My life be like ooh ahh

We had a FANTASTIC weekend.

Nate and I spent a lot of time registering and making other wedding plans- and we had so much fun! I think the hard stuff is over and now we get to make decisions that aren't vital to a sweet wedding. Still a lot of decisions, but at least we have the big things nailed down. We booked the honeymoon yesterday afternoon- woo-hoo! I found my dress over the weekend with my mom, and have already tried it on twice since.... :)

We also had some of our greatest friends in town visiting from Michigan, Kentucky and KC (Kansas City). :) Here are a few shots from that evening:

G was having some trouble working one out. I think Nate was giving him some encouraging words in this one....he's great like that.And Ethan also enjoyed some one-on-one male bonding time with my man. They talked about all kinds of things, but I tried to give them their privacy and not listen in....man-to-man does not mean man-to-man-to-heather.
Carissa, is this what we were going for? I think I cropped all the right parts out! Great pic! Was SO good to see the Martins and their new fantastic edition. She's gorgeous. Simply stunning.

Here you can see how pretty she is...We tried to get some great shots...

Ethan even made it into this one! He couldn't stay away from the action!
And the Martins and Eigsti's tried time and time again to get a good shot. This was the best we could do. Scott.....Carissa, you should be so proud!!!!

Was wonderful to see everyone and their new editions! I guess we'll have to wait until September to get everyone back together!! Can't wait!!!

200th POST!!!

It's my 200th post, and I saved it for you, Michigan friends! Actually, I've been meaning to post these photos but just haven't taken the time yet.

A few weeks ago, my good buddy, Amber, and I hopped on a plane and few to Michigan to see our 3rd amigo, Martha, who has recently (December) had twin boys. This was the first time I met them. They are CU-UTE! It's a good thing bama is so small, because she had to sit here any time we went someplace with the men:
I helped Ethan get into dad's shoes....he was a bit perplexed, to say the least. Look at that face!
And Garrett was super-smooth at Banana Republic......
I just couldn't get enough of these little guys. Obviously, Ethan doesn't know how much fun I am, as he still looks a bit frightened in this photo. Maybe next time they come to visit, he'll remember that I'm really cool.
And the day after we got back from Michigan, Nate and I went on a little picnic..... :) Since that night, we've been crazy-busy with wedding plans.....

I know it's been a long time.....

I've been a lousy poster these last couple of weeks. My apologies.

I went back to see my parents for a couple of days earlier this week. I visited mom's preschool for the afternoon class. Whoever brought treats that day brought "Monkeys".....they were so stinkin' cute, I had to get a picture of them. Rice Krispie bars on a stick.....with monkey faces, of course. Because it was the last day of school, we also had hot dogs, chips and root beer floats. It was a good day!
Preschool graduation was Monday night. It went well- it was fun to see a lot of people from church that i haven't seen in a while. Example: this guy, who was welcoming everyone to graduation. And the kiddos did great- they had a few songs that they sang for their parents.
And Tuesday morning we set out to the three dress shops in town to see if we could hunt down my wedding dress. At the first store, I tried on 10 or so giant fluffy dresses and none of them were what I was looking for. So we moved onto the second stop. Sign in door read "closed on Tuesdays". Perfect. So, we crossed the street to store three. Sign on door read: "Closed. Will return around 1pm". It was 10am.

So, we grabbed coffee and spent the rest of the day shopping for flower arrangements and centerpiece ideas. I had no idea how many details there were to planning a wedding. Good grief!

We did make sure to stop at one of our favorite "hole-in-the-wall-restaurants", "Tastee Treat". Here we are waiting for our tastee beef sandwiches and chocolate malts!
At the end of the afternoon we went back home to have tea with dad on the deck. He was there. I do not, however, have a single photo of him. Sorry dad!
It was a successful trip, and it was so fun to spend some much-needed time with mom. I hope we'll have many more of these this summer as we continue planning for the best party of 2008!

1 Week Down

123 days to go!

Nate and I are one week into the wedding planning hurricane- and it's been a whirlwind! We're just SO EXCITED about our engagement and are looking forward to many of the plans and details, but are also quickly understanding just how crazy our lives will be for the next 4 months (from today!).

I've had a couple of meltdowns already- mostly because of a lack of sleep from working and planning and making phone calls to vendors and friends, and the building of a plethora of emotions....all bottled up...it's a lot to handle! And, as many of you know, I have a very soft heart- and I feel SO DEEPLY......I'm emotional, to say the least. So, it's no surprise that I've shed a few tears already. :)

This week we booked a reception hall, nailed down the church and date and now we're beginning to get more organized and we finally feel like we might just know what we're doing. At least we have an idea of which direction to head....the first week I felt like I was completely feeling through the dark!

So, we're excited, simply put. "Excited" doesn't even scratch the surface. We're thrilled.... :) I can't wait to be Nate's wife. We've been advised to enjoy the engagement process- so we're focusing on that.

I've got to get going- there's coffee to be sold. Hopefully I'll be writing again soon- I'll try to keep you updated on our process!!!

In Other Recent Events

Well, yesterday I had a post looming over my head- one that involved a trip to Michigan to visit one of my favorite friends, Martha, and her new family. Amber and I flew into Chicago Thursday morning and spent the entire weekend with Dr. and the Mrs. as well as their 5 month old twin boys, Ethan and Garrett. The thought of posting about so many fun things we had done and choosing from tons of pictures to post- and then writing about them....it all seemed overwhelming.


Until last night....and then I had yet ANOTHER very exciting "thing" to blog about.

NATE AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!

Here's the brief on how it went down:

We went for a picnic by a lake- the lake where we went after our very first "date".......the place where we first started asking those questions like, "so where are you from?", "how many brothers and sisters do you have?", "What do your parents do?", "What do YOU do?".....

We watched the sunset. We read through a book about dinosaurs that we've both helped write and illustrate- and laughed and recalled fondly some of our favorite memories. He said some of the most wonderful things to me. I was standing. He was kneeling. I said yes. Nate let out a huge sigh of relief. I wrapped my arms around his neck and planted a big wet one. Then we freaked out. I'm pretty sure I jumped up and down and talked 800 miles per minute.

We walked back to the car and it took every ounce of myself to not tell every passerby what had just happened. I thought they should know. I thought I was so excited that I might jump out of my skin and the only thing I knew to do was to tell everyone I could see. Nate held my hand- my left hand, and for the first time, I walked to the car with my fiance. Fiance.

We drove for a bit- just glancing at each other with grins and wrinkled foreheads....and then we each called our parents. They, of course, were in the know the entire time. After that, it was a whirlwind of phone calls and glances, and laughter and wandering around a cool spring evening with exciting news to share with people we love most.

A dear friend wrote this about the photos of my ring- I think she's nailed it on the head:

I like how the photos have three kinds of flowers in them - completely closed with the ring around it, starting to bloom with the ring hanging on to it, and fully blossomed with the ring being held by it.

- a beautiful metaphor for the way the Lord is present in our relationship. The ring will symbolize our marriage....the preparations....the excitement, the way we won't get through without clinging to the Lord.

As we "start to bloom", Nate and I understand the term "through thick and thin". We're aware of the fact that things won't always be easy. We're ready to delve into and push through disagreements and difficult situations that are inevitable in life's storms. We expect these but are not overwhelmed by them because of the promises we have in God's goodness. We confidently "hold onto" our Lord and will strive to serve Him as we begin our journey together as Team Eigsti. And this flower portrays the way we'll be held so tenderly by the one who loves us more than anything we could ever experience here on Earth.