Mercy Me!

Last Saturday, this was the view in the vehicle: 

That's because this girl was driving. The van. The BIG van. The van with the full wrap. The van that is twice as big as the Bekahmobile. Yeah, I would have been scared to be a passenger, too!

 Ryan and I were en route to the Mercy Me/Adam Cappa concert in Fort Wayne. I worked this concert...my first time to see Mercy Me by themselves. (They were part of the Rock and Worship Road Show I worked a few months ago.)

At the beginning of the evening was a meet and greet session. Scott Tsuleff led that - and here he is with Adam Cappa, who opened for Mercy Me. I was so impressed with Adam! Really great guy - very humble and such a great sense of humor!!

 Then Mercy Me came in and answered questions! (The room was packed and was getting pretty warm by that time, so I didn't stay in there for all of that part.)

 Photo session time!! Scott with Mercy Me. Ryan and I had our picture taken with them too but we didn't have anyone to take one on my camera, so I'll have to wait until the staff photographer ones are online to share that one!

 At the beginning of the concert, I went on stage with Scott to make an announcement and throw fling rings. Scott told the crowd that I'd just gotten engaged live on the air and they clapped. I joined them. Yay for engagements!!!!

 Adam used to be a worship leader at a church, so his style was very similar to that. Really loved his opening music!!

 We kind of couldn't get to our seats because they roped off the aisle we needed. So we sat in the lobby for most of the concert - going in now and then when some of our favorite songs played. I love this man so much!!!

 Hanging out with my good friend, Diane!

 Mercy Me took the stage!!!

 I had about as much fun taking pictures of the lighting as I did anything else! :)

 Love so many of their songs - especially The Hurt and the Healer.

 And Beautiful. I needed to hear that song. It has such a great message!

 More concert lighting...

 We even had about a 20 minute sermon about the church's identity crisis and how we need to understand that being a busybody for God is pointless - He just wants US.

Great night - even though it was a long one! By the time we got the table torn down and the van returned to the station and found SOMETHING still open for dinner at 11:30 at night....it was 1 in the morning before we got back to our neck of the woods!!

Ask and You Shall Receive (2)

Yesterday I shared the first half of the answers to some ABC get-to-know-you questions Ryan answered for me. Here is the rest of the list...and hopefully you feel like you know him better now!! (And hopefully you're still convincing him to guest post for me...)

Nicknames: Ryno, Baldy and of course, the most obvious: Mr. Clean. (I'm just annoyed that I haven't come up with the perfect nickname for him yet.)

Overnight Hospital Stays: That would be a no, but countless trips to the ER. We won't go into detail about that. (This is one thing that makes me nervous. I'm useless in an emergency...)

Pet Peeves: People that poop on the toilet seat. Slow drivers. GAS IS ON THE RIGHT, PEOPLE!!! (Clarification to those of you who might wonder about my bathroom habits...he works in health care. I do have the whole bathroom thing figured out, thankyouverymuch. As for the slow drivers, I'm with him on that one. We're a TREAT together when behind a Slowy McSlowerson. And yes, I have started him using that phrase.)

Quote from a Movie: Interestingly enough, all the quotes I know are from Jim Carrey movies and aren't worth repeating. (We are so compatible!!)

Right or Left Handed: It's a right handed world. Left handed people hate that phrase.

Siblings: I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Oh the stories I could tell...but we'll save that for another day! (And I am so excited to be part of their family! I love them!)

Time It Takes To Get Ready: 20-22 minutes. Somewhere in there. That includes combing my hair. (I can't even SHOWER in 22 minutes. Uh oh.)

Ultimate Vacation: Whitewater rafting in the Grand Canyon with my lovely bride by my side. (Hmmm. Wonder who he's marrying?)

Vegetable You Hate: Canned spinach. Blech. Makes me wanna puke. (A hearty amen to that.)

What Makes You Run Late: Slow drivers. Occasionally my lovely bride. (But only very occasionally. Like when I get behind a slow driver going to meet him.)

X Rays You've Had: All current x rays have been of my hands. Probably should have been more, but I opted out. (Oh dear.)

Yummy Food That You Make: Anything on the grill. (True story. And many, many other things as well. He's a great cook. And we love cooking together, too! One of our favorite things to do.)

Zoo Animal: Honeybadger, Baby! (They don't care.)

Ask and You Shall Receive!

** UPDATE!!!!** Ryan's sister noticed that I FORGOT THE LETTER J in my post below. I've updated it to include J!! Thanks, Bre, for catching that! I am now going to sit at my desk and sing the ABC song.

I've had some requests for a "get to know Ryan" post...so for those of you asking, today and tomorrow ARE YOUR DAYS!!

I've also had a request for Ryan to guest post, but that one is taking some convincing (on his part...I think it's a stellar idea). So you know - help me convince him to write for me one day, will you?? :)

One suggestion I had for the get-to-know-the-fiance post was for Ryan to answer the same questions I answered a few weeks back when I did 2 days of ABC questions. So as we drove home from the Mercy Me concert (at midnight) Saturday, we kept ourselves awake on the interstate by taking the quiz! Here are the answers, part A. (All my editorial comments will be contained in parentheses.)

Age: 33 1/2, apparently, according to the party my hot Awesome Sauce threw me last week. (Awesome Sauce is his nickname for me.)

Bed Size: King size, baby! Is there any other size? (Indeed there is not.)

Chore You Hate: Dusting - just seems to be nonstop. (Which is why I rebel against doing it. But don't tell him that.)

Dogs: That would be a no. Had one once. He died...I mean she died. The end. It wasn't even my dog, now that I think about it. (This would be why we should not have children. It can't go well.)

Essential Way to Start Your Day: COFFEE, PLEASE!! (I am so in love.)

Favorite Color: That would be blue. (And that would also be one of our wedding colors.)

Gold or Silver: Silver. It's so shiny. (I am so in love.)

Height: Ha ha...well, I was 5'7" and 1/4 until my most recent health screening and I have spurted to a whopping 5'8" with no shoes - but with socks. Quite proud of that one. (And just in case you're wondering, I am shorter. But if big hair comes back in, I can't participate. Which is just as well.)

Instruments You Play: I was current on the recorder when I was eleven, but at this point in time, that talent has left me and it appears that the kazoo is the only instrument I play. Do you play a kazoo? Blow a kazoo? Hum a kazoo? I'm not sure what you do.

Job Title: Physical Therapist Assistant.

Kids: That is a big fat zero. (And we like it that way.)

Live: For Rebekah Freelan * makes kissy sounds *. (I promise I didn't pay him to say that. Much.)

Mother's Name: She answers to many names. Due to the nature of this blog, we will go with Juanita. (And I love her. Been praying for a great mother-in-law since I was in high school. God well answered that prayer beyond my hopes!)

And that concludes the first portion of the alphabet...so come back tomorrow for part 2!

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday evening, Ryan and I took a walk through campus, because it was SO beautiful outside, and while walking, we decided to scrap our original dinner plans and have a fire in the fire pit and roast hot dogs! It was our very first fire pit date, and we LOVED it. But since you already saw that...here's a picture from our walk.

* Monday evening I was a cleaning fool - bagging up FIVE bags of clothes and miscellany for the Rescue Mission - and three bags of trash! All this is part of the great purge of 2012 to make plenty of room for Ryan to move in after we are married. (Too embarrassed to post a picture of this madness.

* Tuesday evening I worked hard on the special date I have been planning for Ryan. I had some help with this adventure:

(I use the term "help" very loosely.) Not only did I do that...but I also paid a surprise visit to Ryan to take him dinner because he had a really long day and I knew he just didn't feel like making a dinner for himself. I love doing things like that so much.

* Wednesday evening was, of course, Ryan's 33.5 birthday party, which I blogged about yesterday. I have to tell you that I just adored planning that little date and I had such a wonderful time celebrating his life!

 * Thursday was exhausting at work (in a good way) and when I got home, Ryan came over and we went shopping with the teens from church - for stuff to fill Operation Christmas Child boxes. That was my first time to ever do that (fill boxes, not shop, HELLO!!) and after that, we went to IVANHOES!!! I would have taken pictures except it was a tragic hair night. So just imagine it. (The night. Not the hair. Don't imagine that.)

* Friday night Ryan and I did some shopping of our own - including scoping out Kohl's for things we might want to put on a registry if we ever choose to make one. Guess what will NOT be going on our registry!?!?!??!!?!?!

I HATE those wooden toilet seats and it has kind of become a joke as we house hunt online - the houses I like most ALWAYS have one.

* Saturday night I worked the Mercy Me concert in Fort Wayne. Ryan went with me -  his first time to go along while I worked a concert! We had a BLAST. Here's a picture from the Meet n Greet before. (More to come on this concert.)

Pinterest Inspiration: Here was my original pin inspiration....and mine was a bit of just a take on it.

Source: thegunnysack.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

But the idea to put something inside the balloons and have that be part of the gift inspired me to do this for Ryan's birthday:

33.5

I had a little surprise date for Ryan this week. I was working on it SO HARD before we got engaged - having, of course, no idea I would be getting engaged, and then I felt like I really slacked off with the planning after that! But I managed to get it all put together JUST in time...to celebrate his 33 1/2 birthday! (We weren't dating on his birthday, so I missed the chance to celebrate on time. I figured the 6 month mark was as good a time as any.)

Lucked out and found this shirt at Cato while shopping for something else...so I got that for my party attire.

 The gift room. I blew up 33 balloons and filled them with slips of paper. More on that later...but each slip of paper had a gift of some sort on it.

 Dinner was a fire pit ordeal. And I do mean ordeal. I had this planned before our impromptu fire pit date on Sunday. Promise. I set the patio table with all our food...

 ...which included candles embedded in Reese's pumpkins. (He loves Reese's.)

 In lieu of a cake - s'mores!! Our choice of regular or chocolate grahams and Reese's pumpkins or regular chocolate bars. Mixed it up a bit!!!

 A bottle of sparkling grape juice I purchased on my vacation to the Biltmore this summer. Been saving it for a special occasion.

 When he arrived after work, I met him at his car with a birthday card that explained the reason for our special date.

 And then I "built a fire." This was LITERALLY the only minute it had a flame. Boy aren't I glad I captured it in a photo!?!?!

 So then Ryan tried. And tried. And tried. I think we had defective wood. He finally went to the store for more lighter fluid and got the fire going. Poor guy. Had to build his own birthday fire.

 Roasting hot dogs, baby!!

 I sang and everything. And apparently he still loves me!!

 Roasting marshmallows. THOSE I caught on fire when it was my turn. Seriously? I can't build a fire but I can catch the food on fire? Sigh.

 My chocolate graham/Reese cup s'more.

 And then it was present time!!! He really liked popping open all the balloons. Braeya? Not so much. She didn't care for that activity. Most of the balloons contained verses I'd printed out...verses from A-Z I've been praying for my husband for many years - without having any idea who he was. I loved hearing him read them all. Some balloons had directions - like to dance to a song I'd picked out. Stuff like that. It was a lot of fun!

 And some balloons had directions to open the pile-o-presents behind him. In this present? K-cups. :)

 A little box to hold the stash of cards and notes I'm always giving him. I figure if I create clutter, I should offer a space to contain it.

 The aftermath.

We both loved that evening. It was so much fun! He loved the surprise and I got the biggest blessing out of watching his face as he opened every balloon. Thank you, Pinterest, for the inspiration! :)

Things I've Learned While Planning a Wedding

Do you all watch Say Yes to the Dress? If we happen to be home when it's on, we usually watch it. Sunday = football, Friday = wedding goop shows. It's a fabulous compromise.

If you've never seen it, let me catch you up. Brides with an entourage (which usually includes one uber-opinionated mother/father/grandmother and/or bridesmaid) shop for a dress, which in my opinion, is usually overpriced by about $10,000. They argue and debate and in the end, find something that moves them to tears and wild face-fanning, in true beauty pageant queen style.

I tried on about six dresses in 45 minutes and went back to the second one I donned, knowing in my heart it was my dress. I hesitate to say much more than that here, fearing I'll say too much (aka post a picture because I'm so stinkin' excited about that DRESS!)

I sent a picture of myself in the dress to one of my friends that night and she asked if it was really the right dress because she wasn't sure I had "the glow." I assured her it was indeed the right dress - and still know in my heart that it was.

But it bothered me that I failed to glow like the brides of TV. Do I, perhaps, have some bridal defect?

Many people have mentioned how different this wedding is than the wedding I laboriously laid out in my twenties. The one I typed, single-spaced, to be carried out with much precision.

That Bekah would not have picked out a dress in 45 minutes. (She would have still ended up with the same dress, but only after 4 days - 24 hours of combined shopping - a host of "no way" tries, and an exhausted bridal party.)

That Bekah would have taken votes on hairstyles, driven herself to an ulcer hand-stamping her own invitations, made elaborate Pinterest-inspired "will you be my bridesmaid?" care packages, organized an overstuffed planning binder, and not slept the night before the wedding, worrying that someone might stand outside the assigned formation on the platform.I

There would have been a lot of tears, but it's doubtful they would have come from that giddy moment of finding something to be right and good - and more from exasperation.

This way (for me) is so much less stress.

And here's what I've learned.

I might not have cookie cutter looks for my bridal party, but I was moved to tears in the decision to honor Kirk and Angela in said party - because it's such a joy to do something to remember two people who so greatly shaped my life and made me into not a bride - but a WIFE of good character.

I might not have shed beauty-pageant-queen tears at the selection of the perfect dress, but I wept and shivered with great joy when I read the fully written ceremony my brother-in-law emailed to me this week - because I love the symbolism it portrays.

I might not have a guest list of 250 sitting in an overheated church, fanning themselves with programs and complaining about giving up a Saturday afternoon to dress up - but I have a tiny cloud of witnesses planning to sit on a beach and watch the union, and the sacrifice of that few joining us moves me so greatly.

I might not have a bridal registry, but I have an inbox full of emails from people who can't help but offer what they've learned about God from watching our relationship and that means more to me than any set of towels.

The wedding may look wildly different from what I ever expected, but I'm 100% excited about what it represents and how it honors the love story God has scripted. And THAT makes me say yes to this marriage - and this man. This love sent from the Lord.

First Fire Pit Date!!

Ryan and I and have been eyeing the fire pit in my yard ever since we started dating. Seemed like the perfect fall date. So we waited for fall to get here - and then we got incredibly busy and never did a fire pit night. Sunday afternoon was SO beautiful that we took a walk, and while out, Ryan said to me, "This would be a GREAT night to build a fire and roast hot dogs." Okie dokie!!!!!

So we scrapped our initial plans of breakfast for dinner, got what we needed for a hot dog roast, and Ryan proceeded to build a fire! (It went so much better than when it's my job.)

 In no time at all, we had a roaring fire going and hot dogs over the open flame. I love it that even though he enjoys a healthy lifestyle, he loves hot dogs!!

 Taking my turn at the hot dog roast...

 One other huge bonus of having a second cook around is...I don't have to be in charge of chopping anymore. It's one of my least favorite cooking chores. So he chopped onion and pepper for us. I'd never had that on a hot dog before.

 But now I have!!!

 After dinner, we made coffee and kicked back to drink that. It's one of our favorite things to do.

 We pulled our chairs over to the fire and were enjoying a great conversation, when we heard a noise.

A big noise.

A noise made by:

 Oh yes. The world's biggest raccoon was on the roof of the house next door. And he was most interested in our date. I was most interested in him leaving.

When he did this, I gathered leaving was NOT on the agenda.

 Sensing he had won, he peered over the edge at Ryan while Ryan took pictures. (I was safely perched within about 2 steps of the INSIDE>

Needless to say, that was the conclusion of the OUTDOOR portion of our date. But it was so fun! So glad we had a beautiful evening to build a fire!!

Kirk and Angela

I don't know how many wedding details I will spill before the big day (in LESS THAN FORTY DAYS NOW, THANKYOUVERYMUCH) - because we're keeping most stuff a surprise, but I wanted to share this one.

If you're new to the blog, you might not know about Angela. She was my roommate for 3 years after I graduated from college. She lived here while she got her masters in counseling, and I was a GREAT guinea pig for her in obtaining said degree. A few years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer and she died last year on December 1, at the age of 35.

If you're new tot he blog, you might not know about Kirk. He was my nephew, who was stillborn when I was ten.

When Angela's doctors told her she had probably about 5 years left, she made an aggressive bucket list. She also called and told me one secret dream of hers was to be a bridesmaid. She'd never been in anyone's wedding, and she always had wanted to be a bridesmaid. I tried not to think about the buffet of bridesmaid dresses in my own closet as I promised her she could be a bridesmaid in my wedding - whenever that may be.

And it wasn't in time. But when Ryan and I began to talk about marriage, I knew I wanted to honor Angela's life and her request to me - and my promise to her - by somehow making her a bridesmaid in my wedding. And in knowing that Kirk never had the chance to be a groomsman, I wanted to honor his life, too.

Ryan was on board with the plan from the very beginning, and he told me that he loved me even more for the way I wanted to keep my promise to Angela. When I told him how I planned to do this, he embraced the idea wholly, and last week, after I posted on Angela's Facebook wall that her bridesmaid dream was coming true, he stood up from his wedding planning project and held me while I cried.

And then last Saturday, he risked his man-card to go with me to Build-A-Bear to create bears in honor of Kirk and Angela.

We were in there with a bunch of four year olds, but we remained undaunted and selected our bears:

 Ryan stuffed the bear for Angela. I didn't catch the girl's name, but we shared our story with her and she was really sweet about us creating our memories in the middle of the four year old palooza.

 I wrote a letter to Angela, thanking her for the impact she had on my life and letting her know that I was keeping my promise to her. (Not sure the girl knew what to do - do you smile or not smile when putting a memorial letter in a bear?)

 I stuffed the bear for Kirk. Miss him so much!

 Stuffing the letter for Kirk into the bear. Even though I miss him, I'm thankful for the way God used his life and death to begin to establish the relationship I now have with Him!

 Cleaning up Angela's bear. Can't have any residual fuzzies!!!!

 Ryan cleaning up Kirk's bear. We decided it was best to keep track of one each - so we didn't accidentally put the wrong one in a dress!!

 We got some little khaki pants and a white shirt for Kirk's bear so he'll match the groomsmen.

 My bridesmaids are wearing royal blue, but they didn't have royal blue. So we got a turquoise dress - still holds to the colors of the beach.

 So here they are - our bridesmaid/groomsman Build-a-Bears. They will be placed at the front of the ceremony area before the wedding begins.

Kirk and Angela, I am so thankful you both were in my life and the woman I am today for Ryan is a direct result of the work God did in me through each of you. Thank you for being who you were, each of you, and please know it is our joy to honor your lives at our wedding. Love you both so much!