I'm so THANKFUL...

I have a thankful heart all year... but, in November I get extra thankful. Recently several people in my inner circle have been having a difficult time... loss of jobs, loss of family members, difficulties raising babies, and rough relationships. The hubs and I feel so blessed... more blessed than we deserve to be. God is so good.

Three years ago we started something that I had no idea would turn into one of my most prized traditions...We like to snuggle in bed on Thanksgiving morning and share our appreciation and our thankfulness for the biggest and the littlest things in life... I wanted to share a few of mine with you.

{My Godly and loving relationship with my soul mate}
{our annoying puppy... who I love more than you can imagine}
{nicknames-terms of endearment that mean so much to me. prea.}
{our beautiful house, that although I am always trying to redecorate, we are blessed to have a place to raise our family}
{our jobs - exnay the commute}
{our family... healthy, happy, and each living very special and fulfilled lives}
{time... although it will never be enough, we make a special effort to spend QUALITY time together, and I cherish every minute}
{best friends, the ones you know will always be in your life}
{my monogram address stamp... vein, I know}
{our budget. DO NOT tell the hubs I said this. But, I am thankful that someone is looking out for our future. That someone is not me. Oh look, a sale!}


Have an amazing Thanksgiving.

Wedding Post 3: The Programs

The programs took a lot of my time... I knew I wanted a fan (because it's beachy) but I wanted it to match our other stationary with the coral...here. We had the same etsy seller {beyonddesign} that created our invitations print the programs and then Mom made them into fans... they turned out awesome.


{Chris's Mom reading the program at the wedding}

My favorite thing about the programs was an idea I got from my MOH... When she and her hubs got married 7 years ago they opted to turn the microphones off and have the vows be a more personal moment. They printed their vows on the programs so the guests could read along. For us, we were concerned that people would not be able to hear us...with the waves crashing and all... :) So we printed our wedding party on the front and our vows on the back. Not a dry eye on the beach.


{the back of our program}

Funny how I didn't get an actual picture of the programs...oh, well. I kept one.

Wedding Post 2: The Flowers

I am so blessed. Really. I had a talented wedding possie that you would not believe. One of my BFFs Carla (we call her lala) used to be a florist, and she offered to do the flowers for the wedding! I couldn't say yes fast enough and I emailed her weekly photos of inspiration. We had a few practice runs at the cupcake party (I posted about here, here, and here)

I really wanted white/green for me... and we thought about several different things for the girls... but could never decide. She ended up doing them each their own color and the looked A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The best part of all of it... is that I felt relaxed. I knew she would do an beautiful job and so I didn't stress. The day of the wedding lala was locked up in the bedroom...




{Do you like it?}


{eeeepppp!!!}








And, lala made flowers for the mothers/grandmothers.
Something I had not even thought of.
Thanks lala love you.


I didn't even notice until the pro pics came back, but they put their bouquets in vases at the reception too... super cute. Thanks ladies.

Wedding Post 1: My Dress

Posting about the wedding has been hanging over my head... I started asking myself WHY? Why am I stressing about sharing the best day of my life with the 10 strangers that read my blog? Do I share how much we spent, things I would do differently, just the pics, or a run down of each thing? I decided that what I want to do is leave a gift for myself. Something I can read through in 10 years when we have kids, and careers, and a busy life.... when I can't even remember my own name I want to be able to look back and remember the details of the day that started the rest of my life! :)

Let's start with the dress... shall we? I bought it at Davids Bridal. I was torn. We had a small budget that I was planning a destination wedding within. And this dress was about double what I originally planned on spending. I poured through on-line sites like PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, message boards at theknot.com, woreitonce.com, and bravobride.com trying to find the same dress that another bride was selling... the very few that I did find were too small/too large or in the "pure white" color. (not what I had in mind...but, I did consider tea bagging it!) I was obsessed to say the least. I took a small entourage with me the 2nd time I tried it on at the store...they were surprised at the style. Lace? Off White? I was a little surprised too...but, I was in.love.with.it.

Trying it on in the store...




And so... cha-ching, we bought it. $800 with tax. I spent another $120 on alterations and had the sash made.

And a few pics of the dress in action. I can't imaging getting married in anything else. This dress was made for my wedding! :)











Note to not-yet-brides that plan to marry on the beach:
1. Wear a slip or something, or your dress will blow between your legs like Aladdin pants, boo. {pic below}

Well... it's Friday!

And I have managed to get off track again! :) hehe I am really determined to start the wedding recaps next week, so until then... enjoy our Christmas decorations I put up on Tuesday. (I know, I know, respect the Turkey) But, I work in retail, and I just can't help myself! :)








I even put lights on the little tree in our bedroom... hehe

Honeymoon: 5

Just a few more pics... we had an amazing honeymoon... one that I know will we remember and cherish for the rest of our lives.

"Happiness consists of living each day as if it were the first day of your honeymoon and the last day of your vacation”

Honeymoon: 4

{Welcome to nassau!}


{We took a boat to a private island and practically had the entire beach to ourselves. It was amazing}








{Amazing weather, and I loved having my chair right in the water}


{always willing to do anything to make me smile}


{Our towel that night}

*Tomorrows post: Final recaps

Honeymoon: 3

{Beautiful Half Moon Cay}




{Chris couldn't wait to get his toes in that silky sand}


{There was a really big group of ladies doing water aerobics. It was so funny}


{Just basking in our honeymoon glow}


{This is what happens when you put sunscreen stick on your honeymoon beard}


{Damn right}


{Chris playing a little slots... honoring his granny}


{This night, our dinner partners didn't show... so we had the table to ourselves. Romantic!}


{and our towel animal that night}

*Tomorrows post: Nassau

Honeymoon: 2

{Dock the damn boat!}



{Hanging out in Grand Turk}


{This is the boat that took us snorkeling... it was (besides the food and the whole husband-just-got-married-to-the-love-of-my-life-thing) my favorite part of our honeymoon. Too bad the $12 underwater camera we bought was crap}


{There was a beautiful sunset}


{A movie playing on the deck}


{A new towel to enjoy}


{And lots and lots of chocolate lava cake!}

*Tomorrows post: 2nd Port Half Moon Cay

Honeymoon: 1

{At the airport in Savannah, I'm wearing my "just married" tank!}

{We had just gotten on the cruise ship here, and ordered 2 "drinks of the day". I was all about the souvenir glasses at this point, but, I was over it in about 2 days. LOL}


{The view as we were leaving MIAMI}


{Partying on the deck the first day...}


{There was no need to attend the safety briefing... we had it covered}


{One of my favorite things about the cruise were the towel animals waiting for us every night after dinner... this was the first night}



{On the 2nd day, we were "at sea". It was fun to lay out on the deck, but by that night it felt like there were 5 million people on the boat. We were ready to get off!}

Tomorrow: first port!