Hi Everyone,
I know it's been quite some time since I posted. It's been a bit busy the past few months. Kristjan left in early July for deployment, which has been really tough for us. We're fortunate enough though that he can come home much earlier than the ship will. I'm not sure what I can say because of security reasons, but we did find out his exact date of return today! It will be sometime in mid-October. We are so excited to be reunited again. We had been married not even 6 weeks when he had to leave. So to celebrate, we're hoping to take a trip to Hawaii when he comes back! I've never been to Hawaii, but have always wanted to go. To be honest, it really wouldn't even matter where we went when he comes home, we could just stay at the apartment and I would be thrilled. You really have no idea how much you take a loved one for granted until you're separated from them. Who knew that receiving an email could be the most treasured moment of the day.
Anyway, please keep us in your prayers. This last month will probably be the most difficult for us. I've been blessed enough to have my best friend with me for the summer, and then my sister came for several weeks after that. So I've had plenty of distraction to help ease the pain of separation. But this last month I won't really have distractions, which makes it much harder to think of anything but the fact that I'm separated from my husband. My family is wonderful though, and has been a huge part of getting me through this. But even more important than any of that, we especially need your prayers for Kristjan! His final board (test) is at the end of September, and this is the thing that can keep him from coming home! He HAS to pass in order to come back. It's a really difficult board and he's been studying every spare second he's had for a whole month already. And he still has a few weeks to go. He's trying to trust God with it, and we all know how difficult it can be to really trust God with something so big, despite how many times in the past He's taken care of us. So Kristjan's doing his best to keep it in God's hands, but also study as much as he can too. So please pray for him to pass his board, and in the meantime to trust God with this so that he won't have all gray hair when he comes home :)
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
We are officially Mr. & Mrs. Casola!
Hi Everyone!
I can't believe it's almost been a month already! It sure has been a busy, but wonderful month! We went to Lake Anna for a week for our honeymoon, and then drove up to Waldorf for my now sister-in-law's wedding! She got married at a vineyard in Maryland and it was beautiful. After the wedding we stayed at Kristjan's parents house for a few days and ended the week with a few day trip to Hershey Park. I had never gone before, and it was tons of fun. I was amazed at the amount of rides they have there! And almost everywhere you turn there is free chocolate. Needless to say, it was difficult to leave the "sweetest place on Earth."
On Tuesday, I started my internship at Curves (how appropriate seeing as I just finished my trip to Herhsey!). So far, it's been wonderful. I really like the women I've worked with so far and the clients who come in are so friendly. And I get to workout at work! Unfortunately, I caught some sort of cold and couldn't work yesterday or today. But I'm really enjoying it so far and have learned so much already. It's so neat to see everything I've learned in school to be put into motion, and to watch these women who've fought weight issues for so long to find a program that really works for them and the support and encouragement they need to keep at it.
Well after work last week Kristjan and I ran all over Hampton Roads trying to get everything straight before he started work on Friday. We had to go get a copy of our marriage license, go to the Social Security office and the DMV to get my name changed on my card and license. Then we had to go to the base to get a military ID for me. Then we went to the bank to add my name to his bank account, and then we needed to go to the leasing office to add my name to the lease for the apartment. Whew! What a first week back, huh? And Kristjan was busy the whole week while I was at work writing Thank you's and trying to get a hold of the apartment.
Speaking of thank yous, we have been overwhelmed by all of our family and friends generous gifts for the wedding! We still have plenty of thank you's left to write, so we apologize if it takes a long time before you receive a thank you note.
As always, we can use your prayers, but especially in the coming weeks and months. Kristjan will be leaving for deployment in just a few short weeks and will be gone for three months most likely. We are very fortunate and grateful that it will only be for three months (his ship will be gone until January, but he will get to come back early because he will need to start Nuc. School in November in Charleston). However, deployments and separations are never easy, and I have a feeling it will be much tougher now that we're married and have had so much time together. We've just gotten used to seeing each other everyday, and waking up to each other every morning, that when he leaves the whole in our hearts will be even bigger than the last time. And the last time was really tough for both of us - and it was only 6 weeks. I do realize that the chances of him never having to go on a deployment that lasts longer than 3 or 4 months is slim to none, but I do pray that we can get by with that if possible.
If nothing else, being in love with a military man has given me such a huge appreciation for the military and their families. I never really gave a thought to what they had to go through until I was going through it myself. To all of you out there who are in the military, or love someone in the military, and know what it's like to be separated from one month to 24 months and beyond, I have such a respect for you and will always appreciate your great sacrifice for the sake of the country. You are much stronger than I am, and you are what helps keep this nation together. Thank you so much for all you do.
In the meantime, we are enjoying every precious second we have together and thanking God for the gift of love and marriage. Until next time, take care and God bless!
I can't believe it's almost been a month already! It sure has been a busy, but wonderful month! We went to Lake Anna for a week for our honeymoon, and then drove up to Waldorf for my now sister-in-law's wedding! She got married at a vineyard in Maryland and it was beautiful. After the wedding we stayed at Kristjan's parents house for a few days and ended the week with a few day trip to Hershey Park. I had never gone before, and it was tons of fun. I was amazed at the amount of rides they have there! And almost everywhere you turn there is free chocolate. Needless to say, it was difficult to leave the "sweetest place on Earth."
On Tuesday, I started my internship at Curves (how appropriate seeing as I just finished my trip to Herhsey!). So far, it's been wonderful. I really like the women I've worked with so far and the clients who come in are so friendly. And I get to workout at work! Unfortunately, I caught some sort of cold and couldn't work yesterday or today. But I'm really enjoying it so far and have learned so much already. It's so neat to see everything I've learned in school to be put into motion, and to watch these women who've fought weight issues for so long to find a program that really works for them and the support and encouragement they need to keep at it.
Well after work last week Kristjan and I ran all over Hampton Roads trying to get everything straight before he started work on Friday. We had to go get a copy of our marriage license, go to the Social Security office and the DMV to get my name changed on my card and license. Then we had to go to the base to get a military ID for me. Then we went to the bank to add my name to his bank account, and then we needed to go to the leasing office to add my name to the lease for the apartment. Whew! What a first week back, huh? And Kristjan was busy the whole week while I was at work writing Thank you's and trying to get a hold of the apartment.
Speaking of thank yous, we have been overwhelmed by all of our family and friends generous gifts for the wedding! We still have plenty of thank you's left to write, so we apologize if it takes a long time before you receive a thank you note.
As always, we can use your prayers, but especially in the coming weeks and months. Kristjan will be leaving for deployment in just a few short weeks and will be gone for three months most likely. We are very fortunate and grateful that it will only be for three months (his ship will be gone until January, but he will get to come back early because he will need to start Nuc. School in November in Charleston). However, deployments and separations are never easy, and I have a feeling it will be much tougher now that we're married and have had so much time together. We've just gotten used to seeing each other everyday, and waking up to each other every morning, that when he leaves the whole in our hearts will be even bigger than the last time. And the last time was really tough for both of us - and it was only 6 weeks. I do realize that the chances of him never having to go on a deployment that lasts longer than 3 or 4 months is slim to none, but I do pray that we can get by with that if possible.
If nothing else, being in love with a military man has given me such a huge appreciation for the military and their families. I never really gave a thought to what they had to go through until I was going through it myself. To all of you out there who are in the military, or love someone in the military, and know what it's like to be separated from one month to 24 months and beyond, I have such a respect for you and will always appreciate your great sacrifice for the sake of the country. You are much stronger than I am, and you are what helps keep this nation together. Thank you so much for all you do.
In the meantime, we are enjoying every precious second we have together and thanking God for the gift of love and marriage. Until next time, take care and God bless!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Three days away!
I can't believe I'm getting married in 3 short days! Our tent went up yesterday and all the details for decorations are still being worked on. There is still plenty to do, but it is coming together. Prayers are still greatly appreciated!
This whole roller coaster ride has been pretty crazy since last November when we got engaged. But if I have learned anything, it's to let go of stress, worries, and anxieties and trust that God will work out everything for the best. I can't tell you how many times I've had to learn this lesson, and I know I will keep relearning the same thing. Let's face it, I'm prone to wander! But God is good and always helps me find my way again. As for this moment though, I'm in such amazement of all the small and big miracles that have happened in these past several months and weeks that I'm excited for Saturday and keep reminding myself that it will be wonderful no matter what happens.
Rain, flowers dying, favors unfinished, hair being a mess, tripping down the aisle, and thousands of other possible mishaps are out there, but these are all small things. None of them can stop the actual wedding and marriage of two lives. Wedding days are so hyped up in movies and Tv shows that we forget what is actually happening on that day. The day is not meant to celebrate how big or pretty you can make an event be. It's not to celebrate flowers, or dresses, or hair, or food, or decorations, or anything other than to celebrate two lives being joined together forever. If you get hung up on the details, or on how "perfect" the day will be, you will be disappointed. No day is perfect! You can drive yourself insane trying to have control over every tiny detail, but you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Your idea of control is a joke and an illusion. No human has actual control, ever. Sure, you may plan to leave in a few minutes to go to the store and pick up milk, and sure, it may happen exactly as planned. But do you really think it was you who made that possible? A million things could have stopped you! You could've tripped leaving and had to go to the ER for stitches. Your car could have suddenly broke down for no apparent reason. You could get all the way to the store and they're out of milk! Or many other things could have prevented you from carrying out your plan. Don't let life fool you, you are never really in control. You can make decisions and try to carry them out. But the ultimate control does not fall to you. So, for planning a wedding, it's necessary to remember that you may plan and plan and plan, and even make back up plan for your plans, and you can even try to think of a solution for every single possible thing that has potential to go wrong. But even those plans can go wrong! The best bet is to make plans and decisions, and then let go of them. Trust that whatever possible thing you can think of going wrong, will in the end be fine.
My mom used to always stop me when I would start to stress out about a test or project and say, "Lindsay, if you fail this, what's the worst that could happen?"
"I could fail my class!!"
"Okay, and then what would you do?"
"Um, I guess retake it"
"And then what would happen?"
"I don't know. Maybe pass it, maybe not. Either way I'd have to be in school longer"
"And then what?"
"Well, I'd eventually graduate"
"So whether you pass or fail this test, either way you will still be fine"
"Um, yeah, I guess you're right."
This would always help me stop in my stressed out tracks and finally be at peace again for whatever I was so worried about. I can't tell you how many times for how many things I've had to go through this conversation again with my mom or just with myself. Nothing is worth stressing out about. Stress is bad for you for a reason! It causes high blood pressure, and free radicals which in turn can cause wrinkles and aging. You aren't meant to take on the weight of the world. And no matter how much you stress or worry about something, it can never change the ending outcome of that situation! So why even bother stressing about something when it only physically and mentally harms you and doesn't even change anything! It's so much better to just let go, and let God do His thing. And then, you can relax and think clearly. This wedding day is only one day. It is only a split second when you look at the time line of eternity. The day is only a moment, but the marriage is eternal. So what is the more important thing to look at? What's the more important thing to prepare for?
So Saturday, if rain should come, if I should trip, if my hair should completely fall apart, if my dress gets torn, if my flowers all die, if the programs all fly away in the wind to the water, if food is spilled, and whatever other what if's should happen, in the eternal perspective, none of it truly matters. All that really matters is that on Saturday, come rain or shine, I will be married to a wonderful man!
This whole roller coaster ride has been pretty crazy since last November when we got engaged. But if I have learned anything, it's to let go of stress, worries, and anxieties and trust that God will work out everything for the best. I can't tell you how many times I've had to learn this lesson, and I know I will keep relearning the same thing. Let's face it, I'm prone to wander! But God is good and always helps me find my way again. As for this moment though, I'm in such amazement of all the small and big miracles that have happened in these past several months and weeks that I'm excited for Saturday and keep reminding myself that it will be wonderful no matter what happens.
Rain, flowers dying, favors unfinished, hair being a mess, tripping down the aisle, and thousands of other possible mishaps are out there, but these are all small things. None of them can stop the actual wedding and marriage of two lives. Wedding days are so hyped up in movies and Tv shows that we forget what is actually happening on that day. The day is not meant to celebrate how big or pretty you can make an event be. It's not to celebrate flowers, or dresses, or hair, or food, or decorations, or anything other than to celebrate two lives being joined together forever. If you get hung up on the details, or on how "perfect" the day will be, you will be disappointed. No day is perfect! You can drive yourself insane trying to have control over every tiny detail, but you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Your idea of control is a joke and an illusion. No human has actual control, ever. Sure, you may plan to leave in a few minutes to go to the store and pick up milk, and sure, it may happen exactly as planned. But do you really think it was you who made that possible? A million things could have stopped you! You could've tripped leaving and had to go to the ER for stitches. Your car could have suddenly broke down for no apparent reason. You could get all the way to the store and they're out of milk! Or many other things could have prevented you from carrying out your plan. Don't let life fool you, you are never really in control. You can make decisions and try to carry them out. But the ultimate control does not fall to you. So, for planning a wedding, it's necessary to remember that you may plan and plan and plan, and even make back up plan for your plans, and you can even try to think of a solution for every single possible thing that has potential to go wrong. But even those plans can go wrong! The best bet is to make plans and decisions, and then let go of them. Trust that whatever possible thing you can think of going wrong, will in the end be fine.
My mom used to always stop me when I would start to stress out about a test or project and say, "Lindsay, if you fail this, what's the worst that could happen?"
"I could fail my class!!"
"Okay, and then what would you do?"
"Um, I guess retake it"
"And then what would happen?"
"I don't know. Maybe pass it, maybe not. Either way I'd have to be in school longer"
"And then what?"
"Well, I'd eventually graduate"
"So whether you pass or fail this test, either way you will still be fine"
"Um, yeah, I guess you're right."
This would always help me stop in my stressed out tracks and finally be at peace again for whatever I was so worried about. I can't tell you how many times for how many things I've had to go through this conversation again with my mom or just with myself. Nothing is worth stressing out about. Stress is bad for you for a reason! It causes high blood pressure, and free radicals which in turn can cause wrinkles and aging. You aren't meant to take on the weight of the world. And no matter how much you stress or worry about something, it can never change the ending outcome of that situation! So why even bother stressing about something when it only physically and mentally harms you and doesn't even change anything! It's so much better to just let go, and let God do His thing. And then, you can relax and think clearly. This wedding day is only one day. It is only a split second when you look at the time line of eternity. The day is only a moment, but the marriage is eternal. So what is the more important thing to look at? What's the more important thing to prepare for?
So Saturday, if rain should come, if I should trip, if my hair should completely fall apart, if my dress gets torn, if my flowers all die, if the programs all fly away in the wind to the water, if food is spilled, and whatever other what if's should happen, in the eternal perspective, none of it truly matters. All that really matters is that on Saturday, come rain or shine, I will be married to a wonderful man!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Best Surprise Bridal Shower Ever!
So since the very beginning of the semester, my mom has been planning on coming up to see me in Towson. The plan was that we would do some Wedding shopping and planning. Apparently, my very good best friend Kristin has been planning this shower pretty much since I got engaged. And she kept it a secret and was able to keep everyone quiet about it... for months! I must say, I'm very impressed. I have NEVER been more surprised in my life! I honestly had no idea whatsoever. I've always wanted to have a surprise this good, but it's never happened to this extent or even close to it. I feel proud of my friends for being able to keep it that much of a secret for so long! And afterwards I found out just how many people knew about it - which was pretty much everyone but me. That's incredible!
So needless to say, it was amazing! Here's what happened. My mom picked me up when she got in town and we left my apartment to go "shopping." She told me she looked up directions to some stores near by. Well, a few minutes down the road she tells me she thinks she missed the turn and so she's going to pull over to look at the directions. Meanwhile, I am still clueless.
So she pulls over in this park's parking lot, and I see a few girls sitting on the bench. When we get a little closer I realize they are some of my friends from Towson. Cru had a community service project that morning, so I thought that maybe it was at that park and that it had just ended. I am still not connecting the dots. So my mom tells me to talk to them while she "figures out the directions." So I hop out of the car and start talking to them. About 2 minutes later two of my roommates walk toward us from the inside of the park.
"What are you guys doing here?!" I asked.
"We wanted some roommate bonding time since we don't get to see each other too much."
You might ask, did she really fall for that? Yes, yes I did.
A minute later, a group of girls walk up from behind us. In about half a second I realized it's many of my summer project friends, who most live anywhere from an hour to several hours away.
"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"
"Don't you come out to the park every Saturday?"
Yes, at this point I was very suspicious. I started slowly backing up from the group because I was confused and had no idea what to think.
I look over and see two girls walking toward us. One I recognized right away and that was my future sister-in-law, Shandra. I let out a small scream because I was really surprised to see her and this is when I confirmed my suspicions - this indeed was a Bridal shower. But then...
What?
Who's that?
Could it be?!?!
AHHHHHHH.
Yep, that was a big scream, followed by a big freak out moment. My best friend, who lives in Indiana, a good 12 hours from here, was next to Shandra. Holy cow. That's love!
Maybe you're thinking, really? You didn't recognize your own best friend? My answer is no, I didn't. But to be fair she was holding a huge camera and recording the whole thing. So yes, all of these moments have been caught on tape.
So then my mom comes up and we walk inside the park. At one of the shelters a whole shower is set up and ready to go. Decorations, games, presents, cake, food, everything! All for me. I was so touched by all the trouble that all these people from near and far went to just for me. I mean really, those are great and true friends, and I am so blessed to have them in my life.
So we ate and played a lot of really fun games that Kristin planned and it was a blast. Afterwards, we went to my apartment and hung out and the Summer Project girls spent the night. The next morning we went to church and out to lunch, and then they had to leave. I hated to see them go, especially after such a whirlwind of a weekend, but I was so thankful to spend that time with them and forever touched by how much effort everyone put in to make a truly special and remarkable Bridal Shower for me. So thank you to all of my friends and family who were a part of this wonderful day! I'll never forget it and feel so grateful to have you all in my life!
So needless to say, it was amazing! Here's what happened. My mom picked me up when she got in town and we left my apartment to go "shopping." She told me she looked up directions to some stores near by. Well, a few minutes down the road she tells me she thinks she missed the turn and so she's going to pull over to look at the directions. Meanwhile, I am still clueless.
So she pulls over in this park's parking lot, and I see a few girls sitting on the bench. When we get a little closer I realize they are some of my friends from Towson. Cru had a community service project that morning, so I thought that maybe it was at that park and that it had just ended. I am still not connecting the dots. So my mom tells me to talk to them while she "figures out the directions." So I hop out of the car and start talking to them. About 2 minutes later two of my roommates walk toward us from the inside of the park.
"What are you guys doing here?!" I asked.
"We wanted some roommate bonding time since we don't get to see each other too much."
You might ask, did she really fall for that? Yes, yes I did.
A minute later, a group of girls walk up from behind us. In about half a second I realized it's many of my summer project friends, who most live anywhere from an hour to several hours away.
"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"
"Don't you come out to the park every Saturday?"
Yes, at this point I was very suspicious. I started slowly backing up from the group because I was confused and had no idea what to think.
I look over and see two girls walking toward us. One I recognized right away and that was my future sister-in-law, Shandra. I let out a small scream because I was really surprised to see her and this is when I confirmed my suspicions - this indeed was a Bridal shower. But then...
What?
Who's that?
Could it be?!?!
AHHHHHHH.
Yep, that was a big scream, followed by a big freak out moment. My best friend, who lives in Indiana, a good 12 hours from here, was next to Shandra. Holy cow. That's love!
Maybe you're thinking, really? You didn't recognize your own best friend? My answer is no, I didn't. But to be fair she was holding a huge camera and recording the whole thing. So yes, all of these moments have been caught on tape.
So then my mom comes up and we walk inside the park. At one of the shelters a whole shower is set up and ready to go. Decorations, games, presents, cake, food, everything! All for me. I was so touched by all the trouble that all these people from near and far went to just for me. I mean really, those are great and true friends, and I am so blessed to have them in my life.
So we ate and played a lot of really fun games that Kristin planned and it was a blast. Afterwards, we went to my apartment and hung out and the Summer Project girls spent the night. The next morning we went to church and out to lunch, and then they had to leave. I hated to see them go, especially after such a whirlwind of a weekend, but I was so thankful to spend that time with them and forever touched by how much effort everyone put in to make a truly special and remarkable Bridal Shower for me. So thank you to all of my friends and family who were a part of this wonderful day! I'll never forget it and feel so grateful to have you all in my life!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
When it rains, it pours!
Hey everyone,
I can't believe it's been about a month since I've posted! So sorry! As you can probably imagine, it's been a crazy month since finding out our date. The week after we got the date was my Spring Break. And boy, was that a whirlwind!
I'll try my best to tell you everything we accomplished in that one short week, but it's going to be difficult because so much happened!
It all started on Friday afternoon when I got home for Spring Break. We immediately his David's Bridal. Well, after trying on about 20 dresses over a few day period, I thought I was never going to find "the dress." On Tuesday, I finally found it! And the veil! In the meantime, between Friday and Tuesday I found all four of my bridesmaid dresses (each one is a different color, and we happened to find the four colors I wanted at a consignment shop that was going out of business and only had a few dresses left! And they were 75% off!). I also found my shoes, booked my photographer(s), booked our officiants (yes, two. But that's another awesome story). One of the officiants is flying in on a red eye flight from his nephew's graduation in Arizona and will be arriving at 8am I think on Saturday. We tried to tell him that wasn't necessary, but he loves me :) Anyway, the rest of the week we also: had two fittings for my dress, figured out that my uncle would be our "videographer," which will be hilarious. Kristjan and I figured out what readings we wanted for the ceremony as well as some of the songs, we bought our favors (which was an amazing price) and started assembling them, we bought our invitations at a really sweet price. Some of my mom's very talented friends came with us to the thrift store to start purchasing decorations for the wedding. My sister is going to DJ, which will also be phenomenal and hilarious. We reserved the tent, tables, chairs, linens, arch, aisle runner, napkins, plates, glasses, etc. Oh and they aren't charging us extra to come set it up themselves on Wednesday before the wedding! We figured out the guest list. We met with this wonderful woman who will be making the cake, as well as loaning us TONS of catering supplies and buffet table decorations. And she wants to make an ice sculpture, and loan us a chocolate fountain as well as making and doing tons of other things. She's this sweet Christian woman who has been diagnosed with a rare disease, who instead of getting angry at God took it as a blessing because she could share her faith in the hospital to those who may have never heard anything about Christianity. This is an incredible woman who has graciously welcomed me and my huge fat wedding into her life, and has told us she is thankful for the opportunity to help us out and feels she is the one who is being blessed by it. I can only hope to be like this woman and have the strong faith she has one day.
I think that is about everything that we did over Spring Break. Oh and I also went internship hunting and had two places say they'd take me. Currently, Towson is looking into Curves to see if it will be approved. Which is awesome because it looks like a great internship!
Don't hold your breath because I have much more to catch you up on! In the three weeks since then we started printing the invitations, acquired many more decorations here and there at the Thrift store, Kristjan got his suit, my mom tentatively booked my hair appointment, Kristjan and I found and booked our Honeymoon place, and my mom's friend and our neighbor are going to be catering for us. Most, if not all of this was done by my mother. Thanks Mom :)
Okay, one more thing! Kind of. This past weekend I went home for another whirlwind. Friday: I drive directly to the seamstress to try on my dress for the final fitting. It was perfect! Then, mom, Kathy (my mom's friend who has helped with decorations and will be catering for us) and myself go to meet the wonderful woman who is making the cake. She shows us all her catering supplies that she's going to loan us. We walk in and she has her whole dining room decked out in what the buffet table could look like, with some fresh cut flowers and candles and everything! It was beautiful :)
The next day, mom and I head over to Norfolk bright and early to go to the Tent place again, and run into Michael's. We found our centerpieces! We run back to Hampton for our Mother of the bride tea party, which is for all the wonderful and talented women who are helping us out with everything. We show and tell our ideas. They give us feedback. It's awesome. Then, my cousin Sara offers some great advice (that will also be money saving) for logistics and decorations. And she also offers to do my makeup! Yay!
Whew. Tired? Me too. Sorry but we're not done.
Okay, so after the Tea Party, mom and I run to Norfolk (again) and run through 2 Michael's trying to finish our shopping before it closes at 9pm. We had a 30% off of everything coupon. Clearly. Or we wouldn't be so crazy about it haha. So we finish buying all the centerpieces, and about as many fake flowers/garlands for decorating as you can possibly imagine. Seriously, my room IS a jungle. Not looks like one. Is one.
Sunday. Easter. Praise the Lord, literally. Not only do we finally get some rest from such a wonderful, but whirlwind of the past 36 hours, but we also get to relax and praise God for sending us His wonderful son for us. God is SO FREAKING AWESOME. We got to enjoy the rest of Easter on a beautiful spring day. I saw my dad and Karen, and then went home. I ended up not leaving until Monday, and it was great!
I do have more to say, but I think that if you've made it to this point (I realize I probably have many many casualties), but if you've made it this far, you're most likely suffering from information overload. So, I will save the remaining parts for another time. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's not a month from now!!
So, God, I'm really sorry that I didn't and couldn't trust you earlier with this whole wedding business. But clearly, you are in complete control of this whole thing! I am overwhelmed by your showering of gifts and blessings with this whole wedding. What the heck, God, I don't deserve this at all. Especially after the way I acted. But thank you so much for looking beyond my very very many human faults and loving me anyway. And God, thanks so much for your Son. And Jesus, thanks so much for putting all my selfishness, distrust, and ugly mistakes to death and resurrecting your life within me on Easter. You are so freakin cool!
So, everyone out there, thanks so much for your prayers. As you can clearly see, they have been heard and answered to the 100th power. I am so grateful for each of you! Thanks for sharing this journey with me! :)
I can't believe it's been about a month since I've posted! So sorry! As you can probably imagine, it's been a crazy month since finding out our date. The week after we got the date was my Spring Break. And boy, was that a whirlwind!
I'll try my best to tell you everything we accomplished in that one short week, but it's going to be difficult because so much happened!
It all started on Friday afternoon when I got home for Spring Break. We immediately his David's Bridal. Well, after trying on about 20 dresses over a few day period, I thought I was never going to find "the dress." On Tuesday, I finally found it! And the veil! In the meantime, between Friday and Tuesday I found all four of my bridesmaid dresses (each one is a different color, and we happened to find the four colors I wanted at a consignment shop that was going out of business and only had a few dresses left! And they were 75% off!). I also found my shoes, booked my photographer(s), booked our officiants (yes, two. But that's another awesome story). One of the officiants is flying in on a red eye flight from his nephew's graduation in Arizona and will be arriving at 8am I think on Saturday. We tried to tell him that wasn't necessary, but he loves me :) Anyway, the rest of the week we also: had two fittings for my dress, figured out that my uncle would be our "videographer," which will be hilarious. Kristjan and I figured out what readings we wanted for the ceremony as well as some of the songs, we bought our favors (which was an amazing price) and started assembling them, we bought our invitations at a really sweet price. Some of my mom's very talented friends came with us to the thrift store to start purchasing decorations for the wedding. My sister is going to DJ, which will also be phenomenal and hilarious. We reserved the tent, tables, chairs, linens, arch, aisle runner, napkins, plates, glasses, etc. Oh and they aren't charging us extra to come set it up themselves on Wednesday before the wedding! We figured out the guest list. We met with this wonderful woman who will be making the cake, as well as loaning us TONS of catering supplies and buffet table decorations. And she wants to make an ice sculpture, and loan us a chocolate fountain as well as making and doing tons of other things. She's this sweet Christian woman who has been diagnosed with a rare disease, who instead of getting angry at God took it as a blessing because she could share her faith in the hospital to those who may have never heard anything about Christianity. This is an incredible woman who has graciously welcomed me and my huge fat wedding into her life, and has told us she is thankful for the opportunity to help us out and feels she is the one who is being blessed by it. I can only hope to be like this woman and have the strong faith she has one day.
I think that is about everything that we did over Spring Break. Oh and I also went internship hunting and had two places say they'd take me. Currently, Towson is looking into Curves to see if it will be approved. Which is awesome because it looks like a great internship!
Don't hold your breath because I have much more to catch you up on! In the three weeks since then we started printing the invitations, acquired many more decorations here and there at the Thrift store, Kristjan got his suit, my mom tentatively booked my hair appointment, Kristjan and I found and booked our Honeymoon place, and my mom's friend and our neighbor are going to be catering for us. Most, if not all of this was done by my mother. Thanks Mom :)
Okay, one more thing! Kind of. This past weekend I went home for another whirlwind. Friday: I drive directly to the seamstress to try on my dress for the final fitting. It was perfect! Then, mom, Kathy (my mom's friend who has helped with decorations and will be catering for us) and myself go to meet the wonderful woman who is making the cake. She shows us all her catering supplies that she's going to loan us. We walk in and she has her whole dining room decked out in what the buffet table could look like, with some fresh cut flowers and candles and everything! It was beautiful :)
The next day, mom and I head over to Norfolk bright and early to go to the Tent place again, and run into Michael's. We found our centerpieces! We run back to Hampton for our Mother of the bride tea party, which is for all the wonderful and talented women who are helping us out with everything. We show and tell our ideas. They give us feedback. It's awesome. Then, my cousin Sara offers some great advice (that will also be money saving) for logistics and decorations. And she also offers to do my makeup! Yay!
Whew. Tired? Me too. Sorry but we're not done.
Okay, so after the Tea Party, mom and I run to Norfolk (again) and run through 2 Michael's trying to finish our shopping before it closes at 9pm. We had a 30% off of everything coupon. Clearly. Or we wouldn't be so crazy about it haha. So we finish buying all the centerpieces, and about as many fake flowers/garlands for decorating as you can possibly imagine. Seriously, my room IS a jungle. Not looks like one. Is one.
Sunday. Easter. Praise the Lord, literally. Not only do we finally get some rest from such a wonderful, but whirlwind of the past 36 hours, but we also get to relax and praise God for sending us His wonderful son for us. God is SO FREAKING AWESOME. We got to enjoy the rest of Easter on a beautiful spring day. I saw my dad and Karen, and then went home. I ended up not leaving until Monday, and it was great!
I do have more to say, but I think that if you've made it to this point (I realize I probably have many many casualties), but if you've made it this far, you're most likely suffering from information overload. So, I will save the remaining parts for another time. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's not a month from now!!
So, God, I'm really sorry that I didn't and couldn't trust you earlier with this whole wedding business. But clearly, you are in complete control of this whole thing! I am overwhelmed by your showering of gifts and blessings with this whole wedding. What the heck, God, I don't deserve this at all. Especially after the way I acted. But thank you so much for looking beyond my very very many human faults and loving me anyway. And God, thanks so much for your Son. And Jesus, thanks so much for putting all my selfishness, distrust, and ugly mistakes to death and resurrecting your life within me on Easter. You are so freakin cool!
So, everyone out there, thanks so much for your prayers. As you can clearly see, they have been heard and answered to the 100th power. I am so grateful for each of you! Thanks for sharing this journey with me! :)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
We OFFICIALLY have a date!!!
Yep, the moment we all have been waiting and praying for has FINALLY arrived! Thank you everyone for your support and prayers in this! God's so good! Okay, so are you ready?
Do you need some more anticipation?
I waited for nearly four months for this! I gotta make you work for it a little! :)
Ready?????????
May 29th, 2010!!!!!!
Hooray!!
Well, that means I have a little over 11 weeks (exactly 80 days from today) to get everything done! It's going to be crazy, and maybe nearly impossible, but sooo worth it! Thanks so much again everyone for your prayers for us! Please continue to pray for us, especially with only 11 weeks to plan, and 9 of those weeks I'll be finishing up school! But we are very very excited to finally have a date and to move forward in this engagement!
Oh and this is a picture of my Aunt and Uncle's backyard where we'll be getting married. Gorgeous, no? :)
We're so excited!!! :)
Do you need some more anticipation?
I waited for nearly four months for this! I gotta make you work for it a little! :)
Ready?????????
May 29th, 2010!!!!!!
Hooray!!
Well, that means I have a little over 11 weeks (exactly 80 days from today) to get everything done! It's going to be crazy, and maybe nearly impossible, but sooo worth it! Thanks so much again everyone for your prayers for us! Please continue to pray for us, especially with only 11 weeks to plan, and 9 of those weeks I'll be finishing up school! But we are very very excited to finally have a date and to move forward in this engagement!
Oh and this is a picture of my Aunt and Uncle's backyard where we'll be getting married. Gorgeous, no? :)
We're so excited!!! :)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
God’s sense of Humor
Just for fair warning, this is a long one! But so much good came out of it!
So, on Sunday I decided to search for wedding stuff, again. I ended up emailing a vendor to get a price estimate, and on Monday I got an email back. And whoa buddy, it was not pretty. Everything in a wedding is soooo expensive!! Anyway, I talked to Kristjan that night and after we hung up I just had this huge feeling of despair, yet again.
It seems like every time I feel okay about this wedding and not knowing anything, that God comes in and is like, yeah, actually, you’re still not trusting me. Here, let me show you. Think you trust me with money? Look how much this costs. Think you trust me with a date? Oh actually it may not happen at that time period. It might be 3 months later. Think you have a plan for not having a plan? Yeah, um no. You don’t anymore. So with everything gone, do you still trust me?
My answer: No!
Everyday I feel like I’m in a battle over this wedding. It shouldn’t be like this right? I should have gotten a date for this wedding within a few weeks of getting engaged, right? I should have my dress, bridesmaid dresses, flowers, hair, photographer, caterer, guest list, honeymoon, ceremony music, reception music, invitations, centerpieces, yadda yadda yadda by now, right? But do I? No! Why? Cause I don’t have a freaking date!!
Obviously this all came to a head Monday night as I cried my eyes out in the shower, begging, pleading for God to please please PLEASE give us a date! I said to Him, Lord, everything in this wedding, the decorations, the dresses, the location, the food, the whatevers, none of that matters anymore. Yeah, of course I would love a beautiful wedding with amazing decorations and details. But when it comes down to it, I’ve realized how petty that all really is. Father, my dream wedding isn’t something that will be defined by ribbons or bows, by tuxes or suits, by lilies or dandelions, by a 5 star meal or only lima beans to eat. Father, what I really truly care about is that on that day, I’ll be getting married. And I don’t want my guests to come to simply watched a “pretty” wedding, I want them to come to experience this day with us. I don’t want a wedding that is merely for spectators, but I want something much more meaningful and deeper than that. I want a wedding where I can bring joy to my family and friends and where we can all share this joy together. Something where when people leave they won’t be thinking, “Oh what a beautiful wedding, I loved their flowers, and the food was pretty good too!” No, I want my guests to leave and think, “Wow, what a beautiful wedding. I just got to experience something really special, something rich, something called love. Something where I didn’t just come and watch people sniffle and cry, but I got to witness a true love between these two human beings and where they in turn involved us in the wedding. I didn’t just witness a beautifully decorated day, but rather I actually just witnessed a marriage between two souls.”
So Father, you can see my heart behind this. It isn’t superficial and it isn’t for my own selfish reasons. So how come I can’t just get a date, if for nothing else for me to be excited for the day I can start this new chapter in my life? A day where I marry the man I love and share it with all the people in my life whom we love?
His answer: silence.
UGH! I thought Tuesday morning. REALLY? STILL? NOTHING? What the heck!
Enter from Stage Left, Mom.
Yo momma, this is whats up, and it really stinks!!!!!!!
Mom, of course, had wonderfully wise comments. After a long 2 and a half hour skype chat, I finally felt at peace again and as if okay, God, whatever you decide to do is really okay with me. If I don’t know for a long time that’s alright, because I’m trusting you’re going to make this so much better than I could dream. Lord, it looks completely impossible at this moment for anything to work out! We only have two weekends available, and neither of those really work without compromising other important factors. So God, I’ll trust that you’ll make something work and pull out some sort of miracle here because you love to do the impossible when all hope seems lost.
So, for most of the day I felt pretty good and at peace.
Then I talked to Kristjan.
“Well, I got an email back from my detailer. There’s good news and bad news.”
Oh boy, here we go.
“The good news, we may have a date. The bad news? My detailer told me to plan on getting off of my ship in OCTOBER.”
OCTOBER?!?! YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS GOD! That’s so much further away than we thought, and even so it may not still be set in stone? What’s next? We wait until then and then JK it’s actually October of 2022? NO THANKS!
God: silence.
I hate when you’re so quiet and all this stuff is thrown at me from left field!
God: Shhhhh. Talk this out. With him, Kristjan. Talk to him.
Me to Kristjan: Well, I’m worried about this and this and this. I can’t see this working or that. What the heck I don’t want to wait that long. I don’t want to get married sooner either. I wanted to get married in July. My heart was set on it. This really really stinks! And I have no idea what to do!
(Well to make an already very long and eventful story only a tiny bit shorter, we talked and talked and talked. I eventually calmed down enough to think straight)
Me: Okay, so what you’re telling me is that I could do the second 5 week internship from late June to late July, we could get married in late May, and then have 5 or 6 weeks together before your deployment?
Kristjan: Yep. Either that, or we get married in October. Or we wait and see if God wants us to do some unknown third option.
(Pros for May: About 100. Pros for October: 0. Pros for other: 2)
Me: May’s looking pretty good to me. So what should we do?
Kristjan: Pray. Talk to our families. See what they think about all this.
Me: Yeah, maybe after tomorrow we’ll have a better idea on what to do next.
So God, I think I was so set on July and my plan for not having a plan that you did this to stop me in my tracks and show me something possibly much better than what I was thinking. I was dead-set against getting married before Kristjan left for deployment. He felt like it could be a good thing. Then his deployment got pushed back a month.
My thoughts? Maybe this is so he won’t have to go on deployment and we can get married in July without him having to leave!
God’s thoughts: Maybe, but maybe not.
Maybe, his deployment got pushed back so that we could get married in May and have several weeks together before he left for deployment. Maybe when he gets back there won’t be any time to squeeze a wedding in. Maybe May is the best time so that both of your families can come. Maybe it would be better to have that first month or so together and see each other much more than you would if you got married shortly before moving to South Carolina. Maybe this actually is the better way to start our marriage rather than waiting until after he gets back from deployment. Maybe… just maybe.
Hmm God, you know, you’re a lot funnier than people give you credit for. Here I was, so sure of something, and you watch me and give a loving laugh. Then you pick me up with my feet still running in the air, like a dog does when it hovers over a bath tub, and set me back down in a completely different direction. So I’m off and running! And thanks for understanding me when I’m so frustrated with life, and with you. I’m so glad you haven’t given up on me even though I really stink at this whole trusting thing.
So tomorrow, we’ll talk to our parents and see. And maybe tomorrow we’ll have a date? Or maybe they’ll shed some light and wisdom on things we didn’t think about. Either way it’s a step forward, and another learning curve for me to be open-minded about God’s plan and not so stuck on my own.
So, on Sunday I decided to search for wedding stuff, again. I ended up emailing a vendor to get a price estimate, and on Monday I got an email back. And whoa buddy, it was not pretty. Everything in a wedding is soooo expensive!! Anyway, I talked to Kristjan that night and after we hung up I just had this huge feeling of despair, yet again.
It seems like every time I feel okay about this wedding and not knowing anything, that God comes in and is like, yeah, actually, you’re still not trusting me. Here, let me show you. Think you trust me with money? Look how much this costs. Think you trust me with a date? Oh actually it may not happen at that time period. It might be 3 months later. Think you have a plan for not having a plan? Yeah, um no. You don’t anymore. So with everything gone, do you still trust me?
My answer: No!
Everyday I feel like I’m in a battle over this wedding. It shouldn’t be like this right? I should have gotten a date for this wedding within a few weeks of getting engaged, right? I should have my dress, bridesmaid dresses, flowers, hair, photographer, caterer, guest list, honeymoon, ceremony music, reception music, invitations, centerpieces, yadda yadda yadda by now, right? But do I? No! Why? Cause I don’t have a freaking date!!
Obviously this all came to a head Monday night as I cried my eyes out in the shower, begging, pleading for God to please please PLEASE give us a date! I said to Him, Lord, everything in this wedding, the decorations, the dresses, the location, the food, the whatevers, none of that matters anymore. Yeah, of course I would love a beautiful wedding with amazing decorations and details. But when it comes down to it, I’ve realized how petty that all really is. Father, my dream wedding isn’t something that will be defined by ribbons or bows, by tuxes or suits, by lilies or dandelions, by a 5 star meal or only lima beans to eat. Father, what I really truly care about is that on that day, I’ll be getting married. And I don’t want my guests to come to simply watched a “pretty” wedding, I want them to come to experience this day with us. I don’t want a wedding that is merely for spectators, but I want something much more meaningful and deeper than that. I want a wedding where I can bring joy to my family and friends and where we can all share this joy together. Something where when people leave they won’t be thinking, “Oh what a beautiful wedding, I loved their flowers, and the food was pretty good too!” No, I want my guests to leave and think, “Wow, what a beautiful wedding. I just got to experience something really special, something rich, something called love. Something where I didn’t just come and watch people sniffle and cry, but I got to witness a true love between these two human beings and where they in turn involved us in the wedding. I didn’t just witness a beautifully decorated day, but rather I actually just witnessed a marriage between two souls.”
So Father, you can see my heart behind this. It isn’t superficial and it isn’t for my own selfish reasons. So how come I can’t just get a date, if for nothing else for me to be excited for the day I can start this new chapter in my life? A day where I marry the man I love and share it with all the people in my life whom we love?
His answer: silence.
UGH! I thought Tuesday morning. REALLY? STILL? NOTHING? What the heck!
Enter from Stage Left, Mom.
Yo momma, this is whats up, and it really stinks!!!!!!!
Mom, of course, had wonderfully wise comments. After a long 2 and a half hour skype chat, I finally felt at peace again and as if okay, God, whatever you decide to do is really okay with me. If I don’t know for a long time that’s alright, because I’m trusting you’re going to make this so much better than I could dream. Lord, it looks completely impossible at this moment for anything to work out! We only have two weekends available, and neither of those really work without compromising other important factors. So God, I’ll trust that you’ll make something work and pull out some sort of miracle here because you love to do the impossible when all hope seems lost.
So, for most of the day I felt pretty good and at peace.
Then I talked to Kristjan.
“Well, I got an email back from my detailer. There’s good news and bad news.”
Oh boy, here we go.
“The good news, we may have a date. The bad news? My detailer told me to plan on getting off of my ship in OCTOBER.”
OCTOBER?!?! YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS GOD! That’s so much further away than we thought, and even so it may not still be set in stone? What’s next? We wait until then and then JK it’s actually October of 2022? NO THANKS!
God: silence.
I hate when you’re so quiet and all this stuff is thrown at me from left field!
God: Shhhhh. Talk this out. With him, Kristjan. Talk to him.
Me to Kristjan: Well, I’m worried about this and this and this. I can’t see this working or that. What the heck I don’t want to wait that long. I don’t want to get married sooner either. I wanted to get married in July. My heart was set on it. This really really stinks! And I have no idea what to do!
(Well to make an already very long and eventful story only a tiny bit shorter, we talked and talked and talked. I eventually calmed down enough to think straight)
Me: Okay, so what you’re telling me is that I could do the second 5 week internship from late June to late July, we could get married in late May, and then have 5 or 6 weeks together before your deployment?
Kristjan: Yep. Either that, or we get married in October. Or we wait and see if God wants us to do some unknown third option.
(Pros for May: About 100. Pros for October: 0. Pros for other: 2)
Me: May’s looking pretty good to me. So what should we do?
Kristjan: Pray. Talk to our families. See what they think about all this.
Me: Yeah, maybe after tomorrow we’ll have a better idea on what to do next.
So God, I think I was so set on July and my plan for not having a plan that you did this to stop me in my tracks and show me something possibly much better than what I was thinking. I was dead-set against getting married before Kristjan left for deployment. He felt like it could be a good thing. Then his deployment got pushed back a month.
My thoughts? Maybe this is so he won’t have to go on deployment and we can get married in July without him having to leave!
God’s thoughts: Maybe, but maybe not.
Maybe, his deployment got pushed back so that we could get married in May and have several weeks together before he left for deployment. Maybe when he gets back there won’t be any time to squeeze a wedding in. Maybe May is the best time so that both of your families can come. Maybe it would be better to have that first month or so together and see each other much more than you would if you got married shortly before moving to South Carolina. Maybe this actually is the better way to start our marriage rather than waiting until after he gets back from deployment. Maybe… just maybe.
Hmm God, you know, you’re a lot funnier than people give you credit for. Here I was, so sure of something, and you watch me and give a loving laugh. Then you pick me up with my feet still running in the air, like a dog does when it hovers over a bath tub, and set me back down in a completely different direction. So I’m off and running! And thanks for understanding me when I’m so frustrated with life, and with you. I’m so glad you haven’t given up on me even though I really stink at this whole trusting thing.
So tomorrow, we’ll talk to our parents and see. And maybe tomorrow we’ll have a date? Or maybe they’ll shed some light and wisdom on things we didn’t think about. Either way it’s a step forward, and another learning curve for me to be open-minded about God’s plan and not so stuck on my own.
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