Life is Amazing

I'm back form one AMAZING honeymoon. God is so very very very good!

I've had my hard times no doubt, but lets be honest everybody has this world is full of pain and sin. I have friends losing jobs they have had for years, ones who would make the most amazing parents unable to have children. People lose loved ones everyday from death, addiction, abandonment, and illness. I am not the only one out there who has suffered a great loss. However I'm here today to tell you about the many, many ways God had taken care of me. Here is the best example I can possibly give you:

Ryan!

The wedding was great, everything literally worked out perfectly and if it didn't behind the scenes I wasn't aware. We celebrated with our Family and closest friends (who could make it) and it was wonderful. The house is a mess and for one of the first times ever I couldn't care less. God is showing me his grace, love and wisdom in so many different ways.

1) I moved to Iowa, as much as I don't like to admit it without that move I might not have opened up my calender more to my friends and we would have never gotten as close as we are now. Plus I got to be close to family for a while, that was great to see them so much. I didn't get a lot of that the past few years. Also my friends are the ones who introduced me to Ryan!

2) Between Ryan and the pre-marital counseling I'm becoming more willing to share my emotions and not to feel the need to be "super-woman." This has been a struggle for me over the past few years. There have been times and will be times in the future that I need to be "super-woman" but not all the time. There is a difference with being strong and being stupid...I'm so afraid of being weak that its hard for me to be vulnerable. These last few weeks have been a real learning process for me. Part of which is breaking my 'people-pleaser' mentality.

3) Greenie, I'm not going to sit here and preach that the world is going to end if we don't all "go green" however I will tell you that I think somethings just make sense. I also do believe God created us to eat the food he created and I know that I feel heathier when I'm eating more healthy and natural foods than when I'm eating stuff that was created in a factory somewhere. This has been very evident to me twice in my life but one was these last few weeks. Life has been crazy and I've been eating out more than ever. I'm sluggish and more irritable than normal. So yeah working on going back to my heathy eating lifestyle.

Well thats enought for now, what has God been teaching you?

Amber DeYoung

Excited and yet the same...

So I'm really excited about the wedding coming up don't take the title of this wrong. However I'm still working and that is what makes everything feel the same. Plus I've honestly done about everything I can do before the wedding so I just have to sit and wait for the day to get closer before I can do anything. Those to things together make it hard to realized its really happening this week! Tomorrow is my last day of working and I'm going to a concert with a friend so I think that will help. Then Starting on Thursday I have a whole list of cleaning and prep to do so that should help the "is this really happening" feeling subside.

So why prey-tell am I soo stressed out? Do you ever think we girls just stress out because we think we should be? I'm beginning to think so. I wanted to go on a date last night with Ryan since the rest of this week is going to be pretty hectic and I don't know how much quality time I'll have with him, but I felt like I couldn't there just had to be something I NEEDED to do. I thought through my list and realized there were a few things I needed his help for so we got those done and then went on a date. IT was great! Uggh so there we are back at the major point of a recent post, choosing your attitude. Well I guess Its true....

A few new rules

So here are a few new "rules" for the next few months. Maybe if I write them down I'll stick to them better:
1) Try to drink 2 sigg bottles of water while at work.
2) No blatant sugar till the wedding (It makes me break out.)
3) While interpreting I will not have anything up on the computer to distract me (unless on hold.)
4) Start cooking again (I'm so excited its been a looong time since I've really cooked.)

Now to talk about some old rules. Fiance and I started pre-marital counseling the other day and the Pastor gave us a book to read. One of the questions it asked are what are the unspoken rules you have for life? I found this interesting here are a few of mine:
1) Don't be late, if you can be early.
2) Always kiss me goodnight/later(good-bye.)
3) You don't need Drinks, appetizers, and dessert when eating out (except on special occasions.)
5) Pick up after yourself.

Just to name a few. I can definitely see how these could create conflict in a marriage or even with friends.

What are some of your unspoken rules? Think about dinner, holidays (traditions,) the house and stuff like that.

I have a strange problem, and a general update.

So I like making other people smile, I like it when my friends and family are happy. But I tend to do it with a lot of self sacrifice. I just can't seem to say know, when I should really be staying home.

How do you say no without feeling guilty?

Meanwhile life is going pretty good. I'm settling into the house pretty well. Hopefully I'll have some new pictures up here soon. We purchased some new living room furniture a few days ago and it arrived yesterday that is fun. The boxes are starting to disappear and I'm currently living in one of the guest rooms so that we can re-do the master before Ryan moves in. Its been a lot of fun but exhausting. I'm definitely a little stressed out.

I also have some friends that have a little girl who is going through some pretty tough heath issues. It reminds me of how much I covet your prayers in the past and in the future. Thank you soooo much!

Wedding plans are going well, really all I have left to do is plan the order with the Pastors (yes you read right its plurl) and talk to the flower guy. But there are lots of preperations to be done for the reception. I've choosen to make most of my table decorations and desserts so....yeah. That should be fun. I might be calling on some of you to help me out.

The good things are a little overwhelming right now

Moving is a good thing, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get everything packed up and cleaned up on time. (Being sick for a whole weekend will do that.)

Buying a house is a good thing, trying to find insurance for it while packing, aghhh!

Family and friends are great! Trying to do many diffrent things with them before I leave, yikes!

Wedding is great, planning it with all of the above going on, crazy.


Most of our invitations have gone out. Please remember we have attemped to keep this small (however just the size of our famiy was a lot of people) since we are footing the bill. I do have some invites that are waiting for one final thing before they can be sent out.

How we met

I got to spend the first part of the week with Ryan! Monday we had off together and then Tuesday and Wednesday I only worked 5 hours!!! We did a little registering for our wedding, and some planning too. We are staying pretty on top of things but some stuff I just can't do until I'm actually there. Like flowers, those guys are too busy on the weekend for me to stop in and talk to them.


Some people have been asking me how Ryan and I met so here it is:

We actually met in 2007 at a Halloween party my friend held. He was a Secret Agent of some type suit and all. I was a Wild fan (hockey.) Well apparently that sparked some interest. In July 2008 (around his birthday) my friend Vesta threw him a birthday party and invited Tracy and I along to go mini golfing. After that the whole group went to Get Smart and Ryan and I spent the whole moving 'accidentally' bumping into one another. The rest as they say is history. We spent the next 2 weeks or so before I moved finding any excuse to hang out together. He came to my good bye party and we stayed up with two other friends until 2:00 in the morning playing Wii dodge ball. We also found time to go out to dinner with some friends and watch videos at their house. Once I moved we started e-mailing and calling each other. Both of us without telling the other were trying to find out if this was worth our time, and distance to persue. Well it was!

I soon found out that Ryan was an amazing Christian guy with a love of music and adventure.

Well hope that answers some of your questions, later.
Amber

Wedding Stuff.

By they way for those of you who have some how missed it I'm getting married this summer!!!!

The wedding will be July 11th in MN. We are attempting to keep it as small as possible, so please don't be offended if you don't get an invite. Its going to be a simple reception with cake and punch and because of that we are not inviting a lot of people who don't live in town. Doesn't seem right to ask people to drive just for cake...

Ryan and I are planning a Caribbean Cruise! We will be seeing Belize, Honduras, Cozumel, and Grand Caymen. Were hoping to do some swim with some dolphins, maybe a ropes course and some snorkeling!

Words to a song

I found these lyrics on a friends Facebook status this morning. To be honest I'm not even sure if I've heard the song before but I love the lyrics. I've been trying to find a song for the wedding and I'm having a hard time finding one that is lyrically strong AND Musically acceptable for a wedding. Plus it needs to have an accompaniment track and sound good with girls singing it...too many requirements. But never the less I like the lyrics to this song, and if you have any suggestions for the wedding let me know.

When the sun came up,
We were sleeping in.
Sunk inside our blankets,
Sprawled across the bed.
And we... were dreaming.

There are moments when,
When I know it ends.
The world revolves around us,
And we're keeping it,
Keep it all going,
This delicate balance,
Vulnerable, all knowing.

Sing like you think no one's listening,
You would kill for this,
Just a little bit,
just a little bit,
You would kill for this.
Sing like you think no ones listening,
You would kill for this,
Just a little bit,
just a little bit,
You would,
you would...

Sing me something soft,
Sad and delicate.
Or loud and out of key,
Sing me anything.
We're glad for what we've got,
Done with what we've lost.

Our whole lives laid out,
Right in front of us.

Sing like you think no one's listening,
You would kill for this,
Just a little bit,
just a little bit,
You would
Sing like you think no one's listening,
You would kill for this,
Just a little bit,
just a little bit,
You would,
you would

Sing me something soft,
Sad and delicate.
Or loud and out of key,
Sing me anything...