called. His response, "oh, just someone."
I didn't ask any further questions. Something was clearly up. At this point, I started to get freakishly nervous and my stomach started hurting. What this really IT?!!
He told me to leave work right when I got off and go change, because he wanted to go eat dinner early (clue # 1 that this was something unusual!), so I raced out of the office at 4:00 on the dot. When I got up to my apartment and unlocked the door, I jumped because he was already in my living room, dressed nice and waiting (clue #2! Why did he leave work early?). At this point, I am still ignoring all the signs that something is up, and proceeding as if all of this is totally normal.
"Oh hi! You scared me. I didn't expcet you to be here already.. is that what you're wearing?"
Now to prove to myself that I wasn't expceting anything at all to happen, I hadn't even thought about what I was going to wear. When I saw Mark in his Sunday best (so out of character for him!) and could tell he was anxiously waiting to leave for dinner (Ummm why? It's only 4:15!), I scrambled into my closet and tried to quickly pick something out. I grabbed a dress that I had always liked and put on a pair of dressier than usual shoes. In my head I briefly thought "hmm is this the dress I am going to get engaged in!?", but then quickly pushed the thought out.
I barely had time to run a brush through my hair before we were out the door and on the road. I didn't ask any of the normal questions while we were driving ("So, where are we going to go eat?") and just pretended like this was all perfectly normal. Then there was clue #3. Mark's cell phone rings and I hear the following (one-sided) conversation:
Hello?.... Oh yeah, we're just on our way.... ok... ok... ok... ok... ok... ok.... Great, see you soon.. Bye.
He honestly must have said OK about 8 times! I turned and looked at him after he hung up and asked who had called. His response, "oh, just someone."
I didn't ask any further questions. Something was clearly up. At this point, I started to get freakishly nervous and my stomach started hurting. What this really IT?!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)