November Goals and October Recap

Why hello there November! I am excited for these new November (holiday) goals!

November Goals

1) Update blog
I think it is time for a blog re-vamp! With more frequent posts I am excited to start posting more and more and I discover new things and I want the blog to look awesome when I do!

2) Progress on re-finsihing furniture
So, redoing furniture is not the easiest thing, especially when you are out of town almost every weekned. While we made progress, I think we are going to need monthly goals to get this project done.

3) Prepare/Decorate for Christmas
I could not be more excited!

4) Read through Titus
This book of scripture has been coming up in a lot of my different readings lately and throughout different sermons I have been listening too. There have been many subjects, such as what a mother should do, that have convicted me a little, so I have deicded to read through it and find out more of what the Spirit could be telling me.

5) Start Couch-to-5K
My bad habits are going to start catching up with me if I'm not careful...so its time to start running again! Its an eight week program so my goal is to start and make it through the first couple of weeks.

October Recap

 1) Host First Dinner Party

2) Finish "When Sinners Say I Do" by Dave Harvey (more on this later! It deserves its own post!)

3) Figure out Holiday Plans

They may not be completely done, but its enough to take away from the stress. So I consider this complete!

4) Redo Desk/Vanity

The beginning stages! It is tough to go through layers of black, pink, and white paint!

5) Update LinkedIn Account

Go check it out!

6) Finish Our Wedding Thank You Notes

Weew!

Dinner Party, Check!

Host First Dinner Party

 Tim and I invited over a couple from church for dinner at the beginning of October. I had so much fun planning and deciding on what to cook for them. Who would have thought before I got married that I would enjoy this so much!? As a wedding gift my bridesmaids gave me a basket with six bottles of wine or champagne. Each bottle represented an occasion in our marriage. The bottle in the above picture was to be used for our first dinner party! It was my favorite white wine, Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling. I ended up choosing to cook stuffed peppers. It was a great choice because it can be vegetarian or you can add meat depending on your guests! I found two recipes on pinterest and combined them for this yummy dish!

Stuffed Peppers

6 Large sweet peppers

2 cups cooked brown rice

3 small tomatoes, chopped

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 small sweet onion, chopped

1/3 cup canned red beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese

1 can (4-1/4) chopped ripe olives

4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (I used the ones right out of my herb garden!)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup meatless spaghetti sauce

1/2 cup water

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 lb lean turkey meat, cooked (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the peppers horizontally and remove seeds. Place the pepper halves in a rectangular cooking dish. In a large bowl combine, rice, tomatoes, corn, onion, beans, Monterey Jack cheese, olives, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper. If turkey is desired mix cooked turkey into bowl. Spoon mixture into peppers, packing tight. Combine spaghetti sauce and water. Poor sauce over peppers in dish. Top with Parmesan cheese. Cook for 45-60 minutes uncovered. For a softer pepper cover with aluminum foil. Yields 12 servings.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Vegetarian-Stuffed-Peppers

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/11/turkey-stuffed-peppers-45-pts.html

October Goals

As a newly married woman I want to make a habit of accomplishing tasks that need to be completed. My current attitude involves procrastination. Then months go by and the task is still not even finished.  I recently read Proverbs 31:10-31, which talks about a good example of a mother and/or wife that fears the Lord. Verse 27 states, "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." When I was living alone, as in unmarried, being lazy was fine; I only harmed myself in the end. Now the home that Tim and I are creating will be greatly affected by my idleness. So, in order to avoid idleness I made six new goals for the month of October (I know I am posting a little late). My hope and prayer for these goals is that as I accomplish them I will be helping to build-up our home in "strength and dignity".

1) Host our first dinner party.
 However big or small (probably small because we only have four chairs) its time to invite people into our home. This could be really fun and very stressful for me since I am a new cook but I am excited for Tim and I to open our home.

2) Finish When Sinners say I do by Dave Harvey
I started this book while we were engaged and I still have not finished it. So far it has been a great book with some great theological insight on marriage. As the title states, it gives me a good reminder that even though we are married, we are not all of a sudden perfect creatures. We are still sinners in desperate need of God's grace and mercy.

3) Figure out the first holiday plans
The biggest part about this task is actually doing it. It is so easy to put off holiday plans until the week before but that would not be fair for our families. So we are going to figure it out!

4) Redo my desk/vanity
I recently obtained an old piece of furniture from my parents that was in my room when I was growing up. The desk/vanity (I am saying both desk and vanity because I will be using the piece for both things) was actually my grandmothers and my Dad grew up with it. I love it! Plus, it will really help out our bathroom situation. We only have one sink in our bathroom and being able to leave to go to do my hair and make up in another room will be very helpful when we need to get ready at the same time! It will allow for a more functional home.

5) Update my LinkedIn account
On a whim I put in my e-mail address one day and had a LinkedIn account. I am constantly getting e-mails of people asking to "connect" me. I recently just went on one day and realized there were some people that I did not know connecting me. I decided that it would be professional to at least put my picture up!

6) Finish our Wedding Thank You Notes
Someone told me that you had one year to write your thank you notes but frankly I think that is rude. For the main reason a lot of our guests mailed their gifts to us and until we send them a thank you note they don't know if we recieved it or if it got lost in the mail. I should have been more intentionally about writing these but the first month we were married we found other things to do to occupy our free time. Now I am going to crack down! They are going to be sent!

Understanding Marriage

"Marriage is not mainly about prospering economically. It is mainly about displaying the covenant keeping love between Christ and His church. Knowing Christ is more important than making a living. Treasuring Christ is more important than bearing children. Either way, it is short. It may have many bright days or may be covered with clouds but if we set our face to make of marriage mainly what God designed it to be no sorrows and no calamities can stand in our way. Everyone of them will be not an obstacle to success but a way to succeed." -John Piper Momentary Marriage

It is hard for me to believe that almost two months ago I was planning a wedding. Every detail got extreme thought and consideration while the actual thought of marriage did not get the same rumination. While at the time I would have said that marriage was my ultimate focus, after watching this video I know that it surely was not. Tim and I read marriage books and went through in-depth counseling but nothing can compare to truly understanding the covenant of marriage like this couple has. Marriage is not about sex, romance, or even love between two people. Marriage is the reflection of the "covenant keeping love between Christ and His church." God created marriage to reflect the true marriage that is between us and Him. Marriage on earth is momentary, but the marriage between us and God is for eternity.

I am excited to continue on in marriage with Tim but I am more excited to learn about marriage and grow more in Christ alongside Tim. I have decided to continue on in this blog to share the discoveries that I encounter through marriage; whether it be through truth or something as small as learning how to cook. Only being a two months into it, I know that I have a lot to learn about this continual journey to say "I do" and I am excited about every moment.

Tears and Cheers: Wedding Plans in a Wrap

My, oh, my, how time flies and how it seems to stand still. Through all this wedding planning I feel like I cannot find the time to do anything! But then again the thought of a month and a half left until I am Mrs. Timothy George Gubitz seems to be taking its sweet time. Time has its tricky ways and it is certainly fooling me!

Between the tears and cheers I have been able to make some of the most amazing memories during this journey. Many were joyful but there were times of stress in terms of money and selfishness that caused bumps in the road. Luckily, those moments couldn't touch the beauty of what this journey really means. Being engaged changes absolutely nothing about you. I am still a 23 year-old girl, trying to figure out the world. The greatest part is that I will now have someone by my side to help me figure it out. I am overjoyed to stand before God and the people who love us most as we make this covenant of marriage.

The Past Months in Review



Our Flower Girl

One thing that weighs on my heart throughout planning my wedding is thinking of the wonderful people in my life who no longer will be able to share in our joy here on earth. My grandparents, Beck and Pop, both passed away when I was in sixth grade. My Dad claims that I'm just like my. Since they will not be there with us I really wanted to ask my cousin's daughter, Rebecca Claire Seeger (named after Beck) to be our flower girl in remembrance of my grandparents. So, I drove down to Augusta, GA one day with my Mom and got to meet little Claire all grown up! Talk about precious! She is such a sweet little girl. I am so excited to have her apart of everything. It makes not having the people still in your life a little bit sweeter to deal with.

  Hello Steady Income!

I have no picture for this but it is HUGE news! At the beginning of March I became a full-time employee at Wilmington Surgical Associates in Wilmington, NC! Not only have I grown up into the real world but this long distance thing Tim and I have been doing has officially gotten easier. I found out on a Tuesday and started the next day. This could have been stressful if it was not for how graceful Tim’s Dad and Stepmom, Sarah, have been. They have opened their home and allowed me to totally take over their extra room. It has been such a blessing and a great way to get to know them! My title is simply an “Administrative Assistant” (or Tim likes to call it the External Medical Communication Coordinator) for a General Surgeon and Oncologist right across from the hospital. Getting this job was such a God thing. I applied for tons of jobs, most of which I was qualified or over qualified for, with no bites. Tim works with a guy, who lived with a guy, who was in small group with the girl leaving the job. And through all that I heard of the job, went in, and had my interview. I have really enjoyed learning about the medical field and could see myself continue in it in some form. Now, I could never become a nurse or doctor but I could do human resources for a hospital or medical center. It has really gotten me thinking about going back to get an MBA. Such exciting experience!

Shopping for Dresses!

Now, to be honest, shopping for bridesmaids dresses was the most stressful part of wedding planning (tied with choosing the guest list of course. I thought bridesmaid dress shopping would be fun but it was really hard deciding on something that seven different people who like and something that seven different people would look good in at the wedding. As you can see above, Lauren, Olivia (Maids of Honor), and I had a little fun along the way. That was the first place that we went to and I left both excited and stressed. I finally just had to choose one that looked formal, was simple but trendy, and was a great color for the wedding. While I would love for my bridesmaids to like the dress and to wear them again, I had to just let it go. I love them and the color is perfect! I cannot wait to see everything put together!

A Little Bit of Tears

This picture was taken at my grandmother's 75th birthday in Macon, GA. It was a really fun party and very exciting to be able to be a part of this point in my grandmother's life. Shortly after her party though, I got the bad news that she had been diagnosised with colon cancer. At a time in your life when you feel like nothing could tear you down, this was a big blow. To me, hearing the word "cancer" just sounds like "death", especially now that I am learning so much about oncology. My other grandmother struggled with many different types of cancer and then lost the fight. I could not imagine both of my grandmothers not being there on my wedding day or even just not a part of my life anymore. They did not waste much time before getting her into surgery and later we got the best news we could possibly get! They were able to get all the cancer and connect all the necessary body parts back together! The doctor was so confident in the findings that the only follow up she will need is once a year! There could be no better result than that! God is good! I'm excited to have my grandmother sitting in the first couple rows as I walk down the aisle. I am beyond grateful!

Engagement Party

The George Family is basically my second family. Even when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays we always spend dinner together. Not to mention that Sarah has been one of my best friends since elementary school. So, I don't know how to explain how honored I felt when they threw Tim and I an Engagement Party. It really meant a lot! We had a lot of good friends there to celebrate and they cooked the most amazing food! Since it was on Cinco De Mayo, the theme was Fiesta. Tim and I both loved it and had a really good time. Both Dr. George and my Dad gave the sweetest speeches in which I had to hold back tears. It means so much to have the people that know me most, accept and approve of Tim. I love him dearly and I am so excited to have friends and family who are just as happy about our marriage as I am.

Bridal Shower

One thing that has really caught me off guard throughout the wedding process is how giving everyone has been to both Tim and I. Five wonderful women who are my Mother's friends and women who watched me grow up threw me the greatest bridal shower! I had family, old friends, college friends, neighbors, and soon to be family all there. I loved having all the different women in my life coming together and meeting each other! All of these events have been so special to me. It really means a lot to have all these people behind me as I walk and stand before God and profess my covenant between Tim and myself. I am one blessed young lady.

Bachlorette Party! Wahoo!!

I do not know where to begin to express how thankful I am for having such a wonderful group of women! Lauren and Olivia could not have done a better job planning my last weekend as a single lady! I absolutely loved it! It was really special to me to have all the different friends that I loved throughout my life in the same place. I had my sisters (Lauren and Olivia), childhood friends from Georgia (Ashley, Jillian, and Olivia), childhood and high school friends from Greensboro (Sarah, Taylor, Ann Louise, and Jill), and college friends (Meredith, Michelle, Amy, Kristen, and Emily). All the people who have been in my life at the most important stages were all in the same place at the same time. It meant so much to me to have everyone there and to have everyone meet! I love them each so much and don't think they could ever know how much each of them means to me. This was definitely the best beach trip I have ever had!

Roanoke Rapids Party

In this picture we are definitely all smiles! Tim's Mom threw us a wonderful party in Roanoke Rapids, the area where Tim grew up. We had hot dogs, hot weather, and great community! For me it was so much fun meeting the people that Tim grew up around. I got to meet his old teachers, neighbors, and church-goers. If I did not know how lucky I was, now I certainly do. Plenty of people kept talking about what a great man Tim has become and how he was always such a good role model when he was younger. He is an amazing and strong man. I have complete faith that he will lead our family well. I cannot wait to see how much more of a greater man he becomes!

And to Finish it Off...

My handsome Groom serving me! Tim, my Mom, my Aunt Lynne, her friend Elizabeth, and I went to a wedding show in Wilmington called Courtyards and Cobblestones. While most men think wedding planning is lame, Tim wanted to come along just so we could still be able to spend some time together. I am so blessed! Tim has been so wonderful being there for me and stepping back when he needs to. I can't wait to marry him in less than forty days! I love him!

The Proposal by Tim Gubitz

The first thing that I had to do when figuring out when to propose to Mary Brannan was determine when I should propose. I have known for some time that I wanted to marry this intricate being that I have been learning so much about and falling in love with while dating. So, a proposal was inevitable as I had to marry the person that I loved with all of my heart and couldn’t live without. A part that played into when I would propose was based off of Mary Brannan. If you have known Mary Brannan for any amount of time you know that she LOVES Christmas. Her love for the holiday is thus the reason and the season, no pun intended, for picking Christmas to propose. That and her father informed me that I couldn’t propose to her until she graduated. With those two objectives agreeing quite nicely I had a perfect time frame to propose.

Next, I had to figure out somewhere to propose that would show Mary Brannan that I care about what she cares about and that I want to explore the world with her. After all, exploring the world with each other is one of the reasons for us getting married. There have been countless phone calls at night of us talking about places we want to visit. When we have dropped each other off at the airport on different occasions we always comment that we can’t wait to board a plane together. So my incessant desire to do something that she wanted and to take a nice journey together led me to decide on going to New York City. Also, New York City was a story that I had never heard before and that’s what I want our marriage to be, a story that no one has ever heard before. That to me is a big challenge because it is easy to settle for the normal and mundane because it is easy. However, both of us know that there is something much more important than the here and now that must shape how we, as a married couple, love each other and others for the rest of our lives. Consequently in order to write a great love story to my future wife, I figured New York is the place to be during the Christmas holidays. Also, there is something that Mary Brannan once told me that always stuck out. This was that the last time she went to New York City no one went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her. I felt this was totally unacceptable. Being that I love her and that she loves art, I felt that she should have that opportunity. So we have a time, Christmas, we have a place, New York City, and now we need an actual proposal.

So what did I do, I did what any modern man does who has little understanding of art dating a woman with an interest in art. I figured I should propose to her in front of a piece of art. I figured a piece of art by her favorite artist would be great, so I Googled “Sargent Metropolitan Museum of Art”. This returned a series of paintings that spoke nothing of love and passion for a woman. It returned a series of nude paintings of men and other paintings that I do not yet have the artistic palette to appreciate. Sargent’s series of paintings totally didn’t work. That led me to Google “Love and Marriage at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” This too did not return too much in the way of amazingly romantic paintings to propose to her in front of, but there was one special painting. I knew that this would be the perfect scene. So, in August I booked our flights and out separate hotel rooms. I had the time, the place, the setting to propose, the tickets to get us there, and plenty of time to stew over the coming adventure.

I had to keep the secret of where I was taking Mary Brannan for over four months. This proved to be quite difficult because of how excited I was. I told my family in passing what I was thinking, but didn’t mention that it was a secret. Someone mentioned our trip to New York one day in passing, but they were able to recover without her figuring it out. Then after four months of her not knowing anything someone let it slip that we had to take a flight to get there. However, she still didn’t put it all together and I was able to surprise her. I’m really glad it worked out, because she was honestly elated to be going. The month leading up to our trip she even showed me how they put the tree up in the Rockefeller center. I had to bite my tongue and even act disinterested to not hint that we were going to be able see it. Keeping the trip a secret was fun in and of itself.

The entire trip wasn’t planned until she knew where we were going. I did this because I wanted her to play a part in making our adventure. That meant once we got to our hotel we had to plan what we wanted to do. We got a map from the front desk, marked all of the things we wanted to see, then we made a route and times that we wanted to be at places by. This allowed us to walk and see the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller center, Times Square, and Grand Central Station all within a three hour span. Then we went to China town for Chinese food for lunch. We then proceeded to walk ALL around the financial district trying to find the NYSE Building before the bell sounded. We couldn’t find the building, but were able to look out across the harbor and barely see the Statue of Liberty before the sun set. We grabbed some coffee from a Starbucks in down town and walked around until our time to go to the 9-11 memorial. The memorial is free, but they suggest a donation and require you to schedule a time to visit. Despite the Freedom Tower being under construction as well as other buildings that will be incorporated into the memorial, there was still a lot to take in. It was sobering knowing what once stood where I was standing. After our walk around the memorial, we went back to the hotel to sit down for a second and plan the evening and print off our tickets to go to the “Top of the Rock.”

Following our quick break we headed out for our evening adventure. We ran to the Rockefeller center to make sure we could get tickets to go to the top and we were able to get the last lift at 11pm. We then proceeded to walk around the center and found a shorter than expected line for ice skating. We could hardly contain ourselves. Here we are in New York City, at Christmas time, and we have the chance to ice skate like you see in the movies. It was fantastic, at least mostly fantastic. The exception for the moment was the three people who got engaged on the ice rink while we were standing in line to get our rentals and the one guy who was able to skate around alone on the ice with his girlfriend for an entire song before he popped the question. Needless to say, my wonderful girlfriend who thought I would have already proposed by now was not too impressed. I knew I wanted to wait until the second day so that we could enjoy the museum and enjoy the moment after being engaged without feeling like we needed to go do something else. My plan seemed to make sense, but all Mary Brannan knew was that there were several newly engaged women in New York City at that moment and she was not one. It worked out well though because she had to rest assured that I had it under control. After a wonderful hour of talking and hanging out on the observation deck, at the top of the Rockefeller center, we grabbed a hot dog from a stand and made our way back to the hotel, with Mary Brannan unengaged and slightly wondering.

We were able to wake up the next day and get to the morning show before it was over. We grabbed some breakfast at a Chinese place (the first Chinese breakfast for Mary Brannan) and then we were off to the museum. We found ourselves disappointed that some of her favorite American artists were not on display, but still managed to see a few Matisse paintings and some other really cool exhibits. One included furniture and silver, which we have both begun to enjoy looking at when we go to museums. The other really neat one was the armory and weapons exhibit. There we found entire suits of armor, knights mounted atop horses with man and horse garbed in armor, and several different nations and regions represented. We found it quite humorous how large the European knights were compared to the Japanese samurai. Another neat thing that I noticed was the style of armor and the period it was made in was reflected in some of the Renaissance paintings that we later saw. This small correlation is what Mary Brannan explained as one of the reasons she loves art. Art is often times strongly influenced by the culture in which it is developed and therefore is a gateway into history itself.

With only hours to spend in the museum and not days, as what would be needed to really get everything out of the museum that you would want, the clock began to quickly run out on our time. The museum exhibits are not contiguous and are mainly exhibits off of corridors. Thus the exhibits really don’t connect as they may appear on a map. We found ourselves very lost and only moments to find the exhibit that contained the painting that I wanted to ask this amazing woman to marry me. Finally, we found the exhibit and I began to try to spot the painting and to prepare myself mentally. I had a good idea of what I wanted to say, but was still getting nervous. We got to the room with the painting and unfortunately the room really didn’t have much to offer for her to look at so I had to figure out how to get her to hang around. I finally got her to come back to the painting and look at the piece I had “found.” I cut the camera on hoping that someone would come walking into the room. Finally, someone came walking by and I asked him to take our picture. I proceeded to explain that the picture was based off of Esther 2:17 and how Esther won grace and favor of the king. I told her that I loved her and had grown to love her while we had been dating and I asked if she would marry me. She said yes, even though I didn’t get on a knee. We walked to the next room found a bench where we sat and talked for a moment. Then went and grabbed a small bottle of wine in the cafeteria and enjoyed the moment more. It was a great moment proposing to her, even though she didn’t cry and even though I didn’t get to say everything I had meant to say while not on one knee. We talked about how it was surprise for her and how she couldn’t believe that I could wait so long. We discussed all that was coming and how exciting it was going to be to be married soon. Our time in New York was coming to a close so we had to quickly get to the airport.

That wasn’t the end of the surprises though and I knew that we needed to make sure we got back to Raleigh on time. To our dismay though we only left two hours to cross town to get to LaGuardia to catch our flight. We got to the subway, took the wrong train at one point, only had 45 minutes to get to the gate, and I still hadn’t told everyone that we were engaged. Luckily, another guy on our train was heading to the airport too so we were able to share the cab fair and he told the cabbie what he needed to know to get us there. That allowed us to get to the terminal in enough time to let everyone know that we got engaged and were going to be on the flight back.

When we got back into Raleigh the last surprise was waiting for us in the terminal. Our family and friends were there to meet us to congratulate us. It was really sweet seeing Mary Brannan and her mom crying together and knowing that her parents approve of us getting married. Also, the airport was the first time our families had met. The dinner was a wonderful time for catching up on our fun trip and getting our families acquainted. It was an amazing trip and planning out all of it was a lot of fun too. I was so excited to be able to propose the way I did to Mary Brannan and cast a vision of our future in far off lands with fun adventures.

Christmas at Valentines

If there is one thing that Tim loves it is being active, and one of his favorite activities is skiing. Me on the other hand, I am not the biggest fan. I have skied twice in my life and when I did I enjoyed it. So I am not sure if its the fact that I'm not the thrill seeker I use to be or if its the idea of hurling my body down an icy mountain but skiing  seems more heart wrenching than exciting to me these days. I started thinking about what to get Tim for Christmas probably a year in advance (I love coming up with the perfect present for someone) and decided to take him skiing. Whenever we go on dates or hang out we do things that I love way more than the things that he loves. Think about it...I got an electrical engineer who sees things as either "black" or "white" to enjoy and appreciate art. Clearly he dies to himself to take an interest in something that I truly love. Now I wanted to do that for him. So putting all fears aside I draw a simple picture of two stick figures skiing, put it in an old cardboard jewelry box, and give it to him at Thanksgiving so we'll have plenty of time to pick a good weekend. Now that I know what he was thinking, it was hilarious watching him open the box. He unwraps it, pauses, says thank you (because he knows if its what he thinks it is he won't be able to say thank you after), and opens it. To his relief it is not a new bracelet but instead a ski trip! When we get married Tim will have his first piece of jewelry so you can imagine his disappointment thinking I was trying to give him something so "girlish" like a bracelet. He was very excited and we rattled our brains for the best weekend to go, but with this warm weather each weekend kept getting worse. Luckily the day and place we ended up choosing had snow from earlier that week and then again when we were there. I'm so thankful the weather stayed cool so we could enjoy such a fun day! I was very nervous and I still don't think I'll ever be very good at skiing but seeing how excited Tim was and letting him give me tips and pointers was the best part. I can't wait to do it again with him!

 At Wintergreen! It was wonderful weather until the last couple hours when it was so cold and icy that I thought I was going to die!

 Tim being silly!

 On the Lifts!

In our ski bibs! I love my hot pink ones! Our faces seem hot pink from all that wind! Man were they chapped!

Seven Yeses, Seven Best Friends

One thing that I have always been thankful for is having amazing friends throughout the different periods of my life that continue with me as I grow and change. John 15: 12-15 says, " This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." Christ valued the importance of friendship so highly that while he was here on earth he spent almost every moment of his day teaching and growing with his friends. They lived together, worked together, and ministered together. Since my childhood I have been exposed to Jesus and the relationship he had with his best friends (his disciples). I've prayed for such friends and have been blessed to have seven best friends. There are ups and downs, fights and celebrations but without a doubt I know these seven women have made my life in ways more than they probably even know.

 My two Maids of Honor are my two sisters, Lauren and Olivia. Having sisters is such a blessing in so many ways but I feel like it can be rare for some families to be so close. I get to have two sisters to share clothes with and two best friends to enjoy every second of my life with. They have been in my life since I was born and will always be there to see me grow and change. They know my awkward years (that I incessantly try and hide from the rest of the world) and all the tiny details that go on in my everyday life. The three of us were cities a part since Lauren started college in 2005 but this past semester we were finally all in the same place again! I got to live with Lauren my last semester of school and Olivia was barely ten minutes away in school at Meredith College. Things will be different throughout marriage but I know that no matter where I am and no matter what Tim and I are doing they will be there no excuses. Its hard to explain how much I care for them and love them. I really don't think I could get married without them being a part of it. I'm so excited to have them there right beside me!

 

Ashley is my oldest friend. I remember when we moved into our new house in Georgia and we met for the first time! We were both about to turn four years old and ever since then we were inseperable.We were in the same kindergarten and second grade class, wore matching outfits, and always asked for the same things for Christmas. Once my family moved to North Carolina it was a huge transition for the both of us but through God's grace we consistently stayed in touch. I could not even imagine her not standing next to me on my wedding day! She will always be a part of my childhood but I never doubt she will be there with me in the future! She lives in Georgia so I asked her to be a bridesmaid over Christmas before we had made any wedding final decisions. I wanted to make sure to ask her in person and I am so glad I did but I didn't want to leave her out of my fun idea so I mailed it to her!

Sarah and I moved to North Carolina within a couple months of each other when we were eight years old. We were involved in everything together! Throughout our years on the high school swim team we always got the Peanut Butter and Jelly award or the Salt and Pepper award, because you can never have one without the other! God really had a plan for our friendship and I am so happy to have spent so many years (even the terrible middle school years) being there for each other. Sarah was always someone I could turn to about anything. I don't know how I could have survived school and growing up without her there with me! Even as we ventured off to college we were able to stay in touch. I loved the frequent trips we had to visit each other. Even though she went to UNC Chapel Hill I had no problem stopping by on the weekends! Growing up we always talked about our weddings and future husbands and I am so glad that she can be there with me as I see it all become a reality!

Taylor and I went to school together since elementary school but it wasn't until high school that we got to be such good friends. We both joined the golf team and carpooled from school to practice everyday. I loved getting to know Taylor better and I loved getting the opportunity to be such good friends with such an amazing person! Why did we wait so long to be friends?! Senior year was the best because we really started to hang out more and more. Football games, sleepovers, and Friday hangouts were always the best. She was always such an encouraging and supportive friend; she was such a blessing to have as a best friend. Taylor went to UNC Chapel Hill after graduation too so throughout the next four years we really got the opportunity to get to know each other even more. I'm so thankful for her and learn from her everyday. I am so excited for her to be a part of the wedding! I have so many great memories with her it wouldn't be the same without her!

Meredith and I met in college freshman year. We were in a Campus Crusade for Christ bible study together in our residence hall. Being lonely college freshmen we did a lot of stuff with our bible study and it was definitely one of the biggest blessings that God gave me in college. As Meredith and I went through school we became better and better friends and by the time we were juniors we were "best friends for eternity" (BFFE)! Before college I had been praying for friends that would encourage me in the Lord and push me to seek truth. Meredith was one of those answers to prayer. She was the biggest enourager to me through college, pushing me to read scripture and being an accountablity parnter with me as we continued on in our walks with Christ. I really don't know where I would be without her and her beautiful smile. I had the biggest honor standing next to her on her wedding day and I can't wait for her to be a part of mine in August!

Michelle and I also met in college freshman year through our Campus Crusade for Christ bible study. She also was a huge answer to my prayers! Meredith, Michelle, and I were an unbeatable trio throughout college and I love calling them both my BFFEs! I got the wonderful opporunity to live with Michelle and also lead a bible study with her through Student Venture. Michelle taught me how important it was to know and understand the bible and its teachings. She has great wisdom! I loved talking about the new things we were learning and just flat out having a blast with her. She always thinks I'm hilarious which makes me feel great! I don't know what I would have done without the encouragment and wisdom through both Michelle and Meredith in college. College would never have been the same! I also, got the opportunity to stand next to Michelle on her wedding day and I'm so honored that she will be there to stand next to me!

By now you're probably wondering, what are all these things these people are holding? Well, these seven wonderful and beautiful, best friends of mine are all my seven bridesmaids. To ask them I wanted to do something fun and creative! Our wedding will be in Wilmington, NC near the river where tons of boats float by. I folded super cute, double sided paper into a boat, added a sail, poem, and bow and gave them to my bridesmaids to ask them! It was so fun to watch their reactions!

Here are some pictures of the boats up close:

 

 The poem reads:

Its off to Wilmington we will be,

To tie the knot beside the sea.

I'll have something old, new, borrowed, blue,

And one more thing to say I do.

What a joy and gift that it would be,

If you said Yes and stood by me!

Would you be my Bridesmaid?

I loved making these and coming up with everything (my Mom helped a little)! I am so thankful for all these wonderful women! They really are the biggest blessing I could ask for. It means so much having seven women who really know me, and will know me in years to come, standing next to me on my wedding day. I love them so much!

We love Wendy Riley Photography!

A week ago, Tim and I met Wendy Riley from Wendy Riley Photography in Raleigh to take our engagement pictures. I was reluctant to take engagement pictures because I was not sure what we would use them for but I am SO happy we did them! We took them at the North Carolina State Museum of Art and in downtown Raleigh. Tim and I met in Raleigh and he proposed to me in the Metropolitan Museum of Art so these two locations were so perfect to represent our relationship! Wendy was so excited to be working with us which made us a lot more comfortable to be there. Sometimes taking pictures can be awkward (especially "lovey-dovey" ones) but Wendy made us so comfortable and made us feel like we were models! The whole experience was a blast and I have Wendy to thank for it! And because she is so fun to be around and a great photographer we had some amazing photos that we will cheerish forever! I am so glad we'll have some excellent pictures to hang alongside our wedding pictures in our home one day! Thank you Wendy! We HIGHLY recommend your gift to anyone looking for a photographer!

Here are some of our favorites from the day!
All pictures are Copyright of Wendy Riley Photography

Check out more of Wendy's work at her website: http://www.wendyrileyphotography.com/ or on her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-Riley-Photography-North-Carolina-Child-Photographer/131337470217715?ref=ts

Its Official! We Have a Date!

About two weeks ago I sent in a deposit and our wedding application to First Presbyterian Church in downtown Wilmington. This included a written application and a letter of recommendation from my church in Greensboro. The tricky thing about getting married there was that all the staff had to approve the application AND we only had four months out of the year to choose from; January, February, March, and August. Since we got engaged in December our only choices were August 2012 and January 2013. We may be getting married young but we definitely did not want to get married in over a year. 8 months was more of what we wanted! We waited and waited for the recommendation letter to get to the church and then for the staff to approve. I got a little anxious (we do have a lot of planning to do!) so I called the church to check on the status of our application. The lady was so sweet on the phone, double checked on one last person, and told me we were good to go! WE OFFICIALLY HAVE A DATE TO GET MARRIED! August 18, 2012! I hung up with the wedding coordinator and called Tim at work to give him the great news! He was so happy I interrupted him :-) Save the Date everyone we're tying the knot! We're so excited to continue in the planning! Pray we don't get too stressed!

Here are pictures of First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington, NC

I can't wait to walk down the aisle to Tim :-)