A Very Sickly Valentine's

I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's Day.  Unfortunately, I came down with something nasty late Monday night that kept me pretty sick on Valentine's Day.  When I walked into the office Tuesday morning (Valentine's Day), I could barely talk.  My throat was so sore and scratchy.  By noon, I was coughing.  Now this wasn't just any coughing.  It was the kind that felt like someone was grabbing my lungs and trying to rip them out of my chest.  Boy did it hurt.  I ended up leaving around 1 and headed to my parents' place (even though I'm 24, it's still nice to be around Mom and Dad when I'm sick).  I kept on working when I got over there.

Sierra trying to help me work.

I got an email from a coworker when I was at my parents' place saying that flowers had been delivered to me at the office!!  My parents said they didn't send them to me so I texted Brett, who admitted to sending them.  Needless to say, I was sad I had to leave work early because I didn't get to see my beautiful flowers.

This morning, I didn't feel quite up to par but I went into work anyway.  I mean, I had to see my flowers... not to mention the massive amount of work we have right now.  The flowers were absolutely beautiful!  They made my sickly day a little better because I could look at them and be reminded that I am loved. Thank you Brett!!

Pretty flowers

The note that came with them. It's so Brett.

Wedding Update: Honeymooning

We booked our honeymoon last month, but I never got around to blogging about it.  Because we'll be incurring some costs in order to move me down to Greenville, we decided to stay state-side for our honeymoon.  Brett and I really wanted to go some place warm, with a beach, and good food.  We searched and searched, for about two months, for the best location.  I stumbled across Lago Mar Resort and Club during my search.  Side note: does anyone else think the name is a little strange?  Lago Mar translated from Spanish to English is lake sea.

Anyway, Lago Mar is a Fort Lauderdale, FL resort, located between Mayan Lake and the Atlantic Ocean.  There are six restaurants on resort property, with many other restaurants located within a couple minutes of the resort.  The Lago Mar has tennis courts and shuffle board (reminds me of Turks and Caicos), putt putt, a couple of swimming pools, and 500 feet of private beach.

We booked an executive suite from Sunday to Saturday.  We even got two non-stop plane tickets from RDU to Ft. Lauderdale for less than the price of one ticket to the Caribbean or Mexico!! I'm excited about being able to relax with my new hubby (wow first time every writing that) and get some sun at the same time :)  When we get back, Brett goes right into season mode so it'll be a nice little vacation before football season starts.

Here is a little glimpse into the Lago Mar Resort and Club.

Mayan Lake side of the resort (via Lago Mar Resort and Club)

Beach view (via usnews.com)

Executive suite (via Lago Mar Resort and Club)

Gone to (South) Carolina in my Mind

Soon South Carolina will not only be in my mind.  This post has been in the making for a month and a half.  I've gone over and over in my head what I was going to write.  No words seem to be sufficient to describe what the past month and a half have been like for Brett and me.  It has been full of uncertainty, doubt, stress, exhaustion, trust, and joy.  If those words together make you confused, welcome to our life!!

To spare you of all the details, Brett and I finally know where we're going to live after we get married: Greenville, SC!! Brett has been offered the defensive coordinator position at North Greenville University, the school he's been at for the past three years.  I'm so very proud of him :)

Let me tell you, the past month and a half have seemed like torture.  This decision was the hardest decision we've ever had to make, as individuals and as a couple.  You see, neither Brett nor I are patient people, yet God put us in this situation to teach us to trust in His timing and His sovereignty over every situation we encounter. Even when we felt like God wasn't there or guiding us, I have no doubt that He had His hand all over us during this time.  I got to know how Brett reacts to things, how we deal with uncertainty (epic fail for me), and how I can support Brett through the decisions that will undoubtedly come in his career.

It is a bittersweet time because we will miss the men Brett has been coaching with the last three years.  I will really miss the wives.  However, I am thankful for the time I had with them and the wisdom they have shared with me as I am about ready to join the crazy life football families lead.  Thank you Kelli, Solmaz, Keonna, and Heather for helping prepare me to be a football wife, or at least give me a taste of what it's like.

Now that we know we will still be Crusaders, I hope to blog more.  One of the reasons I haven't been blogging much since the end of December is because I have been consumed by Brett's job decision.  I've learned so much during this process that I want to share with you all...without overwhelming you with information, so I'll be sharing my struggles and joys in the weeks to come.

For now, we are resting in the peace that comes with being in the center of God's will.  Brett and I look forward to continuing the great tradition Coach Chadwell, the staff, and families started at NGU.   We are excited about what the future holds for the Crusaders.  Strike the stone.

February Goals

I have done a terrible, terrible job of blogging this month.  There are a lot of changes in store for the soon-to-be Hickman family, but that's for another post.  Unfortunately, I didn't get as much checked off my January goals as I would have liked.  Making a goal about working out did make me run more last month though.

Here are my February goals:

• Trust in God's sovereignty and control over my life with all the changes that are about ready to come up.  Learn to put my anxieties on Him.  I think this is by far the most important goal this month.
• Journal at least 3 times a week because it helps me focus my thoughts and prayers.
• Verbalize my support for Brett.  I haven't been as affirming as I should be. 
• Hire the baker (we have two tastings on February 11).
• Address and send out save-the-dates.
• Work on the words for the invitations.
• Work on what we'd like for our ceremony.
• Run/exercise six times this month.  I'm not quite ready for exercise twice a week, plus this month is two days shorter than last month :)

I have a feeling life will slow down a little bit the next couple of weeks so hopefully I'll be able to blog more.  What are your goals this month?

Free Shopping

What? Shopping without spending money?  Those words don't seem to go together.  Well, that's one thing that I LOVED about registering.  It may sound a little selfish, but I loved being able to shop knowing that I wouldn't be the one spending money.  Thank you to all of our guests in advance :)

We (meaning I) decided to register at Macy's, Crate and Barrel, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.  Brett went with me the first time we went into Macy's.  He was such a trooper.  I let him do the scanning.

Happy scanner.

The one thing Brett said we just HAD to register for was a Keurig.  It was the first thing he scanned.  We also saw a quilt at Macy's.  I knew that I wouldn't want to get something really heavy for the bed since I already get hot sleeping by myself, so this was perfect.  Surprisingly, both of us really liked it.

Keurig single cup coffee maker

Martha Stewart's Carved Dahlia Quilt

We only registered for about an hour (Brett was thankful for that).

Post-registering

I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and Crate and Barrel by myself the first couple of times because I wanted to be able to take my time looking at things without of having someone follow me around.  The hard part about registering is figuring out from which store you want to buy things.  I could get towels at any of the three stores so I had to go around and look at all the stores and then decide.

I decided on Hotel Collection towels from Macy's.

Mom really wanted to see some of the things we were registering for so she and Oba met me at the mall last weekend.  When we were in Crate and Barrel, Mom said I needed to add some color to the kitchen (our dishes are white) so she suggested adding this bright teakettle to the list.

Chantal Yellow Bridge Teakettle

I really like what we finally decided to put on the list, but I'm sure I will be editing the list throughout the process.  Are there any products you would say are a must?

Where the Party at?

I know the title of this blog post is grammatically incorrect.  Don't yell at me Miss Collins ;)  I'm hoping our wedding will be where the party is on June 16, 2012.  McSound Productions should be able to help with that.  That means: we finally booked a DJ!  One more thing to cross off my January goals. 

I heard about Brian, owner of McSound Productions, through my photographer Lauren.  She said that he was super nice, very professional, and didn't chat a lot.  Brett and I do not want a DJ who wants all the attention on himself.  Lauren even started the process by sending him a message to see if he was open on our date, which he was.

Brian and I sent a few emails back and forth, particularly about the tent lighting.  Within an hour, he contacted April, owner of our reception site, about who the tent rental company was so that he could call them and see how much weight the tent frame could hold.  Going that extra step told me a lot about the type of vendor he is...I hadn't even booked him yet and he was already going through those lengths to give me an accurate estimate!

Mom and I met with him last Thursday.  He was very professional and easy to talk to (just like Lauren said).  Because Brian began his career as a club DJ, I think he has a lot of experience in how to read a crowd.  Plus, he started his career in the 80s so he knows the kind of music Brett enjoys :)  I'm looking forward to going through Brian's 10,000 song database with Brett.  I'm sure I'll get plenty of serenading.  Welcome to my wedding family McSound Productions!!

Happy 2012! January Goals

Happy 2012 (one day late). 2011 went by so quickly.  So much happened, namely me getting engaged.  I won't write too much in this post because as I'm typing, Brett and I are watching football, but I just wanted to do a recap of my December goals and think through my January goals.  I'll do a longer post in a couple of days to tell everyone about our Christmas vacation.  It was certainly an eventful one.  Here are my goals from last month:

• Focus on the Gospel and become more aware of what Christ has done for me, instead of focusing on myself and what I can do to gain His approval.  This will be an ongoing goal.
• Don't get hurt at Ultimax.
• Insure my engagement ring.
• Meet with the pastor at FBC to book the church.
• Hire the following vendors:
• Wedding planner
• Caterer
• DJ
• Florist
• Finalize the guest list.
• Pick out a wedding dress.
• Start the registry process.
• Start to exercise more and eat more healthy. Gotta get into wedding shape! I started at the end of the month but didn't do as much as I wanted.
• Make a budget for Christmas presents and stick to it!
• Enjoy time with my and Brett's family.
• Take more pictures. Ongoing goal.

In addition to these goals, I was also able to order bridesmaids dresses and hire a designer for invitations!! I had planned on doing that in January, but it worked out that I got it done in December, which is great.  In January, I hope to do the following (sorry that most of them are wedding goals...again):

• Focus on the Gospel and become more aware of what Christ has done for me, instead of focusing on myself and what I can do to gain His approval. Ongoing goal.
• Hire the following vendors:
• DJ
• Baker
• Finish the registry process. 
• Reserve blocks of hotel rooms for our guests. 
• Book our honeymoon.
• Take engagement pictures and send out save-the-dates.
• Work on the words for the invitations.
• Run once a week (you have to start somewhere right?).
  
• Take more pictures. Ongoing goal.

I think that should be enough to keep me very busy in January.  What are your 2012 or January goals?