In sickness and in health

It was exactly one year ago yesterday that we became an "official" family, and on our one year anniversary we were supposed to go indoor skydiving, have lunch & grill a nice dinner together. We were also supposed to open our box and letters to each other, but Josh got sick.

It couldn't have been more fitting to spend our one year anniversary together in sickness and me trying to nurse my husband back to health. Last night he told me he was reminded of why he married me, and even though it wasn't glitz glam or anything we planned, it was just perfect for us.

Guaranteed to make you feel better...tomato soup, grilled cheese and yummy tots!

So Happy One Year anniversary to my Love and my Everything . . . here’s to a lifetime of health and happiness!

We’re still planning to celebrate our anniversary later, when he is feeling 100%. Our indoor skydiving flight has been rescheduled to Sunday and it’s going to be a blast. We’ll get a video from the experience and I’ll be sure to share it here with y’all!

It's our love in a box

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, February is often a time when we reflect on love. For some it's hard to get through, and true it is over-commercialized. By the time you're pressured into $100 flowers/ chocolates and a big fancy dinner at a restaurant which books months-out just for this day...it's a little overkill.

For me, February is a love month for another reason: my husband and I are coming up on our one-year anniversary! We've decided to not buy into the hype of Valentine's Day and instead invest that time and effort into our anniversary.

It's so hard to believe we've almost been married one year, but we have and I couldn't be more excited about the times we have coming up. We have alot of things going on for our anniversary and I won't reveal it all in one post so stay tuned.... BUT ... What I'm most excited about is officially starting our first family tradition.

As part of the unity ceremony during our wedding we decided to do something a little different. We found this really great box with a holder for champagne/wine and glasses. This box was placed up at the altar opened, and during the unity ceremony we had our parents pre-write letters to us for us to open on our first anniversary. During the ceremony while our aunt Traci sung "Feels Like Home to Me" our mothers came up and dropped off their letters in our box and our preacher explained to our guests what was going on and about our new tradition. The tradition is going to be writing letters to each other to read for the next year (& saving them eventually for our children). We placed our letters in the box during the ceremony and locked it up until Feb. 25, 2013...which is just a few short weeks away, and I CANNOT wait.

I'm super excited to read our letters while sipping champagne, celebrating each other and our love. Then writing new letters to each other to lock away for 2014. Just for you guys, I unlocked the box to snap a few pictures and show you what i'm talking about so you can be as excited as I am. Enjoy the pictures below and let me know what you think of our tradition. Also, feel free to share your traditions with me. I'm always looking for special and meaningful ideas.

Our special box!

Letter to read on Feb 25th

One more look

P.S. We are keeping Valentine's low key by doing our own wine, cheese and bruschetta night and catching a scary movie on cable or pay per view

Car Week … blah

My car received a failing grade!

There comes a time in every car’s life when their inspection runs out and it’s time to get a new one. Well guess what, I took my car in for an inspection and it FAILED! I couldn’t believe it…my less than 10-year-old car was revoked.

Old tires were the culprit, but it ended up taking us the first half of the week to get everything straight. Since car shops aren’t open very late, I would drive to the shop during my lunch hour and my husband would pick me up.  Then, we’d have to go pick my car up after work. It was a grueling and expensive week (needless to say)…

Monday: Inspection and oil change, inspection failed

Tuesday: New Tires ($$)

Wednesday: Re inspect, pass

Check out my shiny new tires, she now rides like a charm

Then, it was my husband’s turn. He is leasing a car and it’s almost time to renew or make another decision. Well, on Thursday after work, we went to the dealership and it took us all night just to get to the answer, we  couldn’t afford the car he wanted…so we decided to stick with his current car, which also needed inspecting.

Thursday: Car Dealership

Friday: Inspection Failed!

That’s right, his less than 5-year-old car’s inspection also failed…Now, he needs a new battery and two new tires, and before he can re-inspect it has to be driven 60 miles with the new battery. GGRREEAATT…

That was our week last week, boo! Hope you have a better story to share…please cheer me up below!

It's time to play Family Feud!

If you know me then you know I LOVE games. We love hosting game nights, and when we have the family over it usually results in a game or two.

One day last month my husband and I were watching Family Feud…and we see this billboard flash on our screen that says tryouts will be held in Austin. I immediately turned to him and exclaimed, what do you think?!

I grabbed my phone typed in the address and low and behold you actually have to sign up in advance to reserve your space for the tryouts. So, I signed us up and WE MADE IT!



Zac, Traci, Me and Josh at the tryouts.

I was super excited, but I never expected what we saw when we walked in to the tryouts area – a million people!

My heart sank for a brief moment when I saw that 500-600 people were also able to reserve our timeslot. The tryouts were twice per day for two days…if as many people were signed up for the other timeslots then we were competing against 2,000 to 2,400 families! YIKES!

Anyways, I got over it. Then, we took a clipboard signed in and filled out a little bit of information about our lovely family. After all the paperwork was done we were told the tryout would be held in our very room, in front of all the other families trying out! Yikes, again!

After some of the first families got through the mock playing we critiqued and methodically planned how we were going to do better.

Traci and Me trying to get the most out of our Tips and Pointers sheet.

On the “Tips and Pointers” sheet we received it clearly stated: WE DON’T CARE IF YOU WIN THE GAME – we are looking at how fun you will be on TV. And THAT was our plan, but we also wanted to win so we started answering the questions in our own group to see what it’d be like.  

Time flew by and pretty soon our butterflies were gone. We had what you’d call the “dream team” there: Traci (our aunt), Alex (our cousin), Zac (our brother), Josh and me. After a little coaxing, Traci agreed to be our fearless leader, and she was terrific.

By the time it was our turn, the room was about halfway cleared out. We went up to the table in sort of a dancing fashion and bounced around even hummed the Family Feud song a bit.

Alex, Zac and Josh in the back of the tryouts room.

Then, IT WAS GAMETIME! During the gameplay it was hard to focus on what good answers would be….but we tried. We had some Great Answers and a great first question:

Name something do in the nude at their house.

The funniest was when Traci said “make love” and Alex responded…"that’s my mom!” In reality that was going to be his answer so he exclaimed that to try and think of another and the whole room burst into laughter…a move that earned him a star!

All in all, the most important things we did was be supportive by saying “good answer” gave high fives and celebrated everything! We had a GREAT huddle also.

I know all of this because when our turn was up, we were given back our application and a business card back and told, “Give this to the front desk and they’ll tell you what to do.”

Zac, Alex, Me and Josh waiting to see the EP!

So, of course we did. The person at the front mumbled to me, “Pretend you forgot to fill out something on this application, we just have to wait for a few families to clear out.”

Done! I was SO EXCITED I knew it meant we were moving on…everyone else looked at me like what did you forget to fill out??…then I told them she said PRETEND! And the joy was multiplied. We were moved upstairs where we got to meet the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER and TOP CAMERAMAN.

This is when we really turned up the charm. It was our shining moment. Traci sang to the camera….”family feud we are coming to play youuu.” Alex was hysterical. Zac was great. I told them how much we loved our family and how we love game nights…I also mentioned Josh and I were newlyweds, and during his turn he told them he had his private pilot’s license. I think we offered enough energy and diversity to be picked!

BUT… we won’t know for another 2 weeks! They filmed the tryouts and the interview…they take it back to California and decide from there if we are going on the real show!

Team Kellogg!

If we are selected, they fly us roundtrip from Austin to Atlanta and they pay for our hotel…oh yeah, and the best part: WE GET TO PLAY FAMILY FEUD! We could win $100,000 and a new car! For now, we’ll keep praying we got picked and I’ll keep you posted until then~

And yes I know…I’m not even going to acknowledge how long it’s been since I’ve written…let’s just move on J.

Three Good Things

It's been an incredibly long time since I've updated my blog. True, I may have lost your loyalty but rest assured I'll try and earn you back, one post at a time.

Life so far has been a bit of Tale of Two Cities ... "It was the best of times, It was the worst of times"..and on and on.

Anyways, We are having the best time being married, and even have a contract in on a house!! We are on the cusp of pure bliss, but it will not be attained without struggles, and who doesn't have those.

So, instead of harping on them, I will tell you three GREAT things happening right now.

1.) We almost have a house!

And boy is it great :) We still have one last hurdle get through but the we are "Home Free" so to speak. I'll let you know more about the house as we get closer to getting it. We're still about a month out. In the meantime, chime in on my decorating ideas on Pinterest.

2.) I'm Pressing in and pressing on.

It's become quite evident that the only person holding me back from fulfilling my greatest dreams is myself, and I won't have it. I just happened to have the channel turned to this Joyce Meyer ministry, and she was talking about feelings of depression and discouragement, which I have been struggling with. Her message was such a blessing in a down time, and now, I'm trying to change the way I see myself and I know it's already leading to betterment for myself and my relationships. I'm just excited to see where God is taking me.

3.) We are taking on projects.

We recently found a great chair on craigslist for $30 and the only thing about it is it's navy leather. I found this great blog to help us change it to black and I was thinking of covering the buttons with a nice fabric...to give it some texture. Anyways, this new house thing has us converting and finding all kind of things to convert...so much so that my husband has decided we should open a shop on Etsy and build chandeliers and lighting in our new garage. I think it's brilliant and I couldn't be more excited. Pictures of these projects will be posted soon I promise.

Thanks for reading. Tata for now!

Our wedding is coming!

Play the video above while you read....don't worry, it's ok to dance!

As I sit here and update our wedding checklist on the right, I realize how much we've done and how ready we are for this momentous occasion.

My fiancé had his Bachelor Party this weekend. I have my Bachelorette Party next weekend, but I'm taking Bridal Portraits today with our photographer... I'm definitely not posting a photo of me and "The dress," but maybe I'll offer y'all a cell phone pic of the whole experience later :).

It's so fun getting hair and makeup done and putting on the dress, veil and taking pictures. I can't wait to see how they all turn out...couldn't have done it all without the help of Deanna and my mom. :) Love you guys! We were really worried about the rain, but it let up for just enough time to take some really fun pictures.

Also, Cassie posted some of our engagement pictures. We're waiting to get the rest in the mail. They're so cute!  Here's one...this is where our proposal happened - Mt. Bonnell:

Cyndie, Tina and Evette threw me a terrific work shower on Saturday. Cyndie's newly remodeled house is looking fabulous, and it was so much fun gathering with coworkers in a non-work environment...partying and celebrating my engagement!

My fiancé's coworkers are putting on a shower at his work on Friday. I'm sure it's going to be so great. By the way, we have already been receiving wedding gifts in the mail! It's so exciting. I can't wait to get started on "Thank Yous."

As you can tell, I'm trying to write more as we get closer to the day. I'd love your love, support and encouragement via comments! Love you all and thanks for reading.

Showered with LOVE

My very first Bridal Shower was a great success. I'll have to upload pictures later, but for now you can read about how fabulous it was. 

My bridesmaid and great friend Faith put out a spread like you wouldn't believe. We had fondue with strawberries and shortbread, meatballs in vodka sauce, cookies, brie and crackers, two cheese balls covered in pecans, artichoke dip, fruit and dip, a humongous homemade Italian Cream Cake and I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot more yummy stuff. 

Her house was so spacious and gorgeous. She had a room for the food, a room for gifts and her living room and kitchen were very open so it gave us all room to breathe while still being close together. 

We had a great showing with about 20 people coming :) I received a lot of great gifts like an apron, frames, kitchen gadgets, tortilla warmer, cookbooks, glasses, a wine opener, a single-serve coffee maker and even pictures of me when I was little from my Meme's house. Korie made a special trip to North Zulch  before the shower to get them for me. 

All in all it was a fantastic time, and it made me so excited for the BIG DAY!

Paradise Awaits!

We've found it! We found our little piece of paradise and we're headed there for our honeymoon. This has been a decision we've both been struggling with since the beginning. Picking a honeymoon with a tight time frame and on a budget is tough, but we held out just long enough for a deal to come just in the nick of time to knock our socks off. It's more than we could've ever dreamed (and we haven't even gotten there yet)! The photos and reviews are phenomenal...ready for the grand reveal??

It's Great Exuma Island, Bahamas!

It's an all-inclusive resort that includes a round of Josh's favorite...golf

It includes all meals, snacks, drinks and entertainment...even snorkeling

Of course, we'll probably be spending alot of time relaxing on the white sand beaches

And after a long day of fun, fun, fun...we'll get to cozy up in a beautiful room with a view and if we need something we can just ring for our personal butler :)

Oh, did I mention that we're are flying a G-6 to get there? - nonstop from Ft. Lauderdale-

What's great about it is we won't be rushed at all. We've decided to fly out of Austin around 1p -to sleep in a bit-  staying in Ft. Lauderdale that night - take a flight around noon to our Island of dreams. We'll be there by 3 (transfers, tips everything...all included) to enjoy 5 days. We'll fly out about 3p back to Ft. Lauderdale, hang out a bit and come back to Austin the following day. It's going to be the very best honeymoon we could've ever asked for! Can't wait and we only have God to thank for this amazingness :)

Bouquets of Fun

Some of our creations bunched together. 

When my grandmother was in from Mexico and my aunt from Arkansas, one night we all got together for a girls night. In this girls night we were supposed to be doing lashes and girly things. Well, we did get around to those girly things, but something else remarkable happened.

Earlier that day, I had gone to lunch with my mom, aunt and grandmother, who we call "Mother." My mom brought up an idea I had mentioned a while back about getting a bouquet made out of broaches and/or fabric. Well of course, being the creative family we all are, we decided we could take it on as a project and build it ourselves. So, we decided to take advantage of our girls night and star making my wedding bouquet. 

My mom and I followed their advice on what types of fabric to buy, and we found alot of different textures and color...yes, I said color. We even have a splash of the wedding-taboo color black in the bouquet. 

My grandmother is practically a genius when it comes to making flowers and crafty things like that. My aunt Debbie also remembered my grandfather Lio's mom used to make "handmade lace" or "crochets." She was able to find some of it stored away, and we made bouquet flowers out of it too. It was a whole mess of fun, and while I don't have a finished product yet, I have all the flowers thanks to all the ladies of my family. 

We all sat down and created our own masterpiece. It was certainly a memory I will never forget. 

When it comes time to marry Josh, not only will I be assured I have my family's blessing and support, but also a piece of them will be up there at the altar with me. And when I get the bouquet preserved, I know I will forever have that to cherish. 

Here are some photos of the unfinished product, i'll post finished photos later:

Two of aunts, mom and mother all hard at work.

Cousin Gregory and Aunt Yvonne.

The beginnings of one of Mother's beautiful flowers.

How fun does this look!

Hard work, determination and lots of laughter

More flower making :)

Many jokes and fun stories filled our night.

My mom showing off her handmade beauty.

My Aunt Yvonne's beautiful lacy flower.

Perfect little flowers and the mess behind it.

Mi Familia

Lord, prepare me for marriage

Before I moved to Austin, I never had a great example of what makes a good marriage. I never had the solid foundation of unconditional love, and so, I’m very scared. I know I can do this, and I know I’m in love, but what is unconditional love? and how does marriage make use of it? 

Since moving to Austin, I’ve done a lot, but one thing I do daily is observe. I soak it all in like a sponge, hoping to wring out all the good observations over my life. The same holds true for marriage. Though I’ve only been here six years, I’ve observed the marriage of my new mom and dad, my friends and other newly-acquainted family. I look for the little nugget that keeps their marriage going and take it in. I hope after the wedding that I can use those nuggets as tools for my own marriage. 

I value tradition but I don’t have any of my own, yet. I never grew up with them. I hope to start a family of my own and make our own traditions. I’d like to change the way marriage is viewed in my previous family. I can only pray that I can reverse it all and become successful. One of my biggest fears is being doomed from the beginning, being doomed by my previous life. 

Luckily I know if I have faith, pray and trust in God these observations, hopes and dreams can one day come true. I hope on our Wedding Day that I can stop living in fear that this is all a dream - all of it: Austin, my new family, my love - and awaken as a person reborn, just as the day I was baptized and made my life-long commitment to follow the Lord. This is my prayer. If you’re reading this, I’d love your prayers too. Thank you.

Save the DATE!

After looking through many ideas and getting overwhelmed my mom and I decided to go with an idea we found online using MOO cards and rustic cardstock. The idea was genius...with a few personal touches, we made it our own. Here's a look at the inspiration behind the idea.

Now, we'll start with the finished product:

And I could've never put it together without the help of my mom and Deanna. We spent a whole week just assembling them. So when you get them in the mail, I hope you love 'em!

Here's how it started (Actually....we added the stamp so it was even plainer than this) :

Precisely cutting each strand for each card:

We stamped the cardstock and the envelope with the colors you see below...the white roll is glue dots, which we used to secure the photos and twine:

My mother putting the final creation on display:

This was only half done, but you get the idea:

Cheers to more wedding projects and making each part of the wedding even more special.