our love story: a New Year's Eve to remember

This past New Year's Eve, we celebrated our five-year anniversary. Those five years have been harder and better than we could have imagined. And with this big milestone on our minds, I thought it would be fun to share our story. (You can read previous installments here.)

When Ian and I got engaged, I was a new graduate with an awesome job at our church, and Ian was still in school. Which translated into a lot of guests we wanted to invite, and a very modest budget. Challenge accepted.

We decided on a New Year's Eve wedding in our college town. Who doesn't want to have exciting plans for New Year's Eve complete with fireworks and official countdown mirrored ball apple drop?

To stick to our budget, we kept things simple. Glitzy isn't really a word that describes us anyway. And we looked for deals. We got our reception venue half off because it was a weekday and not technically a holiday. Our venue allowed outside vendors (unlike hotels) so we catered some of the food, and family made the rest. We opted for a 7 p.m. wedding with a fancy dessert bar in lieu of dinner. We designed our own stationary. Instead of ordering a dress in my size, I looked at last season's samples off the rack and got the dress for half off.

Our six months of wedding planning were busy thanks to school and work, but everything went as smoothly as can be expected. I had five wonderful bridesmaids along with other friends to help out, and Mom pitched in as much as she could from across the state while undergoing chemo (yes, she's a supermom). A few days before the wedding, she came to help finalize everything. I woke up one morning to find her in the living room, surrounded by tulle circles and ribbon, putting finishing touches on our favors (mint chocolate kisses).

By the time the holidays rolled around, we were ready.

Sunday after church, we started decorating the sanctuary for the ceremony and the ballroom for the reception. Our entire wedding party and families all pitched in to transform the spaces. After the wedding rehearsal, Ian's family served us hot soups and the best cornbread ever. Ian and I stayed up late finalizing the playlist for the reception (unsolicited wedding advice: if you don't hire a DJ, don't wait until the night before your wedding to compile a playlist).

The next morning, I was up bright and early to finish with decorations and setup (while Ian ran around doing errands like picking up the rented sound system), then headed to the church to get ready. It was so much fun hanging out with my lovely ladies, getting pampered while watching wedding-themed movies.

Our photographer arrived mid-afternoon to take photos. It was cold with a blanket of snow, but Gina loves taking photos outdoors, and some of our most memorable moments, like my bridesmaids warming up my arms and the groomsmen shoveling a space to take photos, are thanks to the slightly uncomfortable environment.

Ian and I did decide to see each other before the wedding, and I don't regret it. Especially with a DIY wedding, it was so nice to have a few moments just the two of us to savor the day.

We took a small break after photos for some dinner, then headed to our respective posts to await the magic hour. At seven sharp, the ceremony started. The waiting room slowly emptied until it was just me and my dad. I confessed that I was nervous to be the focus of attention with so many people, and he reassured me saying I looked beautiful. He took my arm and we headed down the stairs to the sanctuary.

Our ceremony was amazing, and so perfectly us. Our friend Ben arranged our music for a strings quartet (composed of friends), and I walked down the aisle to songs from Pride and Prejudice. Our college minister performed the ceremony. The message was so personal, full of amazing advice. Good friends, whose wedding was almost a year prior, sang our favorite Bebo Norman song and also led "Be Thou My Vision." We walked out to "You've Got a Friend in Me," which solidified our joint obsession with Pixar.

After the receiving line, Ian and I detoured with our photographer for some additional photos before joining the party at the reception hall. All the strangers we ran into downtown congratulated us (and some joked we should get out while we can, but we told them it was too late and flashed our rings).

We had so much fun, and have a renewed sense of appreciation for our family and friends. So many people pitched in to help make our wedding day a success, and so many people joined us to celebrate. After five years of being married to my most favorite person in the world, I can no longer say our wedding was the best day of our lives. But it's up there, and we are still so thankful to everyone that made it amazing.

All photos by Gina Dreher Photography.

---

makeup + hair: my lovely mother-in-law + my friend Kerra
ceremony venue: University Christian Church
reception venue: Houston Street Ballroom
catering: Edesia's (bake and brew in peace) + my mom and grandma
wedding gown: Ginza Collection, Private Label by G from Livingston's Bridal
alterations: Bonnie Payne (she took in a size 12 for me and you couldn't tell)
bridal jewelry: earrings from Livingston's Bridal + Grandma's wedding pearls
bridesmaid jewelry: ribbon and pearl necklaces made by me
shoes: wish they had been TOMS
bridesmaid dresses: Alfred Angelo in grape from Livingston's Bridal
suits: Joseph Abboud from Borck Brothers
ushers: barong-tagalogs from Josie's Jusi & Piña (in Manila)
stationary: designed by us, printed by Copy Kats
rings: Danenburg Jewelers
ceremony music: string quartet of friends, music arranged by Ben Worcester
DJ/band: playlist compiled by us, additional DJ-ing by our friend Geoff
flowers: Maryjo at Errington's in Burlington, Colorado
photography: Gina Dreher Photography
videography: Micah Kafka
ceremony officiant: Chris Herrington

our love story: engagement photos

This New Year's Eve, we celebrated our five-year anniversary. Those past five years have been harder and better than we could have imagined. And with this big milestone on our minds, I thought it would be fun to share our story. (You can read previous installments here.)

On Valentine's Day, I thought it fitting to continue our love story with a few of our favorite engagement photos, taken by Gina Dreher Photography. (We think they're amazing, and she's only gotten better over the past five years!)

our love story: questions and answers

This New Year's Eve, we celebrated our five-year anniversary. Those past five years have been harder and better than we could have imagined. And with this big milestone on our minds, I thought it would be fun to share our story. (You can read part 1 here.)

Our relationship blossomed over the next two years. Two months in, we said "I love you" while discussing 1 Corinthians. We went to every K-State football game together, and talked almost every day even if it was only for 10 stolen minutes. Over our first summer, we planned as many meet-in-the-middle dates as possible until we were back at school. Love was everything I dreamed it would be.

But it didn't come without challenges. Ian was my first boyfriend, so I had a crash course in balancing a serious relationship with other friendships and failed often. Ian's hectic schedule contained countless hours in studio, singing at both church and a college ministry, and even one semester with a part-time job. Mine involved stacks and stacks of reading, leading a small group at church, and odd hours at campus jobs. We had completely different rhythms to our college lives. This sometimes resulted in me feeling left out, and Ian feeling like I expected more than he could give. But we grounded our love in our faith and grew with every challenge.

We even weathered a summer apart, him in LA for an internship and me in Arizona working at a summer camp. Our communication improved leaps and bounds but we agreed we didn't want to do long-distance again if we could help it.

I was with Ian when his parents rushed to Manhattan to let him know that Micki's cancer was back, and walked with them through treatment. This was scarier than I imagined, but my admiration for him and his family grew as I watched them find hope and grace in adversity.

I never doubted that we would eventually get married. That changed the winter of my senior year. One cold night, after driving around for a serious conversation about my upcoming graduation and ensuing job hunt, we were back at Ian's house sitting in the driveway with the heat on full blast. "Don't wait for me." I was crushed. Did he understand those words said to me that we had an expiration date? That the kind of post-school moving on he was hinting at meant, in my mind, leaving us behind?

The next day we met in the Union for lunch. I braced myself for the breakup I was expecting. Instead we tried the conversation again. He said he didn't want to hold me back. To be the reason I wouldn't pursue a job I love. I told him it was enough if I could count on us, together, wherever I landed. We patched things up, but I could still feel the seams as we finished the semester and headed home for the holidays.

In January, after another late night drive as a break from studio, he told me he couldn't say that he wanted to marry me. I didn't understand. When we started our relationship we agreed that it wasn't worth continuing if marriage wasn't a possibility. Was this a breakup? He took me home without a resolution. I vowed to myself I wouldn't be the one to end it, but I was waiting again, heart aching, for what seemed inevitable.

My roommate Megan reminded me love requires an open hand and I needed to trust God knew what He was doing in my life. But I was hurt and confused. Since we had started dating, I only grew in my conviction that God was guiding us to a life together. What did the past two years mean if there was a different ending?

After days of tiptoeing around the issue, it came to a head. We knew if we did nothing our relationship would fall apart. Ian told me he wanted to fight for us, and that's all I needed to know. He hadn't given up. I wouldn't either.

I learned much later that he had a conversation with one of his best friends while I was waiting in limbo. As I had suspected, he was ready to break up with me. He told Jordan. Jordan slapped him (literally) and told Ian he couldn't throw away the past two years. The love Ian and I had built was worth saving, cherishing, fighting for. (Jordan, we are eternally grateful.)

On Valentine's Day, with a renewed sense of love and joy, we made a nice steak dinner at my apartment. As we sat down to eat, he handed me a stack of index cards. It was a story about a girl named Anna, who lived at the top of a 99-story bookcase. She had everything she could ever want. Then one day she heard a voice from the bottom of her bookcase. She went down and discovered an amazing boy. And she had a choice. She could go back up to the top of her bookcase and continue her charmed life, or she could take a chance and stay with the singing boy forever. That was it. No more cards. I looked up at him and waited, listening to my heart thud. Then he handed me a box of blue wine glasses and we watched a movie in my living room.

A month later I was on a mission trip to Mississippi to help with continued Katrina relief efforts. On one of our evening phone calls, Ian suggested when I got back we should sit down with my parents to talk about marriage. And so we did. They gave us advice and a premarital financial planning study, which we started shortly after getting back to Manhattan. This once distant hope was beginning to materialize and become tangible. We talked timing. A wedding before his required 8-month internship, scheduled to start in January, seemed optimal.

In April, Ian came over for dinner. We made pancakes. Manning the griddle, I answered a call from my mom. She had breast cancer. Ian was there supporting my family as we began the journey his family already had traveled twice. Because of that experience we knew my mom's diagnosis would bring challenges, but it also gave me confidence that she, with her early detection and thorough treatment, would win.

In May, I graduated with an English degree and landed a job as communications secretary at our church, in charge of all print and web communications. It was a great fit for my passions and skills, and they were willing to be flexible with my not-yet-confirmed-by-a-proposal 8-month hiatus to Philadelphia with Ian.

On Ian's birthday in June, we attended his cousin's wedding. Not wanting to skip over his birthday celebration, he and I headed downtown after the reception. Still dressed to the nines, we stopped at a wine bar then headed to the riverfront and strolled around the park. When I got cold, he wrapped me in his suit coat. Every time he turned or reached into his pockets, I held my breath for a little sparkle. The clock was ticking to plan a wedding before his internship. I reminded him of this the next day, and he assured me he had everything under control.

The next week, Ian came over for dinner after working in studio. He'd sent me flowers at work that morning, which didn't raise any suspicions as he had a penchant for surprising me with quirky arrangements from ACME Gift, where he was known as "the flower guy." We made Hamburger Helper, then I suggested a walk after Ian insisted we enjoy the cool summer evening. He directed us to Manhattan Hill, so of course we had to sit at our spot, the first T, which naturally led us to reminisce about our first date exactly two years and nine months prior.

He reached into his bag, but I assumed he was putting something away. He continued the conversation, telling me how thankful he was for me, and how I made him a better man. I briefly thought he was proposing, but brushed it aside. The walk had been my idea. But the more he talked, the more I realized that, after two previous unintentional proposal setups, it was really happening.

He slipped the ring on my finger, we hugged, we prayed, I cried and developed unromantic sniffles. We watched the fireflies dance before heading back on the path home. Surprise number two was waiting in the parking lot: a huge group of friends to help us celebrate. We piled into cars and toasted back at my apartment with bottles of Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc, my favorite from my flight at the wine bar for Ian's birthday. He had remembered and tracked it down, the exclamation point to his perfectly executed surprise.

Fun fact: Britni, one of my best friends and roommate at the time, headed out on a second date while Ian and I were making dinner. I attributed her excitement to the date, when in reality she was giddy that I had no idea what was coming in just a few hours (and also excited about the date). And in that sometimes-real-life-is-like-a-movie way, she married that date a little over a year later.

Stay tuned for the wedding and lots of photos!

(I blogged the proposal not too long after it happened, which you can read here.)

our love story: take any heart, take mine

This New Year's Eve, we celebrated our five-year anniversary. Those past five years have been harder and better than we could have imagined. And with this big milestone on our minds, I thought it would be fun to share our story.

I first saw Ian backstage for his high school fall musical: curly brown hair, mascara-enhanced beard, and a brilliant white smile that lit up his eyes as he marched down the locker-lined hallway in a pirate costume.

I was there because my best friend Britni was dating a guy in the small town an hour away from ours. Since her boyfriend was in their musical along with a number of our other friends, we couldn't miss it. Before the curtain call, we snuck around to the hallway that served as their backstage to say hello. Ian's smile caught my eye before he disappeared, and Britni and I made our way to our seats.

I soon realized the cute guy backstage with the captivating smile was one of the leads, and I was smitten by the time he started singing "I am I pirate king." As soon as the lights came on for intermission I was flipping through the program to find out his name. Ian. I realized this must be the same Ian who our friends had mentioned earlier in the afternoon. The Ian who had just started dating another girl in the cast. It was better this way, I thought. It would save me inevitable heartache. By the next song, I was enjoying his good looks and amazing voice with no attachment whatsoever.

I put Ian out of my mind until the spring, when their show choir toured the area. For one song, Britni's boyfriend was one of two guys tasked with selecting a lucky girl from the audience. I was near the aisle, and I was a familiar face. They picked me. I walked on stage in a giant blue hoodie and sat down on an old band room folding chair surrounded by guys in sparkling gold vests. They were providing backup for the soloist—that same cute pirate king I had noticed and then put our of my mind months before. This will be an amazing page in my scrapbook I thought to myself as he held my hand and crooned "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." The rest of the day, girls kept coming up to me in the hallway during passing periods and gushing. "I want to marry that curly haired guy!" one of my friends exclaimed. I laughed and told them he had a girlfriend.

Late that summer, after the joint youth group mission trip with two nearby towns (including Ian's), a group of us made our annual hour pilgrimage to the Sherman County fair to see our friends. We ran into Ian working the putt-putt booth, and Britni and I gave him a hard time about skipping the mission trip for football camp after he and his girlfriend had planned to go. When he assured us he wouldn't miss it the next summer, we reminded him this had been Britni and I's last trip since we had graduated in May, then said goodbye with a laugh.

In August, I left for K-State, met my new roommate, and started classes. But Britni and I stayed in touch with our friends back home and discovered the cute, curly-haired boy was driving a wedge between two of them: he was newly single and they were both interested. We received regular updates through the fall. They were in the musical with him; one was the lead opposite him, and the other seemed to be holding his interest off stage. We shared her mixed feelings: excitement at the possibility of a relationship and sadness that her joy came at her best friend's expense. We learned in January she heard he was going to ask her to Snoball, but as the dance approached, she began to doubt he would. She said yes to someone else, and then hours later had to turn down a date with Ian, who did ask after all.

Just before Valentine's Day as I was working on a paper, I was surprised to get an IM from Britni's now ex-boyfriend, who I hadn't heard from since shortly after their breakup. "What would you say if I told you a guy I know likes you?" I was sure it wasn't him, but mild panic still hit. A few months ago, I had learned a guy from our friend's floor had a crush on me. I was not interested whatsoever, and still hid behind the potted trees in the dining hall whenever I saw him. But curiosity got the better of me.

"You remember that curly-haired guy who sang to you?" I didn't believe him. Ian and I had barely ever spoken, serenade notwithstanding, and what about Laurie? I gave permission to put us in contact after vague assurances it wouldn't ruin friendships.

Ian and I chatted online the next day for a few minutes. A few days later I talked to Laurie, who assured me she was in a blossoming romance with her Snoball date, and gave her blessing for whatever might happen. I finally indulged the feelings I had reined in more than a year before.

Over the spring, we chatted online almost every night. We stayed up later and later as the conversations grew longer. Back home in time for graduations in May, I managed to squeeze in his reception on our itinerary, which spanned two towns. He introduced me to his mom as Anna "from the internet" and I met the man who I assumed was his dad. Was he a funeral home director?

Ian had the opportunity to meet my parents a month later at my big birthday bash. The ladies who stayed for the slumber party informed me Ian seemed keen to impress my parents, and gushed with excitement at the possibility of my first boyfriend.

A few days after the party I woke up to a big box from Eli's Cheesecake, the present Ian had informed me was on it's way. He remembered I had mentioned how good Eli's was, and ordered me a box of cheesecake dippers. My dad, for the first time dealing with a boy interested in his only little girl, said in shock, "wow, he's serious."

We managed to see each other a few times over the summer (including a Third String show in Nebraska—our friends' band which I loved even before Ian joined), and made plans to spend more time together once we were both at K-State.

The first week of classes, I discovered I could earn extra credit for my Shakespeare class if I attended the local production of The Winter's Tale. Not wanting to go alone I posed the offer to our group of friends, and was thrilled Ian was the only one who took me up on it. After the show as we walked to the car, an elderly couple behind us commented on what a lovely couple we made. Ian smiled and said he agreed, and held my hand for the first time.

A few days later, he took me on an official us-only date and we ended up on Manhattan Hill. Sitting on the first poured concrete T, we finally admitted to each other what we had danced around for months. We made it official and started on the journey to find out if we had what it takes to make it forever.

four years ago...

Happy anniversary to the love of my life.

photography by Gina Dreher. Kansas brides, hire Gina. You won't regret it.

Life is so fast

It's getting close to a month since I last blogged. And not for lack of thought, but lack of time. It's funny how life comes at you so fast. I thought, oh, graduation, no homework, I'll have more free time, because I can leave my work at work. But things expand to fill your time, and unless you're intentional, you're never less busy. You just need to make sure what you're occupying your time with is worthwhile. Following God, investing in people, appreciating the world. I feel like these past few weeks have been a loss of that intentionality. I've let myself become overwhelmed with wedding preparations, moving plans, instead of enjoying all of it, and the last moments I have with everyone here before we leave, and the joy of preparing for Ian and I's new life together.

I could tell you all the updates... we bought wedding rings, the bachelorette party was so much fun (thanks to my amazing bridesmaids, and also to everyone who came! You girls all mean so much to me, and I am so thankful you are in my life — no matter how busy life is, no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other, I know I can count on you when I need it. There are not words to thank you enough for that, I love you all!), we ordered napkins just in time, as plum is being discontinued, so not only did we get the right color, we got them on sale, we're plugging away at all the little details. And not that it is all meaningless, because it's not — all of it enables us to enjoy celebrating our wedding with everyone we care about. But I want to make sure I'm taking time to appreciate family, friends, the time I get to enjoy with everyone, and most especially Ian. With the overwhelmingness of everything, it's very easy to snap at each other, and forget the big picture, and how lucky I am. And, even bigger than that, to continue my walk with God. It's very easy, especially when we are busy, to push it to the back burner. To worry about the urgent details, and forget about what is important. I can feel the difference when I make that ever so slight shift. It's not so much a matter of a radical shift in the way I spend my day, but the attitude of my heart. I understand more and more that book title, "Too Busy Not To Pray."

Life is good, but we've only got one to enjoy and make a difference with. Don't forget that, no matter what you're doing or where you're at in life. Chase after God, make time for people, and the rest will fall into place.

a wedding nightmare.... and updates!

First off, good news! Mom finally had her last chemo treatment! Now it's just herceptin for a year, which is considerably less stressful. Oh, and her wig looks better than my hair... lol!

Second. The wedding is only 45 days away! Exciting, but scary at the same time. Micki is down here running wedding errands for me, and we're going to do practice hair tonight! It's coming together... We're on schedule, but there's so much to do. Name change things, planning out the ceremony, pulling together reception details, fitting, alterations, and more fittings, picking up dresses, tanning, teeth whitening, getting the wedding bands, and that's just what I remember at the moment!

We're also still looking at apartments. Some promising things, but we found out in most places, studios cannot be occupied by two residents, ergo we probably need to rent a 1-bedroom apartment, which translates into a lot more money. And there's this requirement that you look at the apartment before you sign... we need to figure out how to avoid buying a plane ticket while still managing that one!

All this has caused another wedding nightmare. Last night, I dreamed we had the wedding (which was here, but the building was the same as the Christian Church back home). We were in the basement, for something post ceremony... but it wasn't the reception, despite the fact that there was cake. A sheet cake with teddy bears airbrushed on with "Bonjourno!" written across the top. Don't ask why it was Italian. No idea where that came from. Ian told me to get my own piece, instead of sharing, because he thought he'd eat it all. So I ask for another one, but they said they weren't sure they'd have enough for everyone. I pointed out, "We're the bride and groom!" So they chopped it smaller and gave me a piece. We went to sit down and I asked my mom something about when are we were heading over to Houston Street, and she said, basically, we ran out of time getting it ready, so we'll just have the reception tomorrow. I freaked, because who could stay for a two-day wedding, right? Plus we had honeymoon reservations. It was too late to pick up the tablecloths, and Houston Street didn't have the tables set up. I almost woke up, because I realized, wait, none of this is ready yet because it's November, not December (because November has a 31st, right? hah!) and then I freak out again, because Ian and I accidentally got married a month early, not getting to enjoy the wedding we planned out. This is definitely my weirdest wedding nightmare to date.

One more thing, and I'll try to keep this short. I read on the KC Star online, Joe Posnansky thinks that "Daniel, Reesing worthy of Heisman." That's Missouri's and KU's, respectively, quarterbacks for those of you not keeping up with Big XII football. No idea how good a predictor he is, but knowing how the media is jumping on the KU bandwagon (gag me!), I can see it. If KU is the first Kansas school with a Heisman winner, I think... well, I don't know what I'll do. But seriously, something is wrong with the universe. KU IS NOT A FOOTBALL SCHOOL! Well, at least we've got basketball this year... maybe we'll finally beat them at home. Ranked 22 in the AP poll, baby! Go State!

That's all I got. Except I'm going to plug "Pushing Daisies" again. Watch it. Scroll down, on the right side, you'll find the RSS feed for the online episodes. It's worth it, promise!

Apartments, invitations, politics, and fake love

I've been meaning to blog all week, but haven't gotten around to it until now... so... this may seem like a random collection... it's basically my thoughts and events this week.

First, apartments. Ian's been looking for apartments in Philly for us, and he found one that seems very promising! It's called The Cosmopolitan. Flexible lease lengths, good location, safe, and, in our price range (he called and it's cheaper than listed on the site), all things considered (location means less gas, washer/dryer means less travel and less laundromat, etc. etc. etc.). No definites yet, but its pretty exciting! We'll see how it pans out.

Second, invitations. We got the invites printed at Copy Kats, after a week of issues with the files printing funny and lots of tweaking, they still got them finished when they said they would! And with the help of some of my lovely bridesmaids, they are addressed, sealed, labeled, and stamped, ready to go. It's so crazy to think we're at this point in everything... 68 days away, sending out invites, getting ready for dress fittings, the bridesmaid dresses should be in in a couple of weeks... We're both so excited though!

Third, politics. I just have to say, I'm incredibly saddened by Sam Brownback leaving the presidential race. I admire him — he lives and votes his values, and I agree with the ones that I care about... human rights, Africa, abortion. I think he would have made a solid president... We'll see where his political career takes him, but I hope he is able to continue effecting change in big ways. I wish we had more politicians that cared about people and making a difference. I'll have to do some serious research and evaluation to pick a candidate now... Hard to find someone that fits what I care about... I've realized I'm a blend of many parties. Although Jonas informed me in the newsroom last year he thinks I fit the Libertarian party (mainly because I said people should be more responsible for themselves, like saving for retirement, instead of spending so much extra money to have the government do it for them, and this is just one example...) ... and then my core issues also fit into Republican (moral conservatism, a.k.a. my views on marriage and abortion), Democratic (social justice, for example, although I think this is more personal — everyone should care about others because Jesus told us to, instead of government-mandated [so this doesn't exactly clash with my personal-responsibility ideas]... but in our fallen world, that doesn't happen), and Green (I believe God wants us to be responsible and take care of the environment, not just roll over it because "He made it for us to use" although I refrain from the whole don't-pick-fruit-because-it-hurts-trees extremism) parties, and I don't even think my issues fit together realistically. Ahhh, so complicated.

Fourth, fake love. I've been watching The Bachelor this season with Meg. It's great bonding... and great comedy entertainment. People think they're actually going to find true love in 6 weeks when a guy has millions of dollars and event planners for their dates... seriously. The people on the show make comments like "it's surreal" ... which nails why the relationship crashes with reality. But this time around, I realized it's tragic. They are looking for fulfillment in another person, and they won't find it, not really. They think they know what they want, but it's not what they need. God is the only one who can completely fill that void and give our lives meaning and fulfillment. A special someone is just icing on the cake. Not to take away from true love, obviously, it's huge and so amazing (yet so hard at the same time and worth everything!). I will also semi-connect this to a commercial Ian and I saw the other day for some car, talking about how society forces instant gratification on us, and then when we aren't happy we do something new. One example was a spouse, and if you stop being happy, you divorce. "What happened to commitment and standing by our decisions" it cried. Of course, this was to tout the car's extended mile warranty. But I admire it — a company who stands by the product in the long run.... and the message stuck with me. People think they should perpetually be "happy" and drop something as soon as the rush is gone. The Bachelor would definitely provide a huge infatuation high and immediate perceived happiness, but relationships (I include friendships in this too), ones that matter, ones that last, take hard work and time. They are infinitely more rewarding, as is anything you spend time, energy, and money on. On the whole, America has lost that, I think... work ethic, commitment, honesty, patience... But I hope and pray that those of us who realize this take the time to pass it on, and let it reflect in our lives. God has a higher purpose for us, and a much deeper joy, when we are who we ought to be, instead of just self-satisfaction junkies. And this really came out rather jumbled, all just to say, life can be better, it is supposed to be better, and I hope that God can use me to share that with others.

I'll conclude by saying I enjoy the new show "Pushing Daisies." Quirky, a little morbid, funny, Seussian (according to Steven, and I agree), but delightful.

An interesting week...

And I mean interesting in a good way! I meant to post on Wednesday, because it was an exciting day, but I got carried away working on bulletin and newsletter stuff, and then there was small group... so, you'll get a recap. But first, today!

Today is a beautiful, cool, rainy fall day. I was going to crack out a sweater, but decided not to because of dance class later tonight... I love fall, and I love rain! I want to curl up tonight with the brown blanket (micro-fleece at Target, AMAZING!) and Ian, and read Pride and Prejudice, or watch Casablanca or something. And today's wedding update: I picked up proof copies of our invites... we'll have a little tweaking to do, but we should have final copies, cut and everything, by next Friday! Then comes the addressing... *sigh*

On to this past week.

Tuesday. Ian and I got our TV from the Herringtons. It's fun to add to our "our stuff" collection (which grows with every wedding shower!)... and it's nice to have a TV again... we can actually do group movie watching! And we get 6 channels with our antennae. CBS, FOX, ABC, a couple channels I couldn't rapidly identify, and something I can't remember what it is now. We got the armoire for it, but it wouldn't easily go up the stairs, and since it's only for 2.5 months... and the Herringtons are letting us keep it in their garage, it works well.

Wednesday. I got up from my desk to grab something from the closet, then came back to see the craziest bug behind my chair... actually right behind where my head usually is. After freaking out a little, I got Ben to come check it out. It had so many legs, and started moving. We decided it was too amazing to kill, so we herded it out the front door. And then we found it online — it's a house centipede.

image from Wikimedia Commons

According to Wikipedia, "Unlike its shorter-legged but much larger tropical cousins, the house centipede can live its entire life inside a building. Because they eat household pests, house centipedes are considered among the most beneficial creatures that inhabit human dwellings, but because of their alarming appearance, frightening speed, and painful bite, few homeowners are willing to share a home with them." But they apparently don't bite people often. And they can live 3-7 years depending on the environment. God is incomprehensibly creative!

The second exciting thing that happened Wednesday is wedding related. Ian and I had a Google chat with Micah, who has so graciously agreed to use his artistic film-related talents to capture our wedding. His ideas: "what I'd like to do is use the wedding service as kind of the base of the video but not just go right through it with just footage from there. I'd like to put in a "B roll" of stuff surrounding the day and maybe even get some shots of places in Manhattan that are important to you." Ian and I both are so excited! We don't want a boring, rather-have-teeth-pulled video to watch. I know, with Micah, it's going to be incredible and we'll watch it over and over!

Anyway, I shall leave you... the bulletins are done printing, and I must attend to Dorothy (the newly renamed folding machine, that is now working beautifully!).

Anna is tired....

Last Thursday, I started feeling a bit sick. Concerned that I was getting something more serious that's going around, I went to be ridiculously early, and drank lots of water on Friday, and felt much better — just residual throat gunk. Saturday came around, with the Sunflower State Showdown. And Anna can't not yell at a football game, especially at a huge and frustrating game like Saturday's. So I lost my voice. Audible after the game, and completely gone Sunday morning when I woke up. I went to bed at 8, woke up at 10 to see Ian, slept again until 8:15 for church, and just couldn't make a noise... except a kind of honk when I tried to say "huh." I thought the only thing wrong was I couldn't talk... no soreness, no fever, nothing. But Sunday afternoon, after seeing Sydney White, which was entertaining and lots of fun to see all the girls, I passed out in my bed for 1 1/2 hours. Now, 3:06 in the afternoon, and I think I might fall asleep at my desk. And it can't be the I-need-energy-because-it's-been-too-long-since-lunch thing, because I'm still snacking. So, apparently, no voice = drowsy Anna.

At any rate, as I wait for the kids Sunday school pictures to finish downloading so I can get them on the church web site, I'll give you a quick wedding update... *cue cheesy music!* Hah! After a wonderful chat with Micki post-game (while I still had some voice left), we figured out how to make the Arrington's flowers work, while still being very cost effective. Yay for pretty flowers! We still have to work out details, but its moving forward. The next big things on the list are getting the invites printed and addressed, hopefully this week/weekend. I cringe at the cost of postage... which I think could actually outweigh the printing/envelope costs... *sigh.* We also need to pick ceremony music so we can get it to Ben to arrange... because he's talented like that... yes, talented, even in the John-sense of the word (this is post-hour long discussion on music/art and what it's primary purpose should be... art or function, ahhh, engaging intellect). Then we have to figure out where we're getting sound equipment for the reception. We've got a lot on the to-do list this week, while Ian has a lighter school load. Yay for the break after the project! :) Yesterday, we picked out engagement pictures for our order. I'm so excited to get them! And Ian is focusing on looking for apartments in Philly for us to live... I suppose we should start researching for August, as well, since we have to pick out our apartment for when we come back before we leave. If you've got any recommendations for property managers, let us know!!

Last, but not least, a mom update. She's doing great! They switched her chemo program... they bumped down the dosage and changed it to weekly, instead of bi-weekly, so Friday was the second of those, and she's doing better. She has to take white blood cell booster stuff right after, but this way she should stay on track, instead of having to continually bump treatments back for low counts. The last time I talked to her, she sounded good! However, I haven't been able to call since then, due to lack of voice...

I shall sign off for now... the pictures are finally done downloading. I leave you with a visual of what my voice sounds like right now...

the studio bat

I had a wonderful time hanging out with Karen last Sunday, making dinner, being "momma Anna" as she says, hah! I feel so old! But she told me she's disappointed I don't update my blog anymore. And I decided that I should get back in the habit. One, I can keep everyone posted on wedding planning/interesting things, and two, I'll keep doing it when we get to Philly for Ian's internship, post-wedding, since we'll be leaving (but only for 8 months, don't kill us!)

So I guess that's big news number 1 — Ian officially got the internship at Olin Partnerships in Philly, which is a big deal if you know landscape architecture (if you don't, don't feel bad, I only know this because I'm marrying one!). He's a big name, and someone Ian hugely respects and admires.

Wedding update

I have a dress... but I can't show you or tell you, because it's secret from Ian.
We have locations (UCC/Houston Street Ballroom).
We have a caterer (Edesias).
We have bridesmaid dresses ordered and tuxes picked out.
We have flower girl dresses...

and fill-in bride doubles for me... hah!

We have an AMAZING photographer, Gina Dreher (ginadreherphotography.com), and you can see some of our engagement pictures from last night... they're on her blog, which is linked from her Web site.

We're currently working on flowers... which, fyi, are so much more expensive than you would guess...! I've got an appointment after work to talk to a florist in town, but a big possibility is using Acme (where Ian buys me flowers from... very sentimental), and having a florist Ian's family knows in Burlington to come and arrange them for us. We'll see what works out!

Now, hopefully you've continued reading because you're curious about the studio bat. A week or two ago, Ian had some work to do, and I'm making a scrapbook that will double as our guestbook. I went to studio with him to keep him company and work on that. There was one other guy, John, up there, and he was over at Ian's desk talking about a virus his computer had, and all that. Suddenly, Ian stopped and said, "Did you see that? Something's in here!" We had left the big overhead lights off, so the high ceilings weren't illuminated. John and I watched, and sure enough, after patiently waiting a few moments, we saw something dark swoop across studio. Well, a few weeks before that, a student downstairs was bitten by a bat and he had to get a rabies shot. We decided to get the bat out. We turned the lights on, and the bat settled on a rafter. I was actually a little excited, because I'd never seen a live bat in person before. We turned the light back off, and Ian and John started throwing things at it, just to get it to fly. We had opened all the windows, and had brooms to shoo it, but, it didn't fly low enough to ever make it out. Eventually, we gave up. But apparently, if I remember right, Nathan said they spotted a bat downstairs in studio... I guess the thing loves Seaton. Maybe he'll learn to design amazing spaces! Either that, or the building has a tasty bug population...

Engaged!

It's been over a month since we got engaged, but I have been so busy! So, here is the story in all its glory.

Ian proposed June 21 (we started dating August 21 almost 3 years ago, so it was an anniversary, of sorts), and he completely surprised me! He sent me flowers at work, which was, while not an every day event, not out of the ordinary either. He had suggested we make dinner that night, so after work, and after he did some things in studio, he came over, we made some supper, and decided to go over the last lesson in the financial study my parents gave us. Since it was beautiful outside, Ian said we should enjoy it, and I suggested a walk. We gathered everything, put it in his book bag (which I later learned was also ring transportation), and headed out. He went the opposite direction of the park, but I didn't think about it... after all, the walk was my idea! He suggested Manhattan Hill since it had "been a while." On the way, we went over the study, and also saw a ginormous cricket!

We got up to Manhattan Hill, where we had our talk to officially start the relationship, and finished up the lesson. Then I started reminiscing about sitting up there when we started dating (the perfect segue, he informed me later). He reached into his book bag, but I thought he was just putting the pen away or something. And then he started talking about how amazing he thinks I am, and how I make him a better man, and at first, I thought, "is he going to propose?" Then I thought, "nah..." but he kept talking, and then it clicked, "wow, he's going to propose! It really was a ring he grabbed!" He got up to turn around and get on one knee. I reminded myself to say yes, so I don't remember his words perfectly, but something along the lines of "will you be my wife?" Then he slipped the ring on my finger. We hugged... a lot! And then we prayed, and that's when I cried. After, I told him how movies gloss over the unromantic bits, like how you get the sniffles when you cry. But the fireflies were amazing up on the hill that night!

And afterward, we walked out to the parking lot, and a huge group of our friends were there to help us celebrate! It was so amazing! We went back to my apartment to all have a toast with the wine Ian got for all of us.

We're planning a New Year's Eve wedding (weekday, not an official holiday, so the reception place is half the weekend rate, whohoo!). You can check out our wedding Web site at theknot.com