Wedding Update

I am slowly chipping away on the wedding to-do list. I don't think I have accomplished all that much but when I go back and think about everything, I have gotten quite a bit done. Here is what's been going on...

On February 27th, I found my wedding jewelry on Etsy. I have never shopped Etsy before but knew that there was a high chance I would not find my wedding jewelry in a store. My dress is V-neck and I had always envisioned wearing gorgeous dangle earrings on my wedding day. However, I am not a dangle earring kind of gal. Give me a stud any day! I don't mind a little dangle but 6 out of 7 days, I am rocking a stud. Pearl, rhinestone, or the classic silver ball; it doesn't matter. Honey, I love my studs. I wanted to be my true self on my wedding day and thought I needed to go with a pearl stud. But not just any ol' pearl stud. I needed something with a little bling but was also a statement. A statement that said classic, timeless elegance. Well with a quick search on Etsy, I found THE STUD!!! I typed out my credit card number like it was nothing and ordered those puppies. I also picked up a nice bracelet for the wedding.

That has been over a month ago. I am only patient when it comes to Jace Stamper but not to most other things. I emailed the Etsy shop owner and inquired about my package twice. My package was international and was held up in Chicago since March 4th. Please. I need my stud! So after emailing USPS last Friday, I got them this week. Y'all I will put any Southern sorority girl to sham on my wedding day. Those pearl studs are approximately the size of Texas! My earlobe hangs a little low in them because they are so big and I LOVE THEM!!!! I showed them to Jace on Skype for at least an hour. My earrings and veil and my two prized possessions. Don't get me wrong, I love my dress but I also really love my accessories.

Speaking of accessories, I bought my third pair of wedding shoes. I ordered two pairs from Zappo's and was pleased with them. They were kitten heel, ivory satin, peep toe. They were cute and I liked them. But then I found a pair of ivory, satin, with a bow, kitten heel and none other than Payless for $28. Um...yes please! They were cute and the price was even better. I shipped the other two back to Zappo's and put some money back in the wedding fund!

When I haven't been spending money, I have been cranking out some save the dates. Jace took 22 save the dates and I took the rest. Every one is addressed and stamped and ready to be mailed. We hope to put them in the mail the first of April. I have added a little extra touch to our save the dates. Jennifer got me the coolest stamp for my birthday and I bought a "save the date" stamp. That stamp is on the back of the envelope. I think it is a nice detail and is elegant.

This past Tuesday Aunt Mitz and I went to the Art of Entertaining. It is hosted at our reception site, the Signature Club, and various vendors display their work; everything from florists, photographers, limo companies, caterers, etc. There were various tablescapes on display. There were some that we absolutely loved and some that just weren't us. But what gets me is that the cost of those tablescapes for a wedding reception could easily be our entire wedding budget. Who has money like that? I can tell you this ol' girl doesn't! It was fun nonetheless and got me excited for our reception. I hope I have the chance to look at our reception before our guests arrive. I want a moment to soak up my planning and notice all the details. I have an idea of what our reception will look like but I know it will be better than my dreams. My vendors are the best and I know I am in good hands.

How crazy is it that we have a little more than 4 months to go? 4 months until I can wear the prettiest Payless shoes and pearl studs the size of Texas!!!!

March Madness

Not Christmas. Not his birthday. Not Thanksgiving. Not Valentine's Day. Jace Stamper doesn't get excited about too many holidays. But what he does get excited about is March Madness. Today starts the 2013 basketball tournament. Jace literally counts down the days until the tournament and gets excited like a little kid at Christmas. He loves selection Sunday and pours over the stats and methodically picks his winners. Y'all I can't make this up. He told me he spent 5 hours over 3 days on his bracket. Please. Who has time like that?

Jace invited me to play with him and some other MC Law students in their own bracket challenge. There are three girls and a few kiddos playing with the guys. I don't want to brag BUT... I am tied for first right now. Want to know where Jace ranks? Tied for 8th!!! You ask how long I spent on my bracket? About 2 solid minutes. I didn't think or over analyze. Just went with pure gut.

If you know Jace and I at all, you know we bleed blue. As a die hard UK fan, Jace reads Kentucky Sports Radio like a daily devotional. When UK loses, Jace gets mad and a little depressed. He stays in this funk for quite some time. He turns into Coach Jace and informs me what went wrong, what the defining play was, who had the most blocks, rebounds, and steals. He can remember games from 10 years ago and make comparisons to other games. When he does this, I zone out and my eyes glaze over. I usually try to play opossum and make him think I am asleep. It usually works.

Collegiate basketball is a big thing in our relationship. Jace will watch just about any team, any day, at any time. He knows some quirky thing about each team and proceeds to tell me these facts. His TV is constantly on ESPN. ESPN is a funny thing to me. They repeat the same stories over and over. The men have on these fancy suits with crazy, double Windsor knots and the ladies are 6 foot tall with deep voices (except Erin Andrews). (Speaking of Erin Andrews, I know for a fact that Jace would leave me for Erin Andrews).

I digress. I was talking with a FCS agent one day and she has a husband like Jace. We discussed our disdain for the countless hours we are subjected to watch ESPN. However, the funny thing was we both mentioned that when we have to be apart from our boys we sorta miss the hum of ESPN in the background. She said when she is apart from her husband she finds herself watching ESPN because it reminds her of him. Now if that isn't love, I don't know what is?!

Jace told me one day in a very sincere tone that I come from "good genes". According to Jace, my Teak has "good genes" because she loves watching all the ballgames and Jace hopes that one day I will be just like her. Now, I will watch the CATS (even though this season was hijacked). I don't mind to have other games on in the background and do a few things around the house. But my basketball stamina starts to fade near or around the 4th game of the day. I am tired of basketball and need a good ol' dose of reality TV. My body craves some Kardashians, Say Yes to the Dress, and House Hunters. Jace prays that I learn to love all teams, increase my basketball stamina, and develop into my "good genes".

So here is to March Madness. May the best team win. May I beat Jace in the bracket. May my love for ESPN grow so I can develop into my "good genes".

In honor...

Wedding planning has been incredibly fun at times and there are several special moments that come to mind over the past 11 months. Trying on wedding gowns was fun and a memorable moment for Mom and I, celebrating our engagement with our MS friends, finding the band, picking out stationary, etc. However, I think one of the most precious and fulfilling moments happened last Friday and this past Monday.

Jace and I decided early on that we were not going to give out wedding favors to our guests. Instead we would donate to charities that are close to our heart in honor of our wedding guests. I wish I could say that it was my idea but I can't. I had heard of a few other couples who did this and immediately knew this is something that I wanted to do. Without hesitation I knew I wanted to donate to the Graves County Animal Shelter because it is only a matter of time before I try to adopt every animal at the shelter. Jace realizes this and knows he is fighting a losing battle. Our future home will resemble a small zoo and I will be happy as a peach! Jace wanted to donate to the Graves County Needline which provides assistance for anyone needing help making ends meet.

Friday as Mom and I were running errands, we stopped by the Animal Shelter. Mom stayed in the car because we give into pressure too easily when it comes to animals and it was just best that she not go in. If we went in together, we would have walked out with 4 new cats, 1 parkeet, and 1 dog named Trixie. I walked in and told them that Jace and I are getting married and we wanted to honor our wedding guests by making a donation. I presented them the check and I felt like Santa Claus or a millionaire on Secret Millionaire. The ladies were tickled pick and were so thankful and appreciative. Yet it was me who received the greatest blessing. It felt so good to give money to someone who needed it and to know that we did it in honor of the people who have showed us love, helped raised us, and have been mentors and models for us was overwhelming. We repaid love, with love.

On Monday, I went to the Needline and couldn't wait to present them the check. The Needline and Food Pantry are in the same building in Graves County and the sweetest lady from my church is a constant there. She is always working and helping out any way she can. I got to present Mrs. Ann Qualk with our check and she was just like the ladies at the Animal Shelter; appreciative and thankful. I got to catch up with Mrs. Qualk and that was a wonderful blessing. She is a lady of strong faith and a strong pillar at First Christian Church, Mayfield. Seeing her and giving her the check overwhelmed me but in a wonderful way. I had to get in my car and take a small moment for myself.

I don't write this post to boast what Jace and I did. Instead I wanted to share the power of giving and just how much of a blessing you receive when you give. To our wedding guests, thank you. Thank you for loving us and teaching us to show love by giving love. It is because of you that you gave me something precious and deeply meaningful to remember about our wedding.

Weekend with Jace

January 1st. That was the last time I saw Jace...until this past weekend. Jace's Spring break is this week, so I took off last Friday and this past Monday. I jumped out of bed on Friday, packed, and was on the road by 9:30 AM. Jace had class and work on Friday and didn't get away from Jackson until 1 and got home around 6:30. That gave Mom and I plenty of time to run a few errands around time. The beauty of living in a small town is that you can run a ton of errands in a hour. We even had time to swing by Murray. After we ran all our errands, we picked up Doris and headed to St. Joseph's Catholic Church. St. Joe's is like any Catholic church and serves a wonderful fish dinner during Lent. This meal is so good and is one of my most favorite things about Mayfield. You always see the same people each year! After filling our bellies with fish, white beans, hush puppies, fries, macaroni and cheese, and slaw we waddled went home. By this time, Jace was in Graves Co!

Pup heard him pull up before I did and she was the first one to greet him in my driveway. I don't know who loves Jace more, me or pup! Jace looked so good! His smile was so big and we were both giddy. Nothing but sheer happiness to finally see one another! We spent Friday night catching up and were up Saturday morning bright and early for Nan's breakfast. Nan makes the best breakfast and eating with her is one of my most favorite things to do when we come home. Nan fixes enough food to feed an army and we all gather around in her tiny kitchen. By the time I finish, I am in a carb coma and the only thing I can do is rub my belly. I again waddled home and got ready for the day. Jace joined Mom and I and together we watched the second half of the UK v. UF game. Thank God we pulled out the W--we needed the win!

Once the game was over, it was time for business. I had a nice list of wedding things Jace and I needed to accomplish. We made our first stop at HB & Co. This is where Jace gets majority of his suits and we want to get the guys' tuxes from there. Jace got measured for his and we finalized what we wanted the tuxes to look like. Our guys will be in black tuxes, white shirts, black bow ties, and black cummerbunds, black satin pocket square. Jace Allen will wear a white shirt, ivory bow tie, ivory cummerbund, and ivory satin pocket square. We wanted a classic, traditional, Southern look. They will be so handsome!

From HB & Co., we headed to Michaelson's and looked at wedding bands for Jace. He got sized and decided on which width he wanted his band to be. He is going with a traditional gold band. I hope to get his band soon and have that off my to-do list. From there we went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Let's be honest, all engaged couples live for this day. The day the scanner is put into your hand just might be better than Christmas morning as a child. Beforehand, I did my homework and a little prep work. I had looked at things and had an idea of what we needed and picked a few things that we wanted. We got started in the pots and pans and slowly worked our way around the store. We started out strong. Good thing we started in the kitchen department because we needed the most from this department. By the time we got to the towels, we were exhausted. We didn't lollygag around either. We stayed on task and were all business. By hour 3 we were ready to put the towel in. We were realistic with each other and didn't register for things that aren't practical or that are outrageously priced, at least we think we didn't. I have added a few things through the online store but I think we are 99% done with our registry. It was much more work than what I expected but fun nonetheless.

By Sunday, all we wanted to do was rest. However, before I could really rest Mom and I had to determine guest lists and find addresses. Once that was finished, I was ready to put the wedding bag up and away for a little while! Jace came by and we decided to take the pup for a walk even though it was windy and looked like it could rain at any moment. Poor pup can't jump in the car anymore due to her leg but she loves to ride. I go approximately 24 mph when she is in the car. I am a nervous mother and don't want to go too fast. Pup loves to take walks and walking with her is one of me and Jace's favorite things to do. Pup stopped about 178979 times to mark her territory, which gave Jace and I plenty of time to talk and be together. We did one large loop of the park but couldn't get back to the car before the rain started. By the time we got in the car all three of us smelled like wet dog. Once home, we watched some basketball game (Jace was in charge of the remote) and we fell asleep. Jace was pumped we woke up just in time to watch the final minutes of the game. Heaven forbid if we miss one game in the Journey to the Tourney!

Monday Jace had his wisdom teeth removed and I got to see him post surgery. He was pretty good but a little lethargic and very sleepy. He was coherent but couldn't remember any of our conversations the next day. However, that boy is wisdom teeth free and shouldn't have to go through that ever again!

Overall it was a great weekend. It felt so good to be home, to see my Momma, and sleep in my own bed. Mom, Jace, and I got a ton of things crossed off the wedding to-do list. The best of all was seeing Jace. Gosh, I miss him when we are apart. We only have 5 more months left and believe me there is a countdown. The weekend went by way too fast but I am thankful for the time we got to spend together.

We have housing!

This past weekend I got to see the love of my life and we had a wonderful time together. We both agreed half of our time together was spent taking care of wedding business and the other half we chilled and relished in the fact that we were together. I will do a post about our weekend later this week but wanted to let you know we have housing!!!

God Bless Jace! He took one for the team and drove to Gainesville on March 1st. You just don't swing by Gainesville since it is a 10 hour drive from Jackson. He left after work on Friday and got into Gainesville around 11 PM. The next morning Whitney and I ran the Color Me Rad 5K and Jace ran his own mini-marathon around Gainesville looking at apartments.

The first apartment he looked at was our find on Craig's list. Craig's list scares me, as does Ebay. I don't buy anything from either sites and thought finding an apartment on Craig's list sounded incredibly shady. I was worried that it wouldn't be what the pictures looked like, in a terrible neighborhood, and have wild and crazy neighbors. I wouldn' t have thought to look at Craig's list for housing but Prof. Campbell suggested Jace search the site. Jace found an apartment that interested us the first day he began searching.

One Friday night we were Skyping and Jace told me about the Craig's list apartment. I asked him if he wanted me to email the owner and he said it wouldn't hurt to try. We got a reply within an hour and the apartment owner seemed incredibly nice. We exchanged emails for another two weeks and requested more pictures and information about the apartment. We were definitely interested but it is hard to commit to something that you haven't seen.

It was Jace's idea to travel to Gainesville and we thought while he was there he should look at a few other apartments. We had a list of several we liked and that were within our budget. However, we couldn't really judge just how far the apartments were from the law school. I didn't want to live too close to campus and be next to crazy undergrads but Jace wanted to be close enough to walk/bike to school. We decided that he should look at Cazebella which is an apartment complex the law school recommended.

The next part of this story is where God takes over. In our communication with the Craig's list owner, she said that she lives in Alabama and that she wouldn't be able to show us the apartment but the current tenant agreed to show Jace the apartment. I was a little hesitant about Jace going into someone's apartment and us not know the person from Adam. However, the owner was nice and we trusted her judgement and appreciated the tenant letting Jace tour her apartment. When Jace arrived at the apartment, they talked and Jace realized that she was at UF Law and in the tax LLM program!!!! Jace asked her about UF parking and if it was as bad as I tell him it is on UK's campus. She assured him that parking was easy to find and he shouldn't have a problem. She proceeded to tell Jace about a tuition program that allows Jace to pay in-state tuition! As a Kentucky resident, if Kentucky doesn't offer the graduate program that the student needs, they can pay in-state tuition at an out-of-state participating school. There are several schools in the South that are a part of this program!

By this point, the apartment could have been a dump and the trip to Gainesville would have been worth it since Jace got to talk to someone in the LLM program and learned about the tuition program!
It seemed like God was directing us to this apartment, the owner, and the current tenant. Everything was such a nice surprise and seemed too good to be true!

As for the actual apartment it is nice but it will be tight. The apartment is only 600 sq. ft. which means we probably won't see many of our wedding gifts for our first year of marriage but at least we will be together. The complex was nice and was quiet. It is close to shopping (Publix, Target, Lowe's, and Wal-Mart) and there are several bus routes near by. Plus, new carpet will be installed this summer! Jace called me after the tour and I told him that I thought we should go with this one.

Jace left the first apartment tour and went to Cazebella. He said it was ok. We could afford a larger apartment here but when we did the math, it just wasn't what we wanted. I think the decision was pretty clear for us! We chose the Craig's list apartment. Since he was in Gainesville, Jace explored some. He did a little shopping at the UF bookstore; we both have t-shirts and decals for our cars now!!! He explored Lake Alice which is right on campus. He got home around 9 PM on Saturday night. It was a quick trip but a worthwhile trip!

We are both ready to make our 600 sq. ft. apartment a home. Anything can become a home if we are together!

10 weeks

This morning my devotional addressed relationships. We need to establish relationships (friendships, personal relationships, work relationships, etc) that build up our faith. We don't need to concern ourselves with people that will bring us down and hold us back from our relationship with Jesus. After reading the devotional I called Jace and told him that today's reading. I feel as though both Jace and I encourage one another in our faith and yet it is this relationship, our relationship, that we rarely get to experience.

This is week 10 of not seeing one another. 10 weeks of not experiencing a loving embrace, a sweet kiss, his hand in mine, sharing of a meal, the relief your loved one provides at the end of a long day, etc. Jace and I know that we only have 5 months left of having a long distance relationship. However, these past ten weeks have been trying for us and our relationship. There have been some extreme highs and some deep lows these past ten weeks. Obviously the highest high was being accepted into UF. However, with that acceptance has come numerous decisions. Decisions that affect the other person and ones we have to make 10 hours apart. I am not going to lie or sugarcoat anything, things have been hard for us. Making these decisions apart while trying the best that we can without physically being together has been difficult on us and our relationship.

Jace and I are just like any other couple and we have arguments and bicker. We are not perfect and don't claim to be. As sad as this sounds, we both forget what it is like to be with one another. We forget what it is like to be with the other because we go so long without seeing one another. We literally fall in love all over again when we do see one another because we remember why we love each other. We remember how much fun we have, we remember how easily we laugh together, and knowing the other is close puts us on Cloud 9.

We are so tired of the distance. We are so tired of being apart. No relationship should be like this. We acknowledge the fact that God wanted us to achieve our personal goals before he wanted us to come together as a couple. Lord knows Jace has achieved quite a bit in our relationship and we feel like all of this has been God's will. But we have been at a place in our relationship where it is TIME to be together. We need to be husband and wife. We are ready and have been for quite some time.

Before I see Jace, I literally fall apart. It always seems work is super crazy and I know I need a break. I always seem to be maxed out on all levels and my batteries need to be recharged. Jace provides the energy for me to keep going. We have a joke in our relationship that we have to be soldiers. We have to be soldier strong when we are apart. We have to hold it together and battle through each day that we aren't together. However, I start falling apart at the seams right before I see Jace. I get tired of being strong. I get tired of having to keep it together. I get tired of being strong because I know I don't have to be when I am with Jace. I can just be me. I am ready to relax. I am ready to take a break. I am ready to have my best friend with me.

I say all of this because I get to see Jace on Friday. Right before we see one another we can't see straight. It is hard to focus because all we do is think about getting to the other one. I am taking vacation days on Friday and Monday and for this weekend we will make time stop. Email will wait. The world will shut down. We need this time to reconnect as a couple and remember the reasons we fell in love with one another. Those feelings come rushing back the second we embrace.

Maybe this post is a pity party because it is not fair what we have to go through. However, I wouldn't go through it with anyone else. Is Jace worth the wait? ABSOLUTELY. We can't wait until August 3rd when we no longer buy plane tickets and wipe out savings accounts to see one another. I can't wait for the day that I see him with bed head in the mornings and get to see him come home from a stressful day at school.

Sometimes I worry that my blog is just about the happy things in life. I think of myself as a happy person and an optimist however, life isn't always rainbows and butterflies. As bad as these ten weeks have been, I want to remember them. I want to remember the pain, frustration, loneliness, sadness, and yearning to be with him because it is through those feelings that we feel appreciation, gratefulness, admiration, and a deep, unwavering commitment to one another. We both understand that marriage will have its good and bad days. We have good and bad days now. Yet, at the end of the day we have such a deep and rooted love for one another that we know we can survive anything. We know we can survive because we have already gone through so much together in almost 8 years.

So here is to this weekend! We have plenty on the wedding to-do list to tackle. We are going on a date Saturday night. Simply put, we get to be a real life, in the flesh, couple. Excited doesn't even begin to describe how we feel. I will be sure to let you know how our weekend goes!

Color Me Rad 5K

At first I was afraid, I was petrified...oh but honey we survived! Whitney and I completed the Color Me Rad 5K on Saturday and had a complete blast. Here is how the race went...

The alarm went off at 6:40 AM and it was cruel to be getting up that early on a Saturday. I took a shower on Friday night and literally had to put on clothes, wash my face, and brush my teeth. I had on two layers of socks, pants, and shirts. I stuffed my sports bra with Klennex for my runny nose. I picked Whitney up at 7:20 and then we drove to the race. We put on our white sweatshirts, gloves, headbands to keep our ears warm, running number, and headed to the race. Y'all it was cold. The wind was blowing, it was around 20 degrees outside, and there was ice on the pavement. I thought we had lost our mind doing this. A cold was guaranteed to come on after five minutes in weather like that.

Once we made it to the race, we realized just how many people had signed up for the race. There were so many people and everyone was excited. There were people of all shapes, sizes, and ages. There were teams, girlfriends, and couples that ran together. People were creative with their team names and outfits. It was like being at the beach...it was great people watching. Whitney and I were supposed to run in the 8:40 AM wave but we were so cold waiting around to run so we ran in the 8:20 wave. Once we got started, we warmed up. I was surprised in how many people walked but this 5K wasn't about time. It was about having fun and raising funds for the Ronald McDonald House. There were three color bomb stations and we were pretty colorful at the end of the race. When race was over, there was one large color bomb party! For one second all I could see was pink dust! Everyone was excited and proud about completing the race.

Color Bombed!

Just finished!!!

 After the race, I walked away happy that I had achieved something that I have wanted to do for a long time. I got to cross something off my bucket list and the best of all, I got to do it with my best friend. The hours on the treadmill had paid off. Even though it was cold on Saturday, I was happy. I would gladly do it again and would encourage anyone to run this race. Thanks Whitney for running with me. Only best friends do crazy things together!

Dinner with Speech Therapists and a 5K

Did you know that you can correct a child who has problem saying their "S" words with a straw? Well neither did I until last night! Last night I joined Lauren and about 6 other speech therapists at dinner. Lauren and the rest of her girls were in town for a speech therapists conference and asked me to join them at dinner. I met them at Abeulo's and we had the best time. We laughed and talked and got caught up with everyone. I had met a few of the girls last year but there were a few new faces last night. I was especially excited to see Brittany, who absolutely cracks me up. I hadn't seen her in what seems like forever and it was so good to see her.

I loved eating dinner with them and listen to them describe their work. Most of the girls work with kids and it was interesting to hear them describe their kids and how they help them overcome their speech disorders. This is where the straw and correcting S words come in. They started sharing their tips and tricks and one girl, Chasity, showed everyone the straw trick. I walked away last night thinking just how talented they are and how much they are helping their students.

The highs of last night were replaced with fear, excitement, and anxiousness for the 5K Color Me Rad that is tomorrow. I have been training since January because I am not a runner by nature. I have learned to enjoy running and some days it is the best escape from a stressful or crazy day at work. The problem with my training is that I have done almost all of it inside, on a treadmill, no incline. I have ran twice outside at the Arboretum and what a difference it was! The hills and inclines are not felt on the treadmill!

I also didn't anticipate such cold weather. It has snowed on and off all day and is quite cold. I had to buy Under Armor type pants and shirt for tomorrow. I think Whitney and I will have about 152 layers on tomorrow in an effort to stay warm. I think I am most nervous about the weather, wet pavement, and the need to blow my nose (I am recovering from a cold). But I can't think about my fears. I have to remember when I am running. I am running to fulfill a personal goal and I get to do it with my best friend. I am running for my health. I am running to help the Ronald McDonald House.

I will be sure to let you know how tomorrow goes. We run at 8:40 AM. It will be an early morning but a fun one! Wish me luck!