Moving!

School ended on Thursday. I moved out of my apartment on Saturday. We were blessed to have many friends come help us load all my stuff into a U-Haul for the 3-mile drive to the New Apartment. In the past few days, Deric and I have worked a lot to make things feel settled...it's coming along quite nicely! :)





Marisa makes sure no one steals my goods. :)



this caravan cracked me up. a U-Haul, pick-up, motorcycle, and SUV...all for one one-bedroom apartment. :)


Bryan takes a breather after hauling stuff up 3 flights of stairs.



our first dinner guests came over Saturday night. We had a classy dinner of beer, reheated pizza, and popcorn. :)

Our first romantic dinner in the New Place: Thai take-out. :)


Here are the latest photos, taken Wednesday evening. Notice the suitcases. We leave early tomorrow morning for a week's visit to the East Coast!

Getting the Marriage License!

A visit to VA!

Deric & I are heading to Virginia on Thursday (5-22), and we're excited!! We're only there for a few days, and I'm going to try to show him as much as I can. There are several things we'll try to do, like sightseeing in DC and hiking Skyline Drive. Friends and family are invited to join us for any of our adventures. :) If you'd like to see our "schedule," it's posted as a note on Facebook. Or you can email me and I'll send it to you. Otherwise, just give me a call.

Visitors!

It's been a blessing to have so many out-of-state visitors over the past 3 months! Laura came is late February, Mom a couple days after her, Gramma and Grampa in early March, Deric's parents and brother the second weekend in March, and Stacie in early April! Here are some photos from their visits:

Wedding Planning!

It's been a LONG time since I've posted something here. Perhaps that's because life's been a blur lately. Not a bad blur. A fun blur. But a blur nonetheless. :) It's been months of balancing of work, school, homework, jazzericse, spending time with people (including a few out-of-state visitors!), and WEDDING PLANNING. Planning for 6-7-08 has been fun, and I'm so thankful for Deric and all of his help. Even though he's taking 16 grad-school credits and working part-time, he still makes time every Saturday to sit together and plan. It truly has been a fun process for us, and it's bonding us together. I'm also thankful for our amazing parents and friends for all of their help. Only 42 days left, but we have all the big things done! To catch everyone up, here are some snapshots of the planning process from the past 3 months:


One of our first Saturdays of wedding planning. (Location: Jefferson County Public Library. Date: February 16, 2008)

We're working our way through a book called 10 Great Dates Before You Say "I Do."It's a great book recommended to us by our friends the Clarks. Each week we go out for a fun date and read a chapter of the book together. (Location: Applebee's Restaurant, Date: February 15, 2008)

Registering was SO MUCH FUN! (Location:Bed, Bath and Beyond and Target, Date: March 22, 2008)



Our "Invitation-Preparation Party," where it took us about 3 hours to stuff and label the invites. Thanks to our friends for helping! (Location: Jess's apartment,Date: April 19, 2008)

I'm ENGAGED!!!

Yesterday was my birthday and last night was an evening full of surprises, the biggest of which was a Big Question along with a sparkly diamond ring! Yes, Deric proposed, and I said YES. I'm SO EXCITED and also still in shock...I wasn't expecting his question to come last night, but I'm glad it did!

Here's the full story: I knew Deric wanted to celebrate my 27th birthday with me and that he had special plans, but I had no idea what they were. He picked me up around 5:30 and we went to a super-cute and classy German restaurant in downtown Denver called "Cafe Berlin." As we approached the restaurant he said, "This is as close to Germany as I can get you right now." :) It was so great to eat German food, hear German music and speakers, and see photos of Germany...I had flashbacks to my childhood. :)


After dinner we walked a bit and then a horse-drawn carriage pulled up. (He'd made reservations for the carriage). We enjoyed a 30-minutes carriage ride through downtown with a very nice and talkative driver. :) It was so quaint and fun, especially because most of the Christmas lights were still up.



After our ride we started walking back toward the car and, for the first time all evening, Deric started acting a bit nervous as he started sharing some words from his heart. For the first time all evening, I thought, "Oh my gosh, is he going to propose?" We were approaching a statue of a bull when he stopped, turned to face me and kept saying schmoopy stuff. Then he said, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you" and got down on one knee (yes, right there in the snowy sidewalk!). He pulled a ring box out of the inside pocket of his overcoat (which I was wearing because I was so cold) and asked me to marry him. I felt like I was in a dream or watching us on TV or something. I couldn't believe it was actually happening! I giggled and said yes and he said, "I just want to take the bull by the horns"* and I started cracking up. He stood up and we hugged and kissed, then he pulled the ring out of the box and explained why he picked the one he did. ""The two bands become one and the diamond is at the center... So, the diamond represents Christ; His work and grace in each of our lives and His place at the center of our relationship. The two bands represent two individuals blending into one. " My hands were shaking as he placed the beautiful ring on my finger. It fits perfectly, and I LOVE it. :)

*For those of you who don't know, I really like the phrase, "Take the bull by the horns." :)


I was still very much in shock and thinking, "What just happened? Did that really just happen?" when a homeless man came up and asked us for money. Deric talked with him for awhile, which gave me a chance to take some deep breaths and gaze at the rock on my left hand. After the homeless man left, we took a couple pics by the bull, prayed together, and then Deric said, "Let's go to Starbucks...there are some friends there to see us." He'd told our close friends to meet us there for a "birthday celebration." Only one of them (Deric's roommate) knew about the proposal. It was such a blast to be with those close friends and enjoy the moment and excitement. I was so giddy I couldn't even eat my birthday cake! :)







After we all left Starbucks, Deric and I drove back to my apartment and tried to just bask in the moment and soak it all in. We asked each other a lot of questions, brainstormed about the future, spent some more time in prayer, and just enjoyed being together.

I still can't believe that I'm engaged to Deric Sneller! This whole relationship has been one surprise after another, and last night was no exception! God is so faithful, so full of surprises, and the Giver of all good gifts. I thank and praise Him for bringing Deric and me together and to this place, and I look forward to the future!

PS: None of the dates, places, or other details are confirmed yet, since we only had an hour or so to brainstorm about them last night. Don't worry, I'll keep you all posted! :)

"Only the Black Notes"

Wintley Phipps explains negro spirituals and then sings "Amazing Grace."

hiking near Phoenix