Thanksgiving Is Upon Us!

Wow....I can't believe it's already time for Thanksgiving - and then Christmas! This year has flown by.

We have some interesting plans for the Holiday this year.
We're going to Southern California for Steve's cousins wedding.
Here's why it's interesting : the two people getting married have already been married longer than Steve and I have!
Yep that's right, they snuck off for no apparent reason and got hitched last February. Here's why it's strange: they've been living together for 2 years and had already been planning their wedding, they aren't religious and have been getting it on for some time now so it's not like they "couldn't contain themselves anymore," so we really can't figure it out.
What's even more interesting is that they haven't really told anyone that they're married except for Steve and I.
Picture this - I'm at my wedding reception and Steve's cousin that I've maybe known for 2 days asks me to dance. While we're dancing he says "I have a secret to tell you, Sandra and I are married too." Yes....shocked I was, especially since I remember his fiance/wife telling me the day before how unique their wedding was going to be - apparently for their wedding gift different friends and family are chipping in to help pay for things and that will be their wedding gift to them - 1 is paying for the caterer, another for the reception hall, another for the DJ and so on.

So all that to say this should be interesting. These two are younger - maybe 21 or 22 I think and what's even more interesting is that after keeping everything a secret for so long they plan on telling all their guests at their reception that they've already been married for almost a year! How crazy is that?!?!?!
This is how it's going to go down "thank you everyone so much for coming to our wedding, we're really happy that you're all here - now we have a surprise for you, WE'RE ALREADY MARRIED! HaHaHaHa that jokes on you!" what is the most bizarre of all though is that they really think that everyone is going to think it's funny!
Things should be interesting after that little announcement is made - even with a "normal" family things could potentially get interesting after that kind of announcement but steve's family is FAR from normal so I'm scared to think of what might happen.

It's understandable that everyone will be upset - I'll admit that we're a little ticked about spending all this money to fly there and be in a wedding - on the most expensive week to travel out of the whole year at that. Also this means no vacation for us this year because we're using all of Steve's vacation hours to go to this and then home to visit my family in Montana for Christmas.
Despite everything though we really like JJ & Sandra and are really excited that they're getting (or are) married. They're a great couple.
I'm also looking forward to going to Cali because we get to spend a day in San Diego with my brother and sister in law so that's what I'm really stoked about. That will mean that I've got to see my brother 3 times in the last year - that's a record. I think before I hadn't seen him 3 times in the last 10 years!

All in all good times are to be had.....

Just Another Friday......

I have a confession to make.....Sometimes when I'm really bored at the office I'll just randomly click through blog after blog of random people I don't know. It seems like through my boredom though I often times end up learning a lot through the lives of complete strangers. No....I'm not like a pyscho blog stalker or anything, I only do this when I'm bored and killing time but I've been finding out how much there is to learn from others experience.
It's somehow easier to learn from their experiences when the knowledge isn't asked for but instead stumbled upon - I think because a lot times it's just what I needed or something that i'm going through in life too and I know that the experience I"m reading about in someone's else's life is sincere and the advice I get out of that experience is advice that comes with no hidden motives.

Anyway...today I stumbled upon a blog by a young lady my age that really challenged me. She was a single mom and had 2 children. Reading her blog really put me to shame. She was so hungry to get more out of life live a life of integrity to leave a great legacy for her children.
It really got me thinking.......What kind of legacy am I going to leave behind when I die? Will people say I was passionate person that was full of love or will I simply be remembered for just being mediocre?
Life is so short and everytime I have a birthday I'm reminded of the fact. I keep thinking I'll make the most of the my time later, or I'll be the best I can be later. I keep thinking I'll really make a difference in someone life.....but I keep pushing it back. Before it was when I was a young single lady I wanted to make a difference in the lives of some of the younger girls in our church. After that it was.....I'm married....I have the opportunity to be a good example for young people as to what a loving marriage can be, I can be a good example for young dating couples.....instead I look to the future though.....someday when I'm older and have kids I can be an example to my kids.....I'm sure when the times comes I'll immediately look to the future for the next "example" I can be - but in all of that I keep looking to what I can be sometime in the future and so easily miss WHO I should be now. I don't take life right at this moment seriously enough.

Carpe Diem - I need to seize the moment!

I so often miss out though because I'm too busy looking to the future.

I do want to leave behind a great legacy....but if i wait till I'm dead then it's too late. What am I doing today to make a difference? That's not a questions I'm very comfortable with answering because I know the answer isn't something I could be proud of - instead I want to use the answer to that question to constantly challenge me.

Wedding Weekend!

Nate & Jamie got hitched on Saturday! It was a GREAT day! I'm so happy for them!
Even before Steve and I started dating Nathan was one of both our closest friends. Nathan & Jamie got together and then Steve and I got together. The guys planned it out and on the same week that Steve took me to Montana to propose Nathan took Jamie to Hawaii to propose.

Well.....we beat em to the alter but only by 6 months. Their wedding was great and I'm just so happy that they're man and wife now!

Missy & I went to the Hyatt to decorate their honeymoon suite - we made it look so nice if I may say so myself! We spread rose petals all over the room and all over the bed and made them some chocolate covered strawberries and had some Champagne chilling for them for when they got there. Dale had this great idea to take pictures at them at the weding and so in between the wedding and reception we got them printed up and put a few in frames to put in their suite. We also had lots and lots of candles spread all over the room and it looked so beautiful! I love doing that kind of stuff for people and I hope they were blessed!
Jamie did the same thing for us at our wedding and it meant a lot to me so I just wanted to return the favor!
The ceremony was at the beautiful piper palm house in tower grove park and then we got down at the reception at Windows on Washington. Steve looked so handsome in his tux! It reminded me of our wedding since that was the last time I had seen him that dressed up! Just a few more weeks till he gets all tuxed out again for JJ & Sandra's wedding!

Trick or Treat!!??!

Happy Halloween Peeps!
I like Halloween - mostly I just like the whole giving candy to cute kids all dressed up part. Growing up in Montana I lived on th end of a dead end steet and we never got trick or treaters. I was always on tour when Halloween came around when I lived in Texas and then I moved to the city in St. Louis - the trick or treating was more scary than fun. Now that we're over in small town Illinois I'm in my trick or treating element though.

We had a little "let's hand out Halloween candy" party last night and had a lot of fun. I think the trick or treaters over here in Dupo must know that they're making up for all those lost years of me handing out candy! We had SO many kids come by! Before our friend even got her to hang it had almost run out of candy! It was a candy craze!
Lots of fun though and of course the lovely Hannan was as cute as ever!