My Wedding Day! {Day 7 Spring Forward}

Buzzbee and I were really married August 15th 2010 in his family's backyard. We had to get married in Michigan since I was going to be living there. (kinda confusing, I know but hey,I got TWO weddings)
It was a very hot afternoon and we were married outside. Pastor Rob married us and it was perfect. We had cake with his family and only my mom was able to make it. I left for Canada that day and prepared for our Wedding in Canada (the wedding wedding) on August 21 2010.
We were married at my home church and it was very much a DIY wedding! My mom altered my wedding dress herself and I made my own headpiece.
I walked down the isle to "Anne's theme" from Anne of Green Gables! (my fav.)
Buzzbee and the groomsmen wore vests which Ithought were cute and great for the weather (supposed to be hot but ended up being a very rainy day)
The reception was by Lake Erie at a near by marina. We decorated the pavilion with fabrics and lights and had tea pots with flowers and teacups with candles in them on the tables.
My Mom and Alph (her husband) were to prepare ALL the food but a few days before the wedding Alph went into the hospital with some sort of obstruction. (VERY painful) He ended up staying there for days and missed the wedding entirely. My mom and Alph's sister made ALL the food for our 100ish guests and it was awesome!
Alph was supposed to also set up our speakers and music but since he was unable to do so we had to improvise. We did have some technical difficulties during the dance,but all in all it was a fun night.
I married my best friend twice in one week and it was amazing!

Here are some pics.

SOHANDSOME!!

My Best Friend When I was 16 {Day 6 Spring Forward}

As I think back to my 16 year old self I remember having a few best friends! I am sure I will blog about each of my special friend's at some point definitely. I am soo blessed to have an incredible group of lifetime friends.
The one that sticks out in my mind is Mandy around the age of 16. We became fast friends around that age (grade 9) and became accountability partners. As I look back at our days of studying the bible and praying for each other I realize now how that played a crucial part in how our friendship is today because of the bonding time we had back then. I know God placed Mandy in my life during a difficult time in my life and she proved to be a huge blessing to me and still continues to be to this day.
Here are a few memories I have of our wonderful friendship.

• Precious times of Bible study for youth group, particularly Dorcus stands out in my mind :)
• Watching Brigadoon in my trailer parked in the driveway at night and my Grandma coming over and scaring us! (Actually, I cannot believed she did that! haha. My Grandma came over and dragged herfingernails across the screen to purposely scare us! haha, I almost forgot about that.)
• Mandy wearing overalls, many layers, sparkly gel and clips in the shape of ducks, modrobes and braces yet was adored by all.
• WAAMS. I can't even remember the details of this "game" we invented...it was very strange and we got our best friends in on it at one girl's bonding night at church.All I can remember is it wasFUN and there was ransom notes and yellow raincoats involved.
• Having tea at my Grandma's house and dressing up in sparkly fabric my Grandma had lying around and standing in the window while her brother and other boys picked us up for some youth event in Mandy's family's van..(oh dear, forget what they used to call it something like the beast, but that's Bethany's name)
• Laughing and Giggling uncontrollobly about nothing at a girl's youth group sleepover. A few girl's were very annoyed by us and ended up leaving in the early hours of the morning. Sorry.
• Singing Sound of Music songs
• Playing "skid" in highschool during lunch
• Always eating lunch together
• Working together at Fabricland and having an ongoing "remnants race" (see who could make the most remnants in one shift)
• Creating our band called Remnants 2.0 or something like that and buying matching sweaters for our band!
• English class in Gr. 9 where our friendship began. I can only remember something about socks. haha :)
• History class presentations. We were partners and had the best presentations (in my opinion).
• made puppets and recorded a play on cassette about the bourgesoie, clergy and...proletariat or something like that (I don't really remember if those are correct) We were studying the french revolution I believe. We set up a puppet stage and had our sock puppets that represented each class and pressed play on the tape player while we used our hands to move the puppets. EASIEST presentation EVER and we got a great marks!
• Our presentation about the industry of cotton, I have no idea other than we must have been learning about slavery and that is how the cotton came about but we passed around cotton balls to the class.
• Making a children's book about Napoleon and dedicating it to our teacher's newborn baby girl. (I believe he kept that)
• Mandy's lobster pants
• A few math classes together (Mandy is super smart)
• Spanish class
• Of course our Amore de Perrito! A film we made about two dogs falling in love. Lucy(my golden retriever) made the cut but Sky( Mandy's golden retriever) and Lucy did not work well together so Mandy subsituted a large stuffed moose that looks like a dog instead of her dog. It was AWESOME!
• When my Aunt died suddenly in the night Mandy encourage me with a hug and it helped. :)
• When my Grandpa passed away she mailed me a very sweet card along with Ebony May all the way from Chicago when we were both in College. Ebony May is a big goofy looking stuffed doll that is so adorable and I still have her today. That really meant a lot to me and helped me during that time because I knew she was thinking of me and praying.
• Rollerblading around Chicago with Matt x2 and Josh. Getting unlimited nachos at Chiles, going to the CHEESECAKE FACTORY!
• Taking our dogs for walks even though they needed to lie down every 5 mins.

I could think of a lot more stories and memories but to sum it up, Mandy really made doing school work FUN! She has had a major influence on my life and who I am today and is SUPER thoughtful, creative, loving, SO compassionate, a Godly woman and I am blessed to know her and have been influenced by her.

Something I could definitely live without{Day 5 Spring Forward}

I know,I skipped a day,but I am already behind so it's okay.

First off, I want to share with everyone that I am now a permanant (with conditions) legal resident of the United States!! WHOOO.. which means I can now work and cross the border which is why I am visiting everyone in Canada this week!! Feels SOOO good to be FREE. no limitations now!

So, something I could definitely live without is television. I know this because we do not have television at my home in Canada. All summer I lived without the tv. I can get all my news from the internet and the newspapers. ( I know, how archaic.) <--don't think that makes sense whatsoever, but maybe.
However I still enjoy movies, more going to see a movie once a month as that is our tradition for date nights (more date afternoons since the movies are half price before 6). OR I rent FREE movies with blockbuster codes I find online! I'll remember to post them on my blog when I find them next time. They are just for the blockbuster express (or whatever its called).
I do like to watch television shows, however perhaps the thing I could live without is commercials! I know they are good for planned potty breaks, but seriously, it is a waste of time! and of course, I can't say that the television itself is the thingIwould want to live without(but Icould if I wanted) because we use the tv for movies and videogames as well. SOOO to sum it up. I could live without commercials!THE END

Something I can't live without, because I've tried {Day 4 Spring Forward}

I could still live but life just isn't the same without my dear hubby around! I know because I have tried and that was last summer when we were apart for a few months. Although we did oovoo and talk on the phone everyday, I still felt like a big part of me was missing.
This week, I WILL have to leave my sweetheart for one week! maybe a lil over a week! It IS by choice because I need to visit everyone at home (Canada) and Buzzbee has to work all week so it won't work for him to come with me. :(
I will have a great time visiting my friends and family but will still miss my best friend! but I know he will be there when I get back and we will still talk on the phone while I am gone.
Sidenote: Buzzbee picked me up from work today and he bought me beautiful no reason roses and took me out for dinner.. it was WONDERFUL! MWAH! you can see why I love this guy. :D so thoughtful.

(check back tomorrow on this post for some pics of Buzzbee! I can't put them up right now because the internet is not working well :p)

Thanks for reading!

Something I don't like about myself. {Day 2 Spring Forward}

First off, I want to apologize for not posting yesterday, I know I am a day behind. Hopefully my internet will allow me to post this and another post tonight so I can catch up and also read everyone else's!

I don't like that I am messy. Nah, I think it's more that I don't like that  I don't have a maid.. so let me think of another one.
I don't like how much of the time I am thinking only about what I think or feel. I want to be selfless like Christ and put other's above myself and that is something I am working on right now in my life.
I don't like how forgetful I am. I remember memories, and things like that, but other things.. I can't explain what makes me forget them or what they might be, but there are certain things that I cannot remember to do or where I might have left something. I honestly think I have improved over the last year, but still I wish I was better at that and it would make life a lil easier.
I don't like my eyebrows. I need to get the waxed. They grow VERY crazy like straight out, up and down, sideways.. they are ridiculous so it makes it difficult to manage. Hopefully Karen will go get her eyebrows waxed with me next week.

What I like about Me {Spring Forward Blog Challenge Day 1}

I like that I try to be a good friend to my friends. :) I am not the "perfect" friend, but I am genuine and care deeply about the friends and family God has put in my life. I believe people that know me feel comfortable enough to be themselves around me which in turn makes me feel free to be myself as well.

I like that I can be happy doing just about anything and truly enjoy the moment. I don't often find myself bored for more than a few minutes. If it does happen its because I am being lazy and don't feel like doing anything to entertain myself. I can keep myself good company and love a good balance between being social and having some quiet time. I am for the most part a contented person when it comes to accepting the circumstances that I cannot change. I do the best with what I have and know that what I have ultimately belongs to God.

I like that I am open minded. I think that I am pretty good at seeing things from other people's perspective and while I might not necessarily agree with them, I usually take some time to put myself in their position and try to see how they might see it. Not to say that I don't have strong convictions, I do, but I guess what I am trying to say is that I am understanding and compassionate for the most part and I like that about myself.

Physically, I would have to say I like my uniqueness. I have chubby cheeks, long nose with a bump, and a sticky out bottom lip with hardly an upper lip to match not to mention my crazy un-kept hair (that one could be helped I realize). I know God made me this way and so I have come to embrace this look as my own.

As I close this post I feel a bit awkward about saying all these things that I like about myself,but then I am reminded of a poster when I was in Kindergarten that said, "I'm not junk, because God doesn't make junk". I know who I am in Christ and because of that I can love myself because I am loved my an Awesome God!

PS. please keep Buzzbee and I in your prayers today as we go to Detroit for the immigration interview!! pray for safety and that we would arrive there in time and that the interview would go smoothly and quickly!

Spring Forward Blog Challenge

some things remember,

a little to forget.

spring clean your soul! 

march 14 - april 13, 2011

Head over to the happy life blog and join me in this challenge.

Day 1 – A picture of you and something you like about like about yourself
Day 2 – Something you really don't like about yourself.
Day 3 – A photo of something you ate today. Was is it worth the calories?
Day 4 – Something or someone you can't live without, because you’ve tried.
Day 5 – Something you definitely could live without.
Day 6 – Tell us about your best friend when you were 16, and where you two stand today.
Day 7 – Tell us about your wedding or dream wedding.
Day 8 – The best advice you've ever received.
Day 9 – A photo of your last significant purchase. Did it satisfy a need or a want?
Day 10 – What is your favorite way to pamper yourself?
Day 11 – The greatest vacation or trip you've ever had.
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you grew up in. What did you love/hate about it?
Day 13 – Where are you spiritually? In a valley or on a mountain?
Day 14 – If you had unlimited resources, what would your life look like? (Have fun with this one!)
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without. Why?
Day 16 – What do you miss most about your childhood?
Day 17 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 18 – What is something you wish you could change about yourself?
Day 19 – What is something you hope never changes about you.
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 – A photo of something that consistently makes you happy.
Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 23 – Tell us something you think no one really knows about you.
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – Someone who impacts your life regularly.
Day 26 – How have you changed in the past two years?
Day 27 – What is something you need to forgive yourself for?
Day 28 – What is something you need to stop blaming yourself for?
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photo of you today, and 3 good things that have happened during this blog challenge.

Book Review: Regret Free Parenting by Catherine Hickem

As a newly married woman, I do not have any children yet, and probably will not for a couple years. My friends however have already started having babies which is VERY exciting! My sister in law in fact just had her second baby 2 days ago! so adorable. 
Today I am reviewing a book provided by booksneeze.com (check it out)

Anyways, Regret Free Parenting by Catherine Hickem is a mother herself and therefore has first hand experience.In the book, Hickem, offers seven essential parenting principles: a mother’s purpose, knowing your child, having a vision, emotional intelligence, maintaining your position, addressing fears, and being God-dependent.  At the end of each chapter, she poses questions for the reader to think about, as well as encouraging them to take active steps toward being an intentional mother. 

I really liked how the book focused on how to be intentional all the while growing yourself as a mother. Hickem suggests that the mother's perception of herself is easily picked up by her children and they will treat themselves how she treats herself. That being said it is important for the mother to take care of herself and her own spiritual growth as well as being confident in herself and her authority. The book also discussed children through various ages and stages which is why I would recommend this book to any mother whatever stage her kids are at.

I felt I would have been more interested in this book if I actually had children. I am giving this book to a pregnant friend who I think will appreciate it and hopefully find it helpful. I may ask for it back when I have children of my own as a refresher.

Thanks booksneeze.com

I apologize for the lack of posts, here's our car :)

Not that a lot hasn't been happening, quite the opposite, it is just finding internet time to post something.
So now that I have a bit of time I will make a short post.
In a bout a monthish I should be back to having internet and regular posts! That makes me happy.

SO! I must say, I have had a lot of prayers answered rather quickly over this past month it's almost overwhelming! Buzzbee got a full time job that we had been praying about! Our car died which we knew was going to happen and the Lord provided us with a generous gift from our church with some money to go towards a new (used) car for us! AND we got a car and it's so lovely! We got a really good deal on it and should last us a while! I saw it immediately (it's yellow) and hoped we could get that one and we did!

Emma *Petal*(Blossom's baby) was born, no complications or anything and is sooo adorable! Another awesome answer to prayer is that I got my work permit! I can now legally work in the USA and within 2 days of getting it I had an interview and was offered the job! I will let you know more about that later. God has really been taking care of us, and I thank Him every night for that. I am blessed to have a wonderful, loving saviour who cares more about me than I can ever imagine. It's a wonder I ever have trouble sleeping at night, when I have an almighty God leading me and holding me in His hand I should be always sleeping like a baby.

Once I start working we are going to move into town, which will be a nice change. I am looking forward to taking this step and starting our grown up lives together, with our new jobs and new car! it's exciting.

That's all I am going to post for now, Hope to post again this weekend.