The Married Life

Oh Gosh, it has been FOREVER!
So much has happened since my last post...we are finally married!  And it feels so amazing.  Mr. Carter and I had an absolutely perfect wedding day.  And, I am totally aware that every bride says that, and it's probably true, but we definitely had "our" perfect day.  We faced some obstacles on the way to the alter but we made it and we're married and that is truly all that matters.  So, in celebration of our wedding day, I thought I'd include a few pics for you

Playing in the woods before the wedding

Probably my favorite picture (via my bestie, Kristen)

We're Married :)

Our First Dance

A sneak peak from our photographer (who is absolutely amazing)

We were blessed in so many ways and cannot say thank you enough to those who made our day so wonderful.  We have AMAZING friends & families, a great (& very pregnant) photographer who ran all over the place and everyone who worked to make sure every single thing was in place.  We know that this was the first of many great days and can't wait to see what our future holds

In the last year

Today, I was doing a little reflecting and I had a "light bulb moment".  So much has happened in the last year and I have learned so many important lessons.  So here they are, the good, the bad and yes, even the ugly!

1.  Not everyone is as you would have them be...and this, you can do nothing about.
2.  Attitude really is everything
3.  People will disappoint you, if you let them.
4.  Sunsets really are more beautiful with the one you love
5.  After all these years, I still get a thrill out of chocolate ice cream and RC Cola (it was my Papaws favorite Friday night treat!)
6.  It is truly amazing how quickly you can love someone you just met (Davin and Aryanna stole my heart as soon as I laid eyes on them)
7.  Work hard, even when no one is watching.  It will pay off in the end
8.  Some people were born to be the center of attention...let them, it means way more to them than it ever could to you.
9.  Love was meant to be unconditional, no matter what.
10. Let it be!

MIA

Gosh, I cannot believe it has been two weeks since I've blogged! It's sad for me to admit that if it doesn't involve work or wedding planning, I'm not interested!  Fall is basically the busiest time of year for my job because kiddos are gong back to school and we are working to reorganize Girl Scout troops and start new ones (in 9 counties, might I add).  I've actually been having a lot of fun with work lately, I started working with a girls group home for at-risk youth.  Most of the girls are there court ordered but honestly, they are my best group of middle/high school girls.  It has been a very rewarding experience!  In addition to that project, I am also working on the Jr Miss Committee in Webster County.  Granted, I did not participate in Jr Miss because the county I graduated high school from did not have one.  It is actually a very cool program for high school seniors and they have the potential to earn a ton of scholarship money.  I decided to join the committee though, because America's Jr Miss Program actually has a partnership with GSUSA (girl scouts) on a program called Be Your Best Self.  It's a self esteem program that teaches these girls about becoming strong, community minded, healthy women.  Tomorrow is the actually program but the girls have been practicing for weeks, they compete in fitness, talent, interview skills and self expression.  I'm so excited to see their final performance!

Well, that was a little about work, now for some wedding :)  I had a fabulous shower about a month ago (see, I told you I was neglecting my blog) and I thought it'd be nice to share some pics with you all.  One of my best friends and bridesmaids, Kali threw me such a wonderful shower at a local B&B.  It was such a beautiful day and it was a great reminder of just how blessed Keil and I are.  We got some great goodies as you can see below. 

I had some great helpers when it came to opening my gifts, Miss Kaydence (one of our flower girls) and Miss Ryleigh.  They only helped break one bow!

This is the cutest market tote (and believe it or not, Keil picked it out.  Well, I wanted one and he picked the color/design)  My Nina and friend/bridesmaid, Tiffany got this for us!  I, of course, had to have it personalized!  I cannot wait to carry it around the local farmers market.

And, how cute is this apron?!  This was a gift from one of my  high school friends, Holly.  I LOVE IT!

I know I shouldn't have favorites but if I could, this would be it!  The gift from our second set of parents and preacher (and his wife).  They have two daughters who both have one of these.  Their daughter, Kristen (one of my besties) got hers last year for Christmas and I fell in love with.  I decided that once we got married, we would definitely be getting one.  Ronnie and Kelley (our preacher & wife) always joke and say that Keil and I are their children but this gift really made us feel like a part of their family.  It actually brought tears to my eyes when I opened it.  And, I know we aren't really supposed to use wedding gifts until we're married but it's on display, I just couldn't help myself.

And, this is a picture of my FMIL, myself and my FSIL.

21 days to go!

46 Days To Go...

Wow, time sure has been flying by!  I cannot believe that we will be married in just over a month, isn't that crazy?!  We've gotten so much done in the last few weeks, now all that's left is the details.  My mom and I actually took a full day, and when I say full, I mean full, and hit the pavement. We visited the state park where the ceremony and reception will be to talk logistics with the event coordinator there.  She is great, by the way.  We got so much done that day, submitted my final seating chart and table placement, ordered food for our reception, and just soaked it all in.  I must admit, I got a little teary eyed standing in the place where we will say our vows!  It's all becoming so real!  After leaving there, we traveled to Evansville and picked out our programs and most of the decorations for the ceremony, the ribbon for our cake and the stuff for our favors (yummy mints, in case you were wondering).  Then, we did a little pleasure shopping (which is a MUST if you  know my mother and I)
Oh, and a little piece of exciting news:  my dress doesn't have to be altered, well, except for the bustle!  You saw my super cute shoes on my last post but last week, I tried on the dress and shoes together and the heel in the shoe brings the dress about 1/4" off the ground...PERFECTION!  I couldn't have planned it better!
I've started having nightmares about things that go wrong on our wedding day, it's driving me crazy!  That is actually why I tried my dress and shoes on.  I had a dream that I had my dress on and was getting ready for the ceremony, I put my shoes on and it made my dress tea length!  I know, I'm crazy!
Then, I had a real life crisis!  I took our invitations to the post office on Saturday morning (yes, I know I'm pushing it) to be mailed and the postmaster said that they wouldn't go through the machine because of the ribbon on them.  It would cost me an extra $.20 per invitation...I was sold!  No problem, right?  WRONG!  She didn't have a $.20 stamp, she had $.02 cent stamps that she really wanted my to buy.  She must have been crazy!  I would have needed 10 of them, plus the $.44 I already had on there...can you imagine 11 stamps on a wedding invitation??  I was completely freaking out!  She then offered me $.05 stamps, I would still need 4 of them on each invite...she was insane!  With tears in my eyes, I picked up my 150 invitations and told her I guessed I'd just have to go to a real post office to get the stamps I needed.  Probably not the most classy thing I've ever done but I had nothing left for her.  My mom, however, saved the day.  She had bought extra $.44 stamps and just added one to each envelope!  She thinks of it all :)

Keep checking back for more wedding follies!

Check, Check, Check!

As our wedding is quickly approaching, I've started to scramble a little to get things completed!  Granted, we've been engaged for over a year so many things have been done along the way but with only 60-something days left, it's time to finish things! So, this week (and it's only Tuesday) here is what I've accomplished:

Picked out the tuxes for the men (we had one picked out before but decided last minute to change stores to a local vendor so back to square one)  Anyway, K decided he wanted a brown tux instead of black so it made pick a tux much easier since there is only one chocolate brown tux in the world.  Here is a preview:

The only change for K will be the tie, his will be ivory to match the vest.  The groomsmen and ushers will wear brown vests and ties.  I actually love the tux, it has light lines in it which makes it not so plain-jane!  Since this particular company doesn't make this in a child size we have opted to go with this super cute ensemble

Yes, I know!  I'm putting an 8 year old boy in an ivory tux, what in the world was I thinking? But I know it will be super cute (as long as we can keep him clean)!  His mom doesn't know yet but I'm sure she'll question my choice :)

I've scheduled my first fitting which will be September 5, I'm so excited!  I've had my dress for over a year now, I bought it on June 28, 2009.  And, yes, I still LOVE it!  I've put it on a time or two (well, more like 5) and every time, I get a little more excited.  My BM's have also had their dresses for almost a year now, and lucky me, they are all fitting perfectly, so far! Speaking of my wedding day attire, I got my shoes yesterday and couldn't be more excited to wear them.  I put them on in the store (with sweats on) and felt completely stylish!

This is just the generic online pic, but you get the idea.  Aren't they fabulous?!?!  While I was there I ran across some super cute satin flip-flops that actually match the BM dresses and they are only $10!  I told my BM's that since their dresses are long, I don't really care what shoes they wear.  I want their hearts (and little piggies) to be happy and comfortable.  I had to let them know about the cute little sandals though.  I think all four of them are planning to get them!

And the final check, is the wedding invitation!  They are DONE...addressed, stamped and ready to be mailed.  Big kudos to my mother who spent countless hours perfecting the ribbon accent on them.  She tied 150 of those things and they are PERFECT!  She's one amazing mom. 

This isn't the greatest picture, that bow makes a big shadow on the rest of the invitation. 

Now if I can get her to work on those programs :)

Hope you are all having a fabulous week!  Let's see how much more I can get done before Friday!

We need a drink!

When we moved into our new house the landscape canvas was blank.  The previous owners must not have had a green thumb (or must not have thought they had one like I think I do!)  It was nice to be able to start from nothing but it has also had its disadvantages.  We transplanted a ton of day lilies from our old house, the cute little yellow ones that you see blooming from spring to fall and even some of the bigger orange ones that favor stargazer lilies.  We actually only had 2 yellow ones and about 3 orange ones that we moved.  We split them into 5 yellow and about 10 orange.  We spread the oranges ones out around our pool and in the  yellow in front of our house and at the corners of our deck. 
In the last two months we've added some little things here and there but the all day sun that we get is taking a major toll on EVERYTHING.  Well, that mixed with the lack of rain we've had in the last month.  It's funny that I'm wishing for rain now because the first morning we woke up in this house our utility room had about 3 inches of water standing in it from the amount of rain we'd had and our back yard was somewhat of a swamp! 
I've been trying to make sure everything gets enough water but that's a tough task.  Most of the things I've planted take very little water (after they become established) but the ground is so dry and the heat is so excessive that I've been watering things at least 2 times a day.  My beautiful (well, kinda beautiful and a little dry) flowers are in need of a drink!

The poor lilies are almost wilted and were just watered this morning but the marigolds seem to be doing fine!

The Zinnia's in the front yard don't seem to mind the heat either...they do get some shade in the afternoon though.

I can't wait for this guy to open up!  It's a sunflower :)  I'm not sure where it came from in my pot of Gerber daisies though, it just popped up!  I'm glad I waited to see what it was before yanking it out.

This thing actually LOVES the sun!  How pretty is that big ol' bloom?!?

In addition to our flowers being thirsty, our yard sure could use a little shower.  It's almost completely brown and crunchy!  Not a pleasant thing to squish your toes in

A Little Wedding Frustration

So, today Keil and met with our travel agent to discuss our honeymoon.  I was so excited to finally have it all out of the way but she turned the tables on me.  We actually went in to confirm our travel arrangements and make a payment but she started planting seeds of "all-inclusive" packages in Keil's head.  From the start, our plan has been to go to Hawaii (it was actually the first thing we both agreed on without much discussion).  Neither of us have ever been and there is so much to do!  Hawaii doesn't offer any all-inclusive packages so once you get there you still have to spend money.  We had researched and knew what kind of budget we wanted to stay within and, I believe, we were going to do so.  Little Miss Travel Agent (no need to name her) starts asking Keil if he had ever thought of St. Lucia, the Virgin Islands or the Bahamas.  And yes, we had...we ruled them out early!  When we first contacted her she sent me quotes for both St. Lucia and the Virgin Islands, both were almost two times what we wanted to spend so we continued on our journey to Hawaii!  We told her we knew we couldn't afford those even with them being all inclusive and would rather just stick with our original plan.  She then counters with:  "let me just check the Bahamas for you and see what I can come up with"  When she finished she told us that for an totally inclusive trip to the Bahamas we would only spend about $500 more than airfare and hotel will cost in Hawaii.  She even mentioned being able to have access to jet ski's (she must have pegged Keil for a sportster).  He was basically sold...I was NOT!  We decided to leave and discuss it at home then let her know on Monday morning.  Although having all of our food included (as long as we eat at the resort) sounded good, I don't know how much we could eat at the same 3 places for a week and not get burnt out.  Food outside of the resort, not included!  After reading the materials she provided us, jet ski's are available for $125 per person...also, not included.  And, other than shopping and laying on the beach, the Bahamas doesn't really have that much to offer...when compared to Hawaii.  We'd also have to purchase passports (cost not included in our all inclusive trip...can you tell I was not too happy with her enthusiasm about "all inclusive"?)
We did the math and with what we would spend on passports, eating outside of the resorts and doing anything of adventure, we'd be spending close to $1000 more on the Bahamas.  I'm not the type of person who wants to go on vacation just to lay out, I can lay out in my pool in my backyard for FREE.  Keil would get bored too...we are "goers!"
After a little discussion and some research...we're sticking with our original plan!  I'm just so frustrated that she tried to change our minds!
On a brighter note, I met with the florist today about wedding flowers!  I just love flowers!  She is working on a few samples for me.  I'll take some pics and post them when she finishes :)