a shower of love

well i must officially be a bride-to-be because i have experienced my first shower and am actually getting ready for a next one on the 6th of august! it was such a sweet time to spend with the Rebhan family. Oma and some of the aunts put everything together and it was so beautiful, all the way down to my barbie-doll-wedding-cake. i will post a picture later! it was so fun to have both sides of Rob's family together from near and far. we were missing a few but it was such a wonderful time otherwise!

this is the very lovely barbie cake! it was so fun to see the little girls fawn over it :) the kauppila girls borrowed my wedding barbie for the ride home but now she is safely sitting on my shelf! i can't wait to use her for other family showers!

everyone sitting down for a lovely meal - thank you again to everyone who came and also made the whole shower possible!

miss Taylor - my faithful MOH - on duty writing down who everything was from! thanks for everything tay, i am so so blessed to be getting you as sister as part of all of this wedding excitement!

love you more than anything my beautiful sister. even at our worst we are pretty awesome.

well that is all for tonight. i can't wait to share more with you once the whirlwind of the next shower passes! i am so excited but more-so grateful for all the loving family and friends that the Lord has bestowed on Rob and i, especially in this overwhelmingly happy time in our lives!

challenges and blessings

well since Rob and i are so young, we are also freshly out of college. having both graduated from Hope College we are well off on the road to becoming young professionals but the task of finding work is still not easy. currently i am working at Papa Vino's Italian Kitchen and while i have to be grateful that i am working at all, i have to admit that it is not my first choice of employment. Rob is undertaking the task of job-hunting right now; he worked as a ref for a while during the soccer season and he has odd techie jobs that he does now and then. our employment future is currently a mystery to us and that makes me very anxious... but Rob keeps his cool and encourages me to pray and trust the Lord that no matter what, we will be taken care of. after all, the Lord cares about us and is faithful to us in times of need. it is Rob's reaction to problems like this that excites my heart for our life together in the future. his level of care for me and encouragement to me when i need it most is outstanding and i couldn't have asked for a better man in my life. the Lord has been good to me by providing me with such an outstanding future husband.

as for the actual logistics of life beyond September 16... we don't know much right now. we will be married which is an AMAZING thought, (only 54 more days!) but the working, the living, the where and the how are all up in the air and being left only in the hands of God. we have been given this opportunity to trust the Lord especially in a time when neither of us know what is going to happen next and i am starting to see that as a blessing. there could be no better way to start our marriage that with total confidence that we can do nothing on our own. as strange as that sounds, we will always have to know that there is a need for Christ in our relationship at the center of everything we decide and act upon, so why not start off that way!

when we learn something about our life in the future i will let you all know (whoever you are) but for now pray for us, that we may lean on the Lord alone for His guidance and provision.

just a start

hooray for engagement and getting to marry the love of my life. Rob and i have been together since highschool and we will be getting married on our 5 year anniversary. we have been blessed with the opportunity to grow together and learn from each other in the best and worst of times. this blog is a clip of my experience as i prepare for the biggest day of our lives so far and also ready myself for what it means to become the woman and wife that Christ has called me to be.

the basics of wedding planning are behind us and we are now onto the small and intricate details that can at times become overwhelming. together, with our families, we are getting everything done in an expedient and peaceful manner. this planning process has been so smooth and that has truely been the biggest blessing from the Lord. we are in the process of completing planning, sending invitations (which we just got in the mail and i absolutely ADORE), having dress fittings, being showered with love and gifts from the people that mean so much to us, and generally just trying to stay focused on one another and not lose sight of the bigger picture: each other and our new life together.

our biggest concern currently, and equally our greatest request for prayer, is Rob's job search. he is feeling encouraged by a couple companies but is still in need of a concrete offer. please keep him in your prayers. i trust the Lord first but i have so much faith in Rob and his abilities. his commitment to taking care of us for the future is outstanding and i am so proud to soon call him my husband.

i will soon update and give some daily details and wedding tidbits but for now i say goodnight.