The best example

I've had an absolutely wonderful Christmas trip home.  I wish I could stay longer than this weekend, but I bet one day longer and they'd be begging me to leave :)  My dad mentioned today that he'd forgotten how cranky I get when I'm tired...Me? Cranky?  Never.... :)

Mom, Claire, and I hit up a bridal store here in Wichita this afternoon.  Just to look and touch and ooh and ahh.  I didn't try anything on, but fell even more in love with a dress I've been oogling over online since before Chris proposed. Yes, I am that girl who had her dress picked out before being engaged.  So, I made the executive decision that mom must spend her MLK holiday weekend driving to St. Louis so I can try on, and hopefully buy, THE dress.  Of course, I'll try on a variety, just to be sure.  Though really, I'm convinced I've found my dress.  Fingers crossed it actually looks good on me!

Okay, to the point of my title...

How pretty is my mom?!

 

Look at how happy my parents are :)  I can honestly say that they've been like this for as long as I've been around, and I bet its safe to say they were like this the 4 years before I joined this world too.  I am so unbelievable lucky to have had two great role models of what love, family, and a marriage should be and can be.  I think it's easy to forget how blessed we are to have the people in our lives to guide us and support us and teach us how to love.  

I think my parents' priest summed it up best in today's homily: "We pick our friends because they are like us.  God gives us our family to learn to love people who are different." 

Our first Keepsake :)

Chris and I exchanged gifts last night since he's driving back to Ohio today and I'm leaving for Kansas on Friday.  He got me a Kindle, which is awesome!  I'm obsessed with it and wish I had more time to just read and read all day.

Then there was this:

A 2010 Hallmark keepsake ornament, "for our first Christmas being engaged." Needless to say I got pretty teary eyed and could only muster a sob of "It's just so sweet."  That's my Chris, not a man of many words about how much he loves me (thats my style), but a man of sweet and thoughtful gestures that fill my heart with even more love for my future husband.

Okay, I've worked myself up to happy tears again...so thats it for this post.


p.s. Think happy and safe thoughts for me as I make a snow filled trek to Kansas on Friday.  Fingers crossed I get there in time for 8 pm mass!

Eat your heart out Charlie Brown!

      I came over to Chris' after work today to wrap some presents and help him get stuff together for his work Christmas party tomorrow, and there was this adorable little tree sitting in his living room just crying out for some decorations.  Apparently Chris' buddy Nathan left the tree outside his apartment as a Christmas gift for us.  I couldn't be more excited, and I can't even begin to describe how good this little fir tree smells!
     I haven't been at my parent's house for the decorating of the tree in years, and even though this guy was a little smaller than the big trees I'm used to, it got me right into the Christmas spirit.  I think Chris got a kick out of how excited I was and patiently accompanied me to the nearest store to get lights, candy canes, and ornaments.  I kept reminding him in the car that this is our 2nd to last Christmas together before we're married, "Only two more Christmases to go, by the third one we'll be married!"  When I think about it like that, April 21, 2012 seems so close!
     For now, I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and enjoy our tree!  Happy Holidays!

Flat tire, Christmas shopping, and basketball...and all by Wednesday!

Another week almost in the books...complete with a new set of tires for me and almost all the Christmas shopping done for Chris and my families.  Discovering a flat tire Monday morning when its -15 with the wind chill is definitely not a good start to the week, but at least it gave me a good excuse to take a comp day to do some shopping and spend the day with Chris, along with replacing all my tires and getting my alignment done.  Woohoo!

Chris and I went to the SLU basketball game tonight with our friends Theo and Steph.  They got married last year, and are one of my favorite couples to go out with. They're fun and a good example for Chris to see that its cool to be married :)

Slowly but surely, I'm working on Chris to get some more wedding stuff nailed down.  He has promised me he'll ask his guys to be groomsmen etc over the Christmas break.  Luckily Jenny will be home in Ohio with him to make sure it gets done. It's always nice to have an enforcer to be there when I'm not.  I've also nagged my mom to death about getting my hands on a credit card when I go home for the holiday.  So hopefully, assuming I get the credit card, some deposits will be made shortly after the new year for a reception venue and photography.  I really want to get the engagement photos done early this spring so we can get save the dates out. 

Some days it still doesn't all feel real.  I'm a lucky, lucky girl. And very loved. :)

 And by the way....Merry Christmas!

Long time no blog...

Ugh, where have I been?  Life took over as usual.

I had a fantastic time in Chicago, and got to see some old friends from college.  Chris was hunting again while I was seeing the city, and he got a deer!

I'm a little freaked out that the poor deer has his tongue hanging out...surely the taxidermist will make him look a little happier when he's mounted.  Chris and I have a running joke about his future "man cave" in our first place together.  There is absolutely no way I'd let him put deer heads up in a place that any guest would see.  Maybe we'll theme a guest room with hunting/fishing decor, though I could see deer heads watching you as you sleep giving people nightmares.

I'm feeling a bit stagnant at the moment as far as wedding planning goes.  I've gotten wrapped up in the holidays and work, and I've only looked at wedding stuff twice in the last 2 weeks I'd guess.  <---that is crazy!  Is something wrong with me? 

I guess once we get through Christmas it'll be easier to focus on planning details, and I hope to have my hands on a credit card from my parents to start putting deposits down for a photographer and reception site.  I'd like to get our engagement session and save the dates out of the way by early next spring.  For now the only thing on the radar is a pre-cana Saturday that I registered us for in February. 

One of my long time friends and bridesmaid, Nisha, is coming up to St. Louis for the weekend tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited for some best friend time.  I know, I know, I've always got something going on. How am I ever going to find the time to plan a wedding or start my Christmas shopping? ;-) 

I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday season, I know I sure am!

I'm turning into a monster....

I just emailed my mother 3 times in the last 10 minutes.  Once with a tentative guest list, again with a corrected guest list, because I somehow left off 10 relatives, including my grandpa.  Oops!  The third one was intended to make her laugh and just had this attached:

That would be Jenny, Steve, and Chris circa 1986 I'd guess.  The Thumanns have this framed in their living room.  It can't be hard to see why this is one of my favorite pictures (and why I love the Thumann clan so much). 

I've been a busy bridezilla the last few days.  I set the date, booked the church, and registered us for a Pre-cana Saturday course in February.  I've also gotten a few quotes from reception sites and am compiling a stack of catering menus to compare.  I still have my heart set on the Soulard Preservation Hall, but there are few other places that have caught my eye recently that I'll have to look into a bit more.  I'm having a hard time fighting the urge to just book everything now, but I know if I don't leave myself something to work on I'll get too anxious about having to wait til the wedding day.

The biggest news of the week I suppose is the date itself: April 21, 2012.  2 weekends after Easter and it also happens to fall on my cousin Ted's 15th birthday.  So I'll be thinking of all the ways to embarrass him at the reception too. :)

2 more days of work for me then it's off to Chicago for a girls weekend.  Chris is heading back to the deer woods tomorrow for a few days.  We should probably stop going out of town if we're ever going to get this wedding planned!

Some Progress!

Well it's officially after Thanksgiving now!  I spent the long Holiday weekend in Cincinnati with Chris and his family and it was so nice to have a long break to relax and enjoy their company.  I swear everytime I visit the Thumann family, we discover more things in common (especially me and Steve) and I feel like I've been a member of the family for years already.  Plus we got to celebrate with friends and I met some more members of Chris' extended family, like his sweet 90 year old Aunt Melba who was the life of the party post-Thanksgiving dinner.

So now that the "no wedding talk til after Thanksgiving" ban has been officially lifted, my short term to do list can finally take real shape:

1.  Set the date!  I will be calling the church tomorrow to reserve April 21, 2012 :)
2.  Compile a list of reception/catering options and set up tours for after Christmas.
3.  Continue to nag Chris to ask all his guys to be groomsmen.  He doesn't feel any rush and it's driving me crazy.
4.  Confirm a tentative guest list with our parents so I know just how many people we should plan on wining and dining :)
5.  Register for a Pre-Cana retreat with the Diocese this coming February.
6.  Find a photographer and set up an engagement shoot for early spring 2011.

Not to mention Christmas shopping...since its nearly December and I haven't done any.  I'm going to Chicago this coming weekend so hopefully I'll pick up some gifts while I'm there.

Needless to say, I'm exhausted.  Holidays and traveling take a lot out of me, and I dying to get to sleep.  More updates to come soon!