30 DAYS TO GO!

HI EVERYONE!!! :)

We just wanted to let everyone know that if you received an invite from Matt and I that we'd like for you to put your name on the RSVP when you send it back. It'll help us in the end to know how to better serve you all!
THANKSSSS in advance!

Matt & Kristen

32 DAYSSSS!

...And still so much LEFT to do! It's going by WAY too quickly!
We finished paying off our venue on Monday only to find out the wedding coordinator was on personal leave for a FEW months... and my wedding's next month!
No one decided to tell us, so it was a BIG shock to go into the mansion, ask for the lady, and them tell us she wasn't there... I didn't know what to do! I was upset and shocked all at the same time!
The people taking over aren't honoring promises that were given to us by the original person, so a lot of things are having to change in this short amount of time. It's very nerve-wrecking!
But, it will be done however now since they said a lot of the things we were promised "are not Oakland's responsibilities"... so now we have even MORE to do! GRR!!
I DO NOT RECOMMEND GETTING MARRIED AT OAKLAND'S MANSION! It is more work than you originally think, and are no help to you when you need it. it costs more money than just getting a place that provides you with the services you need. Just a little F.Y.I. for you soon-to-be brides!
You have to rent your own chairs to have the wedding outside
(and they are VERY expensive for some-what decent chairs!), none of their tables/chairs can go out of Maney Hall... not even out on the sidewalk covered by the awning. It is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen! They overcharge for the services they barely provide. All they GIVE you is somewhere to stand to get married and a small "hall" to have the reception in. You have to pay THEM to prepare your OWN food, and you have to pay THEM if you have it catered... it's a lose-lose situation on your side, but they are making all kinds of money to provide basically nothing.

Okay, wow... that little rant went way off kilter and I got off track really quick! haha... We also paid on our photog, as well. I can't wait to see all my pictures!!!!
ANYWAYS! We have a lot left to do... so hopefully we can get everything done in time... or we just won't have it I guess! lol :)

Bella has grown A LOT! :) And still as mean as ever! Hopefully she'll grow out of that!

Hum Dee Dum

So, I forgot one of the most important "NEW" items to my list. I have a new puppy!!! She was born on my birthday this year, so that makes her 11 weeks and 4 days old! Her mother died a week after they were born so they had to be hand fed, so she's basically like a baby! I named her Bella <3,>

My Bridal Shower went very well. It was fun & I got a ton of great stuff. Although, there are a few things I didn't get that I really need. But it's okay, we'll get them eventually. At least, now I only have to eat with plastic utensils instead of cook with them, too. It was tough cooking with them, but it worked! It is truly a blessing all of the great things I did get, though! I just expected most people to come to be there for me, not expecting gifts, but I got a lot of them! :)

Wow, a lot has happened in the last 3 weeks! I don't even remember half of what happened! ha ha.

There were tornadoes April 10th. I watched it form from work & head to Matt's neighborhood. All I could think about was his mom; she was home alone. We crammed 12 people into our little employee bathroom at work and prayed away. I prayed that she would be alright. Phone connections were horrible, and I could barely get a text message out to Matt to let him know I was okay, and his mom was okay. A lot of the messages didn't go through until everything was said and done. But, needless to say, they had no major damage to their house except for some big tree limbs broken, and debris in their yard. About 5 houses down the road and directly behind them, it was a different story. There were some homes not even there anymore. It was the scariest thing I've seen and saddest at the same time. I couldn't even believe that it didn't hit Matt's house... it was a true miracle. God really does hear your prayers!

Hmm... let me see... what else has happened? My mom and one of my good friends are throwing me my very first Bridal shower on Sunday at 2 p.m. It should be really fun! :) I can't wait to see everyone! My wedding dress arrived at the place I bought it from yesterday, so I'm going down tomorrow to try it on and bring it on home! :D I can't wait for that either! It'll be nice to have it!

There are only 44 days left until the big day! And only 45 until we're in ORLANDO to go to DISNEY WORLD!! YAYYYYY I think I'm more excited about that than anything else! haha :) I really can't wait to get married though. It's going to be so fun! :)

Well, that's all I can really think about for now..... Oh, next week is the last full week of school! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! It's kicked my butt these last couple weeks, so it'll be good to get it over with and I won't have to worry about anything until July or so! :D I'm so ready to graduate it's killing me!

WONDERFUL day in the neighborhood

:D

That pretty much sums it up. Ha Ha! Been a pretty awesome day, in the sense of mine & Matt's lives. Matt just got the call today that he got the job as Assistant Meat MANAGER at the Hickory Hollow Kroger!!! It's so exciting! We'll actually be able to PAY our bills, and not have to really worry about living paycheck to paycheck. We'll actually (hopefully) be able to pay OFF my car first, and then start saving for our FIRST home! :) I can't wait for our adventure to start!!!! He's just so glad he got this job he really wanted, and I'm proud of him for working hard enough to show that he deserves it!! God IS good & HE will provide... you just have to believe in HIM! He's been giving us good things for a couple weeks now, and it's been so nice to actually have a BREATHER! Thanks everyone for your prayers and thoughts! We still need that to continue on hoping someone gets a job soon so that they can actually pay for my wedding. That really would set us back a little bit if we have to end up paying for it, after they said they would in the beginning. ANYWAYS! That's about the only NEGATIVE thing that's still in our lives.
I may be getting a puppy!!!! I've been looking for one for a little while, and had my hopes on Matt's mom's hairdresser's Yorkie having puppies, but she might not give them away. So, I'm counting as that being out. But Meghan and I were looking on CraigsList today, and found a male West Highland Terrior that MIGHT be a possibility. Just waiting to hear back what the email said and see pictures, find out how much she wants, and how old he actually is. I just want to have a "companion" there at the apartment with me that I can BABY hehe, and Matt wants me to have something/someone there when he's not going to be able to be there and by myself at night. :)
If anyone hears of anyone wanting to get rid of puppies, let me know! I want something SMALL... I am in love with dachshunds (mini or standard), yorkies, westies.... really anything small and cute that I can make my little puppy baby! lol And preferable medium-long hair... I'm not really wanting a short haired dog! :) THANKS!

1st Session of Pre-marital Counseling...

Today was interesting. Not as scary as we thought it was going to be, that's going to be in 2 weeks! haha :) We did pretty well! Our average score on each section was about 76%, with our highest being 100% and lowest being 50%. So, it was kind of nice to know that we knew each other pretty well. There are things we need to work on, but nothing too major at this point, I don't think. :) Should be fun. We are both stubborn, apparently, so we have to work on that one! haha :) Matt couldn't think of but one thing that annoyed him about me, but I know there's more than that! He said it just put him on the spot. We'll work through them all though. I'm interested in seeing just how well our marriage will work out and am optimistic! Ive have a few people this week tell me the same thing about one thing I'm struggling with this week (not anything to do with Matt and my relationship) and none of them talked to each other, so it was encouraging to hear the same thing from them. :)

Anyways, just thought I'd update on how that went today! Yesterday, Matt and I went by Chelsea Place to see if we could sign our lease but the lady wasn't there, so we have to wait for her to get back from being sick probably tomorrow. We did get to ask questions about some stuff we needed to find out. We can move in sooner than the 15th if they get it ready sooner than that time. She told us we're getting all new stuff in there, so that should be nice. (like new carpet and paint... not sure about appliances and whatnot, but hey we aren't going to complain!! :))

Packin' Up & Movin' Out!

haha....

I am packing up my CRAP... that's what I've come to terms with... that everything I have is CRAP... geeez I'm such a pack rat!
I'm not moving out just yet, they said not until April 15th. So, I have a little while, but I don't have all that much time to actually pack my stuff up with going to school, work, and planning this wedding. I always TRY to stay on top and ahead of the game, but usually end up getting behind anyways... so hopefully this will actually help a little.

The looks of it right now, however, is some things are in boxes, and a lot of stuff is just piledi n the middle of my floor..... so not looking too promising. I can't even get off of my bed. Matt is helping me, so I'm kind of stuck on the bed surrounded by stuff on it & also on the floor! It's a MAD HOUSE!! It's kind of exciting, too, though. Just in the sense that I'm GETTING OUT OF THIS DARNED PLACE!!!! haha.

I'm not opposed to anyone wanting to help us actually move!!! We just need able bodies & possibly trucks!! :) I'm not forcing anyone to help, though, so don't feel obligated! :) All that would be required of your services would be to pack up trucks full of stuff, and then just stack boxes, etc. into the apartment. Nothing else would be required! :) haha.
Just wanted to update... because I needed something to do besides pack. :)

Wonderful Tonight

So, last night I met up with my Aunt Susan at an amazing restaurant in Franklin called Buca di Beppo's! It was interesting!!! :) I finally got to meet my newest cousin, Hudson, who is 3 1/2 months old. He is his father reincarnated! It's scary! LOL :) It was fun getting to catch up with her and her mom! She mentioned she wants to have a wedding shower for me in Memphis, so that should be a fun trip. We just have to figure out a good time for it!

Today, we figured we would get a call back frmo Chelsea Place letting us know if we were able to get the apartment or not. Since they were supposed to call us back on Saturday, we decided to just go ahead and call them ourselves. Matt talked to the manager, or whoever is over the applications and figuring out who gets in! (haha) She first said that we didn't make enough and that we'd need a gaurantor, and Matt told her that the lady we dealt with said we should just make it. So, she asked to call back after re-calculating. I guess it worked, because we don't need a gaurantor anymore! haha! So, now we just have to find a time to go sign the lease and paperwork!! We can move in April 15th!!!! It's exciting and stressful all at the same time!!!! Please PRAY for us!!!

Moving right along...

A lot has happened in the last week.
Matt and I took our engagement pictures with Angie Gambill on Thursday. We were in fear that we might not get to take them, since it had been raining all week. They'd called us on Wednesday saying that we may not be able to because of the rain. So, we were hoping and praying that we would miss the rain. The weather said that their would be scattered showers Thursday, but that it should clear up by around 9 a.m and be back late afternoon. We were so lucky! Angie said pictures would be better if the day was overcast, and that it exactly what we got! It was great! We had them taken at Cannonsburg. I'd never been there before, and it was a good place for pictures. I can't wait to see them!!! :) She said it'd be a week to a week and a half. Now, we just have to figure out what package we want. We want the Storybook package (the biggest), but we're going to take the 2nd biggest package. I just hope we can make the payments.... since money is tight.
Matt and I also did something else on Thursday!! We went to look at apartments, again. We started at Saddlebrook Apts. because we were more impressed with them and their price ($535/month). They were running a deal where you'd get the 1st month free, and all you had to pay up front was $100. So, we were set on that and I was ready to cut them a check for $100. We decided we'd go to one more apartment to just make sure that's what we wanted. We figured that Chelsea Place couldn't beat their prices, because the apartment equal to that of Saddlebrook's was $615/month and 2 sq. ft. less. It ended up being a great time to go! We found out they were also doing a free first month, and we got to roll dice to see how much we'd get off our rent. We ended up getting a 10, which equalled $100 off our rent!!! :) Then, she looked through her weekly focus sheet and found us an apartment with reduced rent price! So, we ended up getting an apartment on the ground floor for $490! That's the starting price of their smallest one bedroom apartments!!!! So, we filled out the application, and now we're just waiting to hear something back from them if we got it or not! I'm hoping we did! I can move in April 15th, so that's exciting!!! I can't wait! Hopefully, we get it!

Ups & Downs...

I'm getting discouraged again.... :(
Things are turning sour and I don't know how to stop them.

THINGS LEFT TO DO:
1. Find a Wedding Cake. [I have no clue what I want, still, and have no clue where to get it from. I'm kind of scared I won't have one due to the lack of funding b/c of carelessness on someone elses part.]
2. Find a place to rent chairs from. [Everyone charges way too much a piece for chairs! Same issue as above, financial.]
3. Get my wedding dress back & get fitted; finish paying for it. [They said the date it's supposed to come in is April 15th, so hopefully it comes in on time so I can actually get alterations done if I need them.]
4. Figure out a shoe situation for me: flats, flip-flops, or none at all.
5. Figure out WHAT to put in my favor boxes I already have. [My aunt bought the boxes I wanted for me, so now I just need something to put in them. We have idea's, but yet again, financial issues are in the way.]
6. Buy bubble machines.
7. Engagement pictures & choose package. [We are having our engagement pictures taken next Thursday (March 26th) at 10:30 a.m. The package we choose is solely dependent upon our finances, ONCE again... :( ]
8. Rehearsal Reception location/caterer. [We've gotten quotes from a few different places, but it's another expense I'm not sure we can pay for.]
9. Food for the actual reception. [There are rules about what we can and can not have at our venue (like no crockpots or making food there, etc.) so, we have to be careful & it's money, again.]
10. Music playlist selections. [This is in working progress.... we add songs almost every other day. iPod.]
11. Figure out the songs everyone is walking out to.
12. Our harpist bailed on us today, so I'm really discouraged about that. [I had my heart set on it, only to be crushed. :( ]
13. My jewelry & my girls' jewelry.
14. Hair & Make-up. [My mom will more than likely do my hair, and I wil probably do my makeup myself.]
15. Veil or no veil? [That is the question. I'm not real fond of them, but Matt wants me to wear one. It's an outside wedding and they made me hot just trying on inside stores....]
16. Tiara or flower beret?
17. Finalize linens & table arrangements.
18. Unity Candle alternative. [We've decided on really liking the sand unity, but it's expensive as well. But it's a nice souvenir from the wedding that can be displayed in our home.]
19. Speaking of home... we need to find one. [ :( money big issue here.]
20. Start pre-marital counseling with Dave. [He has yet to get back to us about the day we asked him about to start last week.]
21. Get Marriage License.
22. Groomsmen gifts.
23. Parent/Grandparent gifts.
24. "Welcome" guest table deco., etc.
25. Program's. [I wanted fans since its outside, but they are too expensive. :( ]
26. Find servers, guest book attendants, set-up/clean-up crew.
27. Buy more stamps to send out invitations.
28. Get my aunt to address envelopes for me.

Wow, writing all this out really has me discouraged even more. :( Money is a big issue right now, and who knows what's going to happen. I don't want to have to postpone the wedding. That's my worst fear right now. I just need to pray to God... and I need everyone else helping me with prayer, too. So please help me. I'm getting depressed from this wedding, and that's not what it's supposed to be... it's supposed to be the happiest time of my life. But, I'm not happy. I'm at my absolute worst. My living situation has me completely falling apart. The ppl I live with absolutely do not care about me what-so-ever. They won't even provide food for me. :( Matt has had to pu; money out of his savings account just to make sure I have food. I really hate this. I want out and I can't go anywhere because I have no money. I'm getting treated like I'm a cheap little slave girl or something. All they care about is my dad's money... after he left, they didn't care whether or not I was okay. I just want to go somewhere that I'm loved and not slum. I feel like Matt's the only one who loves me right now. :(