Greg treated everyone to Spring Creek BBQ half way through the move and I think this provided enough momentum to carry the guys through the rest of the day.  It was DELICIOUS!!!!!!

So now my stuff is here and I’m not…….yet! I do have a very comfortable air mattress that I am sleeping on and a TV as big as my pinky toe that I can watch the Olympics on. Not too terrible for a week. I will leave and head home early next week so I won’t have to be there too long without any furniture or luxuries of home!!!!

After I arrived home late Saturday night I sent Greg a text message telling him how lonely I felt with all of my belongings gone. He picked me up for church on Sunday and then I headed to Hillsboro to switch cars with my mom Sunday afternoon. We were able to go over all the final wedding details and decisions. I would like to take a moment to say a HUGE THANK YOU to my mom for all the time and effort she has put into our wedding.  She has met with so many different people and has helped me make so many decisions and there is no way in this world that I could be doing this without her help. THANK  YOU MOM-your the best!! Oh and just in case your wondering….my dad has also helped…..he stuffed about 10 envelopes when we were mailing out invitations!!!!! heehee-love ya dad!

So back to that comment I made about feeling lonely when I saw that all my furniture was gone…..when I got back from Hillsboro Sunday evening I stopped by Greg’s. He told me he had a surprise for me and preceded to show me that he had set up my desk and hooked up my computer. He also set up my bed and found my sheet, comforter, pillows, pillow shams and dust ruffle and put it all on the bed just like I had it at my house. He even found my night stand and put it next to the bed. When I saw it I teared up at his thoughtfulness….and for the first time I felt like this was our home instead of Greg’s home. It was a nice surprise and one that made me feel very at home. I do have to admit is was strange seeing MY furniture in HIS house! Strange but nice!!

It’s going to be another busy week with lots going on!! Thanks for all the encouraging words we get from you when we see you, when we talk on the phone to you and when we get your cards in the mail! We both feel very loved by friends and family!

When we got home (late) Monday night Greg told me that he had a special surprise for me on Tuesday night. I immediately started shaking my head no and said I didn’t have time to do anything because I needed to pack. (we are moving my belongings to Greg’s on Saturday and right now you can’t even walk into my house. There are boxes everywhere and it looks like a tornado has come through) He said that he had already planned out the evening and I needed to be ready to go by 6:30.  I reluctantly said yes and was ready to go by 6:30 Tuesday night. He had told me to dress nice so I instantly thought we would be going somewhere nice to eat……like Texas de Brazil!! You can imagine my surprise when Greg showed up with a pizza in his hand!!!!! He said we were going to eat at my house and then head out about 7:15. Around 7:30 we were ready to go and all of the sudden there was a loud knock at my door. It was Jessica and Morgan and they were kidnapping me for the night. I thought, “how sweet that was of Greg to plan a night for me with Jess and Morgan!” They put me in their car and blind folded my eyes. They are both in college so it wasn’t to crazy that they were doing this but I couldn’t figure out why they were in shorts and flip flops and I was dressed so nice.

We drove a ways up the road and they go me out of the car. As we walked (still blindfolded) they lead me through some grass and almost made me fall by tripping over a curb. Before I knew it they took the blindfold off and there before me stood some of my most favorite girls in the world. They had kidnapped me and were throwing me a surprise lingerie shower…….and I was surprised!!!!! The night was SO fun and we had lots of good laughs. My sweet friend Dana White drove all the way from Temple just for the evening-thank you so much for coming!

I do have to say that I have tried to avoid this type of shower. I have been sooooo mean to so many of my friends at their lingerie showers that I thought I would be smart and just not have one. Guess my friends didn’t like that idea!!!!!! It was a great night and I appreciate all the hard work to make the night a total surprise!

It’s moving day on Saturday even though I don’t have to be out until the 31st. You can check with us about 1:00 on Saturday and see how much energy we have. If we don’t answer you will know the heat go the best of us!!!!!!!

Hope you are having a great week. Only 16 days!!!!!

We will be in Tennessee this weekend to see Greg’s family and friends. I am actually looking forward to leaving town and not being able to run around town to work on the wedding. I think it will be a nice break and I’ve been told that it is MUCH cooler there than it is here. Hopefully we will be able to leave the 100+ degree weather behind for a few days.

The wedding is fast approaching and there is SOOOOO much excitement around here. I get asked at least 10 times a day when the wedding is and how the plans are coming along!! It is nice to be surrounded by people that actually care and want to hear all the details.

On a side note my niece survived her first day of JUNIOR HIGH yesterday!!! Yeah Bethie!!!!! I talked to her before and after school and she said it was “so fun!” On another side note football has started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Cowboys have been in California for two weeks practicing and there first preseason game is this weekend. Equally as important…high school football practice started this week. It is a beautiful site to be driving down the road and look up and see the teams practicing!! Can hardly wait for it to start this fall! Life is hectic but good!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend and stay out of the heat!!

Early Saturday we headed to Salado and made all of our final selections with Tracelyn…our cake lady!! When you walk into her shop it smells so delicious and Greg immediately started dropping hints that he was up for any samples she may have available. It didn’t work and we both had to “suffer” through the wonderful smells with out any cake.

After our meeting we headed into Temple to meet Dana and Brad for lunch. Greg was finally getting to meet Brad!!!! They hit if off and we had a great lunch.  After lunch we headed to Salado to wrap up a few loose ends and after that we headed back to Fort Worth. Sunday was another busy but very fun day. My cousin Amy is getting married in September and we celebrated her at her bridal shower yesterday afternoon. It is always good to be with family and yesterday was no exception. Her shower was beautiful and lots of fun. After the shower I met up with Greg and we headed to meet Rick and Jamie for dinner. We had the opportunity to discuss lots of details about our ceremony and as usual soaked in lots of good martial advice from both of them…..and Morgan and Matthew!!! We have had the opportunity to spend lots of time with the Atchley’s and have loved every minute of it. Thanks Rick and Jaime for taking time out of your schedules to share wonderful advice with us about marriage. We are looking forward to your family being part of our wedding day!

This week is going to be a fun one with lots going on! Thanks for being interested in our lives and our upcoming marriage!!

 Have a great week!

On Tuesday several friends from the hospital had an ice cream wedding shower for us. When you work in a hospital you have to put food on the agenda if you want people to come and it worked!!!! We had a great turn out and got lots of nice gifts! My mom, Dana, Beth and my cousin Kayla drove up for the shower. It was lots of fun showing them around the hospital and introducing them to my coworkers.

This Saturday Greg and I will travel BACK to Salado to meet with the lady making my cake and for Greg to meet my brother-in-law Brad. He is the only person in my immediate family that he has yet to meet so I am really excited for them to finally meet. Brad is more than just a brother-in-law he is more like a big brother. He has known me most of my life since Dana and Brad were high school sweethearts and since we all grew up in the same town! We always have a great time when Brad is around and I know Saturday will be a ton of fun.

Have a good weekend!

Wedding plans for the week are going great. The end of last week and the weekend were packed full of all sorts of planning. We finished up our invitations and got them mailed out. I have become very good friends with my local postal lady and appreciate her help so much. I have come to the conclusion that the United States Postal Service and the companies that make wedding invitations are in cahoots! I find it a little strange that the postal service makes a fifty nine cent stamp…….which just so happens to be what every wedding invitation cost!  Of course they make the stamp really cute so you forget how much more it cost and you forget about the fit you were about to pitch over the price as soon as they show it to you. Yes, I’m a sucker for stuff like that-if it’s cute then it may be worth a little extra. Anyway, the stamp looks great, they match the invitation and they were well worth the extra price! I think you will agree when it shows up in your mailbox!

I had my bridal portraits made early Saturday morning. Many, many, many thanks to my mom and to my cousin Melissa for helping me look my best. I’ve seen my sisters bridal portrait hang in my parents house for many years now and I really felt the pressure on Saturday to take a good picture! I’m really hoping my mom will go with the one of my sticking my tongue out at the camera!!!! I also had the chance to sit down with my florist this weekend and finalize all the flowers.  I can hardly wait to see what it will all look like.  After a very full few days I came back to Fort Worth on Sunday and Greg and I ended up moving more of my stuff to his house.  It was a busy weekend but very productive.

This next weekend Greg and I are headed back to Salado. My sister and her family will be arriving on Friday and we will headed down on Saturday. My parents church will be hosting a shower for us on Sunday afternoon and I am thrilled for several people I grew up with to finally get to me Greg! It should be a fun weekend!

Enjoy the heat!!!!

The weekend has been extremely productive with my first load of belongings delivered to Greg’s house on Saturday night. After two loads of stuff hauled off to Goodwill I was ready to deliver my second load to Greg’s house today! The sad thing is I look around and it doesn’t even look like I’ve touched this place!!!!! You would think after all that hard work I would see a difference! Oh well, I’m sure in the coming weeks my house will start to change dramatically.

 My dress will be ready for pick up tomorrow-yippee! Most of the time I dread any time I have to drive to Dallas but for some odd reason I can hardly wait to go tomorrow!! Let’s hope the Bluebell ice cream (that’s been on sale all month so of course I have to buy it) won’t be a hindrance when I put my dress on tomorrow!! The next two weekends will be spent coming and going to Salado with different appointments and showers. My sister and her family will be coming into town in a couple of weeks so I am waiting patiently to wrap my arms around them!

In the midst of a busy weekend I was able to finish a book recommended by Rick and Jaime. I know that I already recommended Sacred Marriage to you but I would also recommend the book For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. It is an eye opener to the inner lives of men. I am so glad I read this before our marriage begins. It has been very helpful in understanding Greg and the man God created him to be.

 Have a great week and I will keep you updated on the fit of the dress! Yikes!!!!!!!!!

 Have a great day!

It took us about a day and a half to get there and that included a stop by the alien museum AND RESEARCH CENTER in Roswell, New Mexico. You haven’t lived until you’ve spent your $2.00 to walk through that bad boy!!!!!!

When we arrived we immediately started preparing for VBS that took place Monday-Thursday. The teens prepared the lessons ahead of time, decorated every classroom and taught the lessons all four days! I have to say I was proud of all of them and especially proud of Brock, Matt, Trisha and Jordan!

We stayed with families from the church and that was a real treat! I stayed with Alan and Kim McGhee and was treated like royalty! Every morning we had a gourmet breakfast waiting on us. The view from their deck overlooked the mountain range and it was breathtaking! Lori and Shirley (two mom’s of girls on our trip) also stayed at the same house. It was a ton of fun and I enjoyed getting to spend time with Kim and Carolyn most of the week.

Greg was privileged to stay with a wonderful family from church also. He stayed with Jace and Jan and from what I understand had a wonderful time. The difference in his house and mine was in addition to him staying there he also had six boys from the youth group and our youth intern!!!!!! Greg affectionetly became known as “dad” to the boys when he showed up to church Sunday morning with a button down shirt on. The name stuck and even this past Sunday when we showed up to church (at Richland Hills) I could hear people shouting dad and running up to Greg! I can’t think of a better way to spend your first mission trip with a church than being stuck in a house with 6 sixteen year old boys! Greg has many, many, many stories if you would like to hear more!

In the evenings we got to do lots of fun things with my favorite being a trip to White Sands! It amazed me to be driving through this desolate land and all of the sudden you come over the hill and see white as far as you can see! It is actually a national park and we spend a few hours there last Tuesday night. It was so fun but so strange at the same time! If you are ever in that area I recommend stopping by just to walk through part of it.

After a week of not thinking about wedding stuff it was nice to get home and settle back in for the FINAL TWO MONTHS of our engagement!!!!!!! I got the phone call that my dress had arrived while we were in Ruidoso so I left work early today and drove to Dallas to have it fitted.  I was thrilled to see it and can hardly wait to pick it up in a few weeks.

We are moving right along with making all the final plans for our wedding. It has been nice to enjoy the planning phase of our wedding but we also realize we are planning for more than just a wedding. We have had time to really think about and pray about the life we are building together. We realize this will last much much much longer than the ceremony that takes place on August 30th and we are both focused on that more than the actual wedding ceremony. I am thankful for this and am thankful that we see the bigger picture in the midst of planning a wedding.

Happy July 4th!!!!

Last night we went to Dallas to see the show STOMP! Greg had seen it before but this was my first time. It was OUTSTANDING!!! If you ever get the chance to see it I highly recommend it! During the show Greg leaned over and said, “it’s like watching River Dance on crack” and that is a perfect way to describe it. I talked to my brother Greg this morning and he said that he loved it so much that he saw it twice also. Once you see it you will understand why….it is really good.

We are getting ready to go on our mission trip with the youth group. Our group has worked so hard on preparing to teach little kids about Daniel. I can’t wait to see them teach! We will meet tonight to put the finishing touches on our lesson. When you think about it over the next week pray for our trip and for all the kids that will be coming to Vacation Bible School.

I want to ask you to also pray for Royal Family Kids Camp that will be going on next week. This is a camp that is near and dear to my heart and it is a camp that serves abused and neglected kids. The counselors will need your prayers for energy and patients this next week. Several of my close friends will be there and I would love for you to join me in praying for them EVERY TIME you think about it from now until next Friday. Pray for the kids that will be attending this camp. If you have ever worked with kids that have been abused or been in abusive situations you know how difficult it is and how heartbreaking it can be. Royal Family is an amazing ministry that spans around the world and we are so fortunate to be able to serve the kids in Tarrant County that are living in abuse and neglect.The road to married life is good! Greg and I are gearing up for our premarital counseling and we both highly recommend the book Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas.  It is a book that was recommended to us and we are just about finished reading it. Hope your week is fabulous!

Two of my wonderful coworkers-Katie and Audra-decided that this year our hole should be themed, “Going to the Chapel.”  As you can see that is what “we” decided on. It wasn’t my idea but I jumped on the bandwagon fast when I heard their ideas. We made a chapel out of boxes, made a car with cans tied to the back and even had a sign in book with one of our engagement photos at the check in table. We had wedding music playing, a bubble machine and we even went as far as to find the worst dresses we could in our storage room to wear as bridesmaid dresses! It was tons of fun and I got to tell every patient, family, staff member and golfer about Greg. (I think Katie and Audra were ready to throw up by the time it was over). There are more pictures of the event under photos if you want to look at a few others.

Hope your weekend is good. We have been working on invitations and the invitation list and are about to have all that goes along with that wrapped up.

We had the pleasure of eating dinner with Derek and Jace Senter last night. They invited us over for fabulous fajitas and incredible chocolate chip cookies that we discovered is a secret recipe….too bad for us!  I was very excited when we walked in and saw that they had Rockband in their living room. After dinner we turned it on and played a little. Another part of my job at the hospital is playing games such a Rockband…..always with the patients of course and so I have had lots of practice on this game! I do have to admit that I was a little excited to show off my guitar playing skills to Greg since I am now playing on the level Hard!  I really thought that he would see how good I was and then he would try-not do very well (because he has never played) and then go on to tell me how “good” he thought I was. Well, once again things didn’t quite work out that way. He hit 90% of his notes…..ON HIS FIRST TRY and by the third round he was playing on level MEDIUM!  Needless to say I didn’t bring it up on the way home!!!!!!! HaHa.

We met with our Ruidoso group today and got lots accomplished! I think after another meeting or two our group will be ready to teach Daniel and the Lions Den to 30 rowdy 5 and 6 year olds!!! We are praying for the Mexico mission trip that left this morning! It’s the largest mission group we send out all summer and I know the town and the people they will be working with will be blessed! Please pray for them this week!

Have a great Saturday!

Last weekend started with the arrival of Greg’s mom and sister. His mom arrived on Thursday evening and Lauren arrived on Friday. In the middle of them being here I ran down the Austin on Friday to see my cousin, Travis, graduate from high school. We had several family members in town and it was so fun to see everyone. On Saturday morning Greg and his family came to the booming town of Salado. We met with the lady making our cakes and then we were off to show Anne the church and Tenroc.  It was fun to get to show them the place where we will be married and the reception site.

On Sunday we had our first shower! It was our church shower for RHCC and was held at Jenni New’s house. Thanks again to all the wonderful hostesses…..Jenni, Jamie, Janalee, Allison, Starlyn, Kelly, Kellye, Pam and Donna! These are all ladies that I love dearly and I loved having all of you host my first shower. Thank you for the cupcake bar too! What a yummy treat to have after I was FORCED to sit in my seat and open gifts!!!!!!! Ha Ha! It was so nice to get to introduce my mom, Anne and Lauren to women in my life that I love and respect so much! Thanks to everyone that came!

The week has been busy as usual but lots of fun. We are gearing up for our mission trip to Ruidoso, New Mexico. We are not completely ready for VBS with over 200 kids but I’m sure we will be by the time it gets here.

Have a great day!

On Friday morning we woke up early got ready and headed back to the school. It was Will’s turn to shine and he did BIG TIME! They handed out awards for kids in all  the different grades. His name was called a few times but the one he was most proud of was getting the Golden Eagle Award. He was the only kid in his class that had all A’s the entire year! 

Greg didn’t get to go with us due to work but his ears were burning all weekend. On Thursday when we arrived we drove straight to the school to surprise Will. He saw us coming down the hall and was just a little excited!!! As he walked me back to his classroom he announced to his teacher and classmates, “hey ya’ll this is my aunt that’s getting married!”  His teacher informed me that the entire 3rd grade class knows everything about our upcoming marriage! Then at the graduation party later that night Beth took me around to introduce me to all of her friends.  She would say, “this is my aunt stacey….you know the one marrying Gingles?” I told Greg that he is a local celebrity in the Mississippi Delta! We did get to talk to him a couple of times on the phone. In the picture you can see Will talking to Greg. I think he was telling him about the awards he had won at school earlier that day…….I told you he was proud to win the Eagle Award!!!!

It was a fun weekend and I am counting the days until I get to see them again!! Speaking of counting days the official count down til the wedding is now UNDER 100 days…WOOHOO!  All sorts of fun stuff is happening! Greg’s mom and sister will be coming into town this weekend. We will be making a quick trip to Salado so that they can see the church and reception site and then back to Fort Worth for a shower on Sunday!

Happy Memorial Day!

This weekend however was a great time of sitting back and enjoying the weekend and the weather! Sunday night was our last D-group for the sophomores in our youth group. We have these groups three times a month and now they are over until school starts back in the Fall. Another way to phrase that would be to say that D-groups will start back up after our wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m pretty sure there are about 20 kids in our youth group that think they will be doing something special at the wedding in August. On any given week I will have at least 5 of them come tell me what special job they think they need to do during the ceremony. As of Saturday Rebekah and Carli B. want to randomly stand up and sing a song…….just whenever they feel like it. Sounds good to me! heehee.

For our last D-group we took the sophomores to Bear Creek Park in Keller. Greg grilled hot dogs for everyone and we played volleyball and ultimate frisbee. Of course my natural athletic abilities came out during an intense game of ultimate frisbee. The best moment of the game happened about half way through. Greg was on the opposing team and threw a gorgeous pass to one of his teammates. I knocked the pass down resulting in my team getting the frisbee. For some reason I thought it would be smart to get in Greg’s face and let him know who the real ruler of this game is…….ME of course. The problem with this “smart idea” was it wasn’t smart at all. Greg proceeded to throw me over his shoulder and run all the way down the field. Just for the record…..it’s not a good idea to eat a hot dog, Doritos and Dr. Pepper and then be flung over someones shoulder and ran down a field. I’ll just go ahead and tell you that it’s better if you don’t do those two things in  a row! Anyway, the evening was a ton of fun and I can hardly wait to go to New Mexico with these kids this summer.

My good friend Katie took engagement photos of us this evening. I love that we picked the one day that it is 99 degrees to take pictures. Greg sent me a text message today asking me if I had arranged the hot weather? I obviously didn’t but it did turn out to be a good evening for picture taking. We went to the botanical gardens and got some great pictures. Katie is a wonderful photographer and I will be more than happy to give you her number if you need pictures taken. Thanks Katie for squeezing us into your very busy schedule!

Have a great week!

The week has been good. We are working on getting our engagement pictures taken in the next few weeks. Salado was hit by three tornado’s this past week and I’ve been told by my mom and our photographer that the entire town is being cleaned up. Hopefully when all the fallen trees have been removed we will be able to jet down and get a few pictures taken.

Three of my favorite college students are home for the summer! (well two of them at least). On Thursday night Lauren, Jessica and Morgan let me hang out with them over dinner. Nothing like being with college kids to make you feel young and cool. All three of these girls were in our youth group and have since graduated and moved on. I cannot tell you how special these three young ladies are to me! It has been fun to watch them grow up and mature in their faith and in their walk with Christ. I love any time I get to spend with them and Thursday was a ton of fun. I will get to spend more time with Morgan and Jessica this summer but Lauren will be off working at a camp this summer. 

Today is the first day in a long time that we haven’t been out of town or had some major event going on in town. It’s nice to wake up and not have to dart out the door! The weather is perfect and it’s Saturday! What more can you ask for!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

stacey

I do have to say that registering together may be equal to thousands of dollars in premarital counseling!!!! You learn a lot about the person you are going to marry when you spend that much time in one store. I haven’t decided if it’s a good thing or bad thing that most of the staff at Bed Bath and Beyond AND Dillard’s know us by first name when we walk in. I think at this point they are expecting an invitation to the wedding!!! We had a great time and picked out some fun gifts. Greg has put a link to our registry on the website. You will see some random items on there and I want everyone to know that Greg was in charge of the scan gun!!! I am not responsible for any wacky gifts that made it on the list!!!!!

I was fortunate to spend Mother’s Day with my mom this past weekend. She came up to look for her a dress to wear to the wedding. We found a few and hopefully she will have one picked out in a few days.  We managed to get some regular shopping in too. It’s not often that I get to shop with my mom or sister but when I do it is absolutely WONDERFUL!!!! We had dinner on Saturday night with Greg, my aunt Mary, my cousin Ashley and her precious little girl Emrie! Greg said that she was the happiest kid he has ever met. She is so precious and is developing quite the little personality.

Church on Sunday was great especially because my mom was in town.  At the beginning of service they had all the moms stand up. My aunt Mary was on the other side of my mom so it was really special to watch the two of them celebrate this special day. Rick said a special prayer for all the mother’s and I looked up in the middle of the prayer and saw my mom and her sister locked arm in arm in a hug during the prayer. I thanked God that she could celebrate being a mom AND celebrate it with one of her sisters!

One the most special aspects of getting married is you get to talk to all your good friends all the time! I can’t wait to tell you about all of my bridesmaids and hope to do that soon. (there are eight of them) All of the girls that will be standing beside me on my wedding day are girls that I have know for a very long time. In fact they have so much dirt on me that this is the pay off….they GET to be in my wedding and they keep their mouths closed! HaHaHa.  Most of them live out of state and even the two that live here I don’t get to see that often.

Recently Amy and I got to have dinner together. We have been trying to do this for a couple of months now and finally it happened. Amy is one of my college roommates and one of the best girls you will ever meet. (I feel that way about all the girls in the wedding party) I loved sitting across the table from her and listening to how God is working in her life and when I say He is working…….He is working. Amy and Brian have flung the doors wide open and are letting God penetrate every area of their life for His glory.  Isn’t it fun to have friends like this? These are the kind of girls that I have has my closest friends! They love the Lord, they love their families, they love their friends and they love living………..all of them! As I drove home after dinner I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face! I was blessed to spend the evening with Amy and I look forward to many more times like that in the coming months.

I hope your week is off to a great start! Thanks for reading and for being a part of our lives!!!!

 ps. my aunt Irene said I don’t post often enough SO just because she wants to read more I will write more often (or try to)! Love ya reney!!!

It has been a wild and crazy two weeks since my last update. Wedding plans are coming right along with lots of planning now behind us. It’s nice to get to spend time with Greg and not have to discuss details of August 30th the entire time.

My parents came up for a short visit this weekend and they experienced Texas de Brazil for the first time.  My dad was in beef heaven and my mom enjoyed all of it. It was a quick but fun visit. Thanks for making the trip ya’ll. My dad informed me that he will be wearing a “will work for food” sign around his neck as we walk down the aisle! HE thought it was funny!!!!

Last weekend we went with our high school youth group on the Spring retreat. It was an incredible weekend being with the teens and being reminded that we have just a blink of the eye to live our life.  I love being with our teens and watching them fall more in love with Jesus every week!!  We had an amazing weekend and our praise and worship time was incredible. It is powerful to watch these teens worship the Lord….not only on the retreat but every week at church.  They are an amazing group of teens. Greg and I will be going on the Ruidoso mission trip with the sophomore class this summer. We will be hosting a VBS for kids in the town. I had the priveledge of going on the Colorado mission trip last summer with this same class and they are FUN!!! I can hardly wait for Greg to experience an entire week with this group. 

This past week Greg got to meet two of my dear friends…..Janis and Adam Smith. Outside of friends from college Janis and Adam are my oldest friends in the metroplex. Janis and I started within months of each other at Scottish Rite in Dallas many many years ago. Way back then this newly married couple (Janis and Adam) let this single chic hang out with them….A LOT!! Janis left Scottish Rite after she had her daughter and moved over to Cook Children’s. If you are putting two and two together the answer is yes….I work at Cook Children’s because of Janis. She fed  them some line about how good I was and how I would be a wonderful addition to the child life department. Of course none of that was or is true but they bought it and four and a half years later here we are! It was so fun to introduce Janis and Adam to Greg. Eventhough I don’t get to see the two of them very often the night was a perfect reminder of what true friends look like. In today’s world it is tough to find friends who truly care about you. Janis and Adam have been those friends for eleven years now.

(Just on a side note if you are ever in a medical crisis don’t call Janis……..she will take an hour and a half to get to you b/c she wants to make sure she has the right kind of medicine for you. If anyone wants to hear the full version of that story just let me know….it’s quite humorous and it involves my appendix!!!!!!)

Right now Greg is sitting in volunteer orientation for Cook Children’s! He also sat in training this time last week. A HUGE thank you to him for doing that. Every month I get to run a support group for teens with cancer and blood disorders. Over the last few months Greg has started helping me with this group. Since he wasn’t an official hospital volunteer we both thought it was time for him to start getting some credit for all the work he does each month. After tonight he will be an official hospital volunteer!! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

124 days from now will be our wedding day! When I wake up in the mornings I continually thank God for giving us the gift of this relationship!! It is truly a blessing only from the Lord and we give Him all the glory! So many mornings I rolled out of bed onto my knees and thank God for another day, and asked Him to bless the work I would do that day. So many mornings I simply asked for this to be the day I would meet “the man” He had waiting for me. So many days it wasn’t. Everyday continued to be blessed by the Lord. I would get up and ask for His blessing and everyday there it was. Finally, it was time! God chose for the moment to happen at a sad time in my life…..as I spoke at Kelley’s funeral. That morning as I got up and rolled onto my knees I had no idea what God had planned for that day. I can ony imagine that He had a little smile and He was probably thinking…..you better get ready! You’ve been asking me for this one for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time!!!!!!!!

We serve a God that knows our needs…..and wants to give us the desires of our hearts.  I don’t know if Greg and I will ever understand why it happened on that one day in March. The great thing is we don’t need to. We both love that it happened and love that we waited for God to provide!!!!

When you wake up in the morning continue to ask God for that one thing you think He might of forgotten about……I promise you He hasn’t!

We had a fun but busy weekend. Friday at 4:30 Greg picked me up at the hospital and we zoomed down I-35 to Salado. We met with the caterer at 7:00 and we finally finished some time way after dark. It’s amazing how much time can be spent deciding on what shape plate your guests are going to eat on!! After that eternal meeting we headed over to meet with the florist. That was a lot of fun!!! What girl doesn’t like to pick out flowers!!! First thing Saturday morning we headed over to meet with the photographer who got a grilling from Greg. Let’s just say Doug Spiller will be good buddies with Greg before this wedding is over! For those of you who don’t know Greg is quite the photographer and is know for getting the most unique shots. Of course Greg was polite but he did ask him lots of good questions.

After a quick bite with my mom we zipped back to Fort Worth in time to run home, change clothes and head to the dinner and auction for Our Father’s Children. This is a camp that I have been involved with over the past few years. It serves children around the world who are abused and neglected. Dee Wayne and Kami Cullum were kind enough to invite us to the dinner and to sit at their table. Thanks ya’ll….the evening was a ton of fun!

As we were walking up to our table for the evening Greg realized one of the couples at our table were the same people he had bought his house from almost 3 years ago!! They are also friends with the Cullum’s and were invited to the dinner. Talk about a small world!!

We had a great weekend with lots of planning now behind us. We still have lots to do but I think we both feel like the initial stress of picking a date, finding a place, etc. is over (for right now at least)!!

 Hope you’re weeks off to a great start! Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever!

It’s difficult to describe what it feels like to walk out of the dressing room for the first time and see yourself in a wedding dress! It was very sweet and the moment was even sweeter to have my mom, sister and niece sitting right there when I saw myself for the first time. The next couple of hours were so much fun putting on one dress after another and getting to model each and every one of them!!!!

I will go ahead and put in my plug for my new friend Maggie! She was exceptional! She has been doing this for 18 years and was able to answer EVERY question I asked her (and there were several).  At one point I had a dress on with a veil and I was talking to myself wondering if I would wear my hair up or down to which she replied, “let’s try it both ways!” Yes, she can even fix your hair.

I loved the first two dresses I tried on but wanted to think about it before making a selection. I dragged my family all the way back to Fort Worth, tried on several dresses in  Fort Worth and then I dragged them all the way back to Dallas. In case you are wondering we drove 209 miles in 10 hours. We basically made 2 huge circles around the entire metroplex.

After trying on dresses in Fort Worth I knew without a doubt that I wanted to buy the second dress I tried on at Mockingbird Bridal. When we showed up Maggie got the dress out for me to try on one more time.  That was it……I knew right away this was the dress for me!  We ordered the dress and even picked out bridesmaid dresses.

Thanks to everyone who called and text messaged  me on Saturday! It’s nice to have friends that care about the little things in my life……like finding a wedding dress!

The 10 hour event ended at Greg’s house where he had steak, potatoes and salad waiting for us! The food was so good and it felt great to relax and enjoy the evening without being in a crowded restaurant. I think Greg has figured out that the way to my heart is with a good steak!!!!

 It was a fast and fun day and we were all exhausted when we finally got home. By 9:30 the next morning Dana, Beth and my mom were all on their way back home. It is a huge blessing to have a great family. It is an even greater blessing when you enjoy spending time with your family. If mine had not been here this weekend I’m fairly certain that I would not have found my dress. Thanks for coming ya’ll!

This weekend my sister Dana, my niece and my mom will be coming to help me shop for a dress! It’s a little stressful knowing they will only be here for one day.  My hopes are high that it will only take one day to find just the right dress!! For those of you who  took months to find the right dress I’m sure you are having a good laugh right now! I am looking forward to this weekend and spending time shopping with the girls!  

I will keep you updated with the dress shopping.

Hope everyone’s week is good!

 Now that we have a wedding date that is five months away there is lots to do. Tonight at my bible study I was reminded that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  That’s what we want to stay focused on as we plan this busy time in our lives! It’s exciting, it’s fun and best of all God is right in the middle of it!!!!

Have a great night!

Have a great day!

Other than giving you all the info on the wedding we hope that this site serves to  honor and glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Greg and I both FULLY BELIEVE that we met, dated and are now engaged because we live each day to glorify the Lord. 

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

This verse jumps off the page when I read it! Greg and I both were very happy before we met. We both desired to find each other but were content in the Lord being single.  We believe that because we lived our lives separately in delight for Him daily we are now being blessed beyond measure!

We hope you enjoy this time in our lives……we certainly are!