I'm going to die

This morning I woke up and felt like I was going to die. There are days when I am convinced that something has beaten the tar out of me while I slept. (Dave denies it every time I ask him.) As my morning progressed, so did a severe stomach ache. All morning long, I have been moaning (inside my head) about how convinced I am that today will be the day I die. Oh, also, my mother called me and I wimpered on and on about how miserable I feel.

At some point during this afternoon, I recalled how Dave and I decided a few weeks ago to sponsor a Compassion Child. So I went to Compassion's website and started looking at kids from Africa. And then I really felt like I would die....how do you choose which one to sponsor? Which child deserves a chance at something different -- but at the expense of another? The button to 'Select this Child' was haunting me. I was also feeling completely shameful of my whining and bemoaning this morning. I'm such a jerk too often.

So, this is our newest family member: Esther

You can sponsor your own child, from anywhere in the world, for $38/month and provide that child with food, clean water, medical care, educational opportunities, important life skill training, and teachings about Jesus Christ by clicking here to go to Compassion.com.

Time Out

I started the Love Dare yesterday. I can say anything I want about my husband on here and he'll never find out. The man calls the internet, 'The Google.' Or, 'the devil.' It depends on the day. Anyway, Monday night, we were praying before bed, and I prayed that God would help me to love better and be slow to anger. So then yesterday, Tuesday, my Love Dare was to not say anything negative to my husband. At first, it was not so bad. I definitely found myself holding my tongue and actually thinking through what I was about to say. (and then I would think to myself, who says stuff like this or why do I think it's okay to say this???)

Then a little situation creeped up. One of those 'old, familiar' situations, where I was [mentally/emotionally] taken right back to those old, familiar feelings of bubbling anger, a tightened chest, and angst. Oh, and rage. This situation was nothing that Dave did, but one of those things that I react to by taking it out on Dave. Very unfair, I realize. As I felt the anger bubbling, I was reminded of my prayer to be slow to anger and quick to love. I was also reminded of one of the verses from my Love Dare: "See that no one repays evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and all people." 1 Thessalonians 5:15

I really want to call TIME OUT to God, throw a temper tantrum, and tell Him to leave me alone. Can't you just imagine the [stupid/waste of time] conversation:
me: God, seriously, LEAVE ME ALONE
God: but you asked me to help you be slow to anger
me: well I didn't mean it this way!
God: too bad

Yeah, that would be a great use of my time and energy. As much as it hurts to grow -- and my chest still does hurt, it's tight and feels funny to breathe........it is good to know that God cares. God cares enough to throw a stone in my path and see how I responds. It's good to know that He does not waste my time with something different, but uses the same old thing, and takes me right back to the last time we dealt with this. He always picks up where He left off, doesn't He? He doesn't ever forget....because He cares.

I won!!!!!!!

So I started blogging again yesterday, and then I won a contest! That's great confirmation, huh?

You can read about my winning here

Thanks to Jamie -- I love her blog and use her as a scapegoat when it comes to my pantry, because mine is not as full as hers.....yet :)

By the way, dinner last night? Not spinach gnocchi -- we had tuna melts instead. And tonight? Not grilled chicken quesadillas -- we're having spinach gnocchi. But we are planning to have spaghetti tommorrow!!!

Beginning of Refining

So I'm really going to start blogging more. I am constantly asked about my couponing or budget saving tips, plus I entered the All You Challenge -- read about it here. So, for the next month, I am hoping to blog more about my deals and maybe refine my spending even more. For starters, here is my meal plan for the week:



Monday: Spinach & Bacon Gnocchi - minus the chicken and 1lb of gnocchi
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Quesadillas
Wednesday: Spaghetti (homemade)
Thursday: Wienies Creole -- don't judge me, I have 16 packs of hot dogs to use up!
Friday: Pizza (homemade)
Saturday: leftovers *subject to change
Sunday: leftovers *subject to change

Let me know if you have any tips or good recipes to try while I'm on this grocery challenge!



**Obviously subject to change in case anything happens to come up :)

New Things

One issue I am really struggling with is grace. Shocking, I'm sure. I don't understand how blessings are viewed as God's grace or mercy, because if there are no blessings, does that mean there is no grace or mercy from God? And I'm talking about the easy-to-spot blessings like money, a big house, stable job, good health, etc.

We started reading 'What's so Amazing about Grace' together and outloud to each other. So far, it's a good book. We read two chapters and some things started to click in my mind. I realized that perhaps our grace right now is knowing that we do want to be together and that we will work to stay together. In our lives, we know of too many couples that are riddled with divorce and infidelity, and that grieves us because we don't understand. As we were reading this book last night, I started to think to myself -- would I appreciate my husband as much as I do if we had not chosen to open our home, had to have 2 surgeries, both started new jobs over the past year? Would I respect my husband the way that I do if I had not seen him work so hard, and seen both of us work so hard, to pay off all of the debt that I've created?

So I'm asking God -- is this your grace in our lives? Is it your grace to be married to a man that I deeply respect and am humbled by his attitude (most days)? Is it your grace to walk through this debt so that we can be confident of our vows? Is it your grace to struggle through this debt to be sure that you are the God that you say you are?

November Thoughts

I must say that I'm quite excited for this November. I know it's halfway over already, but I'm still excited for it and enjoying it. For us, it is bringing about much change - all of which is good.

Firstly, I am taking a cake decorating class. I have wanted to do this for a long time and finally made time to do it. I'm taking the class with two great girlfriends, which makes it all the more enjoyable. The class requires SO much more money and time than expected, which is hard....yet finding a few more dollars and a few more hours makes me discipline myself to stick with this class and do it well. I'm discovering more and more how important it is to me to be a person who does what I say I will do.

Secondly, I am helping teach, with Donna, a couponing basics and bargain shopping class at church (read about it here). It's really neat to pass on the knowledge that you know, and I've enjoyed realizing that I'm being a good steward with what I have. Although, I do need to work on reducing my hoarding.

Thirdly, I love my husband. I wish I said and communicated that more. He really is my favorite thing. He prayed the other night that we would use this upcoming season in our life (with no TV or internet) to work on our communication, to worship together, to pursue God together, and to read more and increase our intelligence. His prayer just melted my cold and bitchy heart (for other reason, not for the lack of TV or internet) This is why he's best for me...for him to help pull me out of my bitch pits. :)

Mosaic

Instructions:

1.) Type your answers to each of the questions below into the Flickr search engine.

2.) Pick an image from the first page only

3.) Copy and Paste the URLs for each image into Mosaic Maker.

4.) Save your mosaic to your computer and upload it into your own post.

Questions:

1.) What is your first name?
2.) What is your favorite food?
3.) What high school did you go to?
4.) What is your favorite color?
5.) Who is your celebrity crush?
6.) What is your favorite drink?
7.) What is your dream vacation?
8.) What is your favorite dessert?
9.) What do you want to be when you grow up?
10.) What do you love most in life?
11.) What is one word to describe you?
12.) What is your flickr name?

CVS

So I recently got turned onto the cultish world of CVSing. After 2 trips, I got super lucky on the 3rd....Lucky to the tune of $3.54 for all of the items in the above picture. If you're interested in learning how to use CVS to your advantage, read about it here: http://www.dealseekingmom.com/2008/06/cvs-for-newbies.html

So here's what I did:
I started with $5 ECB (Extra Care Bucks)

1st Transaction:
1 Extra Gum 8-pack @ $1 each
1 Bic Soleil 4-pack @ $4.99
8 Hershey Extra Dark huge bars @ $1.79 each

$2 off $10 coupon (CVS)
8 $2 off Hershey Bar coupon (facebook coupon application)
$2 off Bic Soleil refil

TOTAL: $.54 and earned $10 ECB for the Hershey Bars & gum

2nd Transaction:
1 Extra Gum 8-pack @ $1
1 Bic Soleil 4-pack @ $4.99
2 Colgate @ $2.79 (BOGO)
7 Orbit gum packs @ $1.19
6 Pantene shampoo/conditioner @ $7.99

$2 off $10 coupon (CVS)
$3 off Bic Soleil refil
$.50 off Colgate coupon
7 $1.25 off Orbit coupon (facebook application)
6 $6 off Pantene coupon (facebook application)
$5 ECB
$10 ECB

Total: $3.00

GRAND TOTAL: $3.54

and I had a blast saving so much money!!!!!!!!!!

New Hair

Ah yes, the hair........for those of you who I haven't seen since the wedding, I did cut it all off. I didn't do it the morning after the wedding, like I hoped, but a few months later, it all came off. Now that it is short again, I don't know why I kept it long as long as I did...it just doesn't suit me. Here are pics of the wedding hair (which was absolutely worth growing it out for), long and ugly, and then short and sassy....just the way I like it!

Pictures

I know I haven't written anything in awhile, but I was going through our camera and found some pictures to share. I'll split it up into a few different posts, but browse through and see the goods :)
This first post will be a few pictures of our second honeymoon. We called this vacation our second honeymoon because our first honeymoon was rough. It was a great time together, especially coming off of the busy-ness of the wedding, but it was rough. A week before the wedding I came down with all of the symptoms leading up to my gallbladder removal. We didnt' know what it was that was making me so sick, which caused too much worry and bother, and I spent our first honeymoon jacked up on Percocets....so it was a good time, but some days were full of pain attacks and weariness. Our second honeymoon was pretty much just fun. We met some cool people throughout the week, who we hung out with, played with, and even went on a day trip with one couple we met. And no, we're not swingers. :) We spent alot of time on the beach napping, reading, and Dave played a ton of beach volleyball.

Restart

Okay, so I really do want to keep up with blogging...I feel like it's like working out...the more I do it, the easier it will become and the more I'll enjoy it. My problem is that I get writer's block only because I struggle with how honest or transparent I want to be with my writing. I could just post about stuff that happens, but I feel like that's not deep enough. Am I just feeling false condemnation? I can make this whatever I want to make it, right??


My sis suprised us with a visit a few weeks ago. It ended up being a really nice time together, but started out really rough. We haven't fought like that in well, maybe ever. I've never felt such hatred towards her....which is a huge problem! I'm pretty sure she felt the same way. I am glad though, that we were able to fight it out face to face. Phone arguments -- yeah, not so much. I think that we resolved most, if not all, of what was going on. We also discovered that the bottom line problem was that we missed each other. It's a weird thing to miss someone. The depth of that heartache is fairly indescribable.

What I've recently learned is this: I am glad my sis is growing up and into her own person, I am so proud of how hard she works and cares for the people around her, I admire her adventure and efforts to lavish people. Beyond all of that...we've missed each other....and I mean 'miss' in the sense of missing a connection. We just haven't clicked for a long time -- and that is SO IMPORTANT. I think that's what we miss most about each other...the connection. It's such a precious thing to have a sister and just know....like, deep-in-your-bones kind of know each other. And to miss the connection of that knowing is to miss part of yourself and to miss a huge part of that other person.


Oh Jesus, have mercy on our hearts and bind us to those we love...keep us tender and sensitive to those we love. Let us not get wrapped up in a momentary offense or disgruntled behavior, but let us see into the heart and depth of relationship. Please heal broken connections and bridge new ones. Give us desire for restored relationship.

Sis...I love you.

27th Anniversary

I just wanted to give a quick shoutout and congratulations to my parents--today is their 27th anniversary! Dave and I are going over there for dinner. Mama refused to tell me what kind of cake she made....even after I said 'Selah.' She thinks she's much funnier than she actually is. Aaron will also be there, which will be nice. That means Dave and I get to see him twice in 2 weeks. Chava--we'll miss you lots and wish you were there. Love you more than lots.

Lord, we ask you for many more years for Mama and Papa to be together. (and we ask that you take Papa first, and Mama very shortly after) We ask that you continue to knit their hearts together and that they continue to pursue You first and each other second. Thank you Lord that they're still together and have given us great examples of fighting. We pray that they would continue to delight in each other. Amen!!!

Papa's Birthday

Papa is 50 today. He's getting old. Well, he's kind of a mischievious fellow, and he's definitely raised 4 mischeivious kids. And then I married a man who is much more adventurous than any of us. So, we decided to surprise him at midnight to celebrate his birthday. Keep in mind, midnight of February 10....it was 0 degrees with a windchill of -15. Yeah. Mama and Papa had been away with good friends for the past week -- relaxing and resting, and they had a dreadful drive home. But there was no mercy for Papa's 50 birthday. Dave had made a beautifully hillbilly sign. Seth had gathered the props. Aaron gave his blessing. Chava tried to convince us to take it too far (typical Chava :) ). I supervised and coordinated.





Seth calls me at 1142pm and tells me that Papa is still up. Yikes. He's old, why doesn't he sleep. Dave and I arrive at 1203am and Seth tells us that Papa just went up to bed. It'll be a miracle if he doesn't hear us. So we begin to set up. Gigantic sign in place, shovels/rakes/pitchforks all over the yard, and a teddy bear stabbed into the ground with a pitchfork. We couldn't find a stuffed groundhog, so it had to be a poor teddy bear. If you don't know about Papa, a pitchfork, and a groundhog -- ask him. It's a great story. Seth grabs the chain saw (to wake Papa up) and all of a sudden Papa is at the back door -- "What are you doing?" he asks. "Put some clothes on, it's your birthday!!!!" He smirks the Witt smirk, pleased as punch at his surprise. Dave goes inside the house and sets off the smoke alarms for effect, as Seth yells "Get out before you DIE." (another good story to ask Papa about) Mama comes running outside in a thin robe and sandals (yeah, we're so not convinced that she's not starting menopause) As Papa comes outside, Seth starts running around the yard revving the chainsaw. Mama and Papa are both laughing and smiling at their 'moronic kids.' A good time was had by all. So what did the sign say??? So glad you asked!!!





Papa is 50 today


Give a honk to say 'hey'


All glory to God


He's not in the sod!

On my way.....

This morning I put on a pair of jeans that I haven't worn since I was living with Jewels! So excited about that. I still consider them to be a pair of 'fat jeans,' but it's better than 'super fat jeans.' I've not been very excited about this workout plan, but I did commit to a 2 year agreement with Fitworks, so I've got to stick with it. Not to mention that I don't care to stay at this weight any longer. I guess I am starting to see results and feel the effects. Thank God for something different! Skinny little leopard string bikini here I come! :)

The First Week

So there is nothing like breaking into this 'living in community' thing like being sick and ugly. The move went well on Saturday. There were TONS of people that did a great job and worked so hard. I had a cough all day that I thought was just from swallowing funny. I should have known it was the bubonic plague. Sunday I was emotional, cranky, and just wanted my husband....further signs of getting sick. Monday I didn't move out of bed. I just slept, fevered, and coughed all day long. Katie made my mom's chicken noodle soup, which was great. Tuesday I moved down to the living room and watched Home Improvement shows all day long. Rodney stayed in bed all day on Tuesday, but came down to watch American Idol. Everyone went to work on Wednesday, and Dave came home fevering and coughing. Dave went to work today with strict instructions that if his fever worsened at all, he was to go home and go to bed....I told him he would probably get pneumonia and have to go to the hospital if he stayed out in the cold. He's afraid of the hospital, so I think that should work.

The first week is going great! Stress levels aren't even an issue, as we're all just trying to breathe without losing a lung. I think I'm going to look into installing a Lysol filter in the filter. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Bored Site List

A little while ago, I emailed many friends asking them for any website they knew of that could help me occupy my time while bored at work. My brother Seth recommended reading the Bible online only, which his good friend Will echoed, but here is the list of sites recommended from all sorts of people and a short description of the site. If you have sites to add, please email me and let me know!!


Miscellaneous:

http://www.ratingpets.com/ - you rate other people's pet.

www.normandcompany.com/STICKMAN - stickman murder mystery game.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/ - recipes, articles

http://www.i-am-bored.com/ - all sorts of random time wasters

http://www.foundmagazine.com/ - interesting collection of things 'found'

http://www.freerice.com/ - donate rice with your intelligence

http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/ - ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard


Informational:

http://www.askville.com/ - powered by amazon, this is like yahoo answers. Ask and answer questions on any topic you can think of

http://www.howstuffworks.com/ - everythings on this site!

http://www.slickdeals.net/ - postings of web dealz and other random freebies/sales

http://www.maps.google.com/ - some people enjoy looking at google satellite images

http://www.bargainist.com/ - full of coupons, freebies, and sale news

http://www.snopes.com/ - Snopes is a searchable database of urban legends and myths, email hoaxes, computer virus warnings, and folklore.

www.thethriftshopper.com/index.htm - thriftshopping secrets

http://www.currentcodes.com/ - coupon codes


Focused Group:

http://www.hitchedmag.com/ - website targeted to married people (has great party planning tips)

http://www.makeupalley.com/ - all sorts of make up info

http://www.imdb.com/ - a must have for every movie lover


Food/Recipes:

www.kraftfoods.com/kf - recipes

http://www.allrecipes.com - recipes


Spiritual:

www.stevepavlina.com/index.htm - very "new age" but interesting and inspiring

http://www.yuvalla.com/ - Website based on wellness, in all forms. I mostly use them for their daily quotes. I love to start my day by opening my inbox and reading a short, simply sentence that's enlightening and uplifting.

http://www.ihop.org/ - prayer, not pancakes

http://www.biblegateway.com/ - the Bible

http://www.christianity.com/


Regional:

www.cleveland.com/ - jobs, restaurants, news, the works! Should be supplemented with the following website www.pluggedincleveland.com/ and cleveland.craigslist.org/

http://www.dailycandy.com/ - They don't have one for Cleveland, but they have many for other major cities and then and "everywhere" one. It's just cool new things for women -- food, shopping, culture, etc. An excellent and cute way for new small businesses to word-of-mouth. It's a pretty well known thing here (Chicago).


Humor:

www.youtube.com/results?search_query=coach+hines&search=Search --this is a GREAT website for fun and laughs...no kids allowed, though.

http://www.theonion.com/ (2 recommendations) - good for a laugh, nothing better than sarcastic, fake news

http://www.leasticoulddo.com/ - comic


Blogs:

http://www.blessingsoflove.blogspot.com/ - Donna's blog with links to lots of other stuff

http://www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com/ - Beth's blog

New Addition to the Romain house!

No, it's not what you think!!! Keep waiting on that one! Next weekend, our dear friends, Rodney and Katie, are moving in with us. I told Dave last night that it almost feels like this is bigger than our wedding. I think the 'stress' of it hit me this week. Maybe not stress, but more of a case of the 'what ifs.' What if this happens? What if that happens? What are we going to do when this happens? Yet, through all of the 'what ifs,' we still feel confident and a Godly peace about the whole thing. My prayer is 'God, we are honored to be a part of this.....let this be constant in my heart.' Dave and I are very excited to share our home with them. Our house is not terribly big, but it is more than big enough to accomodate both families. We have three bedrooms total, so they'll be able to have one for them and one for Gabby (their 4 month old). We also have tons of storage in our house--the attic is accessed through Dave & my room, so that's where we're storing all of our stuff, and there are two cold storage spaces in the basement, as well as open space in the basement and lots of closets and built-in shelving. We've been so pleased with our house. I love the peace in it. It was owned by a God-fearing couple before us, so you can really sense the Spirit of God throughout the house. I think all of my anxiety is just fleshly and spiritual warfare. When I pray about my anxiety, it's like I don't even know what to say to God because it's not coming from Him. Know what I mean? I think the first couple of weeks will be the hardest for me because I like things, umm, my way. :) So getting used to having other people around and their 'stuff' will be an adjustment. But it is just that --an adjustment, and of course there's a fleshly struggle to give and give well when it comes to space. Oh Lord, that you would stretch me and my comfort for your great Glory. I know that Katie is worried about cooking. I think she thinks that I'm going to make her cook everyday. Hmmmm, I could have some fun with that one! It will be fun to learn new cooking ideas with her and teach her what I know. Cooking is such an opportunity to create and communicate love....I just love it. I'm worried that our clutter is going to drive Rodney crazy. Oh, and he won't be able to create lines in the carpet when he vacuums. That could be hard for him. I'm so looking forward to having other people to talk to. Sometimes Dave is really quiet....not the greatest mix when I'm in chatty mode. It'll be good for us to have Gabby around and get used to the baby idea. I am incredibly excited to love better. Rodney and Katie (and God) just draw the love out of people. I know that it's going to stretch all of us. Oh, it's going to be an exciting time! Thank you Jesus for our little home!

Grateful Wedding Thoughts

After much thought about what my first offficial blog should be about, I've decided to make a LOOOOOOONG list of things that I'm grateful for about my wedding. So....in no particular order:

• People -- I was overwhelmed with how many friends and family members came from so far away--Jonathon(AZ), Levi (LA), Chava/Bob/Barb/Hannah (TX), Sis (TX), Aunt Jan (ID), Aunt Peggy/Uncle Jim/Megan (NC), Terri (FL), Stephani (MO), Stefani/Steve & Marie (IL), Melissa/Alicia (NY), and Teto called me from Africa. I am also so grateful for the timing of it all so that Jayson was home and not stationed overseas and that the Eatons were in the States on furlough. It was a relief to my heart to have them present.
• Weather -- while it was very warm (85), I am so grateful that it was warm and not chilly or too breezy
• Flowers -- I really wanted calla lilies, but was NOT willing to spend $300 on my bouquet alone. I got all my flowers from Trader Joes and was so impressed with the arrangments (including a full calla bouquet for me) that Melissa and Christen put together. Thank you.
• Music -- Theo, Morgen, Deb and Ben did a great job with the music. It was great to have all of them with me. I sang with them at their weddings, and just couldn't imagine them not being there!
• Photos - Ben did a phenomenal job with our photos. He really captured some tender moments and really preserved the sacredness that I really wanted. Thank you so much.
• My sister -- Chava came up for a week in the fall to help me with preparations and then came up the entire week before the wedding to help with last minute stuff. While she was in Texas, she printed and assembled all of the invitations. While she was here, she gave me a present every day and ran errands while I was at work. She organized my bachelorette party (with Christen and Jewels) and made sure I felt special. On the day of my wedding, she helped me get ready and then sang 'So Are You to Me' at the reception.
• My dress -- A dear friend's mother shortened my dress. The time I got to spend with her was precious. She lost her husband of many many years not too long ago, and was just a great encourager in my time up to the wedding. Then, the day of, in a pinch, Celena steamed my dress with little warning. I am also so grateful to Lisa for doing all of our hair. I loved mine!
• Our families -- it was so nice to have all of our families with us for the wedding and help us set up and tear down. They're all very willing helpers, which was much appreciated!!!
• Table #20 -- The pictures that came back from the wedding were quite entertaining. (Thank you to Hannah who made sure each camera was fully used up) Table #20, however, took great care to provide the most laugh-worthy pictures.
• Reception help -- I am most grateful to Megan for being the point person for the reception and her willingness to do whatever was needed. It was such a blessing to know that we didn't have to do anything. Thank you for being a crucial part of our day. Thanks also to everyone who helped - Glenn & Jan, Julie & Mike, Doug, Colleen, Kelly, Keith & Celena and anyone else I missed. Thanks also to Rodney & Katie for taking the leftovers to St.Hermans.
• Gifts -- We received such wonderful gifts!!! We are so grateful for everything given to us and for the thought behind each one. A particularly special one was a poem that my brother Aaron wrote for us. Thank you.
• Reconnections -- I am grateful for the reconnection between people at our wedding. It was great to see all of our friends and families together, but it was really neat to hear about how one person knew another growing up and hadn't seen them since they were 12.
• Bar -- I am so grateful for Tim and Alicia being our bartenders. You've been such a source of laughter to me and it was great to have you there. Thanks to Alicia for bringing the wine all the way from New York's Finger Lakes and for Brian for giving us kegs from Coors.
• Mentors -- I am so grateful for the mentors that Dave and I have in our life to help us. Thanks to Bruce and Colleen for marrying us and helping us put the day together. Extreme thanks to Mark and Missy for mentoring us and continuing to mentor us. They have challenged us, laughed with us, grimaced with us, and helped us to think and love each other better.
• Money -- We survived the cost! Thanks to God for providing a way when we didn't see it. Thanks to Dave for listening to God to wait a year longer than we wanted. Thanks to my parents for gifting us the 'rent' I'd been paying for 10 months.
• the Spirit -- I am so grateful for the spirit of sacredness that was truly present during our ceremony. I am grateful for the excitement for Dave and I and the prayers that were prayed over us. I am grateful for Kenny's blessing and private words for us. I am grateful for the time of worship with everyone we love. I am grateful for that time with God made for each one present.
• Purity -- I am so grateful for the purity that God protected for Dave and I. There is nothing I am more sure of than that it was worth all of the waiting. It is such a relief and blessing to build on that purity.
• Dave -- I couldn't have asked for a better man for me. I am so grateful for his patience, his laughter, and his willingness to work. I am SO grateful for the arch that he built for us to get married under. A dream that I never knew that I had...fulfilled.
• God's faithfulness and goodness -- I am so grateful for my husband, for the marriage we're building, and for God bringing us together.

I may have to add more as I think of them, but thank you for the part that you played in our wedding. It was such a great day and great to spend it with you!!