expensive.
worth it? well...worth all the stress? no, because i shouldn't be having it. And really, I'm not. It's only by the grace of God, as I ask Him each and every day to take this time of my life and use it for His Glory. I also ask Him for an eternal perspective, because when I am focused on what's to come (heavenly things), then the thank you notes, color of the ushers' shirts, and tone/shape of my arm muscles matter very little. Very little indeed.
So, are we ready for 5 more things to be added to the spice of life whilst being engaged? I am. Let's go.
1. I found shoes for my flower girl! Actually, her mom sent me to Payless, where i found $20 gold shimmery ballet flats. Aren't they so cute? Now, i think i need to take back the white unitard i got for the top, and get a light pink one instead. Who knew getting the flower girl dressed would be such a feat?
2. I went to my first "trial hair do" appointment last week! A great friend, wonderful lady, mother of one of my great friends, and amazing hairdresser has agreed to do all the updo's for the wedding day, including mine! So the beginning of the appointment was spent getting a feel for my hair and what it can and can't do. She said my hair was perfect for just about anything i wanted to do with it. It's very dry- as in, i wash it only every 3 or 4 days (cringe if you will, but it's the truth). It curls nicely and lays flat nicely. My hair is very thick as well. So...she practiced on me whilst i looked at various hairstyles in magazines...most being horrendous and totally 90's prom look. But if you like that sort of thing....:) So we left with a decision on the top part of the hair- it will be ratted, parted on the side, poofed up just a tad, and pinned up on the sides. As far as the bottom half goes, we are still deciding...
3. Found my usher shirts! My cousins, Brock, Conner, and Nick (who are very hunky), and my great friend Kevin Cassidy will look AMAZING in these bluish greenish shirts. I told my mom that besides the Peony, Gold and Champagne, I wanted to have an accent wedding color. She asked me which color, and I told her this light teal, light blue, carribbean/subtle blue color--and she goes, "that's EXACTLY what i though you would say!" Do you ever remember that time in life when you realized you were just a younger version of your mother? Yep. Me too. Right now. Good thing it's a good thing:)
4. I have "BEFORE" pictures of our house! Haven't moved in yet, but we are going to start doing that next week! Now i need to pick out colors for the walls and decide what kind of furniture I need and where to put it. It also needs a ton of lighting. The place is very dark and there is hardly any ceiling lighting. Floor lamps, here we come. The good thing is, the toilet passed my test on it the other day. Ha:) No but seriously, it's a good toilet. Something you take for granted if you have it. But for those of you with cantankerous toilets, you can imagine my sighs of relief and utter joy at the wonderful workings of our toilet.
Kitchen!
Check out this deck!!!
5. The couples' shower went AMAZINGLY amazingly well. There were 85 people there! Don't get me wrong, this house is big, but it was definitely crowded. I got my KitchenAid mixer and bedding! It is sooooo cute. It was such a joyous time of celebration, and I just felt literally showered with love and support. I think it was good for Daniel's parents to see the wonderful, godly support system that is here for us in Wichita. It really is like none other. My favorite part by far was when they all laid hands on us and prayed for us. One of my "second dads" prayed a beautiful prayer, and my brother and sister (who, by the way, missed 3 flights and got there towards the end rather than at 12:30 pm as scheduled), mom, dad, and other amazing friends and family lifted us up to God in a way that can only be described as pure love- as pure as any one fallen human seeking God can be.
In this time of my life, I feel like somebody needs to pinch me just about each and every day. I am so blessed, it's unbelievable. I am trying to keep the perspective that this showering of attention (and gifts, haha:) is only for a season of my life, yet I am also enjoying it to the fullest. Hard times WILL come, we are guaranteed that as Christians, but God is using this time, I think, to build our armor and provide us with the necessary tools to glorify His Name in the years to come...when i become Mrs. Alyssa De Jong. Weird. I think that is the first time i have typed that name out!
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2 comments:
Love it all! The hair is going to look great!
petie, you were gorgeous. everything was gorgeous. and now you are a happily married woman!
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