I'm sittin on mah bed...Postin' on mah blawg.

Finally got myself a laptop.

Finally got caught up on reading blogs.

Finally posted about March for Babies.

Finally posted on the family blizog.

Feels good to be back.

(And bloggin' in bed)

Marching On

The March of Dimes has done away with WalkAmerica!!!!


Well, that was a bit dramatic. They actually just changed the name. It is now March for Babies.

I love the new name. I think it's very To-The-Point and goes well with March of Dimes.

I always wondered why the March of Dimes got to have the "WalkAmerica" when there are so many other walks IN America. I found out that it was because the March of Dimes pretty much invented the Charity Walk. That makes a lot more sense, then. This move was smart for them, but it helps me out, too. Now I won’t have to explain what the walk is for all the time. (That got just a little bit old.)




April 27th, Team Bella will be “marching” for their third year. So far in our walks, we’ve raised over $1,200 that went to help save babies. This year, I’m setting our goal a little bit higher. I’m going to muster up a little bit of courage and be just a little more outgoing when asking for donations. This year, I’m not going to wait until the day before “bank day” to put the change jar in the office kitchen just because a little red tape is in my way. I’m also going to talk about it a LOT more. Because it is something I feel very strongly about.

There are a lot of choices that we will make for our children. Unfortunately, we really don’t get to choose the way they are born. I am proof that a perfectly normal pregnancy can last almost to the end…but can’t guarantee a healthy baby. I don’t want more women to go through what I have. I believe in this charity and I hold their hope that one day ALL babies will be given the opportunity to start life healthy.

So it’s time again to ask that if you can spare a dollar, would you consider donating it to my cause? If you can spare a day, would you consider joining the walk in your own area? If you can just spare a minute or so, will you tell someone about the cause?

Contributions of all kinds help out in big ways.

Staci

Something about that Sunday was odd. Our grocery shopping was completely done. The house was picked up. It was still early in the afternoon and we were bored. Never has there been such a quiet Sunday in this house. We're usually scrambling to get things done before the long week is upon us once again.

But this Sunday was different. We opened our new Game of Life and sat to play it. We talked Daddy into playing with us instead of playing his game on the computer. Everything seemed so oddly peaceful.

But then we got the call. A hysterical sister telling us we needed to get over to Mike’s step-dad’s house. Mike’s sister Staci was in an accident. That’s all she knew.

Staci was just at our house the night before. She ran an errand for us and stayed for a family dinner. She stayed kind of late. We had a chance to talk about so much. About how hot their work (she had just started working with Mike’s company) was going to be soon. About how she was going to get her GED. About how hard it was to keep her house clean with her new puppy (She worked so hard to learn to be a good homemaker when they moved in to this house – something I never thought she would do). We talked about the wedding and how we wanted her to take a part in it.

When we go the call, we panicked. I called my mom and asked her to come get the kids. We ran through the house and tried to pack a bag for something unknown. Cell phone chargers, magazines, HOW LONG WILL WE BE THERE??? Snacks, tissues, overnight clothes for the kids…just in case. I stopped randomly to pray.

Before my mom got there, Christy called again. Staci was killed. She crossed the median and was hit by a truck. She was dead. She was only 22.

We spent the night trying to find answers. Trying to find comfort. Trying to find some saving grace in the tragedy that had found our family again.

The last week has been somewhat of a blur. I’ve tried to write several times, but felt like it was a bid for sympathy. I wanted to memorialize her but didn’t want the attention.

Not that I could put the right words together, anyway.

I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her. I’m still not. So many times this week, I’ve thought, “I should call Stac…” “I wonder when Staci will be...” “I bet Staci would like to...” And I am forced to remember that she won’t be here ever again.

Slowly, our days are growing to be “normal” again. There is less crying and more laughter in each day. But there will always be an empty place in my heart for the girl that I called “sis” long before I knew I’d be marrying her brother. There will always be a ready tear when I think about the wonderful person we lost. The beautiful girl who spread so much love in this world.

Your eyes are filled with love.
They glow with life.
They shine with laughter.

Your smile tells me everything is wonderful.
That your life is what you want it to be.
That you want to share your joy with everyone around you.

I look at these pictures
And forget that you're gone.

Weddingy Goodness

You know you're a neglectful blogger when people begin to email you questions that you normally would have answered months ago without prodding.

I'm not trying to keep my wedding stuff a secret at all. But it really is the reason I haven't been blogging. Not that I'm actually here working or something!

But even when I DO want to post about it, I'm reminded of a card from someecards - "Your wedding sounds so interesting to you." People say that to me with their eyes quite often.

HOWEVER! Seeing how I have gotten more than a couple emails asking me about my plans, I have decided that you will hear about it whether it is interesting to you or NOT. So pffflt if it isn't. (Or YAY if it is!)

First - Things I have decided on (Pictures hiding in the links).

My theme - Black and White and lots of pearls.

Why Pearls? It started with The Dress. The dress has pearls beaded throughout, as does the veil. We decided that my bridesmaids would wear a strand of pearls to match my dress and it just spilled over into everything from there. But really, the theme all comes down to classics.

You might notice that Alyssa's dress is a tiny wittle replica of mine (the straps were too loose on mine and had fallen back in this picture). I did NOT do this on purpose (I've heard some "bridezilla" remarks about trying to dress them like your clone). I actually had a very frilly white dress with black embroidery picked out, but she saw this one and realized it was like mine and had to have it. I'm not complaining. I'm also not cloning. So Haters can just eff off. I think it's adorable.

The bridesmaid dresses, I think anyway, are my #1 proof that I am nothing close to the reptilious (like my new word?) beast they love to compare brides to. Kristina can vouch for me – I said, “You need a black dress.” She found one she liked and that’s the one they got. However, the only picture I have of them in the dresses, it looks like we hate my lovely sister-in-law or something - or she hates us – so instead, I’ll link to a picture of Katherine Heigl’s sister’s wedding. Where Miss Katherine wore the same one.

Ceremony - We will be having it at the UCC church like I planned. I asked my 'grandpa' if he was willing to officiate and he gladly accepted. I'm really excited to have it here now. We went to church last Sunday and I felt like it was just the right place for it to be.

Reception - We chose a golf course near the church. It's actually very pretty as compared to the other one we looked at. Their shining moment was when the coordinator offered me the smaller banquet room since my guests would fit. This room not only has a fireplace in it, but the deposit was also $400 less and the minimum was $4000 less. I'll TAKE IT. We have yet to attend a tasting and select our menus, but I hear the food is at least all right. :D

Photographer - I actually only met with one photographer. But I did do a lot of online research. I figured if I didn't like their "show" folders - or couldn't afford them - why bother meeting them? I'm a busy lady! But the photographer we decided to use is close to the location, is very nice and has an eye for a great picture (which I based off the pictures on her walls as well as her portfolio). And did I mention she has great prices??

Flowers - I haven't chosen my florist yet (but may just go with the one I met if the other one doesn't get back to me soon), but I have officially decided that my bouquet will be white roses with pearl-adorned stephanotis wrapped in black satin with pearl straight pins. Bridesmaids' bouquets will be white hydrangeas and stephanotis. (Kind of like these). The flowers were really funny to me because up until an hour before I met the first florist, I had absolutely NO idea what I wanted and after searching through hundreds of examples, I was able to settle on these easily.


Things Coming Up To Do:

Cake - I don't know where we're getting the cake done yet, but I do know what style I want (something sorta like this) and the flavor will be easy for me to choose. I'm pretty excited to go eat cake, though. Probably next month.

Paper - I am LOVING some of the DIY Invitations I'm seeing so some other engaged friends and I are going to check out the paper place soon to see if this is feasible.

Centerpieces - Going with candles...I have a lot of deal-shopping to do for this job before I know exactly what it will look like, though.

And that, my lovelies, is as much Tulle-related information that I will force down your throats for one day.

(To those that asked...thank you! Not many people let me talk about it!)

Overheard:

Boss: "I can hear you over there talking to yourself, Tim."

Tim: "I like to talk to smart people."

BWAHAHAHA.

(That's all I've got guys. Hi! Miss you!)