Sunday, October 17, 2010

Great weekend!

Nick came to Texas this weekend... It was pretty spectacular. He road the train with me to work on Friday, and worked on his lab report while I was at work. Then, we road the train to the State Fair. I loved getting to experience the Fair with him. It is one of my favorite things from my childhood... Right up there with Christmas, and getting to show him around and talk about all the stuff I love about it was so great.

On Saturday, we ordered our TOMS for the wedding, and then we went and bought WEDDING RINGS!!! This is getting real, people! He told me I could wear it to dinner, but I refrained. We also made a trip out to our favorite date place, IKEA, for some 50 cent hot dogs. Then, we worked on cropping our invitations! I am so relieved that those are done! For dinner we had my favorite, On The Border.

Sunday, we went to church and then to Spaghetti Warehouse because we had a coupon for their "Feast for Two." Let me tell you, more like a feast for 6. There was so much food, Nick is going to be eating leftovers for a week.

All in all, it was a great weekend. Here is what we accomplished off the wedding list:
- Wedding rings purchased.
- Invitations completed.
- Shoes purchases.
- Finalized the ceremony music.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Meet the Wedding Party: Allison

Introducing Allison Catherine Legg!

I have known Allison since the summer of 2007, but we did not become real friends until the next year. We lived together in the lovely CJ 6, enduring a lot of bugs and dirt and lack of sleep together. Then, we worked a cheerleading conference at Pine Cove together... and were made the Mountain Biking instructors. Take a few seconds to picture that. Or you can read about it HERE.
Then we made the most epic road trip ever, to Kansas City, for a wedding. As an ironic side note, Nick was supposed to be at that wedding, too, since it was his old roommate who was getting married. However, he did not go, which pushed our meeting back to 2009. On this road trip, I was the dad with the video camera and the directions, and Allison was the mom, since that is just her nature... :)
Since then, Al has been such a blessing in my life. I have loved talking about wedding stuff and marriage stuff and life stuff with her. She is getting married one week before us and I cannot wait to learn together with her as we explore the role of "wife" for the first time.

How do you know Haley?--Hales and I met at the Towers gauntlet summer 2007 and then worked part of second half together. We became better friends the following summer and then best of friends after our Kansas City roadtrip Christmas 2008.

What do you want to be when you grow up?--Since I was 3, I always wanted to be a doctor, nevermind the fact that I carried a baby doll with me everywhere I went

What is your favorite past halloween costume?--I remember getting to borrow a "real" princess dress and crown when I was about four or five--that was my highlight.

What is your current obsession?--Paninis!

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding? --Cyclone, duh!

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them? --Amanda Bynes (She's very quirky, real, and totally cute but doesn't know it, like Hales) & Brad Pitt (He seems kind of shy and a little mysterious, much like Nick)

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet? Dixie--Haley, you can't move all the way to Missouri and not take some of Texas with ya!

What is your favorite memory involving Haley? --Easily our roadtrip to Kansas City. Hales rode shotgun most of the time and I drove the whole time. We made a video and happen to nonchalantly say, "PC '09--maybe you're out there" in reference to our dream boys...Needless to say we're both marrying guys from PC '09!

What song will always remind you of Haley/Nick?--Disney theme songs and Taylor Swift.




Monday, September 27, 2010

Meet the Wedding Party: Nathan



Today's Guest: Nathan Thomas Dowd

Nathan and I haven't known each other very long, just over a year, but for as solid as our friendship is you would think it has been much longer. Nathan is one of those friends that will do anything for you no matter what he has going on, which if you didn't know is a great kind of friend to have.
One of my good memories with Nathan was when some of us we sitting in the basement of the house just talking until like 2 am and the next day Mike, Josiah and I were going to work a conference at Pine Cove and we talked Nate into going with us. It was a great time!!
Then we got to know each other more through midnight prayer groups and decided to lead a small group together which was awesome. This was Nathan's second semester at school when he decided to move out of a house of 40 christian guys in to the dorms so that he could better evangelize to the students on campus. It was great to see God working through him in that way. Then the end of that semester he pledged Delta Sig and started ministering to the greek community also.
Nathan truly has a heart for people and he is a great friend to have.

How do you know Nick/Haley?

I met Nick in the fall of 2009 in the middle of a battle. The ruckus started amidst shouts of "One-Twelve!!!" as the members of Room 112 (including Nick) came charging into my room, Room 111, starting a never-ending war between our two neighboring rooms. It was quite the way to meet someone.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be a civil engineer that builds some of the coolest bridges ever seen all over the world!

What is your favorite past halloween costume?
Eh...I haven't been that creative in that area...sorry :/

What is your current obsession? (song, idea, food, article of clothing, etc.)
My current obsession is Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. I absolutely love what the fraternity stands for and I love each of my fraternity brothers, especially our new pledge class that I hope to mentor and grow in God's Word with!

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding?
Hmm....

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them?
Nick - The Rock....because Nick's good at everything...like The Rock

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet?
Kayakitty

What is your favorite memory involving Haley/Nick?
My favorite memory involving Nick was definitely the time we spent together leading our evangelism gel group. I know I learned a lot from Nick and I hope he had a good time too. It was great growing in our walk with Christ with him during that time.

Do you have any potentially embarrassing stories involving Haley/Nick? If so, please share.
Oh I wish...but I don't think so.

If Haley/Nick could eat one food for the rest of his/her life, what would it be?
Nick would eat steak or Papa Murphy's the rest of his life.

What song will always remind you of Haley/Nick?
"Hear Our Prayers" by The Glorious Unseen...It's a great song about the power of prayer which is definitely something I admire about Nick. He is so focused on prayer which is such a vital way to communicate with our Heavenly Father.

Apparently Nathan and I don't like to be in the same camera lens, so here are a few of him...





Saturday, September 25, 2010

Meet the Wedding Party: Kaitlyn

Today's Guest: Kaitlyn Renee Posey (almost Works!)

Kaitlyn started going to Coram Deo when we were in 9th grade, and honestly, most of us were not sure what to think of her. She was extremely outgoing and sociable, whereas I don't think I spoke for my first 6 years there. She got in trouble for not wearing shoes during class. All the boys loved her and she had tons of friends.
We were in most of the same classes that year and then probably all of the same classes every year after that, give or take a few. We played softball together until she hurt her shoulder. But until eleventh grade, we weren't really friends. That is, until the first annual All-Star debate. I will just take a minute to describe this so that everyone can get a good picture of what was said to be CDA's greatest sport. Each Upper School grade voted on 5 members to be part of an "all star" team to represent the class in a debate tournament. Kaitlyn and I were both selected to be part of that team. There is a lot more I could say about this experience, but I will just end with the fact that it is responsible for the first and only time I ever cried at school.
Anyway, we ended up spending more time together, both in and out of school. By the time senior year came along, I was talking more at school and actually had friends, but I spent most of my time in Flower Mound with Kaitlyn. We led a Bible Study together, had sleepless nights baking and watching Disney movies and preparing for debates together, and spent many many days and nights at our friend Caleb's house together.
After graduation, she moved to Tyler and I moved to Waco, and it was pretty sad, but we still managed to spend a lot of time together during breaks. She is hilarious and I love her 3 minute long phone messages. I am so blessed by her friendship and I love that she is a part of my wedding.

From Kaitlyn:
How do you know Haley?
I met Haley through the fine institution of Coram Deo Academy, which means 'in the presence of God' for those unfortunate enough not to have had Latin.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I would like to be an adult when I grow up.

What is your favorite past halloween costume?
My favorite Halloween costume was a peacock! I painted my face and everything.

What is your current obsession?
My current obsession is chilled swiss oatmeal, it makes me feel healthy.

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding?
The song I most want to dance to at my wedding, is a secret.

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them?
I think Jake Gyllenhall and Reese Witherspoon would play the two lovers

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet?
Nick and Haley should name their first pet 'Consummate.'

What is your favorite memory involving Haley?
My favorite memory of Haley is probably when she surprised me and took me to Phantom of the Opera, and we had a sweet photo shoot at Fair Park.

Do you have any potentially embarrassing stories involving Haley? If so, please share.
Embarrassing stories of Haley, well this isn't embarrassing but I remember some certain boys in our class used to think she was SO stuck up, haha probably because she was always quiet and gave people weird looks when they did something ridiculous.

If Haley could eat one food for the rest of her life, what would it be?
I would make Haley eat nothing but children's food like gummies and goldfish, but I would redeem myself by letting her drink coffee from Common Grounds for the rest of her life.

What song will always remind you of Haley?
I frequently think of Haley when I listen to Tay Tay Swift. Her new song makes me so happy I listed to it 34 times in a row.


All-star debating...
Junior year prom!
Whole Foods!
Powderpuff champions

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Meet the Wedding Party: Hannah

So, over the next 3.5 months, we are going to feature the people in our wedding party! We sent them an interview to fill out, but we will also comment on our relationships and include pictures. We can't wait for you to meet some of our favorite people!

Today's guest: Hannah Estelle Cable!
Hannah and I have known each other for... ever. We went to the same church, we were campers together at Pine Cove, Towers through Shores, and we both went to Baylor. We have some pretty great stories together, but my favorite is probably from when we were around seven years old. Hannah was over at my house, and we were playing, of course. My dad was sick in bed, and my mom walked out of the room and told me, "Haley, Eddie's dead." Now, Eddie was my pet rabbit. I of course burst into tears and was completely distraught. Well, Hannah did not hear my mom say, "Eddie died..." She heard my mom say, "Daddy died." She was of course extremely sorry and probably felt a little awkward... I don't even know how I learned about this misunderstanding, but it makes me laugh now.

From Hannah:
How do you know Haley?
I have known Haley ever since I can remember...so like 20 years. Thats a long time.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Well, right now I am what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I'm gonna go with world traveler for now.

What is your favorite past halloween costume?
My costume last year! I was a punk! I will probably repeat it this year.

What is your current obsession?
Erik Hassle, Nathan Bateman, Boots, Hotdogs

What song do you most want to dance to at the wedding?
Ummm Bohemian Rhapsody

Hollywood decided to make Nick and Haley's story into a movie. Who would play them?
Emma Watson should play Haley, and ummm let's go with Hugh Dancy for Nick

What should Nick and Haley name their first pet?
Harry Potter

What is your favorite memory involving Haley?
Hmmm too many...making the Bohemian Rhapsody video, the Superman at Pine Cove senior year, exploring PCBC

Do you have any potentially embarrassing stories involving Haley? If so, please share.
Haley doesn't get embarrassed very easily.

If Haley could eat one food for the rest of her life, what would it be?
This isn't a food, but Common Ground's 254 or Cowboy Coffee.

What song will always remind you of Haley?
Anything we listed to over and over again senior year...The Veronicas, Bohemian Rhapsody, Hips Don't Lie







Monday, August 30, 2010

Videos... that may or may not be embarrassing.

A few videos for your entertainment.



Nick, along with our photographer, Bryce, one of our ushers, Jordan, and Nick's old roommate, Jimmy.




Me, along with Allison, Lacey, Lindsey, and Abbey.



Hannah and my video that we made a couple days before I left to be a Baby Ruth in 2006.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Top 5 Favorite Disney Movies

Her List:
1. Enchanted
2. Lilo And Stitch
3. The Incredibles
4. Toy Story 3
5. The Emperor's New Groove


His List:
1. Lion King
2. Aladdin
3. Brink
4. Monster's Inc.
5. Toy Story

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Great books for a great price

Don't you love when you find exactly what you need for a great price!?

Nick and I will be reading through Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas, for our pre-marital counseling. Nick tried to order the books on amazon but ended up ordering 2 participant guides instead. These will be great for discussion, but we still needed the book! Since we live so far apart, we can't share the book, which meant we both needed one. So, I ventured up to Half Price Books a couple months ago in eager anticipation to see what kinds of marriage books they had. Guess what. They had one copy of Sacred Marriage for $6.00!! I was ecstatic, and bought it immediately. Well, Nick still needed a copy, but since he had paid for the participant guides, I said I would cover the books this time. So, today I went back up to the same Half Price Books hoping that maybe they got another copy in since the last time I was there. AND THEY DID! Just one! Hooray! So now we both have books and I paid less than $15.00 for both of them.

A friend also recommended For Women Only, and For Men Only, both by Shaunti Feldhahn. Since they are two different books, I was unsure if I could find both of them at Half Price Books. But I did! So I got both of them for the price of one! Hooray for half priced books at Half Price Books! So right now, I am reading For Women Only, and have already learned some great stuff! I can't wait to see what else we learn through pre-marital counseling!

I looked for others that have been recommended to me, but could not find them. Hopefully, better luck next time!

Learning from Long Distance

Anyone who has experienced a long distance relationship knows that it is hard work. Communication is frustrating, travel is expensive, and the time actually spent together is always too short.
While Nick is at camp, and not only far away but not able to communicate, I thought I would share about our experience with a long distance relationship and what I have learned from it. Perhaps Nick will add his input when he gets back from camp.

First, what I have learned from our situation:
- Communication is crucial. So is patience. It is so easy to read into certain words or voices over the phone, but that is not necessarily what the other person is trying to say. It is a lot better to me to ask what he meant than to assume he meant something else. This is where the patience comes in. Not being understood can be frustrating. Being asked, "what?" six times in a row can also be frustrating. But once I get frustrated, he gets frustrated, and then the time spent on the phone gets unpleasant fairly quickly. I have definitely learned a lot about patience over our long distance relationship.

- Nick cannot fully sustain me. Only God can. When something goes wrong, the first person I want to talk to is Nick. But sometimes, that isn't possible. Especially this summer, God has been teaching me to rely on Him first and let Him use Nick when He wants to. I have to remind myself of Psalm 55:22: "Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you."

- Appreciate every moment. I can honestly say I do not do this as well as Nick. I like my sleep. Nick would have us stay up all night if I let him. Sometimes I think he might be a vampire. Not really... but seriously. I don't think he sleeps. Anyway, time is precious, and when you only have 36 hours together, your actions and words should have purpose. Even if that purpose is just spending quality time watching Friends or Big Bang Theory together... :)


Next, I will share some ways we have made long distance more bearable:
- Skype/Video iChat: This is not only used for just talking. We have also been known to cook dinner together, watch movies/tv shows together, and dye Easter eggs together on skype. We also would do a lot of homework/reading while on skype. Not a lot of talking but the next best thing to actually studying together.

- Doing something together while we are apart: This summer, when we couldn't talk during the week, we both decided to only drink water while we were apart. Knowing that he was doing the same thing every time I ordered water or refrained from drinking coffee was comforting.

- Text messages- Ok, this sounds so silly, I know... But Nick didn't have text messaging on his phone until a little after we had started dating. I can't imagine not being able to text him random questions or thoughts or announcements... Well, I can imagine that, because that is how it is right now. ha. It's pretty lame.

Well, that's all I have for now. If anyone else has any suggestions for long distance relationships, please, feel free to share. We will start another 5 month stretch soon.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Picture Perfect

You know when you first start dating someone, but you aren't at the point where you are comfortable enough to take pictures together? Well, I think those pictures that do happen to take place are so funny, because there is a little awkward taste to them. I thought I would share our first pictures together with you, because Nick is at camp and I can't talk to him, so pictures are the best I can do.

This was the first picture we took together. It was actually before we were dating, and before I taught Nick how to smile naturally. Obviously.

This was the second picture we took together, taken on the last day of camp, after we had been dating for a few weeks. It was still pretty awkward. Like, what is up with Nick's hand?

This was the first picture we took of ourselves, at a Baylor football game. This was actually when I was helping Nick learn to smile naturally. He made such great progress!

This was still very early on in the picture taking comfort phase, at the Pine Cove tailgate. This picture is awkward because it looks like it is supposed to be a picture of just me and Kevin with Nick creeping on the side.

In this picture, a week later at a conference, Nick attacked me.
But after this, the pictures started coming more naturally, and things were no longer awkward.
Thank goodness.

Friday, August 6, 2010

New engagement pics, check them out!

Check out our new engagement pictures found under our Engagement Pictures tab! Thanks to Lauren Withrow who took them and edited them!

Some of our favorites:





Thursday, August 5, 2010

Top 5 Favorite TV shows

His List:
1. Chuck
2. Lost
3. Big Bang Theory
4. White Collar
5. Gilmore Girls

Her List:
1. Lost
2. Friends
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Chuck
5. Big Bang Theory

Well, we will basically always be able to watch shows together. Our admiration of Community and Covert Affairs is also growing.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Friday, July 30, 2010

161 days to go!

Well, we have been engaged for around 5 months and have around 5 months to go. 161 days to go, to be more specific.
I think we have been trucking along quite nicely with the planning. Although, the knot to do list slightly terrifies me.
We found a location for both the ceremony and the reception.
We have discussed food and drinks and cakes.
We ordered Save the Dates, and only got half of them because of a problem with the postal service. So, I ordered more. Those were cut wrong. So they sent me ANOTHER order. Half of them have been addressed and the other half will be soon, so that they can get sent out in the next two weeks!
I tried on dresses, found pictures I liked, and talked to my mom and grandmother about them. Kaitlyn and I went to a fabric store and found some great fabric that we think will look great for the dress.
Nick and I bought buttons and worked hard at making hundreds of button flowers.
We finished registering, although we still need to go through and make sure we did not miss anything.
Nick and I went to the fabric store in Jefferson City to look for the right colors for bridesmaid accessories.
Right now, we are working on groomsmen attire, figuring out what I want to do with my hair/veil, finding a place to live, and searching through honeymoon locations. I have the basic idea for bridesmaid attire, but I am trying to work out the details.

I just thought I would add a list of resources we have used so far.
- Green Wedding Shoes
- Once Wed
- Style Me Pretty
- Intimate Weddings
- Vistaprint- Free save the date postcards! We only had to pay for shipping!

Well, I will end with this note: I am currently watching Say Yes to the Dress, and it makes me want to throw up.

Peace.

The Proposal

I was off school for a few days for St. Pats day ( gotta love MST ) so I flew down to Dallas, TX to spend some time with Haley and, unknown to her, to "Pop the ?"

So, I planned a day of festivities for us to do on March 11, our 8 month anniversary.

First, I let her sleep in because she thinks I wake her up too early when I visit. After she got ready for the day, we went to a coffee shop to start the day because she LOVES coffee!! But she got an italian soda... so much for loving coffee. Oh, and another reason for the coffee shop was because in Tyler, we hung out at a coffee shop a lot to get to know each other on the weekends.

Next, we went to Barnes and Noble, because it was another place we hung out in Tyler a bunch and because she LOVES books!! We walked around for a while and she looked at books, I stood next to her, and it was a great time. I talked her into buying a better version of Peter Pan. We looked at wedding books too, which looking back on, is kind of funny!

After B&N, I figured we would go to another of her favorite places and one that I enjoy more each time we go: IKEA. We strolled around the store for a while looking at the different furniture setups and room arrangements. Before we left, we grabbed some delectable food: 50 cent hot dogs.

I drove us to what I thought would be a great little park by a lake but turned out to be a dock that was no good for picnics. In my defense, it's hard to plan stuff in a town that you are not familiar with. She saved me with a spot that was actually a park by a lake. By this time, the hot dogs had become slightly warm dogs but it is ok because I had Garden Salsa Sun Chips, Zebra Cakes, and Sweet Tea to go along them. We enjoyed the goods and the environment for a while but it was a bit chilly so we packed up and headed out.

I thought about going to a library (once again she loves books) but instead, we headed home because we were both tired. I didn't have anything else planned until dinner so we relaxed and ended up taking a little nap in the hammock in the backyard.

Then, it was dinner time!! I had her get dressed up nice, not that she doesn't always look beautiful, but you know what I mean. We were off to ....... Buca di Beppo!! We had a great meal and got more than we paid for because they messed up the order. This meant that we were plenty full. We still had to get some dessert so we stopped by Braums for some ice cream, which was kind of funny because we were all dressed up nice. After that, we were stuffed so it was back to the house.

When we got there and walked in, the lights were off and "Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop" was playing, which was a song that Haley had me listen to with her over the summer. We then proceeded to the backyard where I had Nancy set up some stations for me. The first one was our cedar medallions and a small white candle, representing how we met. Next was a painting she made for me and a bigger candle, representing our relationship growing. Finally I had a white daisy sitting on a bible and larger candles. I gave the daisy to her and then read her a couple of verses about God's love and how we want to replicate that in our relationship. Then I got down on one knee and asked her if she would want to marry me!!!! She was crying the whole time and said that she didn't even comprehend what I said but she knew what was going on and said YES!!

After a few hugs and kisses we headed inside where her parents and siblings were waiting, and her dad was behind a video camera. Nancy had gotten us a cake, which was amazing, but since we were so stuffed, it was hard to eat... but I managed. Then, we started telling all the friends. She had crazy, loud, exciting phone calls and I cranked out those texts.
It was certainly a day of festivities to remember!