Wedding Website

I don't think you can have a wedding without one of these now-a-days. Check out our wedding website here!

I'm engaged!!

Shocking?? Perhaps...but, it's true! Chris and I are getting married on January 29, 2011 so save the date!

Here is the engagement story for those of you who haven't heard yet:

Well, let's back up to September...When I came home from Germany, it was pretty clear to both of us that we were going to get married and began to make plans to that end. Chris talked to my dad and picked out a ring. I didn't know exactly when I was going to receive that ring, but we were definitely already starting to make plans for a wedding at the end of January. On Thursday, the 23rd of September, Chris called me to tell me that he was asked to go on a short deployment overseas. Although inconvenient timing with our wedding plans and him being in the middle of the semester in his seminary classes, he knew he needed to go and so we decided that he should. And since they told him he'd probably leave that Tuesday, it meant that we definitely needed to make our engagement official that weekend.

Funnily enough, my ring was in Tacoma where Chris had it made but he was back in Vancouver with no opportunity to come up before his departure. So I did what any girl would do in those circumstances: I picked up my own ring! :-) He arranged everything for me to get it and when I picked it up the girl sweetly handed me a bag of goodies and told me that the ring was wrapped to ensure that I couldn't peak.

Saturday afternoon (09/25/10) I drove down to Vancouver and passed on the ring to Chris as soon as I arrived. We were both starving when I got there so we decided to go out to dinner right away. I didn't think Chris had the ring with him since I had just given it to him and hardly turned my back to him, but in his special ops style, my love managed to unwrap the box and put it in his pocket without me seeing. Very very sneaky!

We went to dinner at the Jerusalem Cafe near his house. We had a nice meal and were almost finished when suddenly Chris got up and started talking about this fountain next to me. I think he asked me if I thought it might be a wishing well? But it was all a little confusing to me, and before I had time to really realize what was happening, he moved the chair next to me and was down on one knee in one fluid motion. He told me he loves me and asked me to marry him. And what do you think I said? Well, of course I said, YES!

The funny thing was that we were in a restaurant full of people and nobody seemed to notice or care that such a special moment had just taken place right under their noses! Oh well...we were happy and the lack of enthusiasm from the other restaurant patrons didn't bother us one bit.

However we did get some enthusiasm from a stranger when we went out for Frozen Custard (yum!) after dinner. This old man started talking to us there and when we told him we were recently engaged he became so excited for us. Turns out that he is a pastor of a church down there and when he found out that we are Christians he began to quote Ephesians 5 to us and gave us a little blessing.

Neither of our families were around to share the news with that evening except via telephone, but we were thankful to stop by the Mack's house to share our excitement with our dear friends.

As it turned out, Chris did not leave for another week after that so we were able to spend a few more days together. We do covet your prayers for him right now as he is deployed until November.

As for me, I'm finishing up my last quarter of school and Lord willing, I intend to graduate this December...as long as all my wedding daydreaming doesn't interfere with my homework getting done! :-)

PartyLite Give-Away

Just a few more hours to enter Sarah's PartyLite give-away at her blog, but there are many ways to enter. Go here to get your entry in before the morning of October 1st!

Liechtenstein!!

It is indeed with great excitement that I can tell you I've been to the country of Liechtenstein! I mean how many people can say that?? If I remember correctly (although I need to look this up again), it is the 4th smallest country in the world.

Liechtenstein is completely surrounded by the alps and the scenery was amazing!

Above is the castle of Liechtenstein which sat on a hill above the capital city.

Lake Konstanz

The city of Konstanz is a lovely German city on Lake Konstanz. The huge lake is tucked in between Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The swans added to the fairytale European magic...that is until one was daring enough to eat one of my toes! He was looking for a tasty snack when I wasn't paying attention but thankfully even though it totally surprised me, it barely hurt and I left with all my appendages.

It seems like there is some sort of Reformation history to remember where ever one goes in Europe. Jan Hus was burned at the stake in Konstanz.

We were able to climb the tower of the church in Konstanz and loved the breathtaking views of the city! It was a beautiful day!

Swiss Miss

I went to Switzerland more times than I can count on this trip...except it was all on the same day! We spent the second day of our roadtrip heading to Lake Konstanz but definitely took advantage of driving along the Swiss and German countryside on our way. The roads seemed to take us in and out of Germany and Switzerland and the farmland was amazing. It definitely was nice to get out of the big city for the weekend. We even stopped to meet a Swiss cow!

Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg, France is located in the Alsace region along the border of Germany. We only spent a few hours here, but it was well worth the stop to see the Cathedral and enjoy some of the local cuisine!

I did not know much about Strasbourg when I arrived there, but later I realized that this was where Calvin spent part of his ministry and the city where he found his wife Idelette.

We ended our evening with some shopping and a nice meal in a local restaurant. My companions enjoyed their oysters while I had to try Choucroute which is the French version of Sauerkraut with different sausages and ham. I promise you it tasted much better than it looks!