La Vita E Bella

Some people have make-believe friends... we have a make-believe band :)

Emily is the next Kenny G - just a little more passionate, I'm playing an unusually fat flute, and Kristin's the expert banjo player.

Emily and Kristin - you are too funny. I kept laughing at this one!! Let's do it again sometime. Love you both!

On a lighter note -

Here is a picture that Rachel, Kristin, Emily and I took while eating dinner at Trei's restaurant on Saturday. I wish we had gotten more of the actual interior - but I guess our faces will have to do.

I've updated the photo albums with some crazy pictures that Emily, Kristin and I have taken the last couple of days. It may appear that we have a lot of time on our hands - but in reality, we really just love to laugh. And if setting up the camera just to take pictures of ourselves doing lame stuff makes us laugh - then dog-on-it, were going to do it :)

Good Times -
Me

Errrrr!!!

I am not one to really let things bother me too much. Usually I'll just mouth off about it for a little while, and then I'm completely over it. But some things have a lasting effect, and I can't just pretend that they don't exist. Now, to protect the identity of the innocent and guilty, I'm not going to reveal names - just kind of vent. AND, I'm not talking about anyone that would be reading my blog. So I've covered my tracks there as well. I wouldn't want to offend anyone by writing about this - but then again, they offended me by writing about someone I care about.

What a hunk of burning love..

I am going to marry the greatest guy to ever walk the face of this earth. And no, there probably isn't a time where I'll run out of wonderful things to say.

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?
My sisters 17th birthday. It's been awhile since our whole family has been together. The conversation was so much fun. Theres nothing like telling funny, old stories with your whole family.

2. What was one thing you always wanted as a child but never got?
I wanted my own playhouse. We had this shed in the back - and my dad and I talked about turning it into an actualy playhouse for me - but it never went through.

3. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?
My doll Victoria - and anyone who knows me - knows that I still sleep with it occasionally - and would NEVER throw her away.

4. Tell us something about you that would surprise us.
Well, this will surprise anyone who's not a close friend of mine. I was on an MTV show called "Celebrity Undercover" as Mandy Moores biggest fan (There is a catch however - but I will not expose myself like that on a public site such as this)

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
Katy's birthday party, homework, sleep, and friends :)

The ever popular Jessica Simpson -

And the camera's weren't even on this time.....

But, I have to admit I like, okay, love her show!

Ha Ha Ha,
Me

Wedding Plans - PART V

Well, yesterday I actually went out with my mom and sister, and accomplished the largest wedding tasks. I officially have a videographer, photographer, florist, and caterer. All I can say is "Yay!". I am so excited about the way things are going. Honestly, and I'm not just saying that because this is my wedding, but it is going to be the most beautiful wedding of all!

The videographer: Really nice guy. Talks a lot, but has very good work. Not really much more to say about that.

The photographer: I love the photographer! He is one of the sweetest men I've met in a long time. And the bonus? His work is amazing. He is more of a photojournalist, then a traditional photographer. His pictures really do tell a story about your wedding day. Plus, were getting an amazing deal! God is so good!

The florist: Okay, this was honestly my favorite part. The FLOWERS!! Let me explain something. When I received my first quote from Susanne, it was right on budget - but it was just a basic quote, since we hadn't sat down and actually discussed what I wanted. She just knew our budget, and told us what she could do for that price. Anyway, we sat down, and the by the end of the day, I had changed my centerpieces, and went from an array of cheaper flowers, to mostly different shades of red roses. Okay, all red roses - in everything. As I was leaving, I was preparing myself for a huge rise in the quote. But last night, I got the quote, and it was only $200 more than the original. I almost fell over! The flowers are going to be soooo beautiful, I can hardly wait for everything to come to fruition.

The caterer: I'm not going to too much into this - because some things have to be a surprise. After the tasting (the food in great!) We were sitting down with the gentleman and he was just adding all of these things to the menu - without changing the cost. I was floored. He really bent over backwards to make sure I would get the beautiful sit down dinner that I want - without breaking budget. THANK YOU GOD!!! I can't believe how wonderfully everything is turning out.

Well, now that I'm all pumped up - I'm going to get back to work. Thanks for reading.....

Me

Our Engagement Video

Hello Everyone - Good News to those of you who haven't seen our engagement video yet. It is now posted on my families webpage. Because there is a password to enter the site - if you'd like to watch it, please e-mail me with your request, and I'll send you the password so you can get into the site, and view the video. I love you all!

Me

Yearning...

I've been sitting around, waiting for God to teach me some amazing lesson. Something that is way outside of my understanding, and completely new and profound. I'm searching for something that I feel like I don't understand. Meanwhile, I'm getting lazy in school, arguing with Trei, spending my money, and driving like a maniac. So it hits me......

God isn't going to teach me these massive, in-your-face lessons. I mean He is, to an extent. God has, and will continue to teach me things that are outside of my understanding - just not on a daily basis. The daily things, that he is so eager to teach me, are things as simple as patience, love, kindness, understanding. Character traits that I don't look at as being my "biggest problem".

I think, "Oh, God's definitely going to teach me to be a better Christian. He's going to tell me that I need to straighten up. He's going to show me how to pray more, and worship harder".

It's funny that things like patience, love, kindess, understanding - these are some of the things that make me a better Christian. How is my relationship with God going to flourish, when I can't even focus on accomplishing the smaller things, And in my opinion, being faithful to His calling for me to be loving and patient, and kind - can, at times, be harder then opening my bible, or getting on my knees to worship. In fact - it's a lot harder.

Ofcourse those things are still vitally important to your relationship with God - but it's the easy part. Hmmm, lets see. Do I want to learn to be loving today, even though my sister ruined my favorite shirt? Do I want to learn patience even while the lady in front of me is driving 30 mph under the speed limit? Well, ofcourse I don't want to learn these things. They are hard, and inconvenient - but they are also so extremely important to my personal growth. Do I want to kneel before God, listening to his voice, feeling the security of his promises? Do I want to pray and have faith in His miracles? Yes! Why wouldn't I? It's the best feeling in the world. God freely gives his love - but in order to really experience it, I have to be willing to sacrafice my flesh. The flesh that is impatient, mean, uneasy, and selfish. And let me tell you - God doesn't need to tell me to pray more and worship harder. Just learning these lessons makes me want to pray more and worship harder, I can't accomplish these tasks without lifting it up to God, and asking him for strength.

God, I can be a mess. I want you to control my life, yet I'm dictating what it is I will, and will not learn. I'm trying to guess what it is your going to teach me, while I'm sitting amongst other areas of my life that are in desperate need of change. I can't be set apart while I'm mad at the woman in the car ahead of me. I can't love while I'm arguing with people I care about. I can't be successful while I'm procrastinating in doing my homework. Lord, give me the grace to accomplish these things. Without you, I am a lost cause.

....To Know Him More,
Me

The joys of just being the babysitter :)

This picture of Trei and the boys on the carousel is priceless. Those boys love him so much - it's cute.

Anyway, the rest of this weekend was fun. I picked up the boys on Saturday morning around 11 so they could spend the night at my house. We swam, played games, and watched movies. I really miss being with them on a daily basis. They are so much fun to be with - not to mention absolutely adorable, and extremely intelligent. But by Sunday, I was ready for them to be back in the loving hands of their parents. By the time they were in bed on Saturday night. I still had a lot to get done. I finally crawled into bed around 1:15, just to be woken around 4:30 to the soft, little, wimpering voice of a 4 year old saying "Muh-liss-aaaa, I have to go potty and I don't know how to unsnap my pajamas!" With no time to pop on the glasses, I was stumbling down the hall, with a little sweaty hand in mine to help him get his footsie pajamas off and go to the bathroom. I think he was nodding off the entire time too! Once I snuggled him back into his sleeping bag, I made it back to my bed and nodded off. Only to sleep what felt like a very short three hours to be awoken again - but this time by both boys saying they were hungry and wanted to watch Finding Nemo. Well, Finding Nemo, 6 pieces of french toast, 2 glasses of milk, a small battle to get them (and myself) dressed - we were out the door to take them home.

But do you really think I could take them right home? Noooo! Once we were actually in Newport Beach we had to have them a little longer (by this time I was wide awake, and sleep was far from my mind). So, Trei and I took the boys to lunch, then to ride the carousel, then to the toys store, then for some candy at See's. We had to spoil them a little more before we dropped them off.

By 3:30, Trei and I were on the road, and headed home to spend the evening with my family for my sister Katy's 17th birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATY!!!

Anyway, if there was anything that I really learned this weekend.....

It's that I can't wait to have kids - but I really can wait :)

Until later today....
Me