Closer to Love

All photos and slideshow by Daron Short. Didn't he do a FANTASTIC job?

Married Life and Such

Here are a few random thoughts tumbling around my head today...

1. I love being married. It's so fun. It's like having your best friend over for a sleepover every night. Seriously, it's awesome. Don't get me wrong - it's work. Hard work. In some ways, harder than I ever anticipated. But SO worth it.

2. Speaking of being married, I think there's something in the air. Four weeks ago we got married. We went to a wedding this past weekend. We're going to another wedding this coming weekend. Then two weeks after that we're going to another wedding. It's like I'm a senior in college again.

3. Today is September 15 and we are going camping for this first time this year this weekend. That's just sad. I guess, though, I have been a little busy this summer. So even though it's just for one night, I'm ready to get my camp on! Thanks for the idea Jamie.

4. Kanye needs to start thinking about the impact of his words before he allows them out of his mouth.

5. My amazing husband took me to see a Cirque du Soleil show this past weekend - Kooza. I first heard about Cirque du Soleil something like 15 years ago and since then, I've wanted to see a show. I was not disappointed. It was the BEST show I've ever seen. The music, the dancing, the acrobatics, the costumes - everything. And we saw it all from a few feet away! Here's a little taste ...


Actually, you know what? This deserves a post of it's own.
I'll get right on that.

Mr. and Mrs.

Two weeks ago I married the man of my dreams.
Then we went on a dream vacation.
Lucky, lucky me.

(I'll be back soon with lots more.)

Hurry Up, Sunday

OHMYGOSHIMGETTINGMARRIEDTHISWEEK!!!

That is all.

Unforgettable

My wedding plans keep getting ruined by people who do it first and make the news, rendering any attempt at surprise completely useless.

First, there was my idea* to have the wedding party dance down the aisle. But good thing someone else did it first cause we all know what a bomb that was.

But now I can't even break a record with my dress . (And the last-minute alterations are going to cost a ton.)

So much for an unforgettable wedding.

---

*Okay that wasn't technically my idea.

Details, Schmetails

Ohmigosh things are getting KER-AY-ZEE around here! I'm sure you can tell by the waning blog posts. I'm trying to keep up with everything, but dang. It's hard.

12 days left, people. Twelve. That's it. One dozen.

I went down to The Fine Arts Center today after work to nail down details and figure out the placement of everything ... where the tables will go, what the setup will look like, what time things will happen, who will do what, blah, blah, blah. So many details. Millions of them. They never end. And we all know details aren't really my thing. (By the way, Melissa, the wedding coordinator at The Fine Arts Center? Frickin' amazing.)

One of the things I found out today is that if it rains - wait a sec - where the heck have I been the last three weeks? I mean when the daily downpour and accompanying electrical storm arrive, the ceremony will be held in the gallery instead of the courtyard. Which actually would be REALLY cool. (Oh except that there's this neon colored, slightly larger than life, sculpture of Will Rogers on a horse that would be our ceremony backdrop. COOL. We are already betting that the Botero exhibit currently on display might make some waves.)

Anyway where was I? Oh yes. So Chris and I will likely make our vows under the watchful gazes of Will Rogers and some obese naked people. My good friend Skip is doing the honors and although he's been a pastor for a long time, this will be the first wedding he gets to officiate! This fact makes it extra special.

After the ceremony, we get our party on.

We have chosen this GREAT song to dance to for our first dance and do you want to know the coolest part? My cousin Abbey is going to sing it live for us!!! Chris gets all the credit for this one. It was totally his idea. So we're going to do the 8th Grade Shuffle (also known as the Hug'n'sway) as Abbey wows everyone with her pipes.

Then we attempt say hello to everyone. Even though I'm a complete extrovert, I'm actually dreading this part. I get ADD when I know too many people and I feel like I can't give anyone my full attention. So I can't imagine how a less extroverted person will deal with it.

Anyway after we make our rounds, we'll bust a few more moves on the dance floor, shove some cake into each others' faces, exit through a sparkler-lit walkway and jet off to Greece.

Happily ever after. I can't wait!

Party Time!

Tomorrow we have our party-for-the-wedding-that's-not-a-shower. There will be men there, specifically Chris, and I've been informed that men "don't do showers."

So it's a ... party. Yeah. A party.

I told him there would be lots of food there and that convinced him. He said he'd eat himself into a coma.

Seriously, though, I'm finally getting excited! Things are beginning. I'm sure when we open our first wedding gift it will really hit home.

Last night was my mom's 60th birthday and my cousin Peter's 24th birthday. We celebrated it with a traditional Tschamler/Moore family party - BBQ in the backyard, followed by coffee, several desserts (including my dad's homemade ice cream) and presents.

Here are a few photos of the fun...

The birthday king and queen.

The BEST chocolate cake I've ever eaten. Seriously.

Cody and Uncle Peter.

Present time!

We gave mom an engraved jewelry box. You know. For all her jewels.

We sang the Happy Birthday song loudly and completely off-key.

"Sure." - Jonah

Jon thought the game was Hit Uncle Jon's Hand. Jonah disagreed.

Jonah discovered beans picked right out of the garden.

My dad's famous ice cream. Coffee Oreo. It was delish.

The Worm. All those years we had the wrong cousin.
Good times. I love family.

The Pause at the Tippy Top

Fear not, my followers, I have not abandoned you! I've just been a little busy, is all.

Actually, what I feel like is that for the past couple months I've been slowly chugging up a very tall roller coaster hill and now I'm perched at the very tippy top. You know how you actually pause for a few seconds before you plunge over the edge into a near free fall? Yeah. That's how I feel.

I have discovered that the problem with not updating the blog as frequently is that I now have bloads to update you on! So let me try to fill you in in a somewhat coherent manner.

Vacation
Chris and I spent last weekend in Phoenix. Since the 4th of July fell on a Saturday this year, we had Friday off, so we made a long weekend of it.

Yes, we are crazy. We went to the desert in July. It was hot. 110 DEGREES hot.

We went down there to visit his aunt, uncle and cousin. It was a wonderful vacation. We spent a lot of our weekend sleeping, eating, reading and hanging out by the pool working on our tans. And also avoiding being pounced on by Roxie, the Michael Phelps of the Dog World.

It was fun to get a glimpse of Chris' childhood. I had a chance to see a bunch of old photos and I was able to verify a few things.

1. Chris was a cute child. But even as a teenager he was totally adorable. It seems he was born that way.

2. His aunt, uncle and cousin were a very important part of his life. He's in, like, every photo album they own.

3. There was a time when he sported a mullet. A bleached mullet.

Sweetness.

Uh, Mom? One quick thing. We need to talk about destroying some old family photos. Stat! Specifically The Dorky Years.

Anyway, after spending four days in AZ, my conclusion? Chris comes from good people and I'm a very lucky girl to be marrying into a family like his.

Wedding
I have some very exciting news! Danny Oertli has agreed to do the music for our wedding! I'd asked him a few months ago knowing it was a long shot that he'd actually be able to, but I'm happy to tell you that he's agreed! Here's the best part. Unbeknownst to him, Danny was actually a part of our story. You see, it was at one of his concerts that Chris first heard about Compassion. He sponsored a boy that night, who he later went to Kenya to visit. While in Kenya he met Gayle who told him about a job opening she was hiring for at Compassion. He applied and got the job and ... well ... you know the rest of the story. So Danny was a part of the beginning of our story and now he will be a part of our big day. Thanks, Danny!

Also we've managed to secure highly talented Dominican videographer. He is a friend of my sister's and graciously agreed to fly out from NY to film the day. Thanks, Roman. Eres muy generoso, amigo!

In other news, I finally got the invitations in the mail this week. It took a while, but it was SO worth the wait! (Not unlike my love story, actually.) My brother, a.k.a. brilliant graphic designer, made them. They are PERFECT. Exactly what I envisioned.

(Speaking of invitations, whoever came up with the idea of leaving four weeks to RSVP? Really. It takes five seconds, people.)

Anyway, there are a lot of details that are waiting on final numbers, so I've been anxious to get these out and start getting a better idea of how big this thing will be.

A few weekends ago we registered for some gifts. Chris agreed to do this for me. (Thanks, honey. Way to score some major points.) But I want to tell you about something else we're doing. We want to use our wedding to fund a project with Healing Waters International. The water project we are funding is in Barrio George in the Dominican Republic. It is actually connected to a Compassion project, which makes it extra special for us. So if any of you want to help us do this and make a donation, please mention our names in the comment section of the donation form.

Finally, and perhaps the news I'm MOST excited about, I picked up my dress yesterday! Three words for you: I. LOVE. IT. Seriously, if it were possible to be in love with an inanimate object, I would be smitten.

According to our trusty wedding web site countdown thing, there are 38 days until THE day. So tell me, at what point do I start getting nervous?

A Wedding Update

Wow, how is it Saturday already? Time is flying, people. Flying.

Chris and I went to a wedding this morning for a girl that we work with. It feels very different ... attending a wedding after you're engaged. Before, every time I was at a wedding, I thought "Oh it would be fun to do this someday. Someday far in the future." Today, as the wedding started, it was like "This will be US in a few weeks. Holy crap."

We both got a little nervous for a while. :)

Plans are coming along. The biggest question mark right now is the catering. We're trying to pick a caterer and choose what kind of food we're going to provide. This may not seem like a big decision, but believe me ... it is. Both Chris and I really like to eat and want to have creative, high class food, but this gets very pricey very quickly. It's a challenge to balance quality and presentation and stick to our budget.

Another thing I'm finding challenging is choosing bridesmaid dresses. I've heard the jokes about horrendous bridesmaid dresses, but now I kind of understand why it happens. Really, how does one go about finding a dress that works for four completely different body types? On top of that, the bridesmaids are in three different states so it would be best if I find them at a store found in all three states. On top of THAT, I don't want strapless, which for some reason is the trend in bridesmaid dresses and so non-strapless choices are severely limited.

That's all I've got to update you on right now. You'd think with the infrequent posts I'd have more to share, but really, I'm not even sure you want to hear all this stuff.

Ah well. If a blog is truly an online journal I should write about whatever is on my mind, right? And right now, we all know what's on my mind these days.

It's All In the Details

It's a drizzly, gray Saturday morning. It's not a depressing kind of drizzle, though. It's very peaceful. The perfect day to stay in my pajamas a read all day.

(By the way, I just this morning finished the best book I've ever read. If you want a quick, easy yet deeply profound book, check out The Wet Engine by Brian Doyle. My cousin Peter recommended it. It's my new favorite. Thanks, Pete!)

But I can't have a lazy day. I have lots to do! I have appointments today at two bridal shops to try on dresses. My friend Amber is coming with me, and I'm so glad, because all of my bridesmaids (including all three sisters and my BFF) and my mom are currently in other states. And I can't think of many things I'd like to do alone less than shop for a wedding dress.

I've very thankful for Amber. She's already done SO much to help me plan this wedding! She's done all kinds of research and come up with a long list of ideas.

Unique ideas. Crazy ideas.

Like the other day I told her I had no idea where to start with decorations. She hopped online and soon sent me this ...

It's all in the details! Replace the toilet paper in the bathroom stalls at the reception venue with our stylish Damask Toilet Paper. A beautiful design to further add style and elegance to your wedding day! Available in Black & White, Silver, or Gold.

Oh! And no need to worry about chaffing ...

Our toilet paper is 3 ply and a roll contains 200 sheets.

Wedding planning ... it's all in the details, people.

96 Days

As if my life weren't busy enough before, I have added full-time wedding planner to it. Because I'm not exaggerating when I say it's a full-time job.

Oh but good news! We finally figured out the date ... August 16.

Of 2009.

Yes, I'm serious. 96 days, people. I'm trying not to freak out. I have woken up in the middle of the night for three consecutive nights with a thousand things running through my head. I have to keep a notepad on the table beside my bed so I can get some sleep.

I am super excited about where we're getting married! I really wanted to hold it somewhere I'd never attended a wedding before, and living here so long, those places are few and far between. But this is the first and only place we looked at. We loved it.

We got our wedding rings a couple weeks ago. That was fun and
totally spontaneous. One day after church, instead of heading to my place like we normally do, Chris turned the truck the other way and drove to Jared's. Within 30 minutes, we had picked both of our rings. Mine is absolutely gorgeous and it made me even more excited to get married. (As if that's possible.)

My first foray into dress shopping will be this weekend. I've made appointments at four different places over the course of two days. I'm sure I'll have lots to share from that experience, based on my previous experiences doing this with sisters and friends.

Basically at this point we both eat, drink and breathe wedding stuff. 24/7. We actually have to purposely designate times not to talk about the wedding. Chris has been great with all this, especially considering the fact that he was not too crazy about the idea of fitting it all into three months. He hasn't said "I told you so" once, although I'm sure he's been tempted to. I'm hoping that things will slow down soon once we get a few more things figured out.

You know ... stuff like flowers, catering, band, vows, colors, cake, decorations, invitations, musicians, ceremony, wedding dress, attendant gifts.

Oh my gosh what the heck am I doing writing on this blog?

I have a wedding to plan.

Stop the Roller Coaster

I feel like I'm on a roller coaster that's going way too fast. It's making me nauseous. Can it be stopped to let me off, please?

I [[heart]] being engaged! I'm way excited to plan the wedding. We kind of started the process, but with so much family stuff going on, it's suddenly had to take a backseat for a while. I'm okay with that, though. There are more important things than my wedding.

Following my brother's daily updates from Reno is rough. I feel absolutely helpless and even though I'm praying for him pretty much non-stop, it feels like I should be doing something. And I'm not. I can't.

I'm having a hard time not being angry at God. I'm struggling because I know how powerful He is. I know He could heal him. Today. Within the hour. Right this second. But He's not. And that makes me angry.

Blech. I feel like I just threw up on you.

I've always hated roller coasters.

The Wedding I Never Dreamed Of

The first question everyone asked after we announced our engagement is "Have you set a date?" We haven't. So the first thing I've learned is: try to figure out a date before you announce it. If that's not possible, at least agree on a standard party line.

As far as our date, we've talked about a lot of different ideas. Things change a lot when you're thinking about a real wedding verses a hypothetical one. My "priorities" suddenly don't seem that important anymore. If having a summer wedding means waiting for over 12 months, I'll just wear a coat. If being on the beach means the girls from my Faith Group can't come, I'll get married in Pueblo. Having the picture perfect wedding isn't what it's about.

Stupid Hollywood, you've got it all wrong.

Up until last Friday I thought that I wanted a destination wedding. I'd keep it really small and simple with just close family. But now that it's actually happening, I find I don't want that at all. There are so many people over the last 30 years who have been an important part of my life ... who have encouraged me, prayed for me, laughed and cried with me and walked through life with me. I want them there with me when I walk into this next season of life. I want them to witness and celebrate God's goodness.

Plus, it's gonna be a rockin' party. Maybe (before Heaven) the biggest party of my life.

I'm not missing that.

I Think I Need a Dummies Guide

So ... ummm ... how exactly does one go about planning a wedding? I sort of thought that once I was engaged, I'd just, ya know, know. Isn't that what happens when you become a parent for the first time? You're born with the parental instincts and they magically appear when you have a kid?

During my last semester of college, I did an internship at the National PTA headquarters in Chicago. I worked with their head event planner to plan the national conference. It was a very enlightening four months. I had thought that I wanted to have a career in event planning, but I learned quickly that I am not cut out to go anywhere near that field. It was the inattention to detail thing, I think. (Are any of you potential invitees getting nervous about what type of catastrophe may befall the big day?) :)

So a couple nights ago I Googled "how to plan a wedding" and 67,000,000,000,000 links came up, most of them having something to do with The Knot. (Incidentally, what the heck did people ever do before the internet? That's a serious question - I honestly can't remember life before the internet. I'd be lost, for sure. Kind of sad, actually, how dependent I am on it.) Anyway. Seems like The Knot web site completely dominates the world of wedding planning.

But you know what? I'm not going to create a wedding page on The Knot. It's the principle of the thing, really. (My contrarian fiance ought to appreciate that.) Besides the fact that I don't want to be lost among the thousands of other digital fairy tales being recorded there for all the world to read, I also don't want to deal with the loads of junk mail they will inevitably send me to try to tell me all the things I need to make my wedding successful.

Also, my brother's good at designing things. He's a little busy at the moment, but I'm sure he'll come up with some awesomely unique way to share our story. Until then, this blog'll do.

I'll try not to overwhelm you with too many posts about wedding stuff. I'm sure this topic gets old quickly for anyone not directly involved (read: anyone except me). But I've waited a long time to be here, so I'm not about to let it pass me by.

If any of you Marrieds out there has good advice for me, I'd love to hear it. Is there anything you did, that, if you did it again you'd make sure NOT to do? Or anything you wish you did differently? What was your favorite part?

Zach and Sara Get Married

Sara was gorgeous. The bride and the matron of honor.
Bridesmaids.
Me with my baby sister.
Anyone want to guess how many "Are you next?" comments we got?
The capes were our lifesavers.
Micah had a matching suit.
Siamese twins.
Chris and his wife, Valeen.
Bridesmaids. Sisters. Friends.
Swing dancing.
Dave and Ellie cut a rug.
The fam.
The wedding was perfect.

Thursday Thoughts

Well, that didn't last long.

Apparently Anoop is gone. I didn't watch the show, but from the recap I read, I didn't miss much. In fact, with the new elimination format they are using, I can finally say that I'm so over American Idol.

In other news, we leave a week from today for New York for my sister's wedding. Yesterday my dad texted this picture from Sara's backyard ...
It's gonna be a cold five days.

Anyway, Sara's the third (and last) of my siblings to get married. Did you know I'm the oldest of four? This might sound kind of weird, but I always had a strong feeling that I'd be the last to get married. So, Sara, I guess I should say thanks for not waiting too long.

My turn now?

Saturday Night Thoughts

Yesterday's post was a heavy one. It's hard to know how to follow that. I think for tonight I'm just going to give you a few random thoughts going through my head right now...

Chris took me tonight to this little French restaurant in Old Colorado City. It's actually an old house that's been converted into a restaurant. But it still looks very much like a house. The ambiance was great - very warm with a muted elegance. And the food was fantastic! I'd recommend it to anyone in the Colorado Springs area looking for a nice place for a date.

Tomorrow is the Superbowl. I don't really care about either team, but for Chris' sake I'll root for the Steelers. I always enjoy watching the game ... well, actually what I enjoy is watching all the extra stuff like the Star Spangled Banner, the commercials and the halftime show. What? You never know when the next wardrobe malfunction may occur.

My sister Sara gets married four weeks from today. We're going to New York for her wedding. It will be a blast, I'm sure! (Upstate New York in February? Definitely a blast of arctic wind.) Anyway, I'm excited for her wedding. It's been fun to watch how God worked in her life to bring her to this point. It's still hard to imagine my little Sara a married woman.

Well, that's all for tonight. It's late, my belly's full of French food, my eyes are heavy and my bed is calling my name.

Goodnight.

The Sach

My sister Sara got engaged a few weeks ago. She's getting married to this great guy named Zach. (Henceforth, they will be know as The Sach.)


This last year, The Sach decided to move from San Diego to upstate New York. As my sister is now a resident of New York, engaged to a native New Yorker, her wedding is going to be in New York.

In February.

I don't know if you heard, but just last week The White Witch took up residence in New York. She announced her arrival to the area with a severe ice storm. President Bush actually declared a state of emergency.

It's FLIPPIN' freezing.

Here are some pictures sent from The Sach ...



I'm a summer girl. I love me some tank tops and flip flops and the beach. And I hate being cold.

I'm going to start praying right this second for an early summer.

(In case you missed it above, my brother designed them a really cool wedding web site.)

McKibbin Wedding

My Amazing Sister

My baby sister got married on Saturday. At the reception, this great swing band called "The Changing Times" played. While in high school, Ellie took lessons from Al, their lead man. With a little coercion from my other sister, Ellie played with the band. This was definitely the highlight of their reception. The look on Dave's face after she plays says it all.


Here's a few more from the wedding...