ok, so my world is completely upside down from the last time i posted. the wedding that we were planning for in may was wonderful and we have now been married for more than 6 months. i began PA school at UNT Health Science Center. and i am still loving life. i will attempt to update pictures to help share the story.

plans underway

... and the plans begin. what a fun adventure! Matt and I are getting married on July 19. wow. i don't think i could be more excited. one of our first stops for planning was over at the Lays'. Jeff and Jenny have been a wonderful example to us. they have been mentors in my life for years and have now come alongside me and Matt. we are privileged to have them both do our premarrital counseling and Jeff to marry us. how sweet is it to have a model couple to love us as we figure out how to love each other.
and by the way, i bet they hate this picture. so, sorry, guys. but that night was fun. before we started making any wedding plans, we needed to make sure Jeff would be available. we made cakes and iced them asking him to marry us and her to "photo us".
they both said yes :).

ps. we have a site that we'll update for wedding-specific plans and such.
http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/view/co_main.aspx?coupleid=6855442142187031&MsdVisit=1

later this week all the registry info will be current

beginning our happily ever after...

well... i went to the forge to prepare for a lifetime of ministry. i'm now getting to see what a bit of that lifetime will look like. i'm going to be a wife! Matt proposed this last thursday. i was shocked but thrilled out of my mind! i don't have time for the whole story now, i'll add a link to our webpage soon so you can get all the details... but just know that i couldn't have dreamed up anything better.

NOLA

annual mission trip. this year we chose to go to new orleans. the whole trip is planned, organized, and facilitated by us, the students. it was a wonderful experience. i will, just like with Israel, refer you to Matt's blog (www.lantzfam.blogspot.com). his descriptions will be better than mine b/c he updates during the trip.

for now i'll summarize the trip through pictures. or van,
affectionately called "the Teal Dumpster", has no more of our affection. it broke down multiple times. it wound up actually just being funny when we eventually had to push it back to the church one afternoon. don't worry... it made it all the way home after some mechanical genius from a couple of the guys.

this precious little boy may have been the most impactful part of my trip. he is standing against a fence painted with voodoo art.
his mother routinely takes him to the voodoo temple. he is a normal, sweet little boy who enjoys his starbursts and his Chuck Taylors... and he's living in saturation of lies. evil is all around us, but this little boy, Falon, gave me a face to see how real it is.

finally, is a shot from our worksite. we helped reconstruct some of a deaf church damaged by Katrina. my main job was working with the drywall... never thought i'd say that.

practicing excellence

there are lots of pictures for this one, b/c they're just fun. one of my dear friends, Jesse, hosted a formal dinner last night. he recently a book about the art of dining and has wanted to practice his new skill. we were glad to help him out. he served a 5 course meal. the china was beautiful, the table elegant, and the food was wonderful. the gentlemen stood when ladies left or came to the table, etiquite was explored/corrected, and matt and i of course took the chance to take pictures with the large pine cone.

it was such a treat to allow him to teach us what he has learned and to see him be an expert with something he enjoys so much. it seems random to want to serve and dine with excellence, but we are called to work with all of our heart (col 3:23). jesse is inspiring me to want to be excellent at many things that i'm simply interested in. if you care about something, why not do it well? how about: photography (which i'm already working on), cooking, maybe piano or tea parties... the sky is the limit.

jazzercise

7:00 am on week days: P2. the 2 Ps are Prayer and Physical training. as a discipline we start each day by working out together. yes, that's good for our bodies, but we're also learning to pray during the routine of life. by intentionally focusing on prayer while working out we're training ourselves to commit our thoughts to the Lord and think about things that are true, excellent, praiseworthy. how amazing is it to actually dwell in the privilege of communing with the Creator of the universe!

horsey day

this semester we each get the chance to lead a week. when cecily was in charge she opened the opportunity for us to help the wranglers for a morning. after helping with the horses we were able to play like campers and ride. what a treat!