WHOA! SPAIN?

So Tripp's parents called us earlier this week to discuss the honeymoon plans before they booked them (a HUGE courtesy, btw- I anticipated not having any information until at an airport!). They wanted to run this idea past us:

October 3/October 4- Fly to Madrid, Spain!
October 5- make way to the Canary Islands!!
October 13- head back to Madrid
October 15- come back to the States!

That's almost two whole weeks in Spain! SPAIN! I am more than excited!

I can guarantee that I'll be doing all sorts of research on Spain and Spanish for many days to come!

Four Years!

At 12:36am four years ago today, I recieved a text reading, "I was going to wait until morning, but I don't want to. Will you go out with me?" from a SUPER nerdy boy that had only recently started talking to me (four days previous, to be exact. He has successfully remained elusive even through the many attempts I had made over the seven years prior to get him to say something more than one syllable grunts that I had become accustomed to. I didn't realize at the time how much that text would change my life.

As it turns out quiet and observant are areas that I struggle with, areas that I've needed some help with. Accountability, discipline, contentedness, confidence, and patience too. Fortunately, my nerdy boy has helped me grow in each of these areas, either by being proficient in the area or by desperately struggling toward it with me. He encourages me, he comforts me, he loves me. He's the only person that can completely calm me down when I get too wound up or upset, and it's only with a listening ear, a hug, and a kiss.

He is a gift, a blessing. I know there's no way that I could have deserved to be paired with a man as incredible and patient as Grady but I am more than grateful that God has put a love for me in his heart and lets me love him in return. My life is nothing like I would have imagined at this point and I am so glad for that!

Wedding-tastic Week!

Due to health (back) problems, I've had a lot more time this week than normal and have made use of this time for wedding planning! This week we have worked on finding music and scriptures for the ceremony as well as going through play lists for the reception, shopping for wedding bands, deciding on wedding party accessories, updating our guest list with email and mailing addresses, and rounding out our gift registry. Oh- don't forget our engagement pictures (round one) this morning!

Because of scheduling issues, we're doing mini sessions on a few mornings at a handful of locations! Megan Edison is new to professional photography and we're happy to be her guinea pigs- she wants to try so many different things to give her practice and expand her portfolio and that is excellent for us because we get many many more pictures and time than we otherwise would have had we chosen another photographer! And may I mention again that we're getting Megan's photography services for a steal compared to any other wedding photographer!?!

Anyways, we started at Bob Woodruff Park in a nicely wooded area early this morning and the reconvened at Memorial Park after a quick beverage stop; all three elements of the session were great! Tripp was SUCH the natural at this whole photo shoot which BLEW me out of the water! I was seriously surprised--the kid is sooo meek and reserved that I never would have guessed that he'd be the one cracking jokes to make ME smile! It was simply amazing how playful and affectionate he was willing to be in front of that camera... My mind is still pleasantly boggled by the whole thing. And the coffee/tea chat was great to for getting to know Megan even better!



Now, for the much adored countdowns/tallie counts:
1449: days Tripp and I have been together
157: days Tripp and I have been engaged
113: days until Tripp and I become Mr. and Mrs. Grady Price III
20: days of sugar freedom! I feel great and am getting to where it feels normal!
12: days until Tripp and I celebrate four great years of dating