3 Months!!!

Despite a gloomy day here in Clemson, it has been an exciting one. For one, Carson and I just returned from making a deposit on our apartment for January!! We are so excited. There were so many options to consider but this place just fit. The decision had us spending a lot of time in prayer and when worries surfaced about making it all happen, God has been showing us that He has it all in control. As hard as it is for me to not worry, it has been wonderful to put it all in God's hands and breathe easy.
I was all bouncing in my seat when we pulled in today make the deposit. The people in the office are so nice and the apartments are only 6 months old so it will be a refreshing change from the ancient on-campus housing. I get giddy just writing about it. Plus it's another exciting reminder that Carson and I are getting ready to start our lives together.
Speaking of the upcoming wedding, it is only 3 months from tomorrow! I can't believe how time is flying. I feel like I haven't been doing much to plan for the wedding lately with school so I had to take some time and make sure I had everything under control this morning.
Back in Orlando, mom is taking care of her list by visiting the wedding venue again today (we go there a lot, but the lady there is really friendly and puts up with us) with the decorators who had some fabulous ideas! I can picture it even being described over the phone and I am so excited how it all seems to be coming together. I know I'm planning it so I should know what to expect but I can wait to see how it all comes together on the day.
Well that's all the exciting news for now as I try to being my feet back down to the ground because life is still happening around me.

100 Days and Counting!!

Only 100 days till the wedding!! Wow, that number is shrinking fast... Almost to the double digits. A friend of ours had a great suggestion the other day to read the Psalms backwards to countdown so Carson and I started that and are enjoying our journey through the Psalms together.
I went home this past weekend and we were able to get a lot of productive wedding stuff done. I had my dress fitting, which started bad but ended well. The first lady they gave me didn't know what she was doing and had to ask the girl next to her about everything. When she did my bustle it was all crooked. So she went off to do something else and the lady that was helping her took over. She tried a different bustle but I wasn't much happier due to the fact that it was also crooked. I just wanted someone who knew what they were doing and heals can only be so comfortable when you are standing on them in one position. I was afraid to shift my weight or my hem would be all crooked. So my dad saw how unhappy I was, and being the hero that he is, went and got Jimmy who sold me the dress. Well I guess they get all defensive and don't like it when the sales people come back into the alterations area so they promptly brought out the lady who seemed to be in charge. She had me all pinned up correctly and my bustle done up beautifully in 15 minutes! I left there a very happy bride, but I was not about to settle on my wedding dress.
Today instead of working on wedding plans, we worked on plans for after the wedding and went apartment hunting. Once again an experience that started off bad but ended very well. If you ever have a day to spare and want to meet some characters, you're bound to find them in the apartment leasing offices. Everyone we met was very helpful, but unique in their own way. We got very excited to hear that one of the places that someone showed us was the best property they had to offer. If you count mold around the bathtub, tiny closets, and the washing machine right next to the kitchen sink beautiful, this place is for you! Our last stop was a new apartment complex that was beautiful, spacious, and affordable! One thing we learned today was how to better rely on God. When it all seemed overwhelming a pray for releasing that to God gave us peace that He had just the place for us. One thing to tick off the list... it's looking a little shorter!

A different kind of ring. . .

Tonight Carson and I took part in a ring ceremony that had a different significance in our lives. This ring ceremony was for our class rings. I signed up for it because is just seemed like the thing to do. It is possible to just order your class ring and get it in the mail, but Carson and I wanted to make our experience here as meaningful as it could be. The ceremony was much different than I expected. They had people tell stories about the significance of the ring in general, as well as what made their rings special for them. Some of the stories were very moving in that one guy sold his ring while fighting in World War II for food that ended up saving his life. So now as I type this message, my hands are equally weighted. On my left is a ring that signifies the commitment I will soon make to the man I love. On my right is a symbol of the Clemson family that is and was a very influential factor in shaping my life. What a great reminder of how much God has blessed me with.

It's really happening

Wow.. things are falling in to place left and right (and not because of me). My mom has taken her list very seriously and has been reducing the size of her list very quickly. She's even doing stuff that wasn't on the list! The invitations came in a couple of days ago which just really makes things real. It's official... in print! I'm hoping to get caught up on all my school stuff and have some time to focus on my list soon!
This past weekend Carson and I went to Greenville and ended up getting our wedding rings!! They are just sitting there.. waiting to be used. Carson is jealous that I have a ring to let everyone know that I'm getting married and is excited about getting to wear his.

Plans for after the wedding are changing in a very exciting way. Carson found out about a graduate assistantship that would pay for him to go to grad school here at Clemson, as well as pay him a salary for the research that he is doing. This is a very exciting opportunity because Carson has always talked about going to grad school, we just weren't able to afford it. This means I get to stay in Clemson for another two years which is great because I'm not ready to leave. I will have the best of both worlds. Being in Clemson and being married. So the job hunt will begin for me soon once things become official for his grad school stuff.

Back Burner

While mom has been blazing through her to do list mine has not even been looked at. Moving in, RA training and being a bridesmaid in a friends wedding has made for a pretty busy week. I got the proofs for the wedding invitations as well as a florist quote back today so that has kind of thrown me back into wedding mode. And once I get started, I can't stop. It's kind of addicting. I would so much rather be planning my wedding.
Being in a wedding this weekend helped bring me back to reality of what I'm really getting ready to do. The whole time I was picturing myself in the shoes of the bride. I can't believe my day is coming so soon. I also have a new respect for my bridesmaids. I know they are going to be awesome but it was humbling to be on that side of it. I have already told my matron of honor that I am handing her my phone on the wedding day because I don't want to be bothered with it and I just want to focus on the day and soak it all in. So if I don't answer a call from you on the day of the wedding, know that I still love you... I'm just a little distracted!

Passing the Reigns

Well, I left for Clemson yesterday after spending a lot of time with my mom talking about what needed to still be done while I was gone. It was hard to come back while there was still so much to do at home and I felt bad leaving the extra burden on my mom.
She took off yesterday after I left and had a very productive day (and only gave me a little bit of a hard time about it.) She spent over 2 hours with an invitations specialist getting the invitations ordered and working out some color matching. We solved the problem of the different shades of colors by purchasing a spool of ribbon in each color so that we can compare and match without having to just remember the exact shade of the color. She solved so many problems last night! What an awesome mom... who needs a wedding planner. The manager at the tux shop where we ordered the invitations even offered her a job! Dad was the all supportive husband and helped her with the very detail oriented task. Although, by the end of the night he had dubbed her "mom-zilla"! My dad helping my mom paid off when they went to the cake shop today and he got a chance to taste some of the yummy selections that we had made.

Colors

I thought deciding on my wedding colors was the hard part. I have found that finding the shade of color is even harder. It has been one of the biggest things stressing me out because it effects so much! I think I have found a solution so I am off today to look at dresses/tuxes for our bridal party. I also get to go to see my cake vendor this morning to see some wedding cakes that they are working on today! What an exciting start to the day.
Also on today's list is our final dancing lesson before we go back to Clemson. We are excited about dancing at the reception! Now it's up to us to practice very hard and not forget everything that we learned.
I leave to go back to Clemson on Monday so I'm trying to finalize whatever I can today so I can spend tomorrow packing (oops, I have forgot to do that so far) and spending time with my family!