To Have to Hold

I GET MARRIED TODAY to the LOVE of my LIFE!!!!!!!!!!

3 days and counting...

3 days 3 days 3 days 3 days 3 days 3 days!!!!

i can NOT believe our day is finally THIS close!!!! ahhh!! 

is it weird that i feel super super relaxed?? cause i haven't freaked out yet- seriously! 

i'm more than EXCITED.. and i can not wait to promise my fiancé the WORLD and become his wife!! :) 

here is some fun projects we did last minute (shout out to Nick's sister who helped make some of these with me)

This is an example of our decorations around at the wedding reception

Found a piece of wood in a dumpster at my apartment, cut the hinges off of it and painted it to make this pretty menu sign :) 

 this cute vintage frame (lots of detail on the frame sorry you can't see it very well) we found at a garage sale.. here is the best part.. got it for FREE!! 

excuse the cell phone pics again.. I really need to invest more time into taking proper pictures to show you all-- sorry! 

proud USMC sister.

it's official-- he is HOME!! after 13 long and grueling weeks, my little brother survived Marines bootcamp!! there is NO words to describe how proud, happy and emotional it was to watch as he graduated yesterday. These were the toughest, most painful mentally and physically -13 weeks he has ever endured in his life. 

so unbelievably proud of you MJ!! 

wedding bliss.

ready set.. wedding planning! everywhere i look it seems to be something for the wedding- ahh.. my parents house has turned into a craft store :) as each new day brings joy and excitement for the big day! it also brings us that much closer to goals and deadlines to get projects done. here are some of the FUN things we have done so far:

we made three triangle banners like this one. this one will go inside an old suitcase for people to place their cards into at the reception. (scrapbook paper and cut out letters)

this is the little pillow that my mom made for the ring boy- how cute! :)  (burlap and twine)

these little guys are my favors- homemade peach salsa! soo good!!  (small canning jars, canning crew of friends, tags and lots of love)

these will be added to the front of the church doors where people will be walking in as well as hung around the reception :) (wood, sandpaper, twine)

well.. there is a sneak peek for you all :) it has been so much fun preparing for this amazing day. i am eager for it to arrive and more than thrilled to spend the rest of my life with a great man! it is my prayer that the rest of this planning process goes just as smoothly. 

(** sorry the pics are not the greatest, they were taken with my cell **)

50 days.

i am getting EXTREMELY excited to be a wife to my best friend nick in less than 50 days. wowza did the time go fast planning and preparing for this date. i am feeling very "on top" of thing thus far- but a HUGE shout out to my mother for making sure i stay motivated to get stuff done. i am thrilled with the way that my "crafty" projects have turned out thus far :) most of these are going to be used as decorations for the wedding, although some are little tricks up my sleeve for my bridesmaids gifts--shhh! don't tell them.  the countdown is on- bring it on june and july, i'm coming on strong and ready to get everything done before august arrives. :) 


on a side note: this means that there is LESS than 50 days until my little brother comes home from the Marines boot camp!!! this ALSO means that HE WILL BE JOINING us for the wedding!! that is such a BLESSING!! we are so proud that he will be able to say he completed boot camp training and we will continue to celebrate with him coming home and sharing in the joys of our wedding.  (please continue to pray that he finishes these last 5 weeks strong, so that he is able to make it home in time) 


I learned a saying once: "God is good all the time. All the time, God is good!" This is so true! Even with the struggles, HE still REIGNS!  i have really had to learn to trust in His timing lately. this isn't always an easy thing to do. as i prepare for a new life with a soon-to-be husband, i pray that we continue to learn and grow together experiencing God's timing with each new step. 




and.. for all of you out there that asked for a sneak peak into decorations for the wedding.. this has been TOTALLY REVAMPED since this photo was taken.. I'm excited to show you the reveal soon :) 

thanks to my lovely mother for helping with this project. 

pierced.

Something to try to grasp in the next few days as we approach Easter Sunday. ONE MAN. ONE CROSS. PIERCED. WHIPPED. HURT. BETRAYED. ALL TO PAY ONE PRICE FOR US ALL:

"But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all."

Isaiah 53:5-6 (New Living Translation)

bring on the rain.

one of the first things that I think of when i think spring is the rain. rain brings new life to the flowers, soil, gardens, etc. so that spring can arrive with God's beauty. a lot of times a rainy day can be a bummer. when you think over you life - maybe you have had some "rainy days". have you ever wondered why something happened the way it did?  maybe something you really wanted to happen just didn't happen the way it was planned-- or just didn't happen at all. i have had a lot of those days lately. i found myself frustrated, scared, angry and asking WHY does this happen to me all the time? 
as i took a step back, i realized that maybe God has BIGGER and BETTER things planned for me. maybe it is his will that these "rainy days" happen to make me stronger. just like the rain bring new life and beauty- the strength i learn from these struggles make me a stronger person. 


take a look with me at Psalm 25:5---> "Guide me in your truth and teach me,for you are God my Savior,and my hope is in you all day long."

 

isn't that so true-- if you put your HOPE in HIM, there is peace. 

take another look with me at this song--> (MercyMe, Bring the Rain)

"Bring me joy, bring me PEACE
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings YOU GLORY
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
JESUS, BRING THE RAIN!"