Monday August 20: My last morning in our new apartment as a single woman did not go so well. I had moved in to our one bedroom place about a month prior and had been sleeping on a wimpy twin air mattress which was the only piece of furniture in the room. It was the beginning of the second week of the school year and I was running on high stress and little sleep as I was trying to get my week+ worth of sub plans ready on top of preparing to fly to Phoenix for my wedding! I was so overwhelmed and I do NOT handle being overwhelmed very well :/ I'm not really sure what happened but I woke up that morning to my boss calling me and wondering where I was. Yikes! Worst nightmare come true! I scrambled out of bed, threw clothes and makeup on and raced to work. I must have turned off my alarm instead of snoozing and never woke up again. It was horrible. What a way to start your second week as a first year teacher and your last day before taking a 2 week vacation. I think I called Zach on my drive and cried to him about how my day was ruined. He, like always, graciously encouraged me to not let this get me down but to have a positive attitude and let it go. Miraculously I made it to school only about 5-10 minutes after the kids did but as I made the walk of shame to my classroom I just couldn't wait to be out of there at 4pm and on a plane the next day!
Tuesday August 21: I stayed the night at Jeff and Tina's Monday night because the three of us were flying out of Fort Wayne early Tuesday morning (Zach wasn't coming until Wednesday). Jeff wasn't feeling the greatest and we were all ready to get our day of traveling over with. We got to the airport and on our flight to Minneapolis I sat by a nice man who's kids attended a Christian school and he was on the board of trustees. He was interested in Gateway and our ministry so we talked the entire flight. Flight to Phoenix was uneventful because I don't remember it... We landed in Phx around noon or so and decided that I would wait with Jeff and Tina to get their rental car and then they would take me to my parent's house rather than mom coming to pick me up. We hopped on the shuttle that took us to the rental car terminal and Stedman Graham, Oprah's boyfriend, was on the shuttle! Super random!! Everyone was whispering about it and one lady even snuck a picture of him with her phone. When we got to the terminal it was estimated to be over an hour wait! Stedman got his car right away (perks to being Oprah's man). We were pretty annoyed but realized there was nothing we could do and had to tough it out. Jeff was feeling worse and I was anxious to get home. We ran into Phil, Gail, and Javan there and spent time with them while they waited which was fun.
Once we finally got the car we headed to Tempe to my house where mom had Paradise Bakery sandwiches ready for us, yum :) We talked about going out to eat that night but Jeff still wasn't feeling good and thought he better rest. As soon as they left for their hotel, mom, the girls and I headed to my last dress fitting. The whole experience with my dress was strange. Since I was young I have always dreamed about my wedding dress but when it came time to actually try some on I didn't like the way I looked in my dream dresses (all lace, lace sleeved). Maybe I didn't try on enough or at the right places...I don't know. All I know is that when I tried my dress on for the first time at the shop I felt beautiful! It was empire and flowy (nothing like what I imagined) but I felt like me in it! The problems came when I went to the alterations lady because I had to make it more modest and the 100+ degrees in AZ made having a 3/4 sleeved dress (which was what I wanted) unrealistic. She talked me into using extra from the train to make a sheer high neck and cap sleeves. Again, not what I ever imagined or wanted and I'm still not sold on what I wore that day but hey, it's not about the clothes, right?
I kind of forget what happened later that day... Maybe we shopped for hair stuff or other wedding details. We might have even gone to the Fellowship Hall to start setting up. No clue. Probably had a melt down at home as that seemed to be the trend when I came home from IN. My sisters and I would have a hash out session about our feelings and emotions while Mom tried to mediate until Dad came home to be the peacemaker :)
Wednesday August 22: This is where it gets fuzzy. We must have picked up Zach and his groomsmen Aaron at the airport that morning. I was glad to have them there but also nervous because for some reason I felt pressured to show the out of towners a good time while still preparing for a large wedding on Sunday. Two very hard things to do at once. I wanted to show them the town but was made aware (by my mother) that we really didn't have time for all that. I think we stopped at Jeff and Tina's to say Hi and take Tina with us to help set up the reception. Jeff stayed back for work conferences and to keep resting.
The time at the FH was super stressful for me (this is where my grace didn't shine through). I think I was lacking vision/direction in what I wanted it to look like. I had such a hard time planning an AZ wedding in IN. I felt I had no time to search for ideas or really collect things because it was hard to take anything to AZ. I also just wasn't interested. I have always LOVED weddings but for some reason I didn't want to plan my own. Maybe it was the distance or the stressful circumstances of starting a new job as a teacher that required a lot of my time, focus, and energy that made wedding planning look like another exhausting task. Whatever the reason I didn't handle setting up the reception well. I had no clue what I really wanted and everyone kept asking me questions I couldn't answer. I was also stressed about our two families spending time together for the first time. I had nothing to worry about but you always hear stories about the Moms meeting and it all going badly. For some reason I feared that's what would happen. Thankfully I was afraid for nothing. That night Zach got to spend some quality time with my family before we drove him up to where he was going to be staying for the week with his friend Aaron's family that lived on Happy Valley Rd, almost an hour from where we live. Super inconvenient!!
Thursday August 23: We had planned to take a fun day and drive up to see the Grand Canyon. I convinced Alyse to go with me, Zach, and Aaron and I'm so glad she agreed. We had a great time! We left early in the morning and stopped for breakfast in Flagstaff with Emily who wasn't coming down until Friday. Once we got to the Grand Canyon, storm clouds were beginning to roll in. Fortunately they held off enough for the boys to get their first view of the beauty of the canyon. After only about 15 minutes the storm rolled into the canyon and filled it with fog so you couldn't see anything. There was even blots of lighting happening below the rim! While it rained we walked through the museum exhibits in El Tovar and the Kolb Studio. Once it cleared the boys headed down Bright Angel Trail for a jaunt and Alyse and I looked through the gift shops and chatted. We were getting ready to go and wondered how far the boys had gone. As Alyse and I were scanning the trail we saw what we thought was Zach and Aaron and yelled across the canyon at them. They heard us and yelled back!! Zach got funny and shouted "will you marry me?" Some lady nearby thought it was real and thought it was adorable haha :) Then we saw them running and talking to what looked like a ranger :/ They had gotten scolded for shouting because they could have been mistaken for being in trouble and needing help. Oops :/ We then made the 4 hour trip back to Phoenix where, after dropping the boys off, Alyse and I impulsively bought an overpriced veil at David's Bridal. Here's some pics from the G.C
Friday August 24: Friday was stressful. We found out either on Thursday or Friday that Jeff was checked into the hospital in Phoenix and was diagnosed with double pneumonia. We were all scared but hopeful that he would be released before the wedding. By Friday afternoon it was looking pretty doubtful. Everyone was very sad as we came to grips with the reality that he might not be able to witness his son get married. I felt angry that God would not allow a father to be at his son's wedding. I was crying on the phone with Tina about my anger and sadness and she encouraged me not to go down that path, not to blame God but to praise him for allowing the sickness to be discovered before it was too late and remember that it was God that brought Zach and I together, without Him there wouldn't even be a wedding. Friday at the FH was emotional with the news of Jeff and the stress of setting up a wedding I just couldn't envision. Zach and I struggled with communicating as I was wanting him to go to the airport to pick up the IN guests but he felt like he wasn't enough help to me. It was chaotic and confusing. Skipping the details...we were late picking up the IN arrivals and the family van was on the fritz but it all worked out in the end. Then there was the issue of not enough vehicles to get everyone where they needed to be. Tyler K was hosting all the guys for a bachelor party for Zach and there was confusion on how to get him there (there was just a lot of unnecessary driving around). James E came to the rescue and said he would drive some people to their destinations. Amy was also a godsend because of her help, support and friendship! Poor mom was worried because Zach and I kept taking time away to "talk things out". She feared that because we kept having communication issues something must not be right. I just had to reassure her that all was well and we were still learning how to effectively and respectfully communicate and disagree :) All of the girls from IN and some PHX girls were going to Amanda K's house for food and fun and I was able to join them for a couple hours of just kicking back with my girlfriends and venting about the stresses and emotions of the week. Shout out to all of those amazing girls (Amy, Laura, Bethany, Cec, Amanda, Kaits to name just a few). My phone ended up too close to the pool while some girls jumped in and it spent the night in a bowl of rice. Ay carumba!
Saturday August 25: Another fuzzy day. Got up to meet the bridesmaids at a nail salon for manis and pedis :) A must for this girl who loves being pampered!
Debrands for each guest :)
Dear friends!
Sisters
So that concludes the wedding week. Sorry for all the long and boring details, it's really for my nostalgic and memory preserving purposes. A post about our wedding and honeymoon with pictures to come :)
 Looking back at that day I smile and sigh but I also remember that week as be...){kind=link}
Read it. Loved it. You are a wonderful writer! I look forward to keeping in touch a little bit better through reading your blog!! Love you!
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