I'm WAY behind on posting anything here because I've been CRAZY busy with planning the wedding, moving into a new house, adjusting to living in a new town and working full time. Seriously, I don't know how people do it.
Something I do know? Why they don't call it "wedding bliss." This whole wedding planning thing? Not bliss. Seriously I had no idea I'd be this bananas. I like the term wedded bliss much better - that when it's all over, that's the bliss part. :) However, I'm learning that the whole thing is not-so-happily ever after. The whole wedding planning/marriage thing? It's just not perfect like it is in fairy tales. I've known that from watching people I love be married & walking with them through life. I also know that Jarred can't make me happy & I can't make him happy.
I'm learning that my relationship with God and learning to love Jarred because God loved me first is what this whole thing is about. I'm learning that not much else matters - not the flowers or the cake or the music or the photographer, just Jesus and relationships.
So here we go... 3 months and counting until we enter into the challenging bliss of being married! July 14... hurry up.
Showing posts with label weddings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weddings. Show all posts
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
.keeping him... forever.
san luis obispo - day one - BEST. DAY. EVER.
this man who i've raved about for almost a year now asked me to be his wife :) i'm seriously too excited to sleep. it is so incredible when our faithful God shows up in major ways in our lives. we feel INCREDIBLY blessed by the community he's put around us - in SLO, in Santa Barbara, in Orange County, in Texas, in Haiti, in Holland, in Peru... we could go on and on. Jesus is so good, we are so loved and we can't wait to spend our lives together.
grateful for the beautiful overcast day that became one of the best days of my life - breakfast at seaside cafe in shell beach, a drive and hike through montana de oro state park, a few moments overlooking these incredible bluffs and then my very best friend on one knee asking me to be his bride.
some wine tasting, celebrating with SLO friends at jarred's house and then dinner at novo. seriously, BEST. DAY, EVER.
most of all i'm glad i get to keep him... forever and ever.
this man who i've raved about for almost a year now asked me to be his wife :) i'm seriously too excited to sleep. it is so incredible when our faithful God shows up in major ways in our lives. we feel INCREDIBLY blessed by the community he's put around us - in SLO, in Santa Barbara, in Orange County, in Texas, in Haiti, in Holland, in Peru... we could go on and on. Jesus is so good, we are so loved and we can't wait to spend our lives together.
grateful for the beautiful overcast day that became one of the best days of my life - breakfast at seaside cafe in shell beach, a drive and hike through montana de oro state park, a few moments overlooking these incredible bluffs and then my very best friend on one knee asking me to be his bride.
some wine tasting, celebrating with SLO friends at jarred's house and then dinner at novo. seriously, BEST. DAY, EVER.
most of all i'm glad i get to keep him... forever and ever.
Monday, July 12, 2010
.#16 - visit a friend who lives somewhere i've never been.
i'll be honest. i thought this one would be easier. incase you haven't met me, i travel... alot. so i figured hangin' with a friend in a new location wouldn't be all that difficult. i'm honestly shocked it just happened and it's already july.
needless to say, i had a great weekend visiting the now
mr. and mrs. alan & margie gutierrez!!!!
casey (with whom i always have epic adventures) and i drove from orange county up to palo alto and had yet one more epic adventure at a fun wedding in a gorgeous spot, tucked in the redwood trees of northern california.
so margie-formerly-carter-now gutierrez, thanks for being the friend i visited somewhere i've never been. and thanks for introducing me to your beloved bay area. you were an exquisite bride :) and we were very sad when the night was over.
thanks for getting married so i could knock of #16 :)
needless to say, i had a great weekend visiting the now
mr. and mrs. alan & margie gutierrez!!!!
casey (with whom i always have epic adventures) and i drove from orange county up to palo alto and had yet one more epic adventure at a fun wedding in a gorgeous spot, tucked in the redwood trees of northern california.
so margie-formerly-carter-now gutierrez, thanks for being the friend i visited somewhere i've never been. and thanks for introducing me to your beloved bay area. you were an exquisite bride :) and we were very sad when the night was over.
thanks for getting married so i could knock of #16 :)
Sunday, December 6, 2009
.#6 - Jesus convo.
this is one of my 30 that i honestly was a bit concerned about because clearly i could choose to be "crazy Jesus girl" and force a conversation about my faith and my Jesus on somebody, but that's just not how i roll, nor do i believe it's the best way. leave it to Jesus to have the person i was talking to go ahead and bring him up in conversation - he would... he's cool like that.
so one of my dearest friends got married last night (yay emily & ed - beyond stoked for you guys!!!)
and what happens after the wedding and dinner? a dance party, of course. i was out on the dance floor, busting my amazing white girl moves with some other young life peeps with amazing white people moves (along with the de la llave family that actually has moves) and started hangin' in a group of cousins visiting from new zealand. now that's a good time.
so... on the dance floor, corona lime in hand at one of my best friends' weddings, one of the kiwi cousins, james asks me point blank,
kiwi cousin: "so what's with you guys and your religious deal?"
me: "what do you mean by "you guys" and "religious deal?"
kiwi cousin: "well, you're drinking a beer, but aren't you guys all religious and work for some organization about Jesus and aren't religious people not supposed to drink?"
at this point i begin to explain to him the difference between a religion and a relationship and that for us it's much more than just subscribing to the "laws" of a religious code so that we can be part of the club. (some of you may disagree with this and that's fine. let's chit chat about it. please.)
it's here that he suggests we move off the dance floor so we can stop yelling and we actually have this 15 minute conversation about Jesus. about how Jesus didn't come to condemn people or not let them be part of a "club" he was starting. he came to include not exclude. he came so that we don't have to live by laws and so we don't. we choose to live a certain way and make certain choices because that's how we feel is the best way to live based on scripture and our individual relationship with Jesus, but you're not "excluded from the cool kid Jesus club" if you don't agree - God didn't create puppets, he created people.
he asked some questions about the difference between what new zealand deems "religion" and what us crazy young life people see as a "relationship" and then explained to me that where they live it's a you're-in-or-you're-out religious society. if you go to church and subscribe to a certain set of rules, you're in. if not, you're out. and i got to tell him that with Jesus you're never uninvited or "left out," you just have to choose to be in. i got to tell him that we are also church people and that those people probably aren't bad people and they probably really do care, but many of them are just scared to go outside of what they know and have these conversations with people who don't.
and i got to tell him that a life with Jesus brings so much freedom - the freedom to choose whether to have a beer or not and celebrate at a wedding with Jesus-lovin' people, the freedom to have these conversations and walk away with neither of us feeling condemned by the other, the freedom to love people where they're at and respect them for that and the freedom to choose a life that is truly life because we believe there's just a better way to live.
something had made james curious about the way we live. our lives demanded explanation and that's just how it should be if we're livin' for Jesus. maybe it was the golf game earlier that weekend with scott, the YL regional director who he said was one of the most interesting and kind people he'd ever met or maybe it was the way we lived life and celebrated ed and emily with such joy and reckless abandon without needing to drink too much (or not drink at all) to have fun, but he saw something different. i don't know what God's going to do in james' life but i'm grateful for our dance floor chat and i'm grateful that my having a beer with him while being a Christian was what allowed to feel comfortable enough to bring up the conversation. and mostly, i'm grateful that i got to share the Thing that means the most to me with a perfect stranger.
mission 6 accomplished. thanks for that one, Jesus.
so one of my dearest friends got married last night (yay emily & ed - beyond stoked for you guys!!!)
and what happens after the wedding and dinner? a dance party, of course. i was out on the dance floor, busting my amazing white girl moves with some other young life peeps with amazing white people moves (along with the de la llave family that actually has moves) and started hangin' in a group of cousins visiting from new zealand. now that's a good time.
so... on the dance floor, corona lime in hand at one of my best friends' weddings, one of the kiwi cousins, james asks me point blank,
kiwi cousin: "so what's with you guys and your religious deal?"
me: "what do you mean by "you guys" and "religious deal?"
kiwi cousin: "well, you're drinking a beer, but aren't you guys all religious and work for some organization about Jesus and aren't religious people not supposed to drink?"
at this point i begin to explain to him the difference between a religion and a relationship and that for us it's much more than just subscribing to the "laws" of a religious code so that we can be part of the club. (some of you may disagree with this and that's fine. let's chit chat about it. please.)
it's here that he suggests we move off the dance floor so we can stop yelling and we actually have this 15 minute conversation about Jesus. about how Jesus didn't come to condemn people or not let them be part of a "club" he was starting. he came to include not exclude. he came so that we don't have to live by laws and so we don't. we choose to live a certain way and make certain choices because that's how we feel is the best way to live based on scripture and our individual relationship with Jesus, but you're not "excluded from the cool kid Jesus club" if you don't agree - God didn't create puppets, he created people.
he asked some questions about the difference between what new zealand deems "religion" and what us crazy young life people see as a "relationship" and then explained to me that where they live it's a you're-in-or-you're-out religious society. if you go to church and subscribe to a certain set of rules, you're in. if not, you're out. and i got to tell him that with Jesus you're never uninvited or "left out," you just have to choose to be in. i got to tell him that we are also church people and that those people probably aren't bad people and they probably really do care, but many of them are just scared to go outside of what they know and have these conversations with people who don't.
and i got to tell him that a life with Jesus brings so much freedom - the freedom to choose whether to have a beer or not and celebrate at a wedding with Jesus-lovin' people, the freedom to have these conversations and walk away with neither of us feeling condemned by the other, the freedom to love people where they're at and respect them for that and the freedom to choose a life that is truly life because we believe there's just a better way to live.
something had made james curious about the way we live. our lives demanded explanation and that's just how it should be if we're livin' for Jesus. maybe it was the golf game earlier that weekend with scott, the YL regional director who he said was one of the most interesting and kind people he'd ever met or maybe it was the way we lived life and celebrated ed and emily with such joy and reckless abandon without needing to drink too much (or not drink at all) to have fun, but he saw something different. i don't know what God's going to do in james' life but i'm grateful for our dance floor chat and i'm grateful that my having a beer with him while being a Christian was what allowed to feel comfortable enough to bring up the conversation. and mostly, i'm grateful that i got to share the Thing that means the most to me with a perfect stranger.
mission 6 accomplished. thanks for that one, Jesus.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
.baking.
i just had an epiphany. i have had more time than i know what to do with lately (mostly consisting of the hours i spend choosing to not work on editing photography stuff because i get "over it" quickly). don't misunderstand me, it's not that i have nothing to do - not that at all. it's that i'm choosing to do nothing over doing the things i should be doing? ya, that's it...
anyhow - i had realized today that i have always LOVED to bake and i never do it anymore. maybe because the house i live in is not mine and i don't feel like i can just take over the kitchen for hours at a time with my messiness (because i'm far from a neat cook). but one of my best friends is getting married this weekend and asked me if i could grab something for "wedding day breakfast" for the all of us girls while we get ready. i thought about all the things i could pick up and then i thought - "Bree, why are you being do dumb?!?!?!?! You love to bake." so here are the reasons i will bake some award-winning scones instead of picking up breakfast.
good reasons to bake:
1) it's cheaper
2) it will be a good use of my time this week while i sit on pins and needles waiting to hear about a job
3) i miss baking
4) it will taste better -it always does
5) my kitchenaid mixer is needing a little tlc these days
6) i love to bake
good reasons not to bake:
1) i eat while i'm baking, always
6 perfectly good reasons to take matters into my own hands and 1 good reason not to. so here i go... now to find the perfect scone recipe since the one i want "can't be shared." wish me luck!
and here's the final product - chocolate chip, cranberry orange and apple cinnamon scones (and an extra long run - see my good reason not to bake) either way, mission accomplished!
anyhow - i had realized today that i have always LOVED to bake and i never do it anymore. maybe because the house i live in is not mine and i don't feel like i can just take over the kitchen for hours at a time with my messiness (because i'm far from a neat cook). but one of my best friends is getting married this weekend and asked me if i could grab something for "wedding day breakfast" for the all of us girls while we get ready. i thought about all the things i could pick up and then i thought - "Bree, why are you being do dumb?!?!?!?! You love to bake." so here are the reasons i will bake some award-winning scones instead of picking up breakfast.
good reasons to bake:
1) it's cheaper
2) it will be a good use of my time this week while i sit on pins and needles waiting to hear about a job
3) i miss baking
4) it will taste better -it always does
5) my kitchenaid mixer is needing a little tlc these days
6) i love to bake
good reasons not to bake:
1) i eat while i'm baking, always
6 perfectly good reasons to take matters into my own hands and 1 good reason not to. so here i go... now to find the perfect scone recipe since the one i want "can't be shared." wish me luck!
and here's the final product - chocolate chip, cranberry orange and apple cinnamon scones (and an extra long run - see my good reason not to bake) either way, mission accomplished!
Friday, September 4, 2009
.fox wedding. - #11
so here starts the summer blogging. after an amazing graduation party, i embarked (masters diploma in hand) on what proved to be one of the most amazing summers of my life...
july 3, 2009 - the 11th wedding i've been in :)
nick and keri fox were married. it was a gift to be in their wedding because i'm friends with them as a couple, but independently as well. they have been part of my life the last year and a half or so and have become "soul people." our tuesday night group is one of those places where your soul spills out, whether you choose for it to or not and with that comes deep, solid friendships. it was the first wedding ever to take place at ROCKHARBOR, pretty rad stuff.
i got to be in the wedding party with people that have become dear friends during my brief stint on fake RH staff. it was truly a day worth celebrating and just as i've gotten to walk with this couple the last 18 months or so, i also got to walk to the front of a church with them and celebrate their journey that's just begun.
fox's - here's to you! thanks for allowing me to help celebrate your day. you made it to the starting line - let the wedded bliss begin!!!! looking forward to many more years of friendship!
july 3, 2009 - the 11th wedding i've been in :)
nick and keri fox were married. it was a gift to be in their wedding because i'm friends with them as a couple, but independently as well. they have been part of my life the last year and a half or so and have become "soul people." our tuesday night group is one of those places where your soul spills out, whether you choose for it to or not and with that comes deep, solid friendships. it was the first wedding ever to take place at ROCKHARBOR, pretty rad stuff.
i got to be in the wedding party with people that have become dear friends during my brief stint on fake RH staff. it was truly a day worth celebrating and just as i've gotten to walk with this couple the last 18 months or so, i also got to walk to the front of a church with them and celebrate their journey that's just begun.
fox's - here's to you! thanks for allowing me to help celebrate your day. you made it to the starting line - let the wedded bliss begin!!!! looking forward to many more years of friendship!
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