A Greenfield Update

Happy Holiday everyone!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got to share it with the ones you love! It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving day has come and gone and now we are only 4 weeks away from Christmas! Where has this year gone? This is my favorite time of year...Christmas music, holiday lights, friends and family gathering together, peppermint mocha coffee creamer, Christmas shopping, my birthday, snow, Christmas movies and that "holiday feeling" that warms my heart for the next 4 weeks...how can you not love this time of year?!

I know I haven't written much lately so I will take a minute or two to update everyone on what's been happening in our lives:

The biggest news I have to share with you is that Scott and I are now parents to a super cute puppy named Lexi. We got Lexi 4 weeks ago at the young age of 12 weeks! She is a black and while Shih Tuz/Poodle mix. Scott and I have been talking about getting a dog for a while now but just could not find a dog that we truly couldn't live without. That is until I saw Lexi's face!!! When we meet her we both fell in love! It has been a big life style adjustment and a greater responsibility than we originally thought but we learned quickly and now I couldn't imagine our lives without her. She's a really good dog and super smart! She's been house trained from almost day one, she knows her name, sleeps through the night without a sound, she'll sit on command and knows the word "no" (most of the time)! She has brought a lot of joy to our lives so far and we look forward to having her with us for a long time. Here are a couple pictures of Lexi:








Besides getting Lexi, our lives have been pretty much the same. Scott will done with this semester in just 2 weeks, which means that we will get to spend (a lot) more time together! This semester has been a challenge and has put a lot of stress on the both of us. We haven't been able to spend a lot of quality time together over the past 3 months and it has begun affecting on our marriage. We have pushed through and supported each other as best as we can, however, we both realized that having either one of us gone every night of the week and on the weekends is something we don't want to do again. We both agree that it's not worth the stress on our marriage or on us individually. Next semester Scott will only be in class 2 nights a week so we are hoping that it will be a much better schedule for us. I fully support Scott following his dreams and career goals but it's been hard to keep up that support when I see it affecting our marriage. Luckily we've been able to address these feelings and have made more of an effort to make the most of the time we do spend together. We have reinstated "date night" which not only allows us to spend quality time together but it also gets us out of the house! :-) We are so excited about the holidays and spending lots of time together!

Well,that is all the time I have. Lexi is up from her puppy nap and wants to play so I better go give her some loves before she gets into anything she's not supposed to! I guess I'll have to write about Thanksgiving and my birthday at another time!

Love,
Heather, Scott, Lexi and Joey

Life

We've been busy! :-) Life hasn't slowed down at all for us and it really doesn't look like it's going to anytime in the near future. Here's what we've been up to lately:

We moved into our new apartment 3 weeks ago and have been settling in since then. My Dad came out for the weekend to help us move (Thanks Dad!). Since we couldn't move in until Saturday, I took a personal day on Friday so that we could have a father/daughter day. We hung out in Boulder most of the day and just enjoyed the great weather and time together. The move went well, though moving to a 3rd floor apartment made it slightly more challenging. Scott and I have felt at home here since our first night. We're 96% unpacked...hopefully this weekend we can say we're 100% unpacked! :-) Once we are all unpacked I'll be sure to take pictures and post them so you all can see our new home!

Scott and I have finally found our "grove" in our weekly schedules. With Scott being in class 4 nights a week this semester we have put a lot of importance on enjoying the time we do get to spend together. Every night, after Scott gets home, we curl up on the couch, turn on the fireplace and get caught up with our favorite TV shows. Lately we have been having a cup of hot chocolate (sometimes with a little Baileys and Whip Cream on top) to end the day. It's not much time, but it's wonderful and it helps us get through the weeks. Next semester it sounds like he'll only have class 3 nights a week....I'll take it! :-)

Besides not being home every night, Scott is really enjoying his classes at Metro State. He started flying lessons this past weekend. He tells me that if he gets nothing else out of the classes he's taking, they are going to make him a much better pilot! He's hoping to fly 2-3 times a week for as long as the weather allows. It sounds like he'll get his license by next Spring. We are still unsure as to where this new adventure will take him but we are both optimistic that it's going to lead to something great, which makes the sacrifice worth it.

I, on the other hand, am enjoying not being in school! It's almost been a year since I graduated Grad School and so much has changed! I am really enjoying my job! I'm learning every day and developing great personal and professional relationship along the way. For those of you who don't know, I'm working at H+L Architecture as a medical planner on the Denver's Children's Hospital. The project is very rewarding and very challenging at the same time. I'm so excited to be a part of this organization and so happy knowing that my work will help thousands of children from all over the country. The challenging part is disconnecting myself with the patients. I don't have any contact with the patients but I find myself having trouble breathing when I am working on the 7th floor Cancer Center or designing the ceiling in a hospices room. Call me human (or a future mom), but I can't imagine what the parents are going through if there child is in one of those rooms. I don't know if I could deal with it. I pray to God that when Scott and I have children we don't find ourselves on the 7th floor of TCH. But, I guess that's the rewarding part too, knowing that there is a place that we could take our kids to that will make them feel as at home as possible and a place where they will get the best care in Colorado! Our project is scheduled to open in late 2011 or early 2012 so I have a little job security.

Besides working I have been looking forward in my career. I have decided to start taking the Architectural Registration Exams after the first of the year. I have 7 exams to study for, take and pass before I can officially call myself an Architect! I've been working on being an architect since I was 7 years old....I'm just ready to be done! The exams are challenging and even extensive studying doesn't promise that I'm going to pass every single one....good thing they let you retake! My strategy is this: study for 4 week, test, take a week of and repeat! If I start in January it's my goal to have all 7 tests taken by October and doing any retesting by the end of the year. I am for warning you now....I might fall a bit behind on blogging next year. It's going to be a very large time commitment but it's something I have been working towards my whole life and something that I need to do in order to move on with the rest of my life. Again, the outcome will out weigh the sacrifice. Wish me luck!

Like I said at the beginning, I don't seen our lives slowing down much in the future. We have a few weeks of nothing much going on and then we're right back in the crazy-ness mix. We're off to Vegas in November. I was awarded a scholarship to attend a national design conference and Scott is going to join me in Sin City for the weekend. After that Scott is off to Cali to visit his Dad for a weekend. November will be busy, as it always is, with my birthday, Thanksgiving and the start of the Holiday Season. This is my favorite time of year! I am so excited for these next few months!!!! I'll try to keep everyone up-to-date with all of our fun and busy lives!

Love,
Heather

Happy (early) Birthday!!!

This past weekend we celebrated Scott's 27th birthday, even though his real birthday isn't until September 28th. Being the loving wife that I am, I thought long and hard about what I could get my wonderful husband for his birthday. Of course I came up with lots of ideas but none of them seemed right. Just after our wedding I had a "light bulb" moment and I realized that I could get my husband for his birthday. I quickly called up Tony, Scott's best friend from college who lives in Des Moines. I knew how much Scott wanted Tony to come visit again and I knew that this would be a perfect excuses to do so. Because Tony is a great friend he of course said yes! I didn't need to do much planning before hand so it was easy keeping this a secret from Scott for the past 3 months. However, the past couple of weeks had been difficult.

I told Scott that we had this big weekend planned but I wouldn't tell him anything of what we were doing. He never really guess but he kept asking questions that made it hard not to come out and tell him what we were doing. My favorite question was when Scott asked me if he could unwrap his present in public....I just smiled and said well, maybe not all of it! :-) I had a great time planning the weekend while making Scott even more confused!

Finally Friday came and I was able to give Scott his birthday present. I asked Scott to meet me for lunch downtown. Little did he know, Tony and his girlfriend Erica would also be joining us for lunch. The 3 of us walked into the restaurant, of course Scott saw Tony first since he's a 7'-0" giant! Scott was so surprised and so grateful that they had come all this way just to spend time with him. I successfully pulled of the surprise!

Friday afternoon Scott and I were both able to get off early and meet up with Tony and Erica for happy hour downtown. We enjoyed the beautiful Colorado weather while sitting on the roof top patio of one of our favorite places to hang out after work. Later that night we went to Boulder and had dinner on Pearl Street downtown. Saturday we had brunch at CB & Potts before heading to Parker for their Oktoberfest. It was a small festival but it was nice to get out of the city and be out doors on such a beautiful day (70 degrees and sunny!). That night I had arranged for us to meet up with some of our friends at our favorite restaurant in Denver, Lime. We all had dinner and went out on the town. Tony and Erica left early Sunday morning so the rest of our weekend was spent on the couch relaxing. Overall, I think I the weekend was a success! I loved surprising my husband and giving him something that I knew would make him happy!!!!

Here are a couple pictures of the weekend:





Of course Scott's real birthday isn't for another few days so we will celebrate just the two of us on his birthday. Nothing too big but I'm thinking wine, candles, the fire place on, cake and How I Meet Your Mother!?!?!? Sounds like a perfect night!

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In other life news: we are (finally) moving this weekend! After weeks of packing....I just realized that we don't have a ton of stuff, it's just taken forever since I have been the only one packing (for the most part)...we are finally able to move in to our new apartment. We are both looking forward to the change and the feeling of being "stable" for at least the next 12 months. My dearest Dad is coming out to lend us a hand on moving. We are hoping to have everything moved by the end of next weekend...we shall see if we can do that!!!

Besides moving we are looking forward to the next few weekends. We are going to the Colorado Springs airshow, to Keystone for the night while I attend a design conference there and to Vegas in November for a short weekend (I won a national scholarship to attend a national design conference there so my trip is paid for!). So yet again, we have another busy few weeks ahead of us. I will do my best with keep you all up to date with our latest adventures!!!

Love,
Heather

Mr. Awesome

I will be completely honest, there are days that I take my husband for granted. However, lately those days are very few and far between! Since Scott started taking classes this semester he hasn't been home much. And by "not much" I mean he has class Monday - Thursday nights and doesn't get home until after 8:30 most of the time. I miss coming home to him after work and tell him all about my day. I also miss our walks around the neighborhood, our nights cuddled on the couch or a spontaneous moving, wine and Chinese food evening that happens to fall on a Wednesday night! Most nights I am on my own for dinner, unless we meet up after work for a quick bit. Most nights it's Joey (the cat) and I on the couch watching any random show that I know Scott wouldn't enjoy or, on nights like tonight, it's me and a glass of wine hanging out on the computer listening to music. As much of a sacrifice this is right now, I know every night I come home to an empty house will only benefit our future together. I really wouldn't do it for anyone else! :-)

Not only do I miss my husband when I get home at night, but I miss the help around the house! I have to be one of the luckiest wives in the world because I have a husband who helps cook dinner (honestly, most nights he's home he cooks!), does the laundry (no pink shirts yet!), puts the dishes away (still working on how to properly load the dishwasher but I'll take what I can get) and likes to vacuum!!!

Basically, I married Mr. Awesome!!!

We're still trying to figure out our routine this Fall. It has been a challenge balancing work, class, household responsibilities and our relationship but I have all the confidence in the world that we will make this schedule work for us. It may take us until January when we will be faced with another (different) schedule, but we'll make it work! It's always worked out for us...why shouldn't this next step? In the meantime, we have been focusing our attention on "us" when we get time to spend together. We have a couple really good "us" weekends and we hope that they continue! Scott supported me while I was finishing up Grad school and I am happy to do the same for him!!!

Anyways, enough of how awesome my husband is! :-) Things are good here! I have been working a lot of overtime the last couple of weeks at work. We have a huge deadline on Friday so we have been working like crazy to meet it. I sure hope this only happens every 6 months or so, getting into the office at 7:00 and not leaving until 6:00 while working over lunch isn't my thing! Scott and I are moving next weekend so we have been busy packing up the apartment. We are both looking forward to moving, it's time for a change. Besides that, I have a big birthday surprise planned for Scott this weekend....he has no idea what it is and it's driving him crazy! Tune in next week to see what it was! :-)

Love,
Heather G

Home Visit

Is it funny (or a little strange) that I still consider Iowa "home" when I have lived in Colorado for the past 8 years? I have quite decided whether or not it's weird but I have a feeling that I will always call Iowa "home". Anyways, Scott and I spent Labor Day weekend back in Iowa visiting friends and family and attending a wedding. We left early Friday morning and had to drive back to Colorado early Monday but we packed as much as we could in 2 days! Like most trip back "home", we didn't see everyone we wanted to nor did we spend nearly enough time with those that we did see. We say this every time we come back, but we really need to get back to Iowa more often! :-)

Here are a few highlights from the weekend:


Scott and I visited his best friend Tony at the Altoona Fire Station (Tony is a fire fighter)



My Dad and I with his Harley



Scott and I at our friends Kyle and Erin's wedding

We really enjoyed our short vacation back to the Midwest. Our friends and family mean so much to us and we truly wish they were all closer...if only Nebraska would go away! :-) No matter how long we are away from Iowa, we will always hold it close to our hearts and always consider it our "home"!

Love,
Heather

Short Update

Life is good! Scott's good! I'm good! Things are good here in Colorado! Here's what's been going on in our world these past couple of weeks:

- Scott had a great time at the airshow in Oshgosh, WI! He spent 8 days there and took over a thousand pictures of airplanes! He had been planning that trip since January so I was happy for him when the time finally came for him to go! I was also very happy when it was time for him to come home! :-) I really enjoyed my time while he was gone (much needed girl time), however, by day 5 I was ready to have my husband home again! When I went to pick him up from the airport on Sunday night (Aug. 1) I felt like I was picking up my son from camp. He had so many things to tell me and so many pictures to share. And, like the good-loving wife that I am, I listened to all his stories and looked through all his pictures! Even though he had a great time and I enjoyed some time to myself we both agreed that 8 days is really too long to be away from the one you love! Next time maybe he'll just go for a long weekend! ;-)

- While Scott was at the airshow, my friend Krista came out to visit me. She had bought tickets to the Tim McGraw concert back in November as a "Happy Birthday" "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Graduation" present to me. Krista and I have seen Tim McGraw in concert together 5 times now! Our first Tim concert was the summer after our high school graduation! We were 18 years old! Since then, we have seen him 4 other times, all in Colorado. It's become a "Heather&Krista" summer tradition that I truly hope lasts forever, or for as long as Tim continues to tour! Besides the concert that weekend, Krista and I had some much needed girl time. We laid by the pool, went shopping and drank peach champagne. It was a great weekend!

- Last weekend Scott and I went apartment hunting. We put nearly 100 miles on the Honda going all around the greater Denver metro area looking at apartments. Knowing our current lease is up the first of October, Scott and I set out to find something that fit into these 3 categories: 1) We want to pay less in rent so that we can pay down some dept and save for a house 2) The new place needed to be as nice if not nicer then our current apartment 3) We wanted to still be on the bus route to downtown or the lightrail. So, with those "must haves" in mind we went on our search. Our search lead us from Erie all the way down to Lone Tree! We saw everything from a brand new 650 sq ft one bedroom apartment for $1100/month to a couple year old complex that offered 900 sq ft for $900/month! We were exhausted by the end of the day and decided not to make any decisions until we slept on it....and I made a pro/con list! :-)

- This week, we finally made a decision on where to live. We are moving just down the street and over the hill from where we live now. I decided to get a one bedroom apartment so that we could cut our rent by more then just a few dollars (it's expensive to live in Colorado by the way!). We both really like the apartment we will be living in. It's in a great location, still close to the bus, our favorite hang outs, the rec center and our friends. Oh, and most importantly it's even closer to the Metro Airport (which was a big selling point for Scott!). The apartment has a large deck, fire place, ceiling fans and plenty of space for Scott, Joey and myself. The down side is, we won't have any room for our guests to stay, unless of course they are comfortable sleeping on the couch! :-) For the next year, I think we will be very comfortable in our new home. I am surprisingly looking forward to our move! I'll be sure to post pictures once we get settled in!

Well, that's a quick recap of what's been going on in our lives lately. This weekend we are going camping at a lake in Ogalalla, NE....yes, I'm willingly going to Nebraska for the weekend! :-) We are going camping with 6 others for the weekend. We are so excited to get away for a weekend and spend some time outdoors! Our summer is coming to an end, Scott starts classes next Monday, and the weather is beginning to cool off (kind of)! We will end our official summer in Iowa. We will be back in Des Moines for 2 days over Labor Day weekend for a friends wedding. I hate to see summer go, however, fall is my favorite time of year so I am looking forward to our next season! Cooler weather, fall colors, football games, my birthday (and Scott's) and cute fall cloths! What isn't there to like about fall!?!?!

Love,
Heather

My Saturday

My morning started at 5:30 am...yes, it's Saturday! Side note: when I was growing up my Mom always told me that nothing good happens after 10:00 pm, well Mom, nothing good happens before 8:00 am on a Saturday either!!! Needless to say it was early and I wasn't a happy camper for having to wake up that time on a Saturday. Who made me get up at that time of day you ask? Well, it was my dear husband! He flew out this morning to Milwaukee, WI for a week long adventure at Oshkosh (the biggest airshow around). He has been planning this trip since January so you can imagine how perky he was at that time this morning (think a 5 year old on Christmas morning). I, on the other hand, could barely open my eyes. Thankfully, he was smart enough to make coffee for us to take on the road! (He knows me so well!) Once we said our good-byes at the AirTran terminal at DIA I was on my way back home, head filled with what I wanted to accomplish while he was away. My list got interrupted when I saw the sun divide the clouds and hit the flatirons. I thought to myself, "It's going to be a good day." As it turned out, it was one of the best Saturdays I have had in a very long time.

My Mom and I had planned on having a girl's day for as long as Scott has been planning his trip to Oshkosh. It has been a long time since my Mom and I have spent a whole Saturday together. The sad part is, my Mom and I spent more quality time together when she lived in Iowa and came out here for weekends at a time to visit. Since she's moved to Colorado we both have had very different schedules that have made it hard for us to spend more then a couple of hours together at a time. Which totally defeats the purpose of her moving to Colorado. When she moved out here we had planned to see each other all the time, unfortunately that just hasn't happened yet. We are hoping that all changes in the near future. Anyways, we decided to make it happen today. Just us girls! A daughter with her mother.

We started the day with a trip to Boulder, our favorite place in Colorado (okay, next to Estes Park). For all the years my Mom and I spent vacationing in Colorado and the Boulder area we never made it to the Boulder's Farmers Market. Today, we changed that. We drove down Highway 36 and gazed at the beautiful sun kissed flatirons....a view everyone needs to see before they die. We bought some sweet corn (real peaches and cream sweet corn for those of you who are from Iowa) and tomatoes while wondering around the square block of the packed farmers market. Once we were done there we walked down Pearl Street to our favorite place to eat in Boulder, the Walnut Brewery. If those restaurant walls could talk! My Mom and I have had some of our best conversations there throughout the years. It was there that I told my Mom I wanted to go to CU Boulder for college back in the Fall of 2002! It was there that we celebrated my graduation for CU Boulder in 2006, it was there that we talked about our lives, dreams and goals. It's a place we don't get to visit very often, so it's even more special today then it was back then.

After our lunch my Mom and I went to Flatirons Mall for some serious shopping. We enjoyed shopping and walking around the mall just talking. We both found great buys and were every satisfied with our purchases. Since I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do with my Mom is shop. I don't care how old I get, I think I will always love shopping with my Mom. It must be a mother/daughter thing! Though the shopping was great and I found some amazing bargains, I think my favorite thing about our shopping trip was the conversions I had with my Mom. My Mom is a great listener and advice giver without telling me what to do. I know my Mom and I are different in ways, but we are also very similar in many other ways too. I appreciate my Mom's advice and know that it is (and always has been) coming from her heart and past experiences. I think I'm finally at the age that I realize my Mom does know more then me...it's only taken me 26 years to realize that! :-)

Finally, this evening my Mom and I went to church at Flatiron's Community Church, which just happened to be the perfect way to end our day. My best friend Stephanie and her two boys Jordan and Jackson joined us as well. Today's service was about community and connecting with others who are searching for the same purpose in life. Our Paster Jim asked those sitting before him to raise their hand if they had first come to Flatirons because a friend asked them to come join them. Stephanie, my Mom and I all raised our hands. You see, when I moved to Colorado I was invited to come to Flatrions by a friend, soon I asked Stephanie to come with me and finally my Mom was coming with us every Sunday she was in town. It was a great reminder that I am here (in Colorado) for a reason and that I am so lucky to have been given the people in my life. I am truly blessed!!!

Once my Mom and I gave each other our final hugs and said our I love you's to each other we drove our separate ways on HWY 287. As I was driving home I saw the most gorgeous sunset. The sun was setting behind the mountains and its rays were painting the sky orange, pink and yellow. It was as beautiful as the sunrise I saw when this day began. Tonight, as I sit here listening to music, drinking a glass of wine and reflecting on my day, I am happy, at peace, and satisfied with the world. Tomorrow is another day. A day I hope is almost as good as today.

Love,
Heather

I'm Back!!!

Hello Blog World!!! Yes, I know it has been a couple of months since I wrote last and I apologize for that! We have been trying to get settled here at the Greenfield residents and get back into our routine after months and months of planning a wedding, job searching, grad school and so now. I am finally able to report that our lives have become normal...well, as "normal" as they can be! It feels good to be back and I promise to do a much better job of keeping you all up to date in our ever changing and adventurous lives.

So yeah, Scott and I got MARRIED!!! :-) Our wedding was beautiful, perfect and better then we expected! All our planning and stressing and saving we did paid off! We are so blessed to have had so many wonderful friends and family members make the journey to Colorado to share our special day with us! Even though it has been almost 2 months ago, Scott and I talk about that day all the time!!! We have such great memories from the entire weekend...memories that will last us a life time! Memories that we can't wait to share with our children!

Now that the wedding (and honeymoon) is over we have returned to our lives here in Broomfield. I started a new job with H+L Architecture in Denver 2 weeks after our wedding. I have been there over a month and have loved every day so far! The company is wonderful, the work I am doing is very rewarding and I love working in Downtown Denver. Our office is 2 blocks away from Rockies Stadium and surrounded by great happy hour watering holes. I have even found a new coffee shop a block away that makes my morning walks from the bus station to work a little bit more enjoyable! :-) I am looking forward to my future with H+L and will keep you posted on my experiences!

Besides getting married and starting a new job in the past 6 weeks....our lives have been busy but great! June went by in a blink of an eye and to be honest I can't remember anything else that happened besides our honeymoon and starting my job, so we'll skip to July! The first weekend of the month Jane and Dan came to visit. Though they were only here the weekend, we spent a lot of quality time with them and really enjoyed their visit. Last weekend Scott and I went camping in Rocky Mountain National Park. We headed up to Estes Park on Saturday and enjoyed the day hiking different trails...sometimes in the rain! We set up camp that night and enjoyed a campfire, the wildlife, smores and sleeping in a tent. With our busy schedule it was the first time we had gone camping this year. We are planning on camping a couple more times before the season ends. This weekend we have yet another busy agenda: H+L Company Family picnic Friday evening, Boulder's Farmers Market on Saturday morning, The Nadas concert on Saturday night and Airshow stuff for Scott all day Sunday. I don't think Scott and I know what it's like to relax...or be bored...but I think we enjoy our lives better this way! We may be tired at the end of the day...but we have great memories when we close our eyes at night.

We are enjoying married life very much! Though it hasn't been too big of change for us, we still get excited to call each other "husband" and "wife". I am in the process of legally changing my last night....it might take me all summer to get it done! Wish me luck with that! Well, I guess that's an update on our lives right now. Check back soon for more Greenfield updates!

Love,
Heather & Scott Greenfield

1 Month To Go....

A month from TODAY Scott and I will be saying our vows and exchanging rings in front of our closest friends and family members. One month from today, Scott and I will become husband and wife and commit ourselves to each other for the rest of our lives. How cool is that!? It's crazy to think that we are only 30 days away from our "big day"! These past 18 months have flown by! I wish I could say that the past 18 months have been perfect, wonderful and easy....but I would just be lying to everyone! The truth is, these past 18 months have been the hardest and most challenging months that either one of us has had to go through. We've had our ups and we've had our downs. We've celebrated together and cried together. We've been angry, frustrated, happy, excited, sad, hopeful and disappointed. Life has handed us challenges that we were not prepared for or wanting to take on! But through everything, Scott and I have stuck together, supported one another and had faith that we could get through these past 18 months as long as we did it together.

On Oct. 18, 2008 Scott got down on one knee (Yes, he really did) and asked me to marry him. Even though I was sick as can be, it was the happiest day of my life! That day, I think we both imagined that our lives would be perfect from that moment on! :-) We were getting married! We were soooo in love! We were so excited for our future together! Well, those feelings lasted exactly 3 weeks and 6 days. On Nov. 17, 2008 I got laid off from my job. That was the day that we started a journey together that neither one of us had planned for!

Now, I don't want to make it sound like these past 18 months have been awful! To be honest, we've actually have had more good days then bad days. I graduated from grad school, we got our first apartment together, we went to a dozen concerts and tried out a hundred new restaurants, we went camping, explored the Rocky Mountains and have begun making Colorado our home. We meet new friends, developed stronger relationships with our families as a couple and built a stronger foundation for our life together. I know both Scott and I are disappointed that we were "robbed" of our "honeymoon" phase in life and wish that reality hadn't come quite as fast as it did, but I guess that's life.

If I've learned nothing else from the past year and half, I have managed to learn these 5 things:
1 - Life never goes as planned
2 - Enjoy today and don't worry about tomorrow (the biggest life lesson Scott has taught me)
3 - As long as I put my faith and trust in God I can make it through life's challenges
4 - Scott is the love of my life and I never want to go a day without him by my side
5 - Scott and I are so blessed to have loving and supportive friends and family members

As I look forward towards the next 18 months of our lives, I wonder what challenges life will bring us. Where will we be in 18 months? What will we be doing? What exciting new things are coming our way that we don't even know about yet? I guess only time will tell!!!

On a quick wedding note: We have been busy trying to finalize our last minute details for the wedding. RSVPs have been rolling in each day, final payments have been made and final touches have been done to make our wedding weekend even more special. We still have a long list of stuff that needs to get done, but neither one of us is feeling too overwhelmed! We are excited to see our family and friends at the end of the month! We are very excited for our honeymoon (a much needed vacation)! But I think most of all, we are just excited to finally be husband and wife! It's been over 10 years since Scott and I first met....I think we've waiting long enough!

With Love,
Heather

Spring Break in the 515

Most people go some place cool for spring break...Colorado, Florida, California, Mexico....well, not me! For the past 7 years I have left Colorado (one of the most popular spring break destination might I remind you) and made the trip back to Iowa over Spring Break. This year was no different! Scott, my Mom and I packed our cars full and headed East on I-80. Here's a recap of our vacation in the 515:

Tuesday, March 23
Scott, my Mom, Cooper (my Mom's dog) and I were our cars and on the highway by 6:00 am! We made a stop at Starbucks for a little coffee and breakfast before we headed out of town...thanks goodness for Starbucks opening at 5:00 in the morning! Tuesday's drive was relatively uneventful. We made our regular stops along I-80...North Platte, Karney and Lincoln...for gas and food. The nice thing about traveling in the middle of the week is no traffic. The sun was out, which also made for a nice drive across Nebraska. Scott and I rolled in to Des Moines around 6:00 that evening. We unloaded our bags at John and Vicki's in Clive and headed out to dinner with them. We went to Biaggis for dinner, so that Scott could get his Chicken Parmesan meal for the week! :-) We had a wonderful time at dinner getting all caught up with John and Vicki! But after a long day in the car, Scott and I were exhausted! We went to be early and slept great!!!!

Wednesday, March 24
Wednesday was our only day to sleep in while on our trip...so we took advantage of it. We slept in until 9:00 and took our time getting ready. We went to Boone to meet my cousin Danielle, her kids Hunter and Kate, my Grandma and my Mom for lunch at the Dutch Oven Bakery. It was good to be "home." After lunch Scott and I headed to Ames where we met up with my Dad. We were able to spend that afternoon with my Dad. We had dinner at Hickory Park....yum...with him before we headed back down to Des Moines.

Wednesday night Scott and I stayed at Scott's Mom's house. That night we spent our time in the basement looking through hundreds, maybe thousands, of pictures and albums! Scott wanted to go through old picture albums so that we could pull some pictures of him as a little kid for the slide show we are putting together for the wedding. Well....I think we got more then we were expecting! :-) It was fun going through all the old pictures! I really enjoyed seeing pictures of Scott as a baby and little kid. He's cute now, but I think he might have been a little cuter when he was little! ;-) By midnight we managed to get through a good portion of the albums so we decided to call it a night and come back to it on Friday!

Thursday, March 25
Thursday morning we enjoyed a nice family breakfast with Jane, Dan, Scott, Stephanie and myself. Jane made eggs, cheese sausages, cinnamon rolls, fruit and coffee for us! It was wonderful! I really enjoyed our breakfast and look forward to having many more of them with the family! Thursday afternoon, while Scott went to his dentist appointment, I went shopping with Danielle, Kate, my Aunt Clare and my Mom. Went went to Davids Bridal in West Des Moines so that Kate could try on flower girl dresses. We finally picked on and got it ordered! She is going to be soooo cute, I can't wait! :-) Afterwards we went to Valley West Mall to find shoes and make-up. Danielle helped me pick out make-up for the wedding! What a great girl's shopping day!

That evening Scott and I headed downtown to meet some of Scott's co-workers from ING Des Moines and some of our friends for happy hour. Scott's friend, and groomsmen, Chris drove from Colorado to Iowa on Thursday so that he could attend Scott's bachelor party (what a friend!) so he was there and able to meet some people as well. Our rather large group went out to dinner and then to another bar for a few more drinks before we ended the night. I know Scott had a great time seeing all of his old friends! I'm glad they were all able to come out and join us!

Friday, March 26
After my dentist appointment at 8:00 am Scott and I went to my friend Erin's cafe for coffee and cheesecake. If you are in the Des Moines area you need to stop by Flarah's (2815 Beaver Ave) for lunch and try her cheesecake...tell her Heather sent you! :-) After our mid-morning snack, Scott took me to Hy-Vee in West Des Moines for lunch. He has been raving about Hy-Vee Chinese food ever since he moved out here, so he was so happy to finally be able to take me there for lunch. I have to admit that it was really good! Nice job babe! After lunch we went back to Jane's house to go through more pictures. This time Stephanie was able to join us! We made our way through the other half of the stack before we had to leave to head to Boone. I can't wait for everyone at the wedding to see how cute Scott was when he was a kiddo!!!! :-)

Friday night we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house to celebrate my Grandma's birthday. We had Godfather's pizza and cake. It was a great night! I miss having birthday celebrations with the family, so I really enjoyed myself that night. Scott definatly fits in well with the family, which is nice to know! :-) Kate seems to like Scott...in fact, I think Scott is Kate's best friend! She had to be sitting right between us and wouldn't leave Scott alone! They are too cute together!!!

After dinner Scott and I headed back to Des Moines to watch the UNI basketball game at a friends house.

Saturday, March 27
Saturday was a big day for both Scott and I. Scott went golfing that morning with John, Chris and Matt. It was his 2nd time golfing, and from what I hear he doesn't suck too bad! My day was wonderful! My Aunt Clare and Danielle threw me a wedding shower that afternoon in Boone. It was sooooo wonderful! The room looked beautiful, so many of my friends and family came (some who I hadn't seen in years) and the food was amazing! My Aunt and cousin did such a wonderful job and it really made me feel special! After the shower was over Scott stopped in to say hi to everyone. He was also impressed with everything and I know it made him feel just as special to know that there are so many people who care so much about us!

After my shower, I made the rounds and said my good-byes to everyone. Then my Dad and I went to dinner. I really enjoyed the father-daughter time I had with him that night. It was a nice way to spend my last night in town.

Saturday night was also Scott's bachelor party! I can't give you too many details because, well, Scott doesn't remember too many details! :-P The boys started out the evening with dinner at Granit City. After dinner they went downtown and bar hopped the rest of the night. It sounds like everyone had a great time and Scott really enjoyed the night! He kept telling me how awesome his friends are....so I'm guessing that means that they took care of him and treated him well that night! No one ended up in jail, with a tiger in their hotel room or a baby in their closet (see the movie the Hangover for these references), so I guess I can't complain too much about it!

Sunday, March 28
Scott's bachelor party ran into the early hours of Sunday. Poor guy only got an hour of sleep before I had to wake him up so we could leave. We, once again, left at 6:00 am and headed West. I drove while Scott sat in the seat next to me hating life! :-) I tried to make him as comfortable as I could, but I really didn't feel that bad for him....! The drive home was uneventful as well. Scott and I got home around 5:30 that evening and crashed!

We had a great time on our trip. It was so nice seeing all of our family and friends! We love living in Colorado, however, we wish Iowa was just a little bit closer!

Since we've been back, we've been busy getting ready for Scott's dad to come to visit tomorrow. We've put things away that we got for the shower and have cleaned the apartment for our guest. We are both looking forward to having Steve in town. Scott is especially excited since this is the first time Steve has come to visit since Scott moved here. They have a full weekend planned that includes a lot of airplanes and airports! I'm sure I will tag along, however, I have long list of things that need to get done this weekend too....thank-you notes, sleep, relaxing and getting caught up on Gossip Girl!

That is all for now! I hope everyone is doing well! I'll write soon...

Love,
Heather

Pictures From Our Trip To Iowa

Since I don't have a lot of time to write all about our trip back to Iowa last week, I thought I would post a few pictures of our time back in the Midwest. I promise, in the next day or so I will take time to sit down and tell you all about our the wonderful time we had back home! Till then...here's our week through pictures. ENJOY!

Hickory Park in Ames...Yummy!


Scott and I eating at Hickory Park in Ames

Scott, his mom Jane and sister Stephanie

Scott and I at his Mom's house

Scott with his Mom, Sister and Step-Sister Hillary at my wedding shower

Scott and I at my wedding shower...he didn't attend, just stopped by to say hi to everyone

My cousin Danielle (my Maid-of-Honor), me, my Mom, Aunt Clare (who hosted my shower) and Danielle's daughter Kate (our Flower Girl) at my wedding shower

Opening gifts at my wedding shower

Well, there you go! Just a few pictures of our great week! Like I said, I will write all about it in the next day or so! I hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all!

Love,
Heather

Who decided that the days should only be 24 hours long???

Time has flown by and once again I failed to write last week like I had promised. It is my life goal now to someday live a normal-boring life because right now, my life is INSANE!!!! I thought that once I was done with grad school my life would calm down and I would have time to relax. Boy, was I wrong! I honestly think I'm more busy now then I was when I was in school, seriously! Maybe I just have more time on my hands and I'm able to fill it up quickly? I don't know. Whatever it is, it really needs to stop!!! I wish I could say that I see the end in the future, however, I'm really not sure if this busy period of my life will ever end. I'm sure I will find something else to keep me busy after the wedding is over. BUT someday, I promise you, this blog is going to be so boring (because my life has slowed down and I have nothing to write about) that you will stop reading it. Believe me? Yeah, I don't either!!! ;-)

I'm really not sure where March has gone, I can't believe it's already the middle of the month! Our wedding countdown is at 79 days!!! YIKES!!! We are busy busy busy trying to get everything ready for our big day! On the First day of March Scott, my Mom, my Aunt Clare and I went to Estes Park to do our final wedding walk through at Della Terra. We now know: how many tables there are going to be, where they will be located, what our bartender will be serving, the schedule for our whole wedding day, what color of table linens we will have (probably one of the hardest decisions I have had to make for our wedding...no joke), when we will be doing our first day, where the cake will be displayed, how the cake will be cut and served, where the food will be located, what time we need to get there on Sunday, what time pictures will be and finally what color of napkins we will be using. I think I made more decisions on that Monday then I have this whole time we've been engaged! It was a long day, but we got so much done that now I'm finally not stressing about the day of the wedding...it's just everything else that is still stressing me out! :-)

Another big task we've crossed off our list is the invitations! Who knew DIY (do it yourself) invitations would cause so much stress! (Please stop laughing at me, I honestly thought this was going to be easy and in theory it should have been!) Picking them out and buying them was the easy part!!! We had planned on printing them with our own printer, HA! We were wrong! For whatever reason our printer just didn't like the paper so we were unable to print them at home. We thought that the next best thing would be to take them to Kinkos and have them print them. It wasn't going to cost us much and it sounded like a good idea on Tuesday. Wellll.....Kinkos didn't like our paper either. For whatever reason their printed decided not to print our invitations either. After I got the call yesterday, saying that "You're paper killed our printer" (yeah, friendly people they have working at our local Kinkos) I didn't know if I should cry or laugh...so I just sat silently at my desk until I thought of a Plan A and a Plan B. Plan A was to take them one last place to see if we could get them printed somewhere else. Plan B was to take them back to Iowa with us in a week and print them at my Aunt's work...this plan would put us about 2 weeks behind of when we wanted to send them out. Not bad, but still if you know me you know how I like my plans to all work out! So after work last night Scott and I went to Kinkos, picked up our blank invitations and headed to Staples. After taking the wrong exit (my fault) we found no Staples store in sight, but we did see an Office Max! Let's just say, Office Max will get my business from now on. The guy at the printing counter was great and got our invitations and RSVP cards printed in 10 minutes and it ended up costing us less then what Kinkos had quoted us!!!! Now, I wish I could say our invitations are ready to be put in the mail, but they're not! We still need to tie the ribbons on them, put them in the envelopes, put the RSVP cards in the envelopes, lick and stick the envelopes and put stamps on them! But that's the fun part! Sunday I am having a Invitation DIY party at my house. A couple of my girl friends are coming over to help. :-) We are hoping to have them in the mail by next Wednesday!!!

So besides all of our fun wedding stuff, Scott, my Mom and I are getting ready to head back to Iowa in a week. We'll be home March 23 - 28! We are so excited to go back and see our family and friends. It's been a full year since we've been back so it's time for a visit. As always our trip is already packed full of plans and we haven't even begun driving east! We are planning on spending time with Scott's Mom, Step-Dad and Sister, my Mom's family and my Dad and his family, John and Vicki and as many of our friends as time will allow! My Aunt and Cousin are hosting a wedding shower for me while we are home and Scott's partaking in his bachelor party Saturday night. We will barely have time to sleep while we're back, but since we have a limited time with our loved ones we want to spend every minute with them that we can get. It's going to be a lot of fun! When we get back from Iowa Scott's Dad is coming to visit the first weekend in April. After that weekend we have one awards event to go to for the AIA and that's it until the wedding!!!! I am going to make it a priority to relax and slow down in the month of April. It's going to be hard, but I think it will be much needed!!! Wish me luck with that! :-)

Well, that's what's been happening in our lives. Besides being way too busy, Scott and I are doing great! I think we are finally over being sick! The weather is starting to warm up so we have been spending time outside trying to enjoy it! I'm still job hunting and hope I will be able to give you all an update soon! Scott had his annual review at work this week and got excellent scores! I am so proud of him! I hope you all are doing well! We miss you and hope to see some of you while we are back in Iowa!!!

Love,
Heather

95 Days To Go!

Whew! What a month it has been! Scott and I have been busy as usual, although, we've also been really sick!!! For the past month or so, we have both been hit several times by different cold/flu bugs. They just don't seem to leave our house! As soon as one of us gets well the other one starts to get sick. It has been a repetitive cycle for weeks now! But, the good new is, we are BOTH finally feeling better this week. :-) Hopefully we got all the germs out of the house and our systems.

Even though we've been sick, we have managed to get a lot done for the wedding. I thought we were getting closer to getting everything done, but as soon as I cross something off my "To do" list 3 more things get put on the ever-growing list. I'm trying not to get overwhelmed by the multiple pages of things to do in my purple note book, but I'm not always successful at it. We are now getting into the little details of the wedding...
- What color napkins do we use? (black, white, pink, a mix of colors....do I really even care?)
- What music do we want to have playing during the reception? (Nothing cheesy...more classical romantic stuff)
- What song do we want to have playing as we walk down the isle for the first time as Husband and Wife? (Nothing "traditional" is all I know!)
- What color of table linens do we want? (black over white, white over black, a mix of the two...again, do I really even care?)
- What beer and wine do we want to serve our guests?
- What style of ceremony do we want to have?
- Are we going to write our own vows? If so, we should probably get on that. If not, we should probably start looking for pre-written vows.

And the list goes on and on....The best part is, I am not doing this alone! I have many people by my side helping me make all of these decisions. I am so thankful that Scott wants to have a part in the decision making for our wedding and is willing to give me his input on all the small details as well. My Mom has also been a big help! She's always willing to offer her advice and opinion, but understands that the final decision is really up to Scott and I! She's thought of things that I hadn't even thought of yet, which is a huge help when it comes to all of these little details that really make the wedding day special! My Aunt Clare has also been amazing. Even though she is in Iowa, she is only a phone call or email away. She has been named the official Ludwig/Greenfield "Wedding Coordinator". I am so lucky to have her helping me out! And of course there are my wonderful friends who make this so much more fun and so much more manageable! Without them, I think I might loose my mind. They are always there for me and offering to help in any way!

Even though there are still questions that have remained unanswered and details that still need to be figured out, we really have managed to get a lot done in the past few weeks. I took my wedding dress in for alterations (I hate being short) a few weeks ago. It was really exciting to put my dress on again, I haven't had it on since I bought in back in Nov. 2008! It's more beautiful then I remembered! :-) I am going in for my final fitting this Friday, hopefully everything will be done and I can take it home. My bridesmaid Amy and personal attendant Tiffany are going with me so they can "learn" how to get me into my dress...it's a process, trust me! I also figured out how I am going to do my hair for the wedding. It's funny how a dress can dictate how one should have their hair...but I knew instantly how I wanted it to look as soon as I put my dress on! I can't wait to see how everything comes together on my wedding day...dress, hair, make-up...everything! Besides my dress, Scott and I did decide on what wine and beer we are going to serve at our wedding reception (I guess I should go ahead and cross that one off my to do list...). Della Terra hosted a wine tasting event at the chateau last Saturday. It was a snowy morning, but a beautiful (slow) drive up the canyon! Both Scott and I were recovering for our most recent colds, which limited the abilities of our taste buds, but we were able to select a few wines that we thought would appeal to us and our guests. They also had a local caterer and baker there with samples! Wine, food and cake...Scott's favorite things! It was a great way to spend a snowy Saturday! Della Terra looked so beautiful all covered in snow....I guess that's good to know b/c it could be snowing on our wedding day (let's just hope it doesn't!). This coming Monday Scott, my Mom, my Aunt, our caterer and I will all be heading back up to Della Terra for our FINAL walk through! This is where all of our unanswered questions will be answered and the small details of our wedding day will be planned out! Scott and I are so excited for this day! I think after Monday we will feel like we are just that much closer to getting everything done! Check back for an update next week!!!! We have also been meeting with our Pastor, Kevin, on a more regular basis now. I wouldn't call it "marriage counseling" but more "marriage/life mentoring". Scott and I really like Kevin as a Pastor and friend and are very excited to have him a part of our lives. It's nice to have a someone on the outside asking us questions and encouraging us to engaging in different conversations that we might not have had prior to getting married. Scott and I love each other so much that we want to do whatever we can to keep that love strong and healthy for the rest of our lives. We already know marriage isn't easy and you have to work at it everyday, so it's nice to get all the advice and as many pointers before hand that we can get! :-)

Well, I believe that gives you an update as to what's going on with the Ludwig/Greenfield wedding planning and preparation! We are down to less then 100 days to go...which just doesn't seem possible! I am getting more and more excited for the actual wedding day! I know it will be here and gone in no time, so I am trying to relax and enjoy each minute of it from now until May 30th!

Love,
Heather

Life Update

I had hoped to be able to write more on our blog after the first of the new year, however, that just hasn't happened yet! To be honest, Scott and I have found ways to fill up our new free time together. In the last few weeks we have filled up every weekend by trying to cross things off our every so long and growing "To Do" List. Who knew planning your life took so much time! :-)

After the first of the year Scott and I got really excited about our future. Not that we haven't been excited about until now, but we finally feel like we are at the point where we can start planning our next chapter. With school behind me, we are looking forward to our wedding, being married, buying a house and kids....hopefully in that order and not all at once! ;-) Since both of us are not from Colorado, neither one of us knows any of the surrounding towns and communities. I only know the Boulder and Fort Collins areas well, the rest of the Front Range is much of a mystery. So, after talking about the fact that neither one of us knows much about our options for a community to call "Home" one day, we have decided to take the time and go "Community" hunting. It's much like "House" hunting, but on a slightly larger scale. We figured, if we find a place we'd like to live one day, it might be easier to look for a house when that time comes.

So, we have been actively looking for the past couple of weeks at our options. We have both decided that most likely we will both be working in or around the Denver area for the next however many years, which helps and doesn't when it comes to looking for a place to settle down. Denver is a big place with lots of suburbs surrounding it. We have both agreed that raising our future children in the city isn't something we want to do. So that leaves us with the 'burbs! It's not my first choice....oh come on, does that really surprise you? Mrs. Architect here doesn't want live in a development that has the houses so close together and everyone's house looks the same it's just painted a different shade of bage? But, I will do it for the safety and better life style for my family! Besides, newer developments have much better architecture then the ones built in the 80's and 90's!

Okay, so a couple of weekends ago Scott and I headed straight East about 20 miles from where we currently live. We ended up in a town call Brighton. Friends of ours just bought a house there this summer, so we are slightly familiar with their neighborhood. We drove around and around...without a map...and eventually found the town. As much as we love where Jake and Melissa live, the actual town of Brighton didn't excite us. We headed home deciding to keep looking, but to revisit the neighborhood in the next year as they were starting construction on a new retail area which often leads to more development.

The following weekend we decided to head South West about 35 miles from here. At work I was given a project to research the town of Littleton and everything I read about it made me love it more and more. So, our next stop was Littleton, CO. Now, this town of roughly 45,000 people impressed us. It felt like home in the sense that besides the 360 view of the mountains, we could have easily been in Iowa, which is a nice feeling. The town has a ton of open space, multiple lakes, great schools and friendly people. We found a local pizza place to eat at for lunch and decided that we should keep Littleton on our short list.

So far, we have enjoyed our weekend adventures to different towns around the area. Maybe it's been the 50+ degree weather or the sun shine or just the excitement of our future together, or maybe a little bit of all that has made this a great experience. We aren't done yet! There's still plenty of neighborhoods for us to explore. I'll keep you posted as we continue our adventures.

The rest of our time has been spent thinking about wedding stuff. I can't believe it's 4 months away!!!! It just doesn't seem possible! I feel like we still have so much to do....yet, when I look at my list I realize how much we already have done. We will be busy these next couple of months getting the rest of the stuff accomplished, but so far, I am confident we won't have to be panicking the week before the wedding....at least that's what I'm praying for. :-)

The rest of my time has been spent looking and applying for jobs. My current internship ends in May, so the pressure is on to find something else before then. I am still praying that a job in an architecture firm opens up, however, I am being realistic in that fact that I am applying for other jobs. I'll work 3 jobs if I need to....but it would be nice to find something full time with benefits. Hopefully something good will come up soon. :-) I feel like that is the missing part in my life right now. I would like to know I have a steady, full time job by the time we get married. I can't imagine what it will be like to have us both working full time jobs!!!??? I will have to say though, that this experience has been very humbling. It has made me look at the big picture of life and realize that I (and we) are not as bad off as others. I have a roof over my head, food in the refrigerator, gas (barely) in my car and I do have a job I can go to every day. Scott and I may not have extra money to go shopping, buy a new flat screen TV or go on a vacation, but we have managed to save a lot of money for our wedding, pay every bill on time and still treat ourselves to Chinese take out once in a while. This situation has allowed us both to realize that we can live on (almost) nothing and still be happy. It's not the ideal situation, nor is it one that I'd like to stay in forever, but we've shown ourselves that we can make it through and come out the other side happy and still madly in love with each other. And for that, I have to thank God for showing us that we can get through anything as long as we have each other.

Well that's all for now. I should get to bed so that a new day can start tomorrow! I hope you are all staying warm, safe and healthy. We think about you all often and wish we could see everyone more!

Miss you all!

Love,
Heather

Happy New Year!

With 2009 behind us, we are in highest spirits around here! 2010 (twenty-ten is how we say it here in the Ludwig/Greenfield residence) has already been better then the whole year of 2009 was! 2009 was a tough year, probably the toughest year yet! But, I am happy to report that Scott and I (and our family and friends) managed to make it through!

However, the year did end well for us! Scott and I spent our first Christmas together here in Colorado. We decided not to travel over the holiday this year to save money, and it's a good thing we decided to stay put given the harsh weather that hit all over the country over Christmas...had we tried to travel we may have had to spend Christmas in a hotel somewhere in Nebraska! We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Fort Collins at my Mom's house. We all enjoyed our time together! It was a quite weekend, but just what we all needed! We ate a ton of food, watched movies and relaxed. New Years Eve was just as quite. Again, trying to save money, Scott and I decided to forgo the wild and crazy Denver New Years Eve scene. Instead, we went over to our friend Stephanie's house and hung out with her and her two little boys. We ate a great dinner, played yatzee and watched the ball drop in New York City from the comfort of Stephanie's couch.

And with that, we began what will be one of the best years of our lives! I know that is a big statement, but how can it not be one of the greatest years? Scott and I are getting married in 5 months!!! I think that right there proves that this will be a great year! :-) Now that the holidays are over and I am finally finished with grad school, we can devote the next 5 months to our upcoming wedding! I just ordered my bridesmaid's dresses yesterday, bought the programs for our wedding ceremony and have started finalizing the menu with the caterer. With all this free time I have now, I am in full "wedding mode"! :-) I love that I can now focus entirely on our wedding and enjoy the next 5 months! I know this time is going to fly by and then it will all be over, so I am going to make a point to enjoy every minute of it. I have really enjoyed having my Mom close by so that she can be a part of the planning and excitement too. It just wouldn't have been the same if she was still in Iowa and I was left to do this all my by myself. Who would have gone dress shopping with me? Or gone to Michaels and spent hours in the wedding section (folks, there are only 2 isles dedicated to weddings in the entire store...and yes, we tend to spend hours there...only a Mom would do that for her daughter!) and David's Bridal 100 times with me? Or gone to all those bridal showers? I have to think it was destiny that she moved out here just 4 months before I got engaged.

There are still plenty of things on my "Wedding To Do" list! But I look forward to checking them off one by one in the next few months!

Love,
Heather