TOMORROW IS MAY!!!

So, we are having 2 ring bearers... one will carry the pillow, and the other will carry a bible

which we had inscribed today :) I like seeing "Derik & Brittney Melton" :)

Premarital Counsel #2: Waffles and Spaghetti

We had our 2nd Premarital Counsel this morning... you can read about the first here. :)

We talked a lot about the differences in a man and woman's brain... it was quite entertaining :)

Men are left brained: practical/resonable/straight forward/one-track mind
Women are right brained: emotional/creative/artistic/multi-tasker

If we were both right/or left brained... humanity would have ceased to exist...

Back in the day, before the industrial revolution, men were either farmers or hunters. The women didn't have birth control... so their primary role was the care-giver of the home, with many kids. The men went and hunted... if they got distracted or read the animal tracks wrong (or whatever) their family would have gone hungry for the day. They didn't have refrigeration or anything... so, they had to go out for their food everyday... men are assignment-oriented... our pastor said "what if the hunter was distracted by a field of flowers - oh those are the prettiest flowers (something a girl would do) - his family would starve" on the other hand... at home... what if the woman was like "fend for yourselves... I can only do one thing at a time" to her kids?? Humanity would probably not be existing. But, that's why women are multi-taskers and men are not... it's the way we were created by God to exist.

Our pastor also said (which I find funny) "Men are simple beings... that doesn't excuse D or any man for their actions... but, God created Adam as a prototype... we are simple, one task at a time kind of a being..." - "But, God made an upgrade in Eve" :)

One of the greatest analogies was "men are like waffles, women are like spaghetti" -->

WAFFLES have compartments... men compartmentalize... so, there's a compartment for work/home/Brittney/hobbies... etc. and those compartments don't ever touch. Our preacher said, "Brittney, you're going to realize that D's not going to think about you at work, because he's in his "work" compartment..." haha! Many women don't seem to understand this, because we're like SPAGHETTI... He said - Brittney, you are a multi-tasker... EVERYTHING touches (hence the spaghetti)... you're thinking about work/Derik/cleaning the house/the laundry/ what you're going to wear tomorrow/what you're going to eat for dinner etc.... hahaha! IT'S SO TRUE!!!

Bro. Steve said... "D - you better not lie to her, because she'll catch you in a yankee minute" he said it's been studied but not identified why women can read into things and how we can almost always tell if something's wrong... or if you're not being truthful! crazy stuff!

He also said that there's a study on the amount of words a man and a woman speak a day...

Men = 15,000
Women - 25,000

THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE

He said... men are straight forward and they think of talking as not talking, but sending a recieving messages. Women are much more relational... they want to know how their husband's day went... but D - you're probably going to fill your quota of words at your job... and when you come home you're thinking - "I don't want to talk, I am spent..." but Brittney may have been stuck at home and didn't get ANY of her quota filled... she wants to know how your day went... what you ate for lunch... who you are friends with at your office... etc... and it's going to drive you nuts. And it will drive you nuts, Brittney, that D doesn't want to talk about it...

HAHAHA! I LOVE IT! We can ALREADY see these things in our relationship. We've been dating for almost 4 years... it's so funny!

Can't wait to see what's next!

Weird

It is PRETTY weird seeing that ticker (above) not showing a month... but instead DAYS!!! 

after today is over... there will be 3 more saturdays and THAT'S IT!!!

Candelabras

We ordered 2 of these today :)
There are beautiful rustic iron candelabras that will be on stage while D and I marry :)

ONE MONTH!!!!!!

It is so surreal, that... within the next 30 DAYS I will become a MRS.!!! OH MY!

30 days
or 4 weeks
or 4 Saturdays (hearing that is fun!) :)

I want to remember it ALL!!!
This is so fun! :)

So, on this one month countdown day... I feel like I can breathe easier at what's been accomplished:

1) final payment to florist
2) photography schedule for wedding day
3) meeting with rental company tomorrow at 10:30am
4) finalized Cake details
5) meeting with our reception venue for last details May 2 @ 2pm
6) emailed florist little details
7) emailed DJ for a meeting

I still have a lot to do, but earlier this week I was hyperventilating... I felt like I had SO much to do... It's mostly last minute details (as you can see) I need to meet/call each of these vendors to tell them times... so that will be next :)

YAY ONE MONTH!!!

on the Eve of the ONE MONTH MARK!!!

That's right... tomorrow will be ONE MONTH!!!!

OH MY GOOOOODDDDNNNESSSS!

Weekends to come...

See post below... and...

Another reason why I am hyperventilating:

Here you go:
Saturday: Senior photo Session and my Brother's Prom
Sunday: Family Shower (and I'm sure I'll work on some photos)
Saturday: nothing right now... but we will be in MAY!!! oh my gosh!
Sunday: Senior Photo Session (different senior)
Saturday: last minute planning I'm sure
Sunday: Mother's Day
Saturday: EXACTLY ONE WEEK - I am hyperventilating... someone else is getting married... don't think I'm going... haha! too much stuff to do!
Sunday: Brother's Senior brunch at church
Saturday: HELLO WEDDING!!!!!
Sunday: HELLO MEXICO!!!

AHHH! breathe Brittney breathe!

Sorry

It's been a while... not much has been going on, but today I am starting to feel the pressure.

On Thursday we will be at the 1 MONTH mark... I'm hyperventilating as we speak/type.

I started thinking of every little detail. I even had second guesses about my dress! For goodness sake, I've already taken my bridal pictures in this dress and I'm having second thoughts!? I keep going back to this one dress in my head. Don't get me wrong, I love my dress... it's my favorite... but why in the world NOW!? Why today would I think about that when I already have a dress I love! Something is wrong - haha!

I think I'm stressed out too because D does not have a job yet, and we don't know where we're living yet. In the midst of all the planning and checking off... and last minute details... I will be moving... but to where, we don't know.

I think once all those things are figured out... I will be stressing a lot less! I'm just having trouble breathing right now.

Did anyone else have these problems!?

Premarital Counsel #1

Today we met with our Pastor for our first premarital counsel session.

It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot in just the first day. It was also really surreal! We are REALLY getting married :)

He had us do our vows at the very start. He wanted us to understand the covenant of marriage and the commitment we will make. So, we already said our "I do's" haha! After, our pastor said, "well give her a kiss or something" haha! :) oh gees. Derik said, hey we're married now! haha - no, no... not yet. But, we have made a commitment :)

Our pastor mentioned God's view on marriage. God only mentions it like 3 times in the bible. The first in Genesis and then again in Ephesians and then again somewhere else in the New Testament.

"Genesis 2:24 - For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

Our pastor says "what is missing in God's design for marriage, what does it NOT call for?" D guessed it, but I was a little slow. What is missing is the word LOVE. God does not mention the word LOVE in his formula for marriage. God does not require LOVE for marriage... it may seem strange, but listen here... God knows that LOVE is not constant, you may fall in and out of love... you may want to strangle your husband one day and feel like you want to go to a movie with him the next... LOVE is a beautiful thing, but God does not base marriage on LOVE being constant. That's why it's not in the formula. Our pastor said, "I don't doubt that you love one another, but Brittney you're going to get mad and want to hit him over the head with a frying pan someday (haha) and D, Brittney's going to drive you crazy one way or another... if I asked you then, do you love her/him... it'd be hard to say yes." But, that's the reason God does not require LOVE. He requires a commitment. Where it says united.... it means together/commit... not LOVE. We are committed regardless of if we are in LOVE or not at any given moment.

We in English, only have ONE WORD to describe Love... it's LOVE. But, there are 3 greek words for the word LOVE in the new testament:

Eros - this is where we get the work "Erotic" for sensual/sexual love... passionate
Phileo - think of Philadelphia - the city of Brotherly Love... it's an emotional kind of love... best friends have this kind of love
and then...
Agape - this is God's kind of love... no one can love like God can. But, he lends this type of love to husbands and wives... we are to show an Agape kind of love to our husbands/wives. But, we can only do it through HIM.

Awesome to ponder on I think... Our society falls in and out of love and goes through divorces because they base their view of marriage on "are we in love or not?". Our pastor gave us an example of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. He said, they took the Eros kind of love and the Phileo kind of love... it was emotional and sensual... but they didn't have the Agape kind of love that marriages need to be based on... not selfishness, but SELFLESS-NESS! (I love me some Jennifer Aniston, this is only an example) :)

He also gave us this illustration/story. It's not theologically correct, but good. Here goes:

A man died and was brought to the gates of heaven. St. Peter said "well, do you want to go to Heaven or Hell" the man said, "I'd like to visit each and then decide." So St. Peter took him to Hell first. Hell was described as a long warehouse of a place, long wooden tables all throughout. On each table was a BIG pot of stew. Delicious Stew. It smelled good to the man. Then the man noticed the people. They were all anorexic looking, skinny, mal-nourished, and starving. He noticed that their left hand was tied to their side and their right hand was tied to a 3-foot long spoon. They could dip their spoon in the pot, but the spoon was too long to turn around and eat out of. They kept spilling it on themselves. The man said, this is too sadistic... this is terrible... can we go see Heaven now. So, St. Peter took him to Heaven. Heaven was described very similar to hell. There was long tables and the same big pot of stew. It smelled good to the man. He noticed the people... they were big, fat, happy, and laughing a lot. They too had their left hand tied down to their side, their right hand tied to the same 3-foot long spoon. But, these people weren't feeding themselves, instead, they would reach the spoon across the table to feed the others.

Agape love is not about selfishness... it's about SELFLESS-NESS!

I will try and share more as we go to our other sessions :)

What I've Done...

Here’s the Deal. Bold the ones you’ve done. Simple right? From looking at my list it seems I still have quite a bit to do.
Copy & Post this into your blog if you ever need a post or just want to do it!

Some of these will happen soon and very soon - within 1 or 2 months soon :)

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (maybe soon - haha)
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites (SOON)
70. Taken a martial arts class (if Billy Blanks counts)
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married (VERY SOON)
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (If Israel counts)
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed (HOPEFULLY SOON) :)
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (if fishing counts??)
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

OH MY Goodness!

I don't know what would happen if this happened to me... I would obviously be happy, but then very worried. Oh my! At least they found it!

Here is the link to the article.

Not a lot

Well, honestly not a lot has been going on. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing - haha!

I have some senior portraits to do tomorrow. That will be fun. Easter is always fun!

I just got my invitation to my "shower" if you get my drift... so fun and they are so cute!!

My parents gave D and I their wedding present to us this week ~ a wonderful night's stay in a hotel downtown the night of our wedding! :) And - it's on the river side :) SO NICE and one more thing that we can cross off our list!

We are meeting with our pastor this Tuesday and also meeting with a lady who will help us with decor on Wednesday. I have to schedule a meeting with our Florist, Baker, and Reception Venue to take care of last minute details and changes.

GIRLS - Do I ever need to work out. I started doing WW for like a month. I think I had lost somewhere between 3-5 lbs. That's because I was also working out. I have not gone to work out since LAST Monday! It makes me sick... and the worst part of it is - when I am stressed (which this week definitely brought on) I start to eat more and worse. Some people eat less, why can't that be me!? But, I have gained weight again.

So, I hope to get back on track. I don't need to drop a lot of pounds at all... I like my size, just want to tone up and loose some middle section :) especially for the honeymoon! So, really just work out as much as I can :)

I can't believe that next week we'll be in the 30's in our countdown!!!!

1 1/2 months EXACTLY!

Sorry for my Debbie-Downer post the other day. It was just all these things that built up and I just cracked :)

But, today is much better, better things have happened AND because we only have 1 1/2 MONTHS LEFT!!!! HOW did it get to this point... it's SO CLOSE!!!

After this weekend, I can count on ONE HAND how many weeks are left until the wedding!!! AHH!

Just one of THOSE days!

It's just one of THOSE days!

ya know where you feel like everything is going wrong.

OH my gosh, I've had a really stressful day today. To preface, D is still looking for a job, about ONE MONTH to go before the wedding. We still don't know where we're living... it's all stressing me out. I'm believing God is bringing us something great. I've held together, haven't broke down, and I believe that HE will provide... when this happened...

My mom asked to eat lunch with D and I. Which is, normal. But, I had suspicions. We ordered for her and waited. She sat down and said "Well, I have some bad news" She goes on to say that the church, our church, is not going to be ready for our wedding. It has been in the construction phase for a while and was supposed to be ready by the wedding. But, God has different plans.

It's really not the worst thing that could happen... really it's not. I'm still marrying the man I love and it's still going to be a magical day. But, it just not what was envisioned - you know. You only get married once, and I had envisioned the new church. We are still marrying in our church, just in the older building. I just envisioned being in the new building. Thought about everything... the decorations... pictures that would be taken... etc.

Am I being too unreasonable to still want it in the new buliding? Am I being too crazy? They said there is a chance it could be ready - but it is slim. They are hoping it'll be ready for our wedding. The church was originally supposed to be ready Mother's Day - 2 weeks before the wedding. That was cutting it close, but now they are not sure when at all. I'm praying that if God wants it in the new building, then we will be in the new building. But, it's still hard for me.

I had a break down and have been under a cloud all day... I just want this day to be over. I want to hear some good news on all accounts. D will have a job, we have an apartment - or at least know where we'll live, that the church is ready. But, as my mom said "have faith that you will be taken care of"

So, I am trusting and having faith that God will bring us through it all. I know one day I will look back at this and laugh, or at least think to myself, "what was the problem, why was I so worried!?" But, right now, it's just a lot to take!

I wish I was home snuggled up in my bed with a good book, but... I am at work.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. It's my therapy today :)

Weekend Recap - yes another one :)

Hey Ladies...

I am so sad to be back from such a fun weekend. But, it's ok... because that means I'm that much closer to the wedding!

Me and my mom headed north for my BRIDAL portriats!!! It was so fun and so magical and as my best friend said - "Remember to Remember" and to soak it all in... I hope I did just that! It was a blast!

After the wedding, you can view the pics here :)

So we took pictures Saturday it was a beautiful day. It was a little hot, but I'm glad we didn't do it on Sunday... Sunday it was windy and COLD!

On Sunday, my mom and I hit the Outlets :) I did some damage for honeymoon wear:

I got 3 shirts... a dress to go away in - surprise :) 

The Coach clutch in the pic is a fun story... so, I was going to see about getting a small clutch to carry around on the honeymoon.. that way D wouldn't have to lug around a wallet, plus we would be going swimming a lot, and that just doesn't add up... Wallet + Swimwear = NO :) So... I found this clutch... cute, but it was originally $89. ehh - Not so much! This coach lady said "oh, no, that's from the $39 bin" - "Where did you get this?" I showed her... she said, "we haven't seen that color green strap in a while, let me go scan it for you." She came back and said "what do you want it for?" I was like... she wants me to BID on it? haha! She said... the style is older, so it's on sale for $15!!!!!! $15 for ANYTHING COACH... for reals!!

IT'S HERE

TOMORROW I WILL BE TAKING MY BRIDAL PORTRAITS!!!

YAY!

Looking Forward to...

Right now I am looking forward to a LOT of things!!!

Lets start with this weekend:

I'm so looking forward to my BRIDALS! need I say more! :)
I want to be radiant... like this:

courtesy: Crosswhite Photography - This is my photographer!!!

I'm soo looking forward to having a weekend AWAY... me and my mom are going to have fun :)

I'm sooo looking forward to my next shower! FUN!

I'm soooo looking forward to ALL the festivities and BIG events leading up to the big day:

the Rehearsal Dinner
the Shower after ;)
getting ready in the morning, hair, makeup, fun with all my ladies :)
putting on my dress!
taking pictures
walking down the aisle with my dad
seeing my wonderful future husband awaiting me on the other end
becoming a MRS. ~ a WIFE!!!! oh my goodness :)
celebrating with those we love most
going away as HUSBAND and WIFE!!
being with the one I love forever!

Looking Forward to SO MUCH!