Ignite Rally

Last night was the second annual Ignite Rally for See You at the Pole. Ignite is an awesome event because all the local youth pastors plan it together. That's right! Youth pastors, not competing for students but partnering together! Matt meets with these guys on a weekly basis to pray and encourage each other. Its a rare but awesome thing! So last night, there were NINE churches represented in 130 teens...all worshipping and praying together. The worship band was made up of teens from different churches as well. It was a really cool experience.

Check out my friend Mindy's blog for their SYATP experience this morning.


Matt and I had a lot of fun this weekend at the wedding. It was good to see some of Matt's old friends and enjoy some down time. Here's a picture although I'm not really sure what I'm doing with my arm...oh well.

Weddings

This summer has not been as crazy as the last two summers with weddings, but we are having a busy fall.  Matt is in two, one today and another in October.  Pete and Julie are getting married today.  The wedding party and family stayed at the Great Lakes Leadership Campus.  It is a beautiful victorian home that has been renovated to be a retreat center.  At one time, this house had 15 rooms!  It was built in 1897 for John and Martha Stewart -- just to hold the artifacts they had collected on their many travels!  You can see some pictures here.  

Matt is taking pictures with the wedding party right now and I have a few hours to kill. :)  I've been thinking about our wedding day and how thankful I am that we are not getting married today.  I know that sounds weird but I'm glad that I get to live life with my best friend now.  We know each others' quirks and patterns, and they have become endearing.  There has been a lot of challenges and growth in the last two years that have made us both better people!  Besides all of that, I don't think I would want to relive the first month of marriage - with all the expectations and just not knowing how to do this thing called marriage.  

I love weddings though.  Often, they serve as a reminder of what love can look like...and its the only time I can get my husband on a dance floor. :)

Well, I should probably go get showered and dressed.  I found a dress that matches the yellow shoes from Evan and Julie's wedding!  :)  Never thought I'd wear them again!

Prayer

When Matt and I were first dating, someone from his church gave me a book, "The Power of a Praying Wife." I was a little weirded out at first because we were not married...had barely talked about marriage! But I was curious and opened it up. It was really cool because it was a wonderful guide to praying for my man.

This morning, I was once again reminded of what a valuable tool that book is. There are many times I am praying for Matt but don't have the words and I pull out this book. Often, as I am praying the prayers written, it helps me to focus beyond myself and my desires and truly, unconditionally pray for him.

I would recommend this book! Pick up your copy TODAY! :)

Wedding Is On My Mind!

As you know, I've been scrapbooking my wedding pictures and Evan is engaged and they are planning their wedding so weddings have been on my mind! I was browsing wedding pages when I came across these awesome wedding invitations from 1st Class Wedding Invitations! How cute are those! They are called Cotton Candy Wrap Invitations. They look like invites you could use for a Sweet 16 party too. So there you go girls in my youth group - cute invites for your Sweet 16!

I know this is completely random but I really thought they were so cute! We got our wedding invitations for free because they came in our tux rental package so we did not have much of a choice - who knows...maybe we'll have to renew our vows so I can have fun invites like these! :)

Speaking of renewing your vows -- Matt brought up the other day that I will have to probably change the title of my blog soon because we aren't really newlyweds anymore. I was kind of bummed to think that we aren't considered newlyweds anymore -- I still feel like a newlywed! I still make mistakes like a newlywed! :) I don't know...what are your thoughts?

Weekend in Indy

We had a crazy busy weekend in Indy but it was great to see family! My brother Evan and I got to talking about this pizza place my grandparents took us to alot when we were kids called "Pizza King". The entire place looks like a train station and each table has nintendo you can play for a quarter, and they bring your drinks by train to your table. Pretty cool! So we decided to take all of the kids there for a little "reminiscing".

Its funny how things don't quite live up to your memories. It was a little run-down, they no longer have nintendo...you just have to pay a quarter to watch tv, the train still brings your drinks but its lost its spark. But it was still fun to walk down memory lane!

I also got to see one of my best friends Addie this weekend. She and her husband, Eric, were to be married two weeks after us, but in May '06 found out that he was being deployed to Iraq. So, they moved up the wedding and were married for two or three days before he left! He was gone a little over a year and just got back about a month ago. They decided to celebrate both their marriage and his homecoming with a reception for friends and family. Since I couldn't make the wedding, it was so nice to be there for them this time!

On the road again...

Matt and I are heading to Indianapolis tomorrow for a whirlwind trip (Sorry Delci...the weekend is going to be too crazy to be able to see you) . My uncle is getting married on Saturday and then one of my best friends, Addie, is having her wedding reception on Sunday. Addie and Eric got married almost a year and a half ago, but just a few days after the wedding he left for Iraq. They had moved up the wedding by several months when they found out that he was leaving, so they are celebrating their marriage this weekend...I am so excited to see her!

My little brother is turning 12 today (I think that's how old he is...I'm so bad with numbers...just ask Matt!) He is officially in Jr. High which is so weird for me! Happy Birthday Austin!

(Edit...He turned 11, not 12...told ya I was bad with numbers!) :)

17.8 Billion on Weddings in 2006!

According to InStyle magazine, Americans spent a whopping 17.8 BILLION dollars on their weddings last year! I can't believe that so much money went into a one-day party! We tried so hard to keep things as cheap as possible with our wedding...finding deals and bargains with almost every aspect of our wedding. My mom wrote an article, "Wedding Doesn't Have to Break the Bank", in our local newspaper. She gave some great tips and here are a few of the major pointers from that article:

• Shop clearance racks: A full-price wedding gown was out of our budget, but we found many beautiful gowns on the bridal shop clearance racks. Anne eventually chose a beautiful $1,200 gown that we found on the clearance rack for $279.
• Take advantage of tux store offers: Many tux rental stores offer free invitations with tux rental. This saves hundreds of dollars.
• Borrow what you can: Rather than renting a limo for the drive from the church to the reception, we asked family friends if we could borrow their convertible. Another friend offered decorations she still had from her daughter’s wedding. The church had silk greenery we were able to use and candle stands and white pillars were also borrowed.
• Do without: What items that are considered “traditional” do you really not need or even care about? Anne determined she didn’t really care if she had an aisle runner at the church. That was one less thing to purchase.

The average amount spent on a wedding is $30,000. Many couples start their marriage off with debt from their wedding. One of the leading reasons for divorce is the inability to agree about finances. Why start off on a rocky foot? You can have an incredible wedding without becoming tied down to unbelievable debt. We did!

Last Wedding of the Summer!

We attended the last wedding of the summer this weekend! We were invited to 8 weddings and attended 6 of those! Its only July! This was a fun wedding because it reunited us with some of Matt's old friends. I've only known them for a short time but they are all wonderful people and so fun! There were four couples at our table and we have all been married for a year or less and it was fun to reminisce and tell stories about being newlyweds. All of us were in the same boat and had similar life experiences going on and it was nice to have that for a little while!

Matt is so funny on the dance floor! When he and our friend Doug get going there is no stopping them! Dancing the lawnmower, shopping cart, and making up a bunch of others...I wish I had video to show you! The guys start dancing and forget they even have wives to dance with! Its nice to let loose for a little while!

Weddings are wonderful and beautiful...but its nice to be done for the summer!

Preacher Matt

Matt performed his first wedding this weekend for our friends Milady and Chad. It was a really hot but beautiful day! Matt did a wonderful job! The best part of his message was from the verse Genesis 2:23,

The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman, ^[a] '
for she was taken out of man."

Matt talked about how bones represent strength and flesh represents weakness. When one is weak, the other is strong. Where the other is weak, one is strong! It was a good reminder of how a marriage is meant to support each other...be the strong frame for the rest of life!

Doesn't he look so nice in his suit?

my mother-in-law Elaine and I

Mathis Wedding

Matt and I went to a wedding this weekend for a childhood friend of mine, Kara. It took a little convincing to get Matt to go, since it was my friend and he didn't know her. As we are pulling up to the wedding and walking in, he asks me, "So are you going to know anyone at this wedding?" I had no idea! If anything, it would probably be people I went to Jr. High with. It was a beautiful wedding, and as we are walking out we hear someone say, "Matt McClane!" Turns out, Matt knows half of the people there!!! I end up going to the wedding with him! It was so funny. People kept stopping Matt and I kept getting introduced to people. It is so fun to be married to him!

Zeb and Erica's Wedding

This weekend was crazy! Brandon (a friend), Matt and I drove 34 hours to a friend's wedding in Louisiana! Thursday we drove the three hours to Bloomington, Friday we drove 7 hours to Memphis, Saturday we drove 7 hours to the wedding, 4 hours at the wedding, then drove back to Memphis! We got into Memphis at 3:30 am. Then, Sunday morning we got up to drive the rest of the way home! Exhausting! It was worth it though. We had fun and really enjoyed the small ceremony with our friends. Some highlights of the trip:

• Going to dinner at Big Foot Lodge in Memphis, then walking down a street celebrating Mardi Gras (a week late)
  
• Blood smeared in my McDonalds bag. When Matt took it back, the woman thought she could just put the old food in the new bag!!!! After they gave us new food, we got in the car to find out it was not our order!
• Brandon and Matt really wanted cajun food (gross!). After going to "the best cajun food" restaurant and finding out it was a meat store, they told us to go to Cash's--the best eatin' around! Cash's was a truck stop---but they told us there was good cajun food so we went in. Hamburgers and steak made up the menu. I waited for Taco Bell!
• Rain and Tornado Warnings in Louisiana

I no longer want to ride in a car, but the wedding was fun. Someone asked why we didn't fly. Besides driving being cheaper, we probably had more experiences this way! *sigh* I'm ready for my own bed!