Thursday, April 23, 2009

Moving!

It's always nice to have a guy around, isn't it? This weekend I'll really miss mine, as I am moving out of my apartment and into my parents house for a few months. This is a huge step into the official waiting/transitional period before getting married! Joaquim and I are already thinking about where we will live in 4 1/2 months. Feel free to browse the "for rent" sections of the newspaper for us.

Last year on April 25th, Janell and I moved into our fun home for the year, and it has really been a nice place. I think we got a bit spoiled. I'm moving back in with 'rents, and she's moving into a SUPER cute one-bedroom that unfortunately has no dishwasher. Our move-in day was quite the experience! Joaquim was still here, so he and my dad pretty much did the heavy lifting. (Sunday my dad and Brian get to do it again! They're such gems.) We got all settled in, and then went back to my parents' house for a farewell dinner of Portillo's...then to O'Hare airport and a hurried goodbye. At least we were too worried about getting him onto the plane to really be sad.

All that to say it's been (almost) a year since Miss Janell Keller and I moved into apartment 206, and we are going to have a moment of silence on Tuesday, our last night there! By then, I will be sleeping on an air mattress and we'll be using plastic utensils.

Joaquim is excited for me to move out, and wishes he were here to help. So do I! And I am excited about having a tv in my room at home, because I am sure I will be holing up in there quite a bit, maybe doing my Jillian Michaels workout routine.

Should be a busy weekend, and we are on to a new phase!

Friday, April 17, 2009

"Oops"

The best laid plans of mice and men, right? My thoughts of pontificating about every detail of our exciting life were quickly thwarted by the fact that we indeed DO have an exciting life, containing lots of details. Too many to document on a regular basis! It's exhausting!

Well the biggest detail to write about is the fact that Joaquim GOT HIS VISA!!!!!!!!!!!! He has had his passport back in his hand for a week or two, with a big pretty K-1 visa. We also just bought his plane ticket! August 26th, my handsome fiance will be landing at O'Hare airport. And I will be waiting with a smile, a kiss, and...a to-do list.

That brings me to my second point. Planning a wedding is ridiculous! So is working a full time job and growing my Mary Kay business. All of those involve to-do lists! And guess what...I'm behind on all of them. But little by little, it is all getting done. Here's a summary:

Our wedding will be held at the lovely Yorkfield Presbyterian Church in Elmhurst.
Our reception will be held at the INCREDIBLE Wilder Mansion in Elmhurst.
The flowers will be beautiful and we are working on signing with a caterer and finalizing our tasty menu.
Save the date cards are going in the mail soon! (Buying stamps are on my to-do list. Have been for a few weeks. Oops.)
My dress (no link here, surprise!) is completed, and has been waiting for me to pick it up for a month. That's on my list for Monday. I promise. (My dad is worried the store will go out of business before I get my dress. Ohhhhh dad.)

Joaquim and I are just counting down the days. 142 until we get married. To be exact. And 57 until we see each other in June. This is a LONG haul, our longest ever. We have now been apart for 3 1/2 months. But God is good and is certainly keeping us busy. Is that an answer to prayer? I guess so. We have been learning a lot, and are more excited every day.

On a deeper note, we have been feeling more and more at peace with where God has us after we get married. We will be in Chicagoland for a bit, exact timeframe still to be determiend. We are excited about how God will use that time in our lives, and especially as we start our life together. God has been speaking to us both about the principle of taking a year off. (Joaquim recently shared this on his facebook: http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001426.cfm)

Well, that's all for now. Hey...maybe more comments will mean more updates. Any thoughts??