Life has picked up!

My goodness, it has been a while since I last posted! My new job has got me working the most I ever have and I love it! It's a lot of work but totally worth it. I am trying to get in to the groove of everything, letting my body adjust to less sleep as I have to get up really early most days. I have a crazy week ahead of me but thankful that next weekend I will have a 4 day weekend to relax. Kristofer even took off Friday so we will both have a long weekend together. Who knows what we will do, but I'm excited!

About three weeks ago Kristofer and I finally got our little kitten! He is quite the entertainment in our house now! However, I am not too fond of him attacking me and chewing on my hair in the middle of the night. He also seems to think that my pillow is his pillow, so throughout the night I am battling for space as he is sprawled out around my head! But he is a sweet cat (he is currently napping beside me as I type). So I would like to formally introduce you to, Dexter!



He has already made himself right at home!

On to wedding news! The church is now booked in Sweden! Whoop Whoop! Now we need to figure out the reception area so I can get the invitations made and shipped to Sweden to be mailed out by Kristofer's family. Kristofer and I went to Ikea last weekend and I found candle stick holders there for $0.29 each. I got 20 to start out with. I am planning on spray painting them silver. I also got about 40 tea light holders. I may "frost" paint them, or get some kind of sticker to put on with our initials. Not sure yet, but I am happy I got more wedding decorations at a good price!

I am hoping to go dress shopping in the next coming weekends. I just have to get together with my parents and see what day works for them. I feel like there is so much to be done, yet I am running out of time! I know it will all come together, it's just trying to find the time to do everything!

Well I think that is pretty much it for now! I should take advantage of this time to do some research on more wedding stuff!

Life's Happenings

Well my first week of work was a success! I am starting to get into my routine of things and getting used to the boys schedules. They are very sweet boys and I am super excited to be their nanny. I think they are getting accustomed to me, as I am with them. It's always scary starting a new job as a nanny because you don't really know what to expect. Of course all parents will talk about how wonderful their children are, but everyone else around them may have a different story! I am thankful that I found out that these boys are genuinely sweet and fun! They have consistently made me laugh throughout the week! I am so thankful for this job!

Kristofer and I haven't made any huge plans in this past week regarding the wedding. With me getting used to my new work schedule and he studying for an exam, we really haven't had time. We have however, decided on our honeymoon destination! We are going to Venice, Italy! We are super excited about this! With it being winter we have read that it is a perfect time to go. All the tourists are gone, so it's not as busy and all the locals come out more. From looking at pictures online of snowy winters on the streets of Venice, I am hoping there will be snow when we are there. It will be just beautiful! I can't wait!

In other news, Kristofer and I have been anxiously waiting to adopt a little kitten. I have been dealing with someone from the Cat Coalition, however she has currently stopped returning my phone calls; which is extremely frustrating to say the least! So right now we are unsure if it is going to happen or not. Here is a picture I took of him when we went for a visit 3 weeks ago...



Isn't he a cutie? I think he is just now 7 weeks old. We are hoping it works out. It would be cool to have a cat again. They are fun little creatures!

Well that is pretty much it for now. I am hoping I have more wedding updates soon. Life has just got crazy and we only have five months left! Holy moley (as my sister, Cassie would say)!

Busy, Busy

Well I have had a delay in updating just because life has become busy, and its about to get a lot more crazy! Today I start my new job as a nanny for two little boys. I realized this weekend that this will be the first time I will be working five days a week in over four years! Over the past four years I have been working 25-40 hours/3-4 days a week. So this will be quite the change for me, since I have been used to having at least one day a week to get house work and grocery shopping done and not have to do it on my weekend. But I am super excited about this new job and really hope it lasts; I'm tired of looking for jobs!

Kristofer and I had a great weekend at home taking time to relax and we spent a lot of time playing board games (we are a bit of a geek kind of couple). We have also continued our wedding planning. Right now we are trying to find the best solution for dealing with all of the paperwork that is expected between both U.S. and Sweden in regards to making the marriage legal. There are a lot of things that have to be done and unfortunately the paperwork that is needed in Sweden needs to be turned in in person. So that is where we are at right now. We are just trying to get all of the information right now so we can find out the best way of going about everything. Who knew it would be so complicated to get married in another country!?!?

Last week I bought the rest of the scrapbooking paper needed to make the wedding invitations as well as a paper-cutter. And man alive, that thing is awesome!!! I got it from Michaels for $20 and it works wonderfully, making my life so much easier! I have already cut all of the paper. Now all I need is to find out where the receptions will be and what time we will be having the weddings and then I can start putting them together. Now that's exciting!

Today, August first has two meanings for my family. Fifteen years ago today my family made our move from North Carolina to Florida. I was so upset and sad that my parents moved us from a placed that I loved, but I am so thankful that God led us here. Had we not moved here, we never would have adopted my three little siblings and I wouldn't have met my Kristofer. Four wonderful things that made the move totally worth it.

Another thing that was worth the move was the fact that I got to live next door to my grandparents. That was such a wonderful time to get to just walk across the yard and go see my Grandma and Papa. Today also marks the day when my Papa went home to be with the Lord five years ago. It was such a sad day in our family. I think of him daily and miss him just as much as a did five years ago. I wish he were here to meet Kristofer. I wish he were here to watch me walk down the aisle. I just wish he were here! But I am happy to know that I will see him again! God is good!

So much to do, so little time...

Today has been a crazy day! Kristofer called the Swedish Embassy on his lunch break to found out all the information needed for the Swedish wedding. We have to fill out some forms and also include a certificate stating that I have never been married. I called the County Clerks office today and after going through recorded messages and being on hold I finally talked to an actual human after ten minutes! I'm pretty sure that they just read information straight off their website while going through the voice directory! I then got to talk to multiple people since not everyone knows all the information that is expected to be known on marriage.

I found out that they don't necessarily have a certificate stating that I have not been previously married. What they can do is search the database for each past year to see if there is a record of marriage. The fee is $2 per person, per year plus $7 for the certificate. I then asked what I needed to do in regards to making the marriage legal in the States. Of course I had to be transferred to another person yet again! I talked to the next operator and she basically told me, 'go to the website and it will tell you what to do'... Awesome! So I get off the phone and go to the website and read information on the "Apostilles" that I will need to file. I guess this will basically check the authenticity of our Swedish marriage license in order to make it legit in the states. So that is the latest on the legalization of our marriage!

I also went to Michaels this morning and got the remaining supplies to make the invitations. I need to find 6x6 envelopes, anyone know where I can find them? I still need to decided how exactly I am going to make the RSVP cards, I am thinking I will just get card stock and print them and cut it up. I bought a paper cutter today as well, so that will help in all the cutting I have in the near future!

Kristofer's mom and grandma have been helping me come up with ideas for the decorations for the Swedish wedding. We are thinking of taking candle holders and decorating them in some way, either with our names and date or frosted with snowflakes on them.





Here are two examples of some ideas we have.

Kristofer and I didn't get to the beach this weekend as planned so I am hoping we will be able to do so this weekend. Especially since he doesn't have school on Saturday! I can't wait to go and look at the pavilion and see if we can realistically have the wedding reception there! Tomorrow I start my new job. I will work a half day tomorrow and Thursday to get to know the boys schedule and then on Monday I will start full time! I am super excited about this job. I love being a nanny and can't wait to get to know these two little boys! But for now, the wedding planning and dreaming continues...

True love stories never have endings. ~Richard Bach 

Weddings on My Mind!

Well over the past two days I have continued to make lists of wedding ideas and things I need to do. And boy, the list keeps growing! The other night I was awake for two hours after I was supposed to be sleeping just thinking about the wedding and everything in between!

Being as we are getting married in Sweden there are some documents we need to have in order to marry since I am not a Swedish citizen. Some how I need to have a legal document stating that I am not married. I have no idea what document to use for that, so I will need to do some research and find out! Another thing to add on the list!

This weekend Kristofer and I are planning on going to the beach to look at the pavilion to see if it will work for a wedding and reception. If it doesn't seem suitable we have decided that we will just have the reception back at our house. We are planning on having a small wedding so we think it would work just fine. I'm excited to go to the beach and start picturing how things will be for the ceremony and possibly the reception.

Even though it will be 'Florida Winter' when we get married, there is a chance that it may be a little warm on the wedding day. So I decided that I wanted to make 'program fans.' Another cheap DIY project!



Something like that. I figure if I just get cardstock paper and print them at home and use a cool stamp on the back, I could make these for under $20. Well, thats the hope of it all! I will see when I go out to actually price everything.

I am finding it to be quite fun planning two weddings. There is a lot to do; everything is double. I have to come up with two different ways of decorating (I already have the decorations for the FL wedding, but I don't think I will be able to get it all to Sweden). Luckily, we have Kristofer's grandmother who does amazing centerpieces, so she just may get promoted to Swedish Wedding Decorator! :) I am however, enjoying planning and trying to come up with the most ways to save and do things myself. It's a challenge and I gladly accept! (I think Kristofer will be happy with the most savings as well!!!)

Who, being loved, is poor? ~Oscar Wilde

The Beginning

So I decided to start blogging. There is a lot going on in my life and maybe my ideas can inspire some, or just make others laugh! So here we go!

About six months ago Kristofer and I bought our first house. We have been spending those six months trying to get the house to be our perfect home. We still have many projects to complete, but we have come a long way and we are loving every minute of homeownership!

Another exciting life change is that in six months we will be getting married! We are having two weddings, one in Sweden and the other here in Florida. We are trying to keep both weddings at a low cost so I am trying to come up with the most DIY projects I can do to save the most money. Kristofer and I have finally started to really getting into the swing of wedding planning. We have decided that the Florida wedding will be on the beach. We thought it would be cool to have one wedding in the 'Wintery Wonderland of Sweden' and the other in the 'Paradise of Florida' within a matter of two weeks time! I will need to make sure my wedding dress accommodates both environments!

After my parents brought it to my attention the beach wedding is a perfect place for Kristofer and I to be getting married. In August 2008 I was beginning to think that I needed some kind of change in my life. I didn't know what it was, but I knew God was preparing me for something big. I thought that He was preparing me to move to Georgia; boy was I wrong! I began praying and praying about what I was supposed to do. Kristofer and I had just started "talking" here and there and really starting to form a friendship. I had liked him but the feelings didn't seem to be the same on his part. So I decided one night to go down to the Venice Jetties (my special place I have with God). On my way there Kristofer sent me a text message checking in and seeing how I was doing, which put a smile on my face.

While sitting on the rocks looking out into the Gulf of Mexico watching the sun turn the sky into shades of orange and pink, I began to pray. I asked God to tell me what to do. Tell me if I should move to Georgia or stay. At that moment a huge wave crashed on the rocks, splashing me and I heard God's voice. He said to me, "stay". I was in awe. Never had I actually heard His voice. Sure, I had seen which way He wanted me to go in life as He pointed me in the right direction, but never had I heard His beautiful, calming voice. It was an amazing moment. I knew in my heart that that was what I was to do. Stay.

So the thoughts of moving to Georgia left my mind and I began trying to figure out why God wanted me to stay. What was His reasoning for having me stay here? As the months went on Kristofer and I grew closer. I began to consider him one of my best friends. We talked every day and saw each other often. I of course, began to like him even more. And then finally in November we had the conversation about our "relationship" and what is was. We then began dating and haven't looked back since. It has been a crazy past two and a half years and every second has been amazing. We constantly look at each other in awe of how blessed we are to have each other and our families. God has truly blessed us!

On August 7, 2010 Kristofer surprised me with a sky diving trip. Our families joined to watch as Kristofer and I took two of the biggest jumps ever! We jumped out of the plane and when we had our feet back on the ground, Kristofer was there on one knee asking me to be his wife. It was a perfect and joyous time and I couldn't have asked for anything better. It was a perfect proposal, one I will never forget!

So now I have caught you up on our life together and I am sure I will fill you in on the in-betweens as time goes on. So now I embark upon the next adventure... wedding planning! There is a lot to do in the next six months and I am hoping it will all get put together in that time frame! I have a lot to do and the stress has already begun!

Today I made a DIY wedding invitation using scrapbook paper and ribbon. If Kristofer likes it I think that is the route we will take concerning our invites. In order to make 100 invites I am guessing it will cost me $15 for the invites themselves. I am SUPER excited about that price! I still need to buy the envelopes and cardstock to make the RSVP cards, but I think I am off to a good start!