Crossing things off the list...

Wow! Hard to believe it's already been a week since I last posted! We have a few more things crossed off the list for the wedding since last week:

1) Mom and i met with the cake lady-- her company is called "Let Them Eat Cake". Isn't that cute? She is really talented, and has been doing wedding cakes for 25 years, so I'm very confident that our cake will be beautiful. I spoke with her this afternoon, and she gave me the pricing bid for the cake, which turned out to be less than I expected... which is good news. :)

2) We're trying to decide on flower girl dresses, so I ordered one from Target's website, just to have the girls try it on to see if the size is right. 

3) I ordered centerpiece mirrors (to use on the tables during the reception) and silk rose petals for the flower girls to scatter. 

4) My mom ordered her dress for the wedding. 

We've had a busy week! I love crossing things off my "to-do" list. So satisfying.

Robert will be here in 4 more days! I'm excited to see him again, and I'm so ready to be married to him, so that we can be together for the 3 weeks that he is off work, and not have to make do with a few days at a time. Sometimes I get frustrated in dealing with the details surrounding the wedding, but I remind myself that the details are the means to an end. I know our wedding is going to be beautiful, and the best day of our lives up to this point. The wedding will be great, but what I'm really looking forward to is the marriage. I'm such a blessed girl. :)

It's all in the details...

It's so reassuring to know that basically we are just down to details now, as far as the wedding goes. Mom and I have a meeting on Wednesday with the cake lady, to arrange for the AMAZING cake I talked about in an earlier post. We went shopping on Saturday to pick up some fun things, and bought a really cute cake topper that looks like two silver hearts entwined together. I'm not sure if we're going to use it, but it'll be nice to have the input from the cake lady, to determine if it will work with the cake plan. During our shopping trip on Saturday, mom bought me the cutest white canvas bag with the words "Here comes the bride" written on it with rhinestones. So cute! We also bought silver heart stickers to put on the invitation envelopes, and baskets for the flower girls. 

I went to the mall for awhile today, to add to our registries at Macy's and Target. I was so excited to find the perfect color of towels for our bathroom! I had to make a phone call to Robert while I was there, to double check on the colors for our bedding, to make sure he is still on board with me for the colors we've chosen. Luckily, he is... so we are registered for those things as well! I also found a really cute white storage shelf/cabinet on sale for $21!! What a great deal! I asked a salesperson what was wrong with it (why it was on clearance), and she said that the only reason was that the box was damaged. So I opened it in the store, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the shelf! Exciting! :)

Wow, I sound really materialistic in this post. Really, it's not all about "things" for me... just nice to know that preparations are being made for me and Robert to spend our life together. He's been sending me sweet little text messages, to tell me that he loves me and that I am his everything. I received the most beautiful flowers from him for Valentine's Day... it's so crazy to think that this is the last V-Day I'll spend as a single/unmarried woman! I'm so blessed to call him mine. :) 

Getting closer!

Only 3 months and 20 days left before I am Mrs. Spencer! I cannot tell you how excited I am to be Robert's wife! I think about it all the time, and I probably walk around with a goofy smile on my face-- if my co-workers didn't already think I'm crazy, I'm probably confirming their suspicions. :) He makes me so happy, and I know it sounds cliche-- but just when I think I couldn't possibly love him more than I do right now... I love him even more! I'll stop with the mushy stuff now. 

There are still a few things left to do in preparation for the big day, but I am surprisingly relaxed about it. I'm feeling more open to asking my mom and sisters to help with the details now. I asked my good friend Angela to be in charge of the ceremony and reception timing/details. She is one of the most organized people I know, and I'm confident that she'll keep things running on time and relieve a lot of stress for me! 

Lately, my mind keeps wandering to the house. I cannot wait to move into our new home, and am so excited to start decorating! Thank heaven for Robert, he humors me when I talk about how I want to decorate each room, and even has valuable input for me. :) We're planning to decorate our master bedroom/bathroom in a beach theme. My sister and I stopped by the house last weekend to see the progress, and I was thrilled to see that the bedroom has been painted a sandy tan color, and the bathroom a very light blue/green. Not turquoise, but very light blue-- almost like sea glass. It's going to go perfectly with our plans! I've been doing a little shopping, buying a few decorative things here and there. I'm looking forward to having a blank slate to make our own. :)

Since the accident, I'm feeling a little better every day. I'm still sore, and just when I think I'm pain free... I realize that I'm not. It's hard not to over-do things at work. I'm used to doing a fair amount of lifting, but now I rely more on my co-workers for that. I'm seeing a chiropractor for my neck and back pain, so hopefully that will help. My doctor gave me a referral for massage too, so I'm looking forward to getting some of these tight muscles loosened up! This is taking much longer than I expected. The emotional healing is taking even longer, which is frustrating. I'm still having a lot of nightmares about the accident, and get very anxious about driving, especially in the mornings when the streets are a little slippery. Its scary, but God continues to be faithful.

My life is good. I have Robert, our upcoming marriage, good friends, a new home, and physical healing. I continue to count my many blessings...

To whom much is given, much will be required.

So, yesterday I experienced a continuation of "Project Homeless". Our office had committed to check 40 patients for glasses, following the original event. We got people scheduled that Thursday, gave them maps to our office, an appointment card, and a voucher for a free bus ride. The amazing opticians that I work with had elicited enough donations fro our frame and lens suppliers to provide 40 pairs of glasses, at NO COST to our guests. Incredible. Well, only about 20 of the expected 40 people showed up, but it was still great. I recognized all of them from the event last week, and it was so good to see them again! One man, Ricardo, was the first one there... he arrived at 8:00, and we weren't scheduled to begin until 9:00! Our office manager was the only one there at that time, so she sat and visited with him while he had some of the breakfast we provided. All I really know about Ricardo's circumstances is that he lives in the mission shelter downtown, and that he's one of the most positive people I know. He's one of those people who affects the life of every individual that he encounters. And let's talk about appreciative. He couldn't thank us enough for everything, from the granola bars, to the glasses, to "giving me a warm place to hang out for a couple of hours". God keeps finding ways to humble me. 

Something that was striking about our guests yesterday was the difference in attitude between the ages of the people. Every single patient over 40 years old nearly fell over themselves, thanking us for doing what we were doing. They couldn't believe that we were doing this for free, donating our time, not charging them for glasses, AND providing them with breakfast. One guest in his 80's actually said to me, "what's in it for you?". He just couldn't wrap his brain around the fact that we would do this because we care. However, I also worked with a few guests who were close to my age-- 20's-30's-- they didn't seem to be grateful for what we were doing at all! It seems like they had this attitude of entitlement-- like they just expected that there would be someone there to provide for their needs. It kind of irritated me. Part of me wanted to tell them, "there are plenty of people who showed up last Thursday who would have loved a free eye exam and pair of glasses, but you beat them to it... they'd love to be here right now-- would you at least say thank you?!" Fortunately, I wasn't alone... I talked about this with my co-workers, and they had sensed the same thing. I can't stay annoyed, though. I love these people, despite the fact that I don't know them, and may never see them again. Again, I am overwhelmed with the blessings that God continues to heap on me. 

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11

More updates...

Back to work this afternoon! Finally! I've been home the last 2 days, recovering from the aches and pains from the accident. I was scheduled to be off work this morning, but thought maybe I should go in anyway, to make up for lost time. My office manager, however, did not agree with me... she says there's nothing for me to do this morning, so take advantage of the time off. Grrr... I'm bored. I'm starting to feel better, but am trying not to over-do things. I tried to help Robert and his friend Matt move a few things last night, and couldn't believe how badly everything still hurts. Rolling over in bed is excruciating. Hopefully things will start getting better soon, before I go crazy!

Robert and Matt got here yesterday afternoon... I was so happy to see Robert again! And it was really great to meet Matt... he's one of Robert's groomsmen for the wedding, so it was nice to meet at least one prior to the big day. :) We drove out to mom and dad's house to unload some furniture in the storage unit... my parents were generous enough to allow Robert to park the utility trailer in their garage, so we didn't have to move the couch off of it. I'm sure the guys were glad to not have to lift it twice in one day. :) Mom went and picked up pizza for dinner, which was great! She's not feeling much like cooking yet... too hard to bend down and put things in the oven, or lift things from a shelf. 

After dinner, we headed back into Bellingham, to hit the mall. Robert remembered that we had planned to visit Men's Wearhouse to talk tuxedos. Yay! One more thing to cross off the list! It was nice to have Matt there, so he could get measured as well. We chose really classy, sharp looking tuxes... I can't wait to see Robert standing at the front of the church, waiting for me... looking so handsome. He's the best. We're all set up for tuxes now... just have to get all the guys in to get measured. It works out really well with Men's Wearhouse... they just go in, tell them whose wedding they're getting measured for (or give them the reference number), and everything gets entered into the computer so the appropriate clothing gets ordered. Much less stress than I had imagined. Now I just need to get these guys motivated to get in and get measured.

It's been a rough week... never imagined the physical pain would still be as bad as it is... I'm still having some problems with anxiety, too. Weird dreams/flashbacks... and I don't like to be without my glasses at all... probably from when they flew off my face in the accident. I was afraid something had happened to my eyes, and I was blind. Scary. But it's been a good week, too. I'm so relieved that we weren't hurt more seriously... just have to keep reminding myself that "it could have been worse". Having Robert here last night helped, too. He is such a source of strength and comfort for me. I can't wait until he's my husband. He's so good to me. I'm so blessed.