as so it returns...

Tomorrow I return to my usual schedule... my routine... my passion.

And while break has been awesome... 

I'm excited to get back to see 26 kiddos. 

I don't do so well when I am home alone and don't have a purpose... although today I was able to get quite a bit done! 

Had coffee with a good friend, did some grocery shopping, and then cleaned up a bit. 

Thought someone broke into my house, had my Dad come over and clear my house (which actually looks quite different than in the movies) and good news: no one was in there.  Too many cop shows over these past few weeks.

My older brother who lives in Maryland is home for break right now, so R and I went out to dinner with him...yum!  Went off of my diet a bit tonight... but luckily I ate really good all day, so it balances out...right? 

Off to bed early tonight... back to work tomorrow!

2012 list...

Ryan and I sat down last night at wrote out some of our goals for this new year.... so looking forward to 2012!

	Eat Healthier Eat at the dinner table Exercise more Read a marriage book together Go to bed on time Take more pictures Blog on a regular basis Pay off our debt Keep our house more organized - Bake more Read more and watch less TV No TV on Sundays Date night twice a month Spend more time with family Be still and spend time with God Walk outside more Do more craft projects Take REAL vacation

New Years Resolution...

One of my resolutions.... BLOG.  


Tomorrow brings us to the year 2012, and I feel like my life has changed SO much in 2011...and I'm hoping to stick with it and blog my life in 2012.  


I am feeling settled and inspired... to photograph things more, to write down my classroom stories, and to share   the happenings in our little life. 


Hoping I can follow through! 

5 days.

5 days.

5 days.

5 days.

Three days left of being a "Miss" to my students.

Three days left of being at work.

My last Monday of being NOT married.

5 days till I am {married}.

Seriously can't even wait.

It's been a while...

Did you know I'm getting married in

{SIX}

days?

Yep. 6.

wedding planning: the outside of the church...

The Outside of the Church...

The church where Ryan and I are getting married has a lot of sentimental value.

First off, it is the church I grew up in.

Second, my 3 brothers were baptized there.

And third, and most special to me, my parents were married there.

So when it came time to pick a church, even though we no longer go there, it was without a doubt the church I wanted to get married at. I had always dreamed I would get married there so it was kind of crazy that first time we did the 'bride' tour. Of course, we already knew what the church looked like, but it was interesting to look at it in a different way.

Outside the church, we are going to have white lights on the ground leading up to the doors. It was two sets of double door, and we are going to string the lights around those as well. I just purchased a sign for outside the church that will look like this:

Then, when you come into the church, it is big and open with 10 foot ceilings. To the left is a blank wall with church information on it, and the doors are to the right. So, my idea for the left is to do something like this:

That way, people can mingle out there, along with the sign in table, gift table, and check out all the pictures. We are also putting up a table that will feature all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen. We purchased frames and I am working with my {cricut} to make the rest of the information. I think it will be nice to introduce our important people to the wedding guests. I'm hoping, with some candles and petals around the frames, it will look something like this:

One-Hundred days to go. 100 days. And I will be married. 100 days. Yay!!!

wedding planning: the flowers...

The Wedding Flowers...

I am not much into flowers for two reasons. 1) I am so allergic. As in, really allergic. Sneezing repeatedly just doesn't sound like too much fun to me on my wedding day. 2) They are expensive and die quickly. So for the {BIG} day, we are going for simple on the flowers and focusing more on something I love... candles.

My bouquet will be made of two dozen white roses...and look something like this:

The bottom will be wrapped in royal blue fabric to pop against my VERY white dress.

The bridesmaids will have bouquet that are made of white hydrangeas and roses, and be a little bit smaller than mine. They guys will have a white rose and a sprig of hydrangea and the MOB/MOG will have a wristlet of roses and hydrangea.

In the reception, each table will have a simple centerpiece revolving around a square vase with two hydrangeas in them. They will be sitting on glass and then have candles around it as well. Hopefully, it will look something like this. We are also going to put blue ribbon around the vases to tie it in.

I am SO excited about the flowers/candle combination. I am totally going for romantic and elegant...and I and so excited to see it all put together! 101 days to go!