So, now that Garret and I have found our rent house (that cute lil gal above), I am SO excited about planning the decor for it and picking out DIY projects for us to tackle. My creativity and "take on way too much at one time"-ness + Garret's mechanical ingenuity and determination could equal either homey awesomeness or (really fun) trouble. (I'm voting for the former, mostly.)
Consequently, I have a new found addiction to HGTV and Apartment Therapy. I can't tell you how many AT posts I have starred in my reader. Because it would be outrageous.
Anyways, today I was enchanted by this gallery of rooms with painted stripes. So dang fun! Can I paint some stripes? Please, Garret!? I mean, no I can't necessarily think of a room in our will-be home where stripes could work, but they're just so pretty to look at! (Ooh! Maybe the office/craft room!?!)
My favorites are the really wide horizontal stripes across just one wall of a room. I think it adds nice visual interest and movement to a space. (And yes, that's me pretending like I know what I'm talking about.)
And, who wouldn't want a circus tent-esque bathroom!?! I'm on board with it. Too bad the bathroom in our quirky lil house has piiink tile. (I'm going to try to play up other, more neutral colors in there so that Garret doesn't throw up every morning.) Anyways... striped bathroom dream officially shot down... for now.
November has flown by. I can't believe Thanksgiving is only a week and a half away! Awesome! Right? I think so. This entry is going to be a bit of a modge podge. Haven't had real clear thoughts lately, so I'm just going to go for it. Thought I was going to go to bed early tonight, but I think writing will be good. Thanks for reading :)
Tonight I listened to more than one JJ Heller song in a row for the first time, and it has been reallyreally life giving. "Love me" is powerful.
This post from Piper was good. I don't know if I've fully internalized these concepts:
....God's free and sovereign heart-changing work is our only hope. Therefore we must pray for a new heart. We must pray for the "want to":
Incline my heart to Your testimonies. (Psalm 119:36)
He has promised to do it:
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes. (Ezekiel 36:27)
I definitely struggle with trying to manufacture my own "want to," putting my confidence in it, and then eventually failing because my strength is insufficient. Sometimes, my own human motivation to do the right thing will work for a good while, and maybe I don't even realize I'm relying on it, but I've learned that it can't truly sustain godly actions. Because, the world and my flesh will thump away at whatever construction paper morals I had been relying on, and one day I will look up and my "want to" is gone without a trace. Grasping through that shame and helplessness towards the neglected power of the Holy Spirit's gracious changing of my soul has been very challenging for me lately.
I really really like this blog. I read the Bright Side Project (and try to win sometimes), and one day I read on there that they had a new weekend editor - Lindsey from A Great Full Day. So, I hopped on over there and was quite pleasantly surprised by the fresh, friendly mix of spiritual Truth, style, and exuberance in her blog. I'm also enjoying this blog that I randomly found. (Both of these ladies' posts often remind me that I too am a font nerd, and really enjoy working with typefaces.)
Along the lines of creativity and typefaces, I've been sitting on a lot of ideas about different prints that I'd like to create. I'd been sketching a lot, but finally spent some time with Illustrator this past weekend. Garret had to go up to work for a little bit on Saturday to transfer some 8mm film, so I tagged along to keep him company. I brought my laptop and it was fun to hangout, help him with his work, work on some of my own projects, and watch strangers' vacation movies from the 60s, lol. So, this is the first thing I came up with.
And here's a zoom of it so you can tell what's going on. A little cheesy maybe, but I got the idea in my head, and was just excited that I could remember how to make my own pattern in Illustrator and apply it.
I've been toying with lots of different ideas of things to design for the wedding, and I'm looking forward to making more of them come to fruition. More is coming soon :)
Our engagement pictures are in! Yipee! I got the links today while I was at work, and it made it really hard to concentrate! I just wanted to look at them and pick out my favorites and have fun!
Here's the slideshow - http://www.fidelisstudio.com/client_slideshow/GarretandLeslie - my fave from that is definitely the last one. I looove that chimney by the snakehouse on our farm. And of course I love it when Garret makes me laugh, which is a lot :)
Also, here's the whole gallery of photos, where there are lots more good ones! The password is leslieandgarret: http://www.kmdfoto.com/pickpic/gallery/splash.php?gallery_id=60. Some of the kissymushy pictures are awkward, but on the whole I really like how they all turned out. That was such a fun day! Which ones are your faves? I'll give you time to form your opinions... okay - some of my faves are: 14, 3, 29, 38, 39, 5, 7 and 9.
Now, our wedding to-do list for the next month or two is: design save the dates, finalize the guest list & round up everyone's addresses, decide where we want to register and maybe start, find bridesmaid dresses, pick florist & caterer. Yeah... that's all I can think of. Planning really has been pretty chill so far. I really want to plan a wedding that is Christ-centered, but also plan it in a manner worthy of the Gospel. Confession: I have very little idea of how to do this. You've probably heard this idea from me before, but I think I'm going to start a blog about planning a wedding and preparing for marriage from a Gospel-minded perspective. See, I wanted to read this blog originally, but I can't find such a thing, so I think I should just write about my journey. I've actually already started it, but I want to get a good amount of content in it before I show it to anyone. So... yeah, please share with me any thoughts you have on that, and I'll have more to share soon!
This past weekend i got to escape to the country. Our family's farm doesn't boast many luxuries, but I thoroughly enjoy the quiet. the loose schedule. the sleeping in. The space. And... the quiet.
And of course, the people. This is my beautiful sister Melissa (Flo) - the best sister ever - and Rocky - the best dog in the whole world. Have I told you about him before? If so, sorry. He is the best dog in the world because he is even-tempered and tough, gentle and wise. Good with kids, and never snarls - except at coyotes. And he has three legs. And he still runs really fast. And my sister loves him a whole lot. Best dog ever.
This is my momma. She likes to go for walks and look for fossils - we actually find a lot out there. She gets pretty excited about interesting rocks. I love my momma!
That's our lake, or at least that's what we call it. A creek flows into it, and the dam that I was standing on to take this photo creates this huge tank. In the bottom of the photo is the valve for the draw-down - turn the wheel to release some of the water out the other side of the dam - but we only use that if the water is way up and... it hasn't been way up in a while. One time last spring Garret and I were riding on the 4-wheeler and got to watch a gorgeous sunset from the top of the dam. That was a really peaceful moment.
Speaking of Garret, here he is fishing with my dad (while I play paparazzi). If you asked me what was the most exciting part of this weekend, I would probably tell you that it was taking engagement pictures with Garret in town and out on the farm. We got to be cuddly and sentimental and goofy, and had a blast - despite the drizzly rain! Our photographers are a lot of fun, and we really enjoyed getting to take photos in neat places like inside the old barn (surrounded by hay, old wood beams, and the occasional hornets' nest) and by the "snake house" chimney. We'll get the pictures back in a couple of weeks, so we're looking forward to that!
All that said, if you asked Garret about this weekend, he would at some point definitely, and excitedly, tell you about all the fish he and my dad caught, which was about 20 each. See, last summer our lake turned over because of a process called eutrofication - which I now better understand because of my job - and that caused a fish kill. All this ironically happened right around the time my dad's mother passed away. Today, the lake has been restocked, the fish have grown, and Dad and Garret caught some that were more than 2 lb.s - which is way exciting compared to zero fish last fall. A little glimpse of restoration, I guess.
This is our grandmother, with baby cousin Hannah a few years ago. I was in China when Grandmother died. This picture is how I choose to remember her; she had a sweet spirit, loved the Lord, always had a kind answer, and loved to say the 23rd Psalm. I really enjoy remembering stories about her, both nostalgic and poignantly funny ones. ("Who's that walkin' heavy?")
Saturday afternoon, rambunctious Hannah was playing with my grandmother's walker, which for whatever reason still sits in her old bedroom. Hannah's mom, Jen, explained to her that yes, that used to be Grandmother's, but now she doesn't need it anymore because she's in heaven with Jesus and she can walk just fine. Just fine. My sister and I were in the bathroom working on getting my hair ready for pictures when we overheard this conversation, and I'm really glad we did, because I treasured that reminder. Thank you Jesus for beautiful hope to rest in now, and for the sure promise of ultimate rest, restoration, and glory.
So, I'm pretty sure anyone who reads my blog already knows this, but yes, Garret and I are engaged! Praise Jesus! I'm veryveryveryvery thankful to have completed the awkward in-between-time b/w commitment and engagement! It's finally sinking in that we really are engaged and really are going to get married in less than a year!!! We're working on a wedding website, and I'll post it here when it's done. For now, here's the proposal story, via some tag-team story telling, and a few photos. More to come later! (This photo where he's on one knee was a reenactment, the day after - just fyi!)
Our Engagement Story
Leslie: The weekend of July 24, I had planned on going home for my Dad’s birthday, but Garret asked if we could stay in town Friday night so that we could have a date night. At first I was a little stubborn about it, but I finally changed my mind, and we planned on going out to eat and then taking a walk around campus. I thought it was just a normal, fun, relaxed date night – I had no idea what he had up his sleeve!
Garret: First, a little back story. For the two weeks previous to the 24th, I had been driving all over the place, sneaking out of town to have the official, “Can I marry your daughter talk” with her dad, buying the ring and taking care of all sorts of other things. I had to figure out a way to get her to stay in town, and it was really stressing me out. Finally, with the help of our close friends she agreed to stay for a supposed date night. Friday night came up and I was so excited. I had never been more confident and nervous about something in my life. We went out to dinner after work and had some good Mexican food and an ice cold Shiner. After dinner we took a walk along our favorite areas of campus, and we ended up at Rudder Tower on our favorite balcony. We sat there for a few minutes before I said, “I need to ask you something.” I pointed to her True Love Waits rings, and said “I’m going to need those.” I hit one knee and said “Will you marry me?” and she said…
Leslie: “SHUT UP! REALLY!?!” – and then “YES!!!!” I was COMPLETELY SURPRISED! I knew it was for real, and I was SO excited! But also, I was totally in shock! Garret did a great job at surprising me and I really had no idea it was going to happen so soon! After he slid a beautiful diamond ring on my finger, we enjoyed the moment for a while, and I tried to let it sink in that we really were engaged! Before we left the balcony, we prayed together, and that’s when it began to solidify in my mind – I’m really going to marry Garret Lee! God is good.
After that, Garret told me that both of our families, Kristi and Derek, and many of our friends were all waiting at my house for an engagement party. I was really excited about that, because I’d specifically asked Garret to orchestrate that if he could – and he did SO good! (And my wonderful roomies helped him out a lot!)
Everyone was waiting in the yard when we pulled up, and that was so much fun! We told everyone the story, took lots of pictures, and celebrated! All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.
I know this is real late, but here's some fun photos from my last Spring Break!
During our roommate weekend extravaganza we had a day at the park and enjoyed playing games, resting in hammocks, and of course swinging on the swings! I love my roomies! After our Shalom Shack Extravaganza weekend, I went home for the rest of the break and enjoyed time with family and friends. It was pretty restful and not too busy.
One night Garret and I, and our BFFS Derek and Kristi all went out fishing at the lake. Me and Kristi were mostly excited. ;)
Friday night Garret and I went out C&W dancing and that was way fun. I had a blast dancing with my man!
My friend from home Lauren, who I've known since kindergarten, got married Saturday. She looked gorgeous! We had a fun time at the wedding. (Above: me, Lauren, Chrissy and Kristi)
Garret and I had a good time at the wedding and enjoyed catching up with old friends.
I also got to see my awesome sister Melissa and her husband Glen. Here they are in their apartment, with a scroll I brought them from EA. I love them a lot :)
Saturday Garret and I went to Calvert, a neat/dead/quaint town about 30 minutes down the road. We strolled down main street (which is highway 6). We ate amazing food at Loretta's cafe. We read historical/hysterical markers. I ate yummy candies at CocoaModa (Garret was suspicious of that place). We looked at old/neat houses. And we generally enjoyed ourselves - it just quite was a good day!
I bet this house was gorgeous in its day. Garret pointed out how neat the top left window was.
My man :)
We really enjoy all the old buildings in Calvert. They have so much character and history.
We love each other :)
This building is NEAT. It's totally fallen apart and there are trees growing inside of it.
As we're finishing up the first week of this semester, here's a random update on me:
After 6 weeks away from school, numerous souvenirs from overseas, and a general lack of discipline, my room now looks as though several fierce ninjas attacked it. Repeatedly.
I'm taking a graphic design class and I'm excited about it! I'm also taking a class called 'Writing for the Web' - so I'm aiming to really and truly be an English major with marketable skills!
My boyfriend is pretty stinking cool. He quickly forgives me over and over again, makes me laugh, and let's me be crazy :)
I need to start job hunting. I am finishing putting together my portfolio this week.
Outside of class, I'm currently in the middle of these fiction books - Fireproof, The Inheritance of Loss, and these non-fiction books - The Heavenly Man, True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing in, Celebration of Discipline, The Anti 9-5 Guide.
My sister Flo gave me a dress form for Christmas. Her name is Betty, and I use her to scare my roommates :)
My friends Kay and Kristin got me hooked on listening to funky European pop music by this guy MIKA, and it's awesome. My fave song is "Big girl you are beautiful."
It's so strange that this is my last semester as a college student. I don't feel like an "adult", but I'll count that as mostly a good thing for now.
Last, the thoughts along the same lines as this quote have been on my mind lately...
"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting -- a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing."-Ralph Waldo Emerson
