Motivational Monday

Wedding Wednesday.

We're almost in double digits. And it's crazyyy hard to believe!

Time is flying. How can I be getting married in 3 months?!

Thankfully, Trav and I have been able to get a lot checked off our massive wedding list more recently. We both find such relief in being able to cross something out. However, it does seem like there is always something else waiting to be accomplished.

Here's what we've been able to complete within the past 2 weeks:

Rehearsal Dinner.

     We are SO excited about our location, Cantina Laredo. The menu fits our budget set perfectly and the food is going to be amazing. Couldn't be happier about celebrating there the day before our big day!

Registry.

     Holy. Cow. Did this take so much longer than we could have both possibly imagined.

Drive to stores.

Walk around and scan things we like with the scan gun (which we both enjoyed almost too much).

Edit here and there online.

Boom. Done.

Nope! Trying to figure out what we actually need over what we want was difficult not to mention the research we did making sure what we are asking for is going to hold up for more than a year. And how to know what we need when we don't even know where we will be living? We both became almost obsessed with it (well, one of us that is...coughcoughTraviscoughcough) especially over particular items. Travis even had trouble sleeping one night because all he could think about was blenders. So, there was definitely stress at times but really, overall, it was an exciting experience. We're anxious to see what we get! 

Engagement Pictures.

     And speaking of being anxious, we cannot wait to see our engagement pictures we took 2 weeks ago at Lakeside! Mary Hartman shot them for us. Her work is incredible. We had such a fun time that afternoon taking photos and getting to know her.

*Fun fact: Mary is our good friend, Matt's sister-in-law. He told us right after we got engaged about Mary but since she lives in Cleveland we thought we would stick to someone local. 2 months later my friend from Cleveland, Sarah comes to visit. We're up late, chatting about wedding things and she is going on and on about her friend's wedding pictures. We take a look, I fall in love with them and ask who took them. Guess who? :) I contacted Mary and now she is doing our wedding photos! Small world!

DJ:

     Two of our friends from Otterbein have graciously volunteered to DJ and allow us to borrow their system which saves us on cost. Our DJ will for sure bring lots of energy :)

Music:

     We have a "band" playing at our ceremony and now it's all set up. Love each and every one of them and so excited about the songs we have chosen so far!

Marilyn:

     Ohhh Marilyn, she is a God-send. When we decided for sure that we wanted to get married in Westerville, we knew there was only one obstacle: not having a church. I mean, we have at church where Ember meets but it's tiny. So I began to look around and wasn't having too much luck. As I started to research wedding photographers in the area, I stumbled onto a blog and the current pictures were from a wedding in Westerville. The church they were at was gorgeous and so, on a whim, I wrote to the photographer asking for the location of the church. She replied right away and it was then that I learned about Grace Fellowship Church. Long story short, it's perfect. Not only for the sanctuary but because of Marilyn.

Marilyn is the coordinator of events at Grace and just so happens to be a wedding planner. After falling in love with the church and agreeing to hold the ceremony there, Marilyn offered to us her services...for free. She has been amazing! She asks questions I have never thought about and she's organized and...I could go on and on. We have met with her a handful of times now and she seems to adore us just as much as we adore her!

What we're tackling now:

Wedding Invites:

     I'm using my creative side to put together something. It's all in my head but now it's a matter of getting it onto paper. I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out! Goal: get invites out by mid-May!

Flowers. Bridal Showers. Favors.

And the list goes on and on and on and on...

Motivational Monday

Today was such a good day.

I didn't work at Starbucks.
Waking up practically every day around 5-5:30am, I find that it's now difficult to sleep in when I have time off. So even though I was pretty awake by 7am, I was able to just remain in bed and relax. It was amazinggg.

Once I showered and read for a bit, I met up with Trav and the two of us drove to Caribou. We totally love it there. For some reason we just always get so much more work done there than anywhere else. We even have a "spot" and if someone is in our "spot"...things could possibly be all thrown off. It's silly, I know.

We split a sandwich and got to work. I wrote and designed a prayer letter for the month which took awhile followed by sending out 43 e-mails to potential support partners. From there, I messaged our caterer and then looked into some possible bridesmaid dress drama. All-in-all, Trav and I got a lot completed and decided that since it was BEAUTIFUL outside, we'd go for a walk.

Our walk turned into a prayer walk and we went all around the edge of the Alum Creek/Hoover Dam. We laid out just about anything that came to mind, praising God for all that He has done and is doing and will continue to do. We were able to take time to ask Him some things and share our fears and our excitement with Him. We both definitely felt so connected and soothed by the walk.

Travis and I love to be goofy in the car. We'll blast music and sing louder than the radio and always, ALWAYS dance :) We did that a lot today. We went apartment searching some next and ended up at a few random places. We were near the Holts house at one point and we both felt like jumping on their trampoline. So we did. The kids weren't out (bummer) and after about 10 minutes we left to get ready for our appointment for the evening.

Our appointment went well and was probably the best presentation Travis and I gave yet. We're getting smoother presenting together :) I have to honest. I can't help but check-out once in awhile when we go to appointments to homes we have never been to before, meeting with people we have never talked to before. I think to myself, "How did we get here? How are we doing this?" It's crazy to think about at times but we enjoy it!

Onto dinner afterwards. Corn on the cob was on sale at Kroger and we totally bought enough for a few meals. It was DELISH! With a big salad...ohmygosh, so good! We watched a movie with Robby and also finished up our registry. Yep, we finally did it. Our registry is DONE! Target. Macy's. Bed Bath and Beyond (look us up!). We're pretty darn happy about it. It'll be fun to see what we actually receive.

So as I said, great day and to top it all off, before I headed to bed, I went onto Instagram and while scrolling down, I see me and Travis...it was one of our engagement photos! SO excited. I'm anxious to see the rest :) I posted our first "preview" engagement shot on the side.

I'm exhausted but after a day like today, I'm ready and motivated to take on tomorrow!

Motivational Monday

miracles happen.

I want to expect miracles from a God who takes my little sacrifices and turns them into a door for the supernatural to burst into our world. 

six months away

I am so excited to be married to Travis.

Seriously, there are days when I think that the day cannot come soon enough. Today is one of those days.
6 months from now, Travis and I will be Mr. & Mrs. and the thought of our wedding being just half a year away had us both desiring some "us" time. Although Trav lives just right across the street (the parking lot actually) and we do see each other everyday, it's very difficult for us to find alone time. Between him living with 5 other guys, my two roomies, our part-time jobs, our full-time jobs with Cru, phone calls, appointments, traveling...I can't remember the last time we had date night. I don't look at it as a bad thing though. I do miss "our time" as does he but as far as spending tons of money on movies we don't really care about or on food that is unhealthy and expensive, that, I don't miss.

So, tonight we were both free and both broke. Neither one of us wanted to drive because the two of us are low on gas and both of us didn't like the idea of being out in the cold. We found ourselves very comfortable just lounging on the couch in conversation at his apartment. After awhile, the TV was on and dinner was on our laps. Total relaxation. His arm around me, a blanket to keep us warm, tea in hand...it was perfect.

Travis apologized a handful of times for not having anything planned. He felt bad that all we ended up doing tonight was watch a dozen episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" and cuddle. But he also said sometime between episodes 5 and 6 that he loved this--this being us, together, alone, relaxing in an empty apartment. "This is what it will be like in 6 months," he said with a smile. "I cannot wait for more nights like this."

Neither can I. It will be "legend...wait for it...dary."
I am so excited to be married to Travis.

vicks is my perfume.

I've had the desire to get back into blogging for weeks now. I finally found some down time. Unfortunately, this free time exists because I've been attacked by a cold once again. I know, "You're sick again?" "You are always catching colds." I feel useless and so weak. This time last month, I was in the same condition, preparing to go to Indy for Christmas Conference.

I definitely think it's time for me to take better care of myself. Take vitamins, go to sleep earlier when I have to be up by 5 the next morning, eat healthier, run more, wear socks in the wintertime...etc. Hopefully this will run its course very quickly and I can bounce back! Especially in time for this weekend.

My Min (Mom + Lynn) is coming into town and staying with me at my apartment. I'm really looking forward to it! It will give us lots of time to chat about wedding details (it's not nearly as fun to do over the phone) and give her a break away from small-town Dalton to the city life of CBus. Saturday we are traveling to Cincy for dress shopping and then onto Ikea for just "window" shopping (ha, we'll see). The thought of possibly finding "the" dress this weekend has me very excited and looking at household items will prepare me for our registry (cannot wait for that!). I'm sure Trav and I will agree on everything ;) Lots of pink and flowery things right, babe?

I'm hoping that in the next few months or so, I'll be purchasing a nice camera. Pinterest, an obvious obsession of mine has really stirred my heart for photography and my little blue camera just doesn't seem to do justice (nor does my iPhone, although Instagram is my fav app). Until then, I leave you a picture for today...

I'm eager to write more as the days come!