Wedding Through The Eyes of Dad & Denise

While my Dad and Denise were here, we downloaded some of the pictures they took from our May 2010 wedding. Man does time fly!! I thought it would be kinda cool to post how our wedding looked through their eyes...

Rehearsal

Rehearsal Dinner

Morning of wedding:

Wedding:

Reception:

Brunch the day after:

Congrats Kirra & Tyler!!!!

An update for those you of who saw the blog yesterday: Your prayers have been answered and Kirra's dad will be able to attend the wedding!! Thank you to all who kept the family in your thoughts and prayers.

Here are a few pictures from our wedding of Kirra going for (and getting) the bouquet of flowers that Mandi threw:

And here's Tyler (on your left) just after catching the garter belt!

And I added this one because Luke (my 2nd cousin) is one of the cutest kids in the world.

Again, a BIG HUGE congrats to Kirra and Tyler. I'm so honored to share in your big day!!!

Prayer Squad Needed

Wether you pray or you throw something out to the universe - I need you. One of my good friends, Kirra, is getting married this weekend. Kirra and I met in college and were basically connected at the hip until both of us graduated. She was like the kid sister that I never had. We'd of course stayed in touch over the years (she was in our wedding) and I've been looking forward to the day that she would meet that someone special and tie the knot. Well, that day is happening this weekend and I couldn't be more happy for her and Tyler. Just a note: At our wedding, Tyler caught the garter belt and Kirra caught the flowers - pretty cool.

Anyway, you're probably wondering why I'm asking for prayer. About three weeks ago, Kirra's dad, Frank, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. It was pretty aggressive and they decided that emergency surgery was necessary. They ended up removing about a third of his stomach during the surgery, but felt like they got all of the cancer. They were also expecting him to fully recover and be out in time for the wedding. That was before he came down with pneumonia and a tube that was put in his stomach starting leaking bile. It's now going to take a miracle for Frank to be able to attend the wedding.

I of course would first pray for that miracle to happen. I know that Kirra is crushed and I'm sure that thought of her dad not being their to walk her down the aisle is devastating. If Frank is not able to attend, I would like prayer for a sense of peace to come over the entire family and for Kirra to be able to enjoy her special day as much as possible.

So, if you would, take some time today to set aside some thoughts or prayers for Kirra and her family. I know that they, as well as myself, would very much appreciate it.

Back in the Swing of Things!!

Today is the start of a new chapter in our lives. No, I'm not talking about being newly married or settling in to a new house, I'm talking about finally settling in to the life we're used to. It's been a whirlwind around here since May 22nd (well actually long before that) but I think we're now ready to settle down after the post-wedding madness. We just got back from our annual family vacation in Rocky Point, Mexico and now it feels like I need a break. You guys know what I'm talking about? I think that I live such a routine based life, that every time I'm out of that routine it actually takes more energy, even if I'm relaxing on the beaches of Mexico. Maybe it's just me, but vacations truly exhaust me. Don't get me wrong, they're certainly a great change of pace and something I very much look forward to, but I'm definitely most comfortable in the comfort of my own home.

On a side note (with the full story to come at a later date)- One thing I need to take care of though is this rib/cartilage/muscle/lung thingy that I have going on. Some of you may have seen the update on my Facebook, but I was in a pretty gnarly boogie board accident that required a trip to a Mexican clinic for x-rays and a doctor consult. He said that he didn't see any broken bones, but with the more days that pass, the less I believe him. I'm actually taking pain medicine. If you know anything about me, you know that I avoid that stuff like the plague. Without it however, I have a hard time taking in a deep breath or coughing, sleeping is quite tough and the most minor of movements will send me shooting through the roof. I hope to get it checked out tomorrow and I'll keep you guys posted.

Anyway, I'm ready to get back on the horse now. I'm ready for homemade breakfast sandwiches in the morning and sitting at a computer all day long. I'm ready for the gym and long walks around the neighborhood. I'm ready for conference calls and game nights with friends. I'm ready to learn my yard and do my best to not have it defeat me. I'm ready to get my dog back and take her to the new dog park down the street.

I'm ready to officially start the "real life" with my bride.

Never Before Seen Photos

On our wedding day, my dad kept his phone in his pocket and snapped shots of us when no one else was around, but my shadow. He said, "these are like our little secret pictures"...but I'll let you in on the secret!

Right before the doors opened for me to walk down the isle

In the room waiting while the processional was going on

In the room waiting while the processional was going on

The First Wedding Pic Is In!!!

Our photographer is making his way through tons and tons of photos but has showed us a few that he really likes. Here's the first one he "released" to us :)

Carry You Through Life...

...or something like that :)

This is definitely one of my favorite photos from the photo wall at our wedding. We decided to do a photo wall instead of a guest book and it turned out to be one of our better decisions. We bought a bunch of props and left the rest up to the guests at the wedding. If any of you have a wedding coming up I would HIGHLY suggest going this route. I'll be posting more pictures from the photo wall periodically :)

Married Life Rocks My Socks

ANNNND I'm back. Obviously not totally because you'll notice that this didn't post at 4 am like they're "supposed" to. Last night Ronnie looked at me at 10:45 pm and said, "what's Mandi Monday about?"....WHOOPS. But that's ok, some are just slower than others to get back into the saddle.

So let me fill you guys in. LIFE. IS. GOOD! I was absolutely thrilled with how the wedding turned out. Everything went smoothly (I think in large part because my mom ran around the whole day and night running the show....man I love my momma!) Everything was beautiful. The ceremony was wonderful. We wrote our own vows and that was the best decision we made for the whole wedding. We didn't read each other's vows prior, so it was an incredible feeling, standing up there, having the love of your life tell you just what you mean to them. I tell you what, Ronnie did a BEAUTIFUL job on his vows. I've never felt so loved, so appreciated and so blessed. The only "bad" thing about the wedding is what everyone tells you, it FLEW by. There are moments that we both stopped, to just take it all in, and even those moments are fuzzy. But luckily we have it all on film, so we'll watch it back and I'm sure that'll help.

The honeymoon was great, but I won't focus on that because I know you saw pictures.

The best part about the last two weeks: Getting home and settling into life with my amazing husband. I was going to do a top 10 list of being married, but the problem is, there's far more than 10, and the best parts are VERY little things. Here are a few though: Sitting at our dining room table eating a dinner we made together in our kitchen. Setting up our closet with my stuff on the left, his stuff on the right, and walking in each day to be reminded that we get to live together. Finding out how nutty Ronnie is about having all of the labels facing out on items in the pantry. Looking over to see Ronnie kickin' it in his underwear because our A/C went out. Brushing my teeth next to Ronnie. Tag team cleaning the whole house to get ready for company. Riding our cruisers around the 'hood, coffee mugs in hand, chatting about what we want to do with our house and our yard.

Anyway, those are just a few favorites...I won't bore you by going on. Needless to say, I'm loving married life.

Random Wedding Pictures

Here are some random wedding pictures taken by my new sister-in-law the day of the wedding. Many, many, many more pics to come....