1 month from today.....

Yep you guessed it....I get to marry by best friend....I get to wake up and go to bed every night with my love....I absolutely cannot wait for this next month! I am so excited!





As I was getting my bussell put in my dress yesterday standing there with my dress on and all the fixings made me realize just how wonderful and exciting this all really is! I get to marry the man of dreams then take a 7 day long cruise to the "exotic eastern Caribbean" (yes I stole that off the website :)) and we are staying in a ocean view suite....if you don't think I am excited you are so wrong! I have been restless at night....which could be due to the amount of stuff left I need to already have done or the fact that I need to get the rest of the thank you notes out before my next shower this weekend! But regardless we will say it's restlessness caused by excitement. :)





I was talking to some of my co-workers yesterday as I was visiting with my sweet little niece and they were asking how little miss Ellie was going to be getting down the aisle....well I will be honest, I really want her to crawl down it....she has the fastest little crawl and I think she would be absolutely precious crawling down the aisle....thoughts? (She would be the first one down the aisle....so her dress wouldn't get dirty.....there would be an aisle runner down....those are things others had asked about :)) I just am so stinking excited.





I started getting all my bridesmaids presents together and I feel like I have been buying alot throughout the past 10 months but it really doesn't look that way. So with some help of some good friends I was able to find a "filler" per say that will make it look bigger and more full :)





Hotel reservations are being made, bridal tea invitations are going out and lingerie shower invites are going out! My best friend will be flying in August 11th, in time for my bachelorette weekend and some showers. All is right in my world. I get to marry the man of dreams and spend the rest of my life with him....excited just doesn't do it justice. :) Thanks for all the kindness and prayers that have been offered. :) We are truly blessed with the best friends and family 2 people can ask for!

116 Days and counting!

Yes ma'am! It's getting down to the nitty gritty! And now I am starting to stress a little bit.....until now I have been laid back and ready for August to get here and now that it is approaching faster and faster, I am thinking....I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO! (Ok maybe I am exaggerating a little bit but I feel like the whole stinkin world is one my shoulders!)

So in the next few minutes and I am going to let you into a little bit of my world for the next 3 1/2 months!

1. Invitations-Yep still haven't ordered them....oh wait I still haven't even picked them out! I am just at such a crossroad about them.....I don't want to spend a fortune on them but I don't want to look back and regret not getting the ones I want.....dilemma #1.


2. Reception ideas- I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I WANT TO DO......I have order most of the linens and such, I think. I am still up in the air at whether or not I have enough just plain white table clothes ordered. And I have absolutely no clue how I want to decorate....I don't want it to be tooo simple but I don't want it to be overwhelming either....dilemma #2


3. Shoes- I have bought 3 pair of wedding day shoes.....Now obviously I have a TINY addiction to shoes but none the less, I still have to make a decision.....Dilemma #3


4. Finishing up my bridesmaid gifts- I have 9 bridesmaid and all of them mean so much to me and have done so much for me over the past few months and I feel like they deserve the best....dilemma #4


5. Groomsmen gifts- We need to figure out what color the guys ties will be....I have absolutely no clue at all! Dilemma #5


6. Honeymoon stuff- Some would say we should probably buy our airplane tickets for the honeymoon but evidently that just hasn't been the top priority! Dilemma #6


7. Nate's wedding gift- I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO GET HIM!!! I have had some good/ some a little out there ideas but none that have just jumped out at me that said "THIS IS IT!" dilemma #7


8. My hair-I have no clue what I am going to have done to it....not a stinkin clue! Ideas are welcomed!

On another note, more exciting note.....I think Nate and I have found our first house! I am so excited and I just think it's perfect! Absolutely perfect! I couldn't be happier and he is a good man for making it happen! I will post pictures after I get to really go and take good pictures of the inside. And we are going to do a little painting too. I am so excited! the kitchen is to absolutely die for! I can see holiday dinners happening already! Oh and it has a sun room!!! RIGHT IN THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE!!!! Can't you just see a big pretty Christmas tree in the middle of the window come November 26th-ish?? :) I CAN! :)

Also I have my bridals coming up in June....I am so excited and I just know Jay is going to do a great job of making me look all dolled up and pretty! :)

And even more exciting is my first shower is June 4th in Valdosta! I can't wait! I am just so excited to get to see everyone and that means that after that shower things are going to start flying by thank goodness! So I request your prayers for me over the next 3 1/2 months that I keep my sanity and that I can just make it through work and wedding festivities with as little stress as possible! :) Thanks for listening to me vent! :)

As I approach a busy weekend....

I am getting so extremely excited about my cousin Jordan's wedding tonight!! I am excited to see what his wifey-to-be has done with their wedding and maybe it will give me some inspiration!

Can you tell I am not very creative......let me ask you all my blogger friends...what would you do for your wedding? How would you decorate? For those of you married what have you done or what would you do different? :) Interested to hear what you all say!

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!! I will be back on Monday to report how everything was and with pictures hopefully!

Welcome 2011....Goodbye 2010

Well it's hard for me to believe that 2011 is here....but before I get into my 2011 I would like to reflect on what a great year 2010 was!

• My sweet Ellie was born. I knew that she would hold a special place in my heart but I had no clue how that one little precious girl would change my whole life! They say children change your whole outlook on life and I am sure all parents feel that way but nieces definitely made me think a whole lot differently! And I think my heart grew 2 sizes bigger September 16! :)
• I got engaged! My sweet Nate purposed to me on 10-10-10....I will never forget that! And I stare at my ring everyday! He picked it out all by himself and I honestly couldn't be any happier! It is absolutely perfect. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him and August 27th can't get here quick enough!
• I bought my wedding dress. AND picked out bridesmaid dresses.....they weren't picked out til December 27th but hey better late then never! :)
• Laurie made one of the best decisions of her life! She donated her kidney to our friend and now family, Janet. I can't tell you how many people have told her what a good deed that was but said that they would have never done it. After seeing all the love and outpouring of thankfulness I can't imagine Laurie not have doing. Seeing Janet everyday makes me so very thankful for such an amazing, inspiring, big hearted, and loving big sister I have. She really is the best!
• I found out that Laurie, Louise, and myself have the BEST church family around....between the surgery and Ellie being born....they stepped up BIG time. We are closer with a lot of people that we would've never gotten the opportunity to be close with provided Laurie didn't have the surgery and Louise had Ellie! :)
• I did the thing that I have been wanting to do and dreading doing all in the same.....I got braces. I couldn't be any happier about it and I can honestly see the changes happening and so can everyone else. I am so happy and I can't say enough words about how happy I am that Nate pushed me to do just buckle down and do it. He knew I wanted to get them done but I had my reservations....money, vanity, etc. :) But he was behind me all the way and made some major sacrifices to help me get them done. He really does love me lots :)
• I moved out of the last room I will ever have to myself. I will never be able to shut the door to my own room again....which in a way I can't wait for the next time I do I will be living with MY HUSBAND!! :) (That sound weird to anyone else?? :))
• MY BEST FRIEND FOUND OUT SHE IS PREGNANT AND I AM SO EXCITED!!! SHE ALSO FOUND OUT IT'S A LITTLE BOY!!! I know this little boy will have Aunt Leigh-Leigh wrapped around his fingers. :)
• I am much more thankful for my family and friends than I ever have been! They are truly amazing!
• I honestly couldn't be happier with my job at the present moment....I know that hasn't been the tune I have been singing in the past but since I have gotten my new area I honestly can say I have renewed my love for this job. It really isn't as bad as I thought. :)

Now on to 2011.....

This year didn't exactly start out like I wanted it to.....car blowing up on the side of the road on our way back from GA new years day after my lovely fiance' begged me not to take it, work stress, and wedding stress....well let's just say the first 5 days of this year haven't been spectacular by any stretch! But it can only go up from here! So here are come things that I am REALLY looking forward too!

• I AM GETTING MARRIED THIS YEAR!!! WOO HOO!! AUGUST 27TH CAN'T GET HERE SOON ENOUGH!
• I will get a 2 week vacation for the wedding and honeymoon and honestly that WHOLE week with just me and Nate is what gets me through a lot of the long days! I can't wait to turn off all phones and have no communication for a WHOLE 7 DAYS!!!! :)
• My sweet Ellie will be turning 1 September 16th, 2011. That is hard for me to believe!!!
• My little Morgan is growing like a weed....every time I see her she says something new and she is at least an inch taller. I love how she will run up and without being prompted will say she has missed me....and she says I love you so good now. :(/:) It's bittersweet for me. I just love her. I tell her she is what helped prepare me for my sweet Ellie. And she LOVES Ellie and is so sweet with her.
• Laurie is heading into her 3rd month of day shift working....can I tell you what an answered prayer it was for her to get her job at Wilson & Wilson?? She absolutely loves it and she is happier than she has been in years. It is crazy how a job really affects your life and everyone else's around you also. I couldn't be happier for her!
• Louise is a stay-at-home-mom/nanny :) Have I mentioned what a good mommy she is? She has the patience of Job and really is such a great example for me and really soo many around her. Ellie is one lucky lucky girl! (Besides the fact that she has the best Aunts in the whole wide world! :))
• My best friend will have her baby this year....sweet Cale Mason Allen will make his arrival, hopefully, in May and I cannot wait to be able to hold and kiss his sweet face come August. :)
• One of my very best friends is moving back to the states after being in England for 3 years!!! I absolutely can't wait to have Ashley, Daniel, Charley, and Colin back in the states where I can drive to see them anytime I want!! :)

Ok so now that you have a total recap of my 2010....or well the most exciting parts, and my excitement of 2011 I will leave you with it! Sorry for boring you! But maybe you got a little insight to my crazy, exciting, stressful, and fun life! :)

The house that built me...well maybe helped me grow up :)

So as I sit here and type this I am filled with a lot of different emotions about what the next 9 months will hold. Here are all the different thoughts running through my head at the moment...

• Am I really old enough now to be getting married and starting a life of my own....getting married and starting my own life is something I have always wanted but ALWAYS felt like it was so far away....now it's less than 9 months....
• I am sad about moving out of our house on hill hedge....I had a lot of good memories there and I honestly don't know if I am ready to get rid of all of them yet...I know I will always have the memories but oh if I would've known that was our last year in that house...our last Christmas tree, last birthday's celebrated, last new years, etc.
• This will be the first year in 25 years that I have not and will not have a Christmas tree in my house....I made the executive not too since we have soo much stuff in the little apartment and we still have boxes everywhere....this year I will be living through Louise's Christmas tree....nevertheless i will still be sad not to be able to watch TV through the glow of our real Christmas tree...
• have I mentioned being a grown up isn't all it's cracked up to be? I mean don't get me wrong, I like making my own decisions and for the most part I am pretty smart with them but I miss the simple times of living with mom and dad and having them take care of everything. I have a deeper appreciation for them and everything they sacrificed for me and both my sisters. Hands down I have the best parents around. Couldn't be any more thankful :)
• With all of this wedding stuff and moving I have really been reminded of what great friends I have....I am really trying NOT to be bridezilla but I have some oh so friendly reminders that sometimes I am and it brings me back to my mindset that I do not want to be like that. I want to enjoy this time and really have fun with the wedding and living in a one bedroom apartment with Laurie for the next 6-8 months :) Best days of my life! But seriously I really have the best friends around! :)
• My Ellie is growing up way too fast! She is getting so big and doing new things everyday! I can't imagine not seeing her everyday and when I can't it makes me so sad because I know I am missing something! I feel that same way with Morgan....I feel like it was just yesterday when we were trying to get her to crawl and we thought she never would....and now it's hard to even remember what she looked like then....she is such a little diva girl now and carries her purse around and is just the cutest thing! She is talking so good now and really picking up on things!

Well I know this blog has no rhyme or reason to it but it's just things that are going through my head right now and honestly I just needed to say it out loud....or well type it out loud! :)

My photographer :)

After much deliberation and crunching of the numbers I have picked my photographer.... :)

Meet Jay Houston and her hubby George! :) They are the people behind the lens for my wedding, engagements, bridals and anything else I can imagine!! I am so excited about working with Click Photography! Go here: http://www.theclickphotogblog.com/ to see all her work and read up about her!! I am so excited to be working with her and I just know that its going to be great! :)