Changes Coming!

I'm married woman now! ;-) I've wanted to do LOTS of writing the past 6 months... but planning a wedding, managing a small business, spending time with my fiancé, family, & friends I knew I was moving away from as well as attempting to maintaining my sanity took priority.

I've finally settled into something of a routine and am looking forward to getting back into blogging! The blog is going to be getting some rearranging and I'll be posting more regularly very soon.

First up will be trip info and -of course- pics from our trip to INDIA! I can't wait to visit the friends we made last year! Especially Babu, Dr. Sujatha and my little brothers Samuel, Arron, Moses, and Sagar!

We are supposed to leave on May 22nd. Please pray for our Visas to come through. We were much later than normal for getting them submitted and will be cutting it VERY close for getting them back in time to fly, particularly for one of our team members. We've seen God do something really awesome regarding travel documents for this trip (blog post about that later) and we're asking that He do it again. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Planning vs. Preparing & the many, many shades of Purple

So... I'm engaged!! 
Oh wait, that was the last post. Sorry, I'm just still pretty excited about it! :-)

This past month has been a wonderful blur of holidays, parties and wedding planning. I have been enjoying it so very much! As a typical girl, I've had lots of ideas about what I wanted my wedding to be long before I had even met this amazing man I am going to be sharing it with. I knew there would be some stress involved in planning a wedding, but I seriously wasn't expecting to enjoy the details part of it this much!

Planning:

I have my date, venues, colors (Who knew there were so many different shades of purple??) maid of honor, bridesmaids, ministers (YES! My daddy is marrying me!) dress, florist, caterer (Mom, and a small army of her friends), baker, dj & lighting guy, flower girls, ring bearer, invitations have been ordered and I'm still grinning!

However, in this whirlwind of color choices (seriously: "Black Tulip" Who comes up with a color name that has a DIFFERENT color in it?), decisions to be made, people to contact and a small business to continue running I got a teensy bit stressed out yesterday. There have been a few stressful moments before yesterday, but they were mostly small and fairly easy to resolve, so I wouldn't say I've been "stressed out" yet.

The Date:

In my stressed out state yesterday I was reminded me of something very important. I won't go into all the details, but Zac had a rough day too, and we had a date night* yesterday. We both got some real-life practice of putting the other first last night as we spent time together after having difficult days.

I'm very thankful for the example and wisdom from my mother who's voiced popped into my head the moment I saw Zac. His face said that his day had been worse than mine and my brained played a recording, "This 'marriage thing' means he comes first. You prefer him over yourself."

As the evening played out we each shared what was bothering us and we're both able to still have a great night. We were both encouraged by the other in our individual issues. I am de-stressed! And am looking forward to more planning in the weeks to come.

Preparing:

As I was driving home last night I was truly thankful for the chance to listen to Zac and be there for him after he had a rough day. I was even more thankful for his willingness to listen to and care for me after he had a rough day. Is this what a marriage is supposed to look like? I admittedly have ZERO experience in marriage, but there is something my dad always says when he preforms a ceremony. "Sorrows will be halved and joys will be doubled." I don't think that happens without some choices being made on purpose.

I could have met Zac with my list of complaints from the day and he could have done the same to me.  But we both chose to prefer the other last night. As I was driving home and this morning when I got up the thought kept coming to me.

"Plan my wedding, but prepare for my marriage."

What am I doing, and what should I be doing, in my day-to-day life to prepare for being a wife? (Seriously, that is a question for readers. I'd love to see some ideas and input in the comments or on Facebook.) I know I'll probably screw it up a lot, but maybe if I keep this at the forefront of my thoughts-even while picking out which shade of purple is correct-I'll be a teensy bit more prepared and able to love and serve my husband like Christ wants His church to love and serve Him.



*He took me to see a The Princess Bride at "Classics" night at the movie theater! Fairly packed house watching a movie that we already loved. This guy knows me so well!! 

I'm ENGAGED!!! :-)

This is the LONG version of my proposal story. Feel free to read, skim, or just look at the pics! :-)

A Confession:
I kind of knew it was coming. In fact I had guessed the date about 10 days early and the location 7 days before it happened. I didn't know for sure, but several little hints and clues all seemed to point in that direction. However, this doesn't disappoint me one bit. I love getting to guess and try to figure things out in anticipation. It just made it that much more fun for me.

Zach and I had a very real yes-this-is-what-we-both-want discussion one night about three months ago. After that we discussed several things in the next couple of weeks pertaining to getting married, starting a family, the ceremony, time frames, etc. It was so much fun talking about this with the man I was falling in love with, but it felt a little early. I requested that we not make plans like that until he was ready to ask me.

Being the wonderful guy that he is, he respected my wish… so well that I started wondering if he had changed his mind. The relationship progressed positively, but because he hadn't said ANYTHING about us getting married I just didn't know.

6 month date:
He took me out for a very special evening that involved reservations at the restaurant of our first date, a scrapbook that ended with the phrase, "The best is yet to be..." and 2 dozen roses delivered to my house. I thought he was going to ask me that night and although I wasn't disappointed, he apologized if he had gotten my hopes up. Then promised me that it was coming…

"I was going to ask you on Thanksgiving Day, but then you said not on a holiday."

Oops! :-D He let that cat out of the bag! Although he swore up and down that he wasn't going to do it on Thanksgiving anymore I still had a time frame to guess with. :-)

Christmas, Lights and Snow:
I love Christmas. I love Christmas lights. And I love snow. One week before the OU/OSU Game Zac asked me if I would want to go to Bricktown to see the canal lights after the game. "Sure. That'd be fun." I tried to say nonchalantly. I had already thought he was going to ask me the day of the game and this idea thrilled my heart. Christmas lights on the canal sounded very romantic and like a perfect setting for a proposal.

Then the forecast came in. Cold. Ice. Snow. About 10% of me was worried this might mess up his plan, but when he arrived at my house on Friday night he said all the roads were clear and he had no trouble driving.

"YES!!!! Christmas lights & a magical layer of snow on the ground along the canal!!" It's gonna be beautiful!


The Throw-Off:
Later that night Zac said we would post-pone the trip to brick town because of the snow. "WHAT?!?!?!" My inside got very sad, very quick. Surely he wouldn't post-pone the proposal? I had to remind myself that I had no real proof that he was going to propose and again tried to be nonchalant when I said, "Okay, whatever you want to do."

But I was disappointed. I convinced myself that he couldn't have been planning to propose, because a layer of snow would have just made things extra perfect, not been a reason to call it off. But even if he wasn't going to ask me to marry him… there is nothing like christmas lights in the snow, (A sight not often enjoyed by Oklahomans.) so before we said goodnight I asked him if he might reconsider for the sake of "snow magic."

I didn't have to do much talking before he said, "Okay, you've convinced me." But we still just left it at, "We'll see how we're feeling after the game."

Bedlam:
Football has been a really fun part of our relationship. Since college, my love for the Pokes has grown from mild-interest to working at Boone Pickens for home games and regularly watching or listening to away games.

The Privotts are OU fans. Big OU fans. ;-) I've had a blast spending time with Zachary and his whole family tailgating and attending the OU home games all season long. So what do we do about bedlam? We both promised that we would remember that it is just a game and walk away with our relationship in-tact no matter who won and who lost.

Zac got us tickets!! Never had either of us thought we might get to actually go to the game to support our respective teams, but it worked out (thanks to a great family friend) that we were able to go. It was 9* when we left the house, but we bundled up and truly had a great time together. (Of course I would have liked to see my Pokes win, but it was an exciting game nonetheless.)

Dinner:

Zac spent a lot of time on his phone on Saturday. More than usual, but I didn't think anything of it. There was an earthquake near his parents house, so I assumed he was texting with them about that. I also figured he was getting a good share of ribbing on the day of Bedlam for having a O-State girlfriend. After we had de-layered from the game and dressed up for a nice evening out we headed toward OKC. 

In the car Zac said he'd like to stop by his parents house on the way by. "Why?" I asked, not thinking. "Well, I just want to check on them from the earthquake."Umm-hmmm… whatever. ;-) So we stopped by and I got really interested in their christmas decorations while Zac ran up to his room to "get a contact case." Yeah… right! (He was picking up my ring.) ;-) Their tree really is beautiful! Any given my love for Christmas it wasn't hard for it to capture my attention.

We left the Privott's and went to Zios for dinner. We made good use of the crayons by playing tic-tac-toe, dots, and drawing pictures. I drew Zac a monster truck with lightning bolts and a house on a hill. Zac drew a penguin, igloo, eyeball, heart and smile for me. :-)

On A Walk:

After dinner we bundled up and went out to see the lights and walk the canal. It was beautiful. Conversation was easy. We held hands and watched as a family sled down a little hill, the colored lights danced off the water, the snow crunched under our feet, I stole a kiss or two as we walked and every 20-30 yards Zac would give me a different reason why he loved me.

We were getting back down to the end of the canal near where we parked and as Zac gave me another reason I looked up ahead to see how much longer I could make out little walk last. To my surprise his parents where standing 20 feet in front of us!!

As soon as I saw Joan and Steve I knew it was going to happen. Both Zac and I have very close relationships with our parents and after the 6-month-hint (about Thanksgiving) I requested that if he chose to involve one set of our parents he be sure to make sure both sets could be there. I didn't see my parents, but I knew they had to be around somewhere.

Zac took my hand and led me a little further down to where several trees were all brightly wrapped. He took my hands in his and told me that he never thought he would find someone like me. That the last 7 months of his life had been better than anything before he met me and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life making sure I knew I was loved and cherished.

Then he got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him!

Of course I said, "Yes!"

After he put the ring on my finger and hugs were given all around by both our parents we all six went to the Melting Pot and had desserts to celebrate! 

It was wonderful. 

It was beautiful. 

And look at this RING!!!!

It was so romantic and I was so thrilled that he arranged for both of our parents to be there! I cannot wait to get deep into planning our wedding and preparing for our marriage. I love this man very much and count myself as so blessed by our Father in heaven that He would bring Zac and I together to serve each other and Him for the rest of our lives. :-)

Crying at Christmas

We have a christmas joke at my house. "Want some light-up tennis shoes?" When I was about 6 or 7 the best thing I got for Christmas one year was a pair of light-up tennies. This was a very cool gift and I'm well aware that many kiddos (here in the US and in other parts of the world) would really think it was something great to receive a new pair of light-ups, but the humorous part is that my father absolutely detests the giving (or receiving) of anything as practical as clothing, least of all a pair of shoes.

My parents had picked out several great gifts for me that year. Every. Single. One. Broke. (Except for my tennis shoes which I apparently cuddled with as if they were a stuffed animal the night after opening them.) One of those ride-in electronic cars… dead with-in 4 hours. (And apparently not covered by the warranty. I don't remember getting a replacement.) A neon colored pogo stick... I wasn't heavy enough to engage the spring and fell off (multiple times.) A plastic golf cub play set… a neighbor kid came over to play Christmas afternoon, leaned on the driver like it was a real club… popped the head off. There were tears that Christmas Day.

I've been told about another pre-Christmas shopping trip that involved a few tears. I was chilling in the cart at Toys-R-Us while mom and dad picked out gifts for all my cousins. I'm guessing I was 3 or 4. As we were waiting in the check-out line my parents noticed that I had large tears rolling down my cheeks. When they asked me what was wrong I looked at the bounty of toys around me and listed off everyone they had just bought gifts for and pointed out that there was nothing in the cart for me. They tell me that this was not a toddler throwing a tantrum about wanting a toy. I had yet to grasp the concept of a surprise and was genuinely perplexed and heart-broken that my own parents didn't want to buy me a Christmas gift.

I'm 26. I understand (and delight in) the concept of surprise gifts. I know that broken things can be replaced. But over the last couple of years I've found myself crying again at Christmas time. The reason? My conviction over the truth of Christmas compels my emotions.

I believe it all. Angels appearing out of no where. A virgin girl giving birth. Shepherds being scared to death by an ethereal choir. Men traveling a great distance to throw the weirdest baby shower ever. A fiancé who trusted and acted on an unthinkable, scandalous, idea from a being in a dream.

The Christmas story is a story of fulfilled promises. For thousands of years God had promised, "I'm coming to fix this. I've got a plan. Hold on. My son is coming." And then when it was right the KING of HEAVEN and EARTH stepped down from His throne. Gave up His right to everything and said, "I want that girl in my family. I want her so badly that I am willing to pay with my own life. She hates me right now. She will hate me a lot. She will deliberately try to hurt me, run from me and choose to please herself over me. But I love her, I created her to worship me and so I will make a way for her to be my very own daughter."

In church yesterday we watched a video called True and Better. It's an animation piece by a producer that I really enjoy. (Dan Stevers - www.danstevers.com - video linked below) I once again found myself crying at Christmas.  Finally! True and Better arrived on the scene. That is why we celebrate Christmas. True and Better entered into our mess, paid our debt, and offers us a gift that we cannot earn and do not deserve. True and Better promises that we will see Him again. In the meantime He is making us ready to be His bride and when the time is right, He will fix everything, make all things new and will love and cherish us forever.

And that is why you can still find this 26 year old tomboy crying (tears of unbelieving joy) at Christmastime.