My Sweet Husband!

I just have to share this! Mostly so I will never forget!!

I came home from work yesterday and got a super sweet surprise from Micheal!

He had cleaned the entire house! I am talking dishes, laundry, and swept the floors. It was so sweet! We have a cute dry erase board on the wall in the kitchen and we write notes back and forth to each other. This is what it said yesterday:

"There is a reward for being sweet! I can be sweet too! I hope you like my surprise! I am glad I have forever to show you how awesome you are!"

Then he drew a little picture of the washing machine, the dishes, and a broom.

I LOVED it!

I will take a picture soon and post it!

I am one blessed girl!

Happy (Almost) New Year!!

Wow! In just a few short days we will be saying goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012! I always look forward to starting a new year! It always seems like such a fresh start. I am totally the kind of girl who will wait until Monday to start a diet. Or the beginning of the month to start something new. I can't stand starting something on a completely random day or time. LOL. I am weird that way. So January 1st is like the perfect "start" date! :-)

In honor of beginning a new year I have decided to put together a list of goals and plans I have for the new year.

1) Now that Micheal and I finally have all of our bank accounts in order. I want us to sit down and create a specific budget that we can both stick to. We have never shared an account before so I am excited about this new "married" step! (This WILL happen)! :-)

2) I have finally (after about 23 years of trying)  done good about having a quiet time with the Lord. In 2012 I want to really allow the Lord to use this time and for it to become something I cherish. I don't want it to become a structured routine that I check off my list. I want to be open to receiving exactly what he has for me. I am such a rule follower that I often feel like I have to journal, pray, read my Bible, and document my prayer requests during every quiet time. Then I completely overwhelm myself and end up giving up all together. The Lord has really been showing me that there are no certain steps to spending time with him. I just need to simply open my heart and enjoy talking to Him!

3) I know I have said this like a million times before but I really, really do want to start blogging regulary. This totally goes back to what I just said in #2. I feel like I need to take pictures and document every single thing I do and when I don't or get behind I just get overwhelmed and give up. This is something I need to work on in all aspects of my life. Things can't always be perfect and they won't always work out exactly like I want them to...and you know what...that is ok!! I have been reading several blogs lately and they all write about such simple things. Sometimes they don't even have pictures. And these are blogs that I LOVE to read. I just need to take some pressure off myself and have fun!

4) In 2012 I want to become a better planner. Now that I am finished with school I have a lot more time where I can help Micheal plan things for our youth group. Planning has never been one of my strong suits... mostly because of what I just got done talking about...I overwhelm myself that the outcome won't be good and so I just don't do anything. This year I am going to step out of my comfort zone and try to plan some fun events for our youth kids.

5) I want to fully enjoy this time in my life. Sometimes I tend to miss out on what is happening "now" because I am too busy looking forward to what is next. I did this a lot in 2010...for good reason... I had a wedding to look forward to!! But I do this in everyday moments as well. Micheal and I are in a very sweet season of our lives. We are married, with great friends and family near by, and we don't have kids! This is the perfect time to go on trips and just have fun!

Well those are some things I am going to strive to accomplish throughout 2012! I am reminded of a verse in Psalm 1.

Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither—

whatever they do prospers.

 

Psalm 1:1-3

 

 

Here's to a PROSPEROUS New Year to ALL!!!

Wedding Fun!!

I am completely shocked that the last time I posted was in MAY! That seems like a million years ago! (well actually it doesn't completely shock me...I don't have the best track record for regularly posting).

Anyway... when Micheal proposed to me in December I already knew when I wanted to have the wedding. Micheal and I had already talked about wedding dates before he proposed. I have always wanted to have a fall wedding. That is my favorite season and I just LOVE the colors. But the one downfall is that we have had long engagement. Well 10 months to me seems like a long time to me! It has its perks though, its been a blessing financially because we have been able to save money and we have had plenty of time to pick exactly what we want without being rushed. However I have been ready to be married and start my life with Micheal for a LONG time now... so 10 months has felt like an eternity.

All of that to say this:

I have told myself from the get-go that if I could just make it to May the rest of the time would FLY by! Simply because I would be done with school and to me summer ALWAYS flies by whether you like it or not. Boy have I been right! There has been SO much going on this summer that I truly have no idea how it is already August. But for the first time in my life I am glad it is August! I don't have to go back to school AND that means that the big day is less than 3 months away! WOO HOO!

So its time for a wedding update!

We have had the dress, location, and photographer booked for awhile now. We are getting married at the Methodist church here in Lfd. I am really excited about the place. It will be just perfect! PLUS, since I work there I have lots of opportunities to take a peek in the sanctuary and picture how everything will look! :-) (Don't tell anyone but I may be guilty of practicing my walk down the aisle!) Hee Hee!

All of the decorations from the ceremony have been booked, bridesmaids dresses and suits for the groomsmen have been picked out, flower girl's dress has been purchased and tried on (it fit perfect!) florists have been booked, cake has been ordered, favors have been purchased, and lots of the little things like cake topper, napkins plates, etc have all been ordered! I LOVE when the UPS truck pulls up because everytime I get another wedding thing it just makes me that much more excited!

One thing that has been SO cool about the wedding planning is that my wonderful friend Heath Lowe designed my invitations. Heath and I have been friends since we were born basically! We grew up together and are still good friends today. Well, it just so happens that he is AMAZINGLY talented at computer design! It was really special to me that he made my invitations. He was so patient with Micheal and I (well me mostly... I may have changed my mind a time or two in the process). He took the time to make sure they were EXACTLY what we wanted. I can honestly say that they turned out better than I ever could have imagined. We got to pick them up from the printers today! :-) They are simply beautiful, adorable, and perfect! I can't wait to send them out so everyone can see them!

Micheal and I have also registered for gifts and scheduled the shower for September 17th. I will have to do a whole separate post on us registering for gifts because we took pics! :-)

Well I think that gets everyone back up to speed! Sorry for the lack of pictures but I kind of just needed to spill everything out! :-)

** One thing that I forgot to mention!! And its a biggie!! Wait for it....




My cousin, Kayla is getting married TOO!! :-) Her wedding is set for September 24th! So we are getting to do all of this fun stuff together! I am SO happy for her and Jake! So we have 2 showers and a wedding in Spetember, a wedding in October, Thanksgiving in November, and of course Christmas in December that I will get to see my family! By the time January rolls around we aren't going to know what to do! Ha Ha! Usually we only get to all get together couple times a year. So I plan on soaking all of this fun stuff up!!!

Last Assignment EVER!!

As of this very second I am working on my last ever college assignment!! (At least for my under grad career)! :) I have a lot of mixed emotions right now...the most prevalent one being..."I don't want to do this assignment!!!!". Ha Ha! This is not good considering it is a presentation to the behavioral sciences' faculty...so I kind of need to get motivated! Anyway this may be kind of silly but I decided this was a moment worth documenting! (Plus I am the world's worst procrastinator so this is an awesome excuse to take a "break"!)

So here is where I am spending my evening:

Saturday at 10:00am I will walk the stage! I am beyond excited!! A lot of my family and friends are coming to the ceremony and out to eat with us afterwards. We are going to eat at Carino's! Then hopefully the girls will all go to the movies! I love any excuse to get to see my family but getting to graduate certainly sweetens the deal!

Finally I just want to take this time to praise and thank my God for his faithfulness throughout this journey! He has blessed me abundantly through grades, friendships, and scholarships throughout this entire process! There were so many times when I was studying or taking a test and just feeling so overwhelmed. He taught me how to trust in Him to take care of the part that I couldn't. One of my favorite quotes is "Do your best and let God do the rest." I feel like this explains so much of the academic part of my college career. God always came through for me! Every. Single. Time. And even though I am a little bit stressed out about tomorrow and completely DO NOT feel like working on this presentation I know God will give me the strength to power through one more time! :) I am so very blessed!

Engagement Pictures!

This past weekend Micheal and I got to take our engagement pictures! We had a blast! We were blessed to have LeeLee come down and take our pictures for us and they turned out great! She is so very talented and FUN I would recommend her to anyone! This morning LeeLee sent me a sneak peak of some she edited!

The one of us at the stop sign has a couple of stories behind it! Several months ago when LeeLee agreed to do our pictures she told me to start getting ideas of where I would like to have them taken. The first thing that came to mind was mine and Micheal's stop sign. In May of 2006, right after I graduated high school Micheal and I made plans to go to Lubbock for a date so he could give me my graduation present. We were on our way out of town but the weather was really yucky and there were some severe storm warnings so we decided we better not chance it. I was disappointed but I was still excited for him to give me my gift. When we turned around and got back into town Micheal had to run by his parent's house for something while I waited in the car. Once he got back in he pulled away and I started begging him to give me my present. The suspense was killing me and I wanted it right then and there. So Micheal put the car in park at the first stop sign we came to and that is where he gave me my promise ring. I remember being so excited and nervous when he handed it to me! I couldn't even see it because it was at night time and it was dark in my car. I had to turn on the light to get a good look at it! So needless to say that stop sign is very special to Micheal and I and I was so glad we were able to get a good picture of us there!

Also while we were taking pictures at the stop sign a cop pulled up to ask us what we were doing! Ha ha! We did look pretty crazy! There were 3 vehicles all parked on the curb and all of us (Me, Micheal, Mom, De, LeeLee, and Damon) were out in the middle of the road taking pictures. Micheal told him that we were taking pictures and the cop said, "Oh...at the stop sign????" It was so funny! Micheal was like "Its sentimental!" ha ha! He was like Ok and drove away! Everytime I look at that picture I will remember that crazy story!

I am so very grateful to have such amazing friends and family that would be willing to spend a hot, windy Saturday morning running around town with me taking pictures! I am so blessed!

3 Months and E.C.I

So, as of today Micheal and I have been engaged for 3 months! Some days I think, "Wow! 3 months already! October is coming fast!" and other times I think, "Only 3 months! It is taking forever!!". Ha Ha! I am trying to be patient and enjoy this time as a bride to be but it is hard because I am sooo excited! As far as the wedding planning goes everything is going smooth so far. We have the dress, church, preacher, photographer, bridesmaids dresses, colors, and some decorations... and we still have 7 months to go! I am not a professional by any means but I say that is pretty good! There are times when Mom and I look at each other and are like "Shouldn't we be doing something!". Ha Ha! We are pretty much figuring things out as we go!

I want to share an interesting story behind finding the photographer! You know how every bride has those certain things that she considers to be "non-negotiables" well one of those things for me was my photographer. I am not picky about most other things but I always knew from day one that I wanted a good anf fun photographer, however not one that was going to make my parent's and I go into debt! LOL! Well all of the ones we looked at in Lubbock were ridiculous! So my mom started calling around in Levelland to see what we could find there. Well the first lady to call her back was named Debbie Blackshear. My mom was talking to her and was totally impressed with the price and the package. So she gave her my name... well at this moment Debbie begins screaming, "Oh My Gosh, AMANDA MARTIN! You mean Campus Ambassador at SPC Amanda Martin!!!!" And my mom, who was totally shocked was like, "Yeah...". Debbie went on to say how much she enjoyed me when I was at S.P.C. and so on and so forth!

When my mom called to tell me I was shocked and excited! Everyone who was a campus ambassador with me at the time loved Debbie! We all called her Mama Deb because she was like a mother to all of us! However, I never would have dreamed she would have had that reaction to me getting married! Anyway, I am so excited that not only did we find a good photographer but we found someone who knows me and I know she will do a fabulous job! It is so fun to see how God's hand is in all things even when we least expect it!! :-)

That is pretty much all that is going on on the Wedding Front! I am so ready for summer and graduation because after that I plan on diving into wedding planning head first! I haven't been able to that so far because of school. My main time consumer right now is trying to get my 120 hours of practicum time in before the end of April. I mentioned my practicum in an earlier post and will go into more detail about what I am doing exactly. Basically, a practicum is part of the undergrad program and requires the student to get 120 hours of real life experience in a place that centers around their type of degree.

With my degree being Family Studies there were a lot of different avenues to take. Some places I could choose from included anything from working within schools to working with women protective services.  I chose to do mine with Early Childhood Intervention (ECI).

Basically ECI is a program for children form birth to three years old. They come into the home and evaluate children whose parents are concerned might have developmental delays. The delay could come in any type of form imaginable it could be speech, OT, PT, nutritional, etc. and ECI will come in and provide different types of in-home therapies for the child. It is such a wonderful program because it is covered by insurance so most families don't have to pay a dime and the initial assessment to see if the child qualifies is always free. ECI staffs speech therapists, dieticians, occupational therapists, licensed professional counselors, physical therapists, and many more in order to provided one on one care for each family. I have been shadowing Stephanie Coffman, Early Intervention Specialist, since January and I have learned so much!

About 2 weeks after a started my practicum Stephanie allowed me to do some of the therapy sessions by myself. I was nervous and excited all at the same time. There are definatly some difficult moments when dealing with babies and toddlers. However, there are also those amazing moments where you feel yourself connecting with the child in an awesome way and you stop and think, "Wow! I am really helping him!".  Mainly I have worked with kids who have speech delays. It is so rewarding to hear them start talking more and more as the weeks go by! I love it!

If you know anyone who might benefit from ECI's services please pass it on! I believe if more parents knew services like ECI were available to them they would definitely take advantage of them!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Catch Up!

I don't know about you guys but 2011 has just been an AMAZING year so far! I can see God's blessings pouring out on his people everywhere I look.

 In late January our friends, Brian and Stacy adopted a beautiful brand new baby boy named Barrett Keinan Turpen. He is just perfect! God's hand was truly in this adoption because Brian and Stacy found out about this mother-to-be who was looking for someone to adopt her baby and less than 48 hours later the baby had been born and Barrett was with his new mommy and daddy! It is so neat watching God's blessings pour out on people you love!

Stacy with her brand new baby boy!

There are several other babies who will be making their debut in 2011! My best friend Meghan will be having her 4th little blessing in August! She actually found out she was pregnant on the same day Micheal and I got engaged! :) My friend Kara is expecting her 2nd baby boy on Good Friday so that is just around the corner and we are all very excited! Also, Micheal's sister Miranda and her hubby are expecting their first baby in August! Micheal and I will be getting a new little neice or nephew! :) I am so excited because this is the first neice or nephew born on Micheal's side that I will officially be "aunt" to from birth! Micheal's oldest sister has 2 boys who I have known from birth but I wasn't officially Aunt Amanda! (I like the way that sounds!) I am so glad Micheal has older sisters otherwise I wouldn't be an aunt for a long time because Adam is only 15!

On February 14th Micheal and I got to spend our first Valentine's Day together as an engaged couple! We had a great time. I had a hair appointment in Levelland that afternoon so Micheal took me to that and then we headed to Lubbock! He took me to eat at Red Lobster which is one of my favorites! And then we went to see the new movie with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, "Just Go With It". We both thought it was really funny! I had told Micheal that the only thing I wanted for Valentine's was a date but he didn't listen! :) I got some beautiful roses delivered to work and he also got me a personalized keepsake box. I absolutely love it! :) He is so sweet!

Micheal got to pick out what was engraved on it.

The top says: Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (He tells me that all the time)

The bottom says: Micheal & Amanda

:)

Also in February Micheal and I traveled to Amarillo to participate in Disciple Now at South Georgia Baptist Church. We are always so blessed by our experience in Amarillo and this year was no different. We always leave with new friends and fun memories!

So now I look up and we are already half way through March and Spring Break has already come and gone. I am so excited because that means graduation is less than 2 months away! I cannot wait! Everything on the school front is going great especially my practicum! I will share all about that in my next post! To end I will share some pictures of some of my favorite things! :)

Sunday lunch with friends!!



Wedding shopping with my family!

Going to Adam's Play with the Family!

Me and Nanny

Me and Dad

Adam had to dress up like a girl! :)

Happy Sunday Everybody!!

The Dress

I found it! Yes... I have officially purchased my wedding dress (well actually my parents did! Thanks Mom and Dad!). It is beautiful! It wasn't at all what I had in mind for myself but in my opinion it is even better. As soon as Micheal proposed I began planning the day I would pick out my dress. I knew I wanted to have my mom and Meg there for sure. Well Mom called me last week and told me david's Bridal was having a sale and it ended on Saturday. It was really short notice so Meg didn't get to be there for the trying on of the dresses because her kids had a birthday party to go to.

So Saturday Mom and I walk into David's Bridal and a store rep immediately asks us if we had an appointment. We told them we didn't know we needed one and the lady explained that usually you don't but they were booked solid for the entire day. I was a little disappointed but not too bad because in all honesty I didn't want to find my dress so early. I know it sounds weird but I wanted to prolong it as much as possible. So mom and I decided to browse in the store for a little while. We were in there for a few minutes when the manager approached us and said they had about an hour before their next appointment. They typically schedule an hour and a half for each appointment but we were just glad we were going to have any time at all! Well we ended up being in there for three hours! The other girls never showed up for their appointments which worked out in my favor! I tried on about six or seven dresses and I kept going back to 2 different ones. I loved them both sooo much! I told my mom that I thought it was supposed to be easier than this! I mean you aren't supposed to fall in love with two dresses you are supposed to only love one! LOL! The funny thing was that both dresses were completely different! One was what I had in my head that I would wear and the other was much more traditional and princessy (if thats a word! Ha Ha!) Mom and I were having so much trouble because we needed a third opinion to decide between the two. I mean I wouuld put one on and be 100% sure I wanted that one and then put the other one on and feel the same way! I was going crazy! Well at one point when I came out of the dressing room one of my good friends Kara was there! I was so happy to see her! She helped us mkae the final decision. (So much for not finding one that day!! ) It meant so much to me that she came by! :) The tradition at David's Bridal is that when you make your final decision you get to make a wish and ring a bell and everyone claps for you. I will try to remember to post pics of me ringing the bell after the wedding! I can't take a chance of Micheal getting a sneak peek at my dress! :)

As my mom was purchasing the dress Meg called and wanted to know if we were still at the store. I told her yeah but only for a little bit because I had already picked one out. She was shocked that I found one so quickly! She said she was on her way and I asked our consultant if I could put the dress on one more time to show my Matron of Honor. She said yes and so the day ended perfectly with me getting to show Meg my dress! I came out of the dressing room and we all cried and everyone was staring at us and saying oh how sweet! Ha Ha! That night when we got home I modeled my dress for Dad, De, Kamille, and Samantha. It was a fun day!

Yesterday during my quiet time I really tried to focus on praying for this time in mine and Micheal's lives. It is such a special and precious time and I truly want to enjoy it. I asked God to help me to slow down and enjoy the fun things that are going to happen while we are engaged without getting caught up in all of the details and the little things that don't matter in the long run. I pray that our engagement, wedding, and honeymoon will be imperfectly wonderful. That word imperfect kept coming to mind while I prayed because I truly don't want to get lost in a desire for a perfect wedding. Things happen and I know that and I don't want to allow myself to get upset over the little imperfections along the way because at the end of all of this the only thing that truly matters is that on October 22, 2011 I get to marry an amazing man! I am so grateful for such a wonderful fiancee, wonderful, friends, and a wonderful family! I am truly blessed!

5 Days and Counting...

In exactly 5 days my wonderful Christmas break will be over and life will begin again. Not that that is a bad thing... I have a great life! I am just not overly excited to be going back to school. On the bright side, in exactly 4 months I will be a college graduate! I am very ready. This semester is going to be very different than any I have ever experienced. I am only having to take 6 hours... yep, thats all that is left! Those 6 hours consist of one class called Gender & Sexuality and my practicum. Gender & Sexuality I am not worried about... my practicum on the other hand is kind of nerve racking. I have to get about 120 hours working in a place of business that has to do with me degree. I am excited about the opportunity but I am having a hard time deciding where to do it. There are so many options and it is hard to choose only one.

While I do not want these final few days to fly by I am anxiously awaiting the 15th of this month. This is the day I am supposed to get my ring back from the jewelers. I had to take it in last week to get it sized and it is going to take them three weeks to finish. I knew if it would take several days but I wasn't expecting three weeks! I am so ready to get it back. I didn't want to part with it but I was getting tired of carrying it around in my purse instead of wearing it. LOL! It was a size 7 and I wear a 4 1/2 so there was no way I could wear it without losing it. Micheal was going to have them size it before he bought it but he really wanted to propose before Christmas so we could tell all of our family in person and it was going to be after the new year before he could get it back. I am glad he didn't wait but I am definitly ready to have it back!

I get to go try on wedding dresses this weekend which I am very excited about! However, I secretly don't want to find one this early! I want to try on every dress possible before I make a decision! For those of you married ladies out there, do any of you have stories about shopping for your dress? Did you wear one that had been in the family for years or did you buy a new one? How long did it take you to find "the one"?? I love hearing stories like this so please share!! :-)

The Proposal!

Micheal proposed to me on December 21, 2010.

We had plans that evening to make a dessert called Puppy Chow, we like to pass it out to our friends at Christmas time. Micheal arrived at my apartment around 6 that evening. I had gotten home about an hour earlier and was just kind of hanging out and wrapping some presents. When Micheal got there we went into the kitchen to get started. Micheal began washing his hands and asked me if I would get his gum out of his inside coat pocket. His coat was hanging on the kitchen chair. As I went to get it I was thinking to myself that he left his gum at my apartment the night before and it was now in my purse but I figured he went and bought some more. So I reached into his pocket and instead of gum I pulled out a ring box.

I completely froze and just stared at him. At that point he came over grabbed my hand and took me to the couch. I had a movie playing on my laptop and I said "Hang on!" I began trying to pause it but I was completely freaking out. He was like just turn it off! So I slammed it shut! We were both laughing! It was a crazy moment!

Once we got the computer taken care of he got down on one knee while I sat on the couch. This is what he said, "I love you very much and I will love you for a very long time. I'm not perfect but I will be the best husband I can be. I hope you will marry me."

It was so perfect! I immediately said "Yes, of course!" I stood up and gave him a big hug and kiss! Then he put my ring on my finger!

I was SO shocked! I knew he would be proposing soon because we talked about it but I had no idea it would be the day we were going to make puppy chow! I didn't think he would be able to surprise me like that but he did! It was so perfect!

After he proposed we still had to make our puppy chow because we had to get it done and there really wasn't another day when we would have time to do it. Unfortunatley, making puppy chow was the LAST think I wanted to do! I mean come on... I wanted to go tell everyone!! :)

We already had plans to have dinner with his family that evening around 7:30 but before we went over there we stopped by my parents house. My mom and dad both knew he was proposing that day because he had already asked my dad for his blessing. It was so great that we got to tell our families in person that very day. They were all very excited for us!

I was so excited to start telling everyone! I didn't want to put it on Facebook until we had told all of our family and close friends in person. Not announcing it on Facebook was soooo hard, I just wanted everyone to know and that would have been the easiest way but we didn't want to hurt anyones' feelings. The morning after we got engaged we told my grandparents on both sides, my aunts and uncles, my cousin Kayla, and our friends Micheal & Stephanie, Tammy, and Andy & Meghan.

I was the most excited about telling my best friend Meghan! She has known Micheal and I from the beginning and she was anxiously awaiting the proposal as much as I was!! :) We wanted to tell Andy and Meg both the niht we got enagaged but they were in Lubbock until late. I didn't want to tell her over the phone so we were going to have to wait until after church the next night to tell her. I was going crazy!!! Well, while Mom and I were at the mall that day guess who we ran into!?!? Meg! As soon as I saw her I knew I was not going to be able to NOT tell her! We chit chatted for a little bit and then I said, "Micheal is going to kill me but I have to tell you something!" ( Now ideally this is the part where I would have held up my hand and shown her the ring but I didn't have my ring with me because it was too big and I couldn't wear it. But I had just bought a Christmas ornament in the shape of two teddy bears. One was proposing to the other one. At the top of the ornament it said: Micheal and Amanda December 21,2010.)

I pulled out the ornament and handed it to her. She looked at it for a little bit and then looked up at me with tears in her eyes and I was like "Yes, he did it last night!" Then she gave me a big hug and we both stood there trying not to cry! She wanted to see the ring and I explained to her where it was but luckily we were right next to Kay's Jewelers (where he bought it) so I showed her the display! Even thought I never imagined telling Meg I was engaged in the middle of the mall it was definitely a moment I will never forget!

We ended up going to their house later so Micheal could tell Andy the big news and so Meg could see the ring!

We received wonderful reactions from everyone we told! It was so much fun! We got to tell both of Micheal's sisters in person and I loved it!

On Christmas day I put it on Facebook and breathed a sigh of relief! It was hard keeping it a secret for a few days until all of our family knew!

This was a couple hours after he proposed.

My ring! I'm sorry for the poor picture! I had so much trouble getting a clear pic of the ring!

Here is a picture of the ring from the store's website!

I created a wedding website where I can keep everyone updated on the specifics of the big day. Details such as where, when, what time, etc. can be found at

http://www.weddingwire.com/simpsonwedding

Keep checking my blog for updates on how the planning is going and all of the craziness that goes on behind the scenes! :)

Have a great Monday everyone!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Wow, I can't believe the year 2010 has already come and gone! For me 2010 has been an amazing year, however I am very excited for all of the wonderful new adventures 2011 will bring. As most of you know by now through Facebook or otherwise Micheal and I are engaged! We are so very excited about taking this sacred step into marriage. He and I have known for many years that we would be married however neither one of us has felt a peace about it until the last few months. We prayed and trusted that God would give us wisdom in making this decision and He most definitley has! I was afraid that since we had been together for so long people would not be very excited for us. I thought people would just say that it was about time and move on. While we did get several "It's about times." for the most part we have received wonderful reactions from our friends, family, and church family! Thank you all so very much for your love and support!

I thought I would share a little bit about Micheal and I and our journey together in honor of our engagement.

Micheal and I met when we were both kids in youth at Trinity Church in Littlefield. We were both very involved in the youth group and were on our youth pastor's leadership team along with two of our closest friends. Throughout my freshman and sophomore year Micheal, Kayla, Gary, and I spent a lot of time together. We all became very close friends both inside and outside of church. I had always had a crush on Micheal but throughout this time we were just friends.

The summer before my junior year my best friend Kayla moved away. Kayla and I were inseperable so when she moved away it was very difficult. After Kayla left Micheal and I began to spend a lot more time together. We would hang out on the weekends and we got to know one another on a more one on one basis. I treasure this time in my heart so much because we were able to learn so much about one another without the pressure of a dating relationship. It was so innocent and fun! We grew to treasure one another's friendship very much. At this time in our relationship Micheal and I both had feelings for one another but neither one of us would admit it! We enjoyed being friends but I wanted us to become more. Micheal however did not think it would be a good idea. He did not want us to ruin our friendship.

At this point in our relationship things got really weird! I hate to make him sound like a jerk, because he wasn't, but basically Micheal simply quit talking to me. Even though we weren't in a dating relationship it felt very much like a breakup to me. At the time it felt like torture but looking back on it we both see how God used the time we were apart to reveal things to us individually. For about 8 months we barely spoke to one another. It was such a strange and painful time but it was a wonderful growing experience for me. By this time I was a senior and was able to spend my senior year making new friends and learning who I was as Amanda. Not Kayla's best friend or Micheal's best friend... just Amanda. I find it so interesting how strong I was during this time. Looking back on it I don't remember being sad or upset (even though I know I was for a time). I remember that time as very fun and exciting. It is amazing how God protects our hearts and truly does provide us with the perfect amount of strength needed for whatever situation we are going through.

So at this point Micheal and I had not spoken or spent any time together from April 2005-December 2005. Now this is the really fun part of the story!  I had not thought about Micheal in months, in fact I was actually dating another guy at the time. But Christmas Eve morning I woke up with Micheal very heavy on my mind and heart. I truly felt like I needed to talk to him and clear the air. You have to understand when I say Micheal quit talking to me I mean QUIT talking to me. From one day to the next. It was like we went from best friends to strangers in a matter of days. I had never understood why he did that and I had never cared to find out until that morning. I decided not to stress about it and I decided that if I was supposed to talk to him God would provide an opportunity. On Christmas Eve night my family and I were celebrating at my grandparent's house in Littlefield. At one point in the evening a few of us went to our church's youth building  because my dad and cousin wanted to play ping pong. I tagged along to watch but I remeber very vividly sitting on the couch just in my own little world. I kept thinking that I had to talk to Micheal.

When we got back to my grandparents house as soon as we walked in the front door I walked straight to the table and picked up my dad's cell phone, I still have no idea why I did that but I distinctly remember making a bee line straight to the phone. I picked it up and saw that there was a missed call from a number. I went and got my cell phone, went to the contacts, found Micheal's number and compared it to the missed call number. They were the same! I couldn't believe it! At the time we had our home phone set up to where all of the calls were forwarded to my dad's phone. Micheal had called the house. I remember being so nervous and excited as I called Micheal back. I could not believe God had created this clear opportunity for me to be able to talk to him. I know this may not sound like such a crazy experience but to me it was God opening the door for us to continue our relationship. I ended up calling Micheal back right that second and we ended up talking on the phone for 5 hours that night! We talked about what had happened, why we hadn't spoken in so long and everything in between. It was an amazing night! All of the feelings I had felt for him came rushing back to me that very night. That night Micheal also shared with me the things God revealed to him about our relationship. I truly beleive he and I both needed that time to step back and figure things out for ourselves.

Well needless to say I broke up with the guy I was dating at the time and Micheal and I begin hanging out again. On New Years Eve he came over and we got to bring in the New Year together and have been together ever since! We consider January 1, 2006 our anniversary because that was the official day we began "dating". And now 5 years later here we are! Stronger than ever! Our relationship has not been perfect, in fact it has been extremely tough. I truly struggled with whether or not we were supposed to be together or if I was supposed to go off to college and a million other what ifs. However Micheal has never left my side throughout all of my worries and fears. He has truly been my rock and I know for a fact our relationship would not have lasted if it had not been for his commitment to me and to our Father in Heaven. In my eyes he is a perfect picture of what a godly man should be. He loves me with all of his heart and treats me like a princess. I know I am totally gushing right now but I am just so grateful and excited that he chose me! God's hand has truly been in our relationship from the beginning! I am so excited to be engaged to Micheal, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt this is the man I want to marry and I absolutely cannot wait to begin this awesome adventure with him!

I love you Micheal! Happy Anniversary!

**I honestly did not realize this was going to turn into such a long post! I will share the story of how he proposed in my next post! Stay tuned!**