Less than One Month to go!

With 28 days to go things are getting pretty exciting around here! The invitations are out, honeymoon is booked, and now pretty much all I have left to do, (as far as this wedding is concerned) is wait.

My ring has been at the jewelers for the last few weeks and my left hand had has been feeling quite empty! My original ring came with a substantial slant in the setting which made it quite difficult to find a wedding band that would have fit well. Instead of opting for a super expensive custom made band, I ended up having my diamond placed in a new setting that would fit perfectly with a simple, traditional, plane wedding ring. I was able to pick it up this weekend and I am in love with it! I am typically not a jewelry person, so I love the fact that it isn't too 'over the top' and super flashy. Now to stop staring at my hand.....

28 days, 28 days, 28 days! Patience really hasn't been a virtue of mine lately. I'm one that loves planning and doing, but in turn goes nuts when asked to wait or sit around. With the bulk of the wedding planning done, you can imagine how I am starting to go slightly bonkers. So to help keep myself slightly more 'sane' I have come up with my own extra list of things that I would really like to get 'done' before the wedding.

1. Be purposeful about spending time with my other friends.  - With all of this excitement going on lately, I have been spending a TON of time with Micah. Now this hasn't been a bad thing at all ( I really like the guy! ) but I need to make sure to be spending time with other people. I am going to be spending the rest of my life with Micah, and time with college friends is precious. Being married and in college is going to be a balancing act. Because I know my own tendency to hang all over my man every chance I get, I just need to be purposeful and keep this in mind.

2. Go through ALL of my clothes. - I have noticed lately that I have a TON of clothes that I rarely ever wear. I think 1/2 of my dresser may consist of clothes that I just don't fit into anymore but am holding onto just in case I can lose the weight. I have decided that it is time to do a good 'ole purge and go through everything and separate them into piles of keep, give away, or throw out. Not only will this be helpful in making me feel more fresh and organized, but Micah won't have to deal with all my extra clothes. :-)

3. Try to get activity in! -This is something that I have always struggled with but I think now it is going to be more beneficial than ever. Not only will it help keep me sane, but I would love to start healthy patterns so that I may be a good example to my future family

4. Grow those perfect wedding nails.  - Ugh, I admit it... I'm a horrible nail biter. Time to give another crack at braking this bad habit so that I can do something with these stumps for the wedding!

5. Study my butt off! - Oh yeah, FOCUS!!!! Come at me finals :-D
   
Does anybody have any other suggestions of smart things to do before the wedding that will help keep me sane?

Have a fantastic evening!

God Bless!

My experience with pre-marital counseling

Often people teeter on the edge of getting pre-marital counseling or not. Why go to counseling before you have any problems? Counseling came highly recommended to us so we ended setting something up with our pastor.

I am SO glad we did! At first this was a pretty nerve racking for me. I wasn't used to just walking into a pastor's office and worried that I was going to be in some sort of trouble. Right away I began to relax and really enjoy the experience. I actually came to looking forward to it as my favorite event each week! 

We ended up being guided through a program called Prepare-Enrich. It started by us both taking a quite extensive online quiz where we were asked many different questions about almost every topic that you could think of. The program then paired our results against each others and attempted to point out the strengths and weaknesses of our relationship. Our results came back and our relationship was generalized into one scary word...

Conflicted

So it turns out that we are very different people. Go figure! Our relationship works not necessarily because we are the same shape, but because our pieces of the puzzle actually fit together very well. His strengths are my weaknesses, and my strengths are his weaknesses. 

Just because you are two different people doesn't mean your relationship wont work out! 

Bottom line is that relationships are going to take work. I highly doubt that there is that perfect couple out there who agrees with each other in every single aspect of life, and essentially are 'soul mates' . There is going to be conflict, and you are going to disagree. The success of your relationship isn't going to be defined by the times you get along, but by the times when you fight. It's going to be hard work, but it's going to be worth it!

Overall, I really enjoyed our experience at pre-marital counseling. Here are a few key points that I took home with me.

1. Not all relationships are perfect 
2. Marriage is going to take work.
3. Love is a choice, not always a feeling. 
4. Communication is key
5. Just because you are good at talking, doesn't mean you are good at listening. 

Well that's all for now! I hope you have a fabulous Wednesday!  I'm off to celebrate a special guy's birthday. :-D! 

From ME to WE: About

As a senior in college, I am at a time of my life when people are beginning toward  the big 'what's next' in their lives. For some people that may mean seeking full time employment, getting married, or facing the next stage of their life with lots of uncertainty of where they will be going next.

This next year of my life is going to be full of lots exciting changes and challenges as I will be getting married, finishing my last year of college, and seeking a full-time position as a science teacher in a high-needs school district.

I invite you to join with me as I go though one of my biggest transitions yet... The transition of just ME to WE as I am marrying the love of my life, +Micah Kuiper  on May 5th, 2013. This blog will focus on my journey of becoming a wife as I share the trials, the joys, and the lessons that I learn along the way.