God's voice

A few seconds ago, I was mulling over a zillion ideas in my head about what to do for the reception. As I was beginning to fill a wave of stress coming on, I came across our wedding verse and was struck with how God always seems to step in right when it seems like there is too much to handle. Proverbs 3:5,6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight. Praise God for His soothing voice!
We are in the home stretch (17 days!!!) and thankfully we have a lot accomplished- including an amazing fundraising dinner that brought in more than 1200.00 profit! Thanks to everyone who helped out! It was definitely a great success!
So now, my goal is to get everything done before the stereotypical "final/deadly/exhaustive" week that seems to irk everyone right before the wedding day... I figure it would be so much nicer to just put our feet up that week... relax... and enjoy the calming wind of May.
I'm allowed to dream, aren't I??

The Waiting Zone

So, here we are... completely frazzled from Jay trying to run a marathon this past month at work by taking on 12 hour days-4 days a week and then just when he has about had it, goes back on Fridays to work 6 hours. Trish is quickly growing gray hair, trying to tie up loose ends as she finishes up teacher's college and then has a 4 week Special Education placement in April at a high-school. Thankfully, she is able to stay with "the parents" and get meals and great TLC.
Wedding planning is on a nice standstill right now. It's funny... you get engaged. Spend time freaking out because you're so excited. Then spend time freaking out because there is SO much to do in such a SHORT amount of time. You avoid life for a little while. Get the plans all figured out.
Go crazy about the invitations. Order tables and linens. Book caterers. Hire a DJ. Snatch up some wonderful MC's. Discuss Bible passages with the pastor. The list goes on.
You wish you had eloped.
But then...it comes... a complete standstill.
Plans are done. There is nothing to do. You have to sit back and re-learn what it's like to date. Then, in a funny sort of way- you get excited all over again to get married. Unfortunately, you have been blocked in the waiting zone.
56 days and counting...

The "Post-Proposal Period"

Hmm...

Thinking back to everything that has happened in the past 3 weeks, I want to scream. Thinking about everything that has yet to come, I want to scream. Needless to say, there is a slight tension... however, rather than let it get the best of me, I just continue on- contemplating wedding plans, mulling certain ones over in my mind longer than other ones, and processing these with my better half. Thankfully, he always seems to make more sense out of any of my thoughts than I do. All of this thinking and spewing out ideas has gotten Jay and I much farther than where we started from and I am so thankful as to how God has really blessed all of our planning!
After receiving a lot of screams (a.k.a. congratulations) from my girlfriends and "nice", "cool", "good job"'s from Jay's friends, we were then asked many questions (not surprisingly, most of these questions came from the girls). For example, when are you getting married, who's in the wedding party, what's the colour theme... At first, these questions caused some stress, a bit of itching, and just a few advils. However, after spending two full weeks together at Christmas, Jay and I were able to come up with a lot of concrete plans and after making (many!) phone calls and visits, got a lot straightened out. I'd like to especially thank two brave and generous couples right now: Mom and Dad Curry and Mom and Dad Lutter... you guys are wonderful, very helpful, and extremely supportive. Thank you!
For those of you who just can't wait until the wedding, here are some appetizers/secrets/details for you...
The Big Day: May 20, 2006
Wedding location: Trish's home church and a hall 10 minutes away
Wedding party: (Bestman) Josh, groomsmen: Dave, Ryan, Rajeev, Roger
(Maid of Honor) Karina, bridesmaids: Rachel, Candice, Jess, Mandy
Have a wonderful Winter!!
Love Trish (on the behalf of her wonderful fiance)

She said “Yes”!!

Eye spy with my little eye- something that is white gold...

Her side of the story:
(and before I begin…no, I had no idea that he was going to propose so soon)…
So, I know that most of you guys out there are mostly just concerned with buying the ring, finding a magical spot where you can propose and then praying real hard and then praying again that the girl will say yes… but for those of you who are more of the “romantic-let’s hear the details-give me ideas of how I should propose” character… here’s the details of how my wonderful-very romantic- and handsome fiancé popped the question.
We had just finished a delicious and entertaining banquet for Jay’s work in Indianapolis and he told me that he wanted to show me something really beautiful downtown… so he jumped in the driver’s seat and we were off.
Jay stopped the car right beside a parking garage and I figured that he wanted to go for a romantic walk in the parking garage, but to my dismay (just kidding), he wanted to go for a nice stroll alongside a secluded canal. This canal is between two rows of apartment buildings and even though it is in the middle of the city, it is surrounded in quietness and is a perfect getaway.
So, there we were, walking hand in hand along the semi-frozen canal and trying to ignore the cold air. I started to guess at the amount of minutes that it would take to walk to the end of the canal and tell my body that it wasn’t as cold as I thought. However, Jay had other ideas. He led me on to a bridge that ran over the canal and even though I didn’t realize it at the time, started taking nervous breaths and made himself believe that everything would be alright.
As we were walking on the bridge, I noticed that there was a small table with a beautiful green tablecloth on it. Resting on this table were a few candles, a huge bouquet of flowers, and a letter. I proudly announced, “Wow, that is a beautiful memorial!” and tried to imagine the person that had jumped off this bridge and killed himself. Little did I know how incorrect I was! Jay walked over to the table and picked up the letter. After I told him that he shouldn’t read the letter because it was someone else’s mail, he stated that it was addressed to me. As puzzled as I was, he picked up the letter and began to read it. It was about him and I, our past relationship, and our future together. At the end he told me that he had a question for me and got down on one knee (this is where your tissues come out ladies)… and asked “Trish, will you marry me?” Of course, I said yes and cried and laughed and we prayed and I told him I didn’t know how to feel but that I was in complete shock… oh yeah, and he put the ring on my finger… (for some reason, I always seem to forget that part- thankfully he reminds me!) Oh, and to top it all off, his friend that set the table etc up, was hiding in the shadows and taking pictures of the whole engagement. Unfortunately, there are rumors that the pictures will be too dark but black blobs are better than nothing!
Engagements are incredible… I definitely recommend them for everyone!

Where it all began

Many people were surprised- dumbfounded- speechless-shocked- started convulsing…
when they found out that we got engaged and then there were others who sighed and said “Well, it’s about time!”… so this opening blog is for all of you out there who belong in the first category… and for the rest of you… the “X” button is located on the top right hand corner of the screen…
Grab a bag of cookies and sit back and get ready for the love story of your life…

In the early months of 2002, Jay “felt called” to go back and work at Missanabie Woods Academy (MWA) for the Summer. (FYI- MWA is a camp that is located in the frozen/ mosquito-infested- very northern woods of Ontario and is the home to many brave staff members and “unlucky” troubled teenagers). So… in the end of May 2002, Jay packed up his bags and was soon headed off to face the crazy northern climate for the summer…
Little did he know that he would meet the love of his life a few days later.
Upon her arrival at the camp, Trish was in semi-anxious, nervous but excited spirits. Unlike Jay, she had never been an employee at MWA and had only gone north as far as the French River. However, she wanted to do something adventurous that summer and figured that she would just have to trust in God’s strength as she served on the MWA staff. A few days later, she realized that blessings truly do come to those who trust in the Lord!
That summer, Jay and Trish became good friends… nothing more… nothing less. If it wasn’t for Trish dating a California-n that summer, Jay and Trish most likely would have hooked up… but they realized that they would just have to settle for an enjoyable friendship… things soon changed, however, when the two went their separate ways after camp. In November 2002, Jay asked Trish to be his girlfriend and they dated for 9 months.
As in all fairytales of love, there is a climax or obstacle that you need to overcome before you can reach the beautiful denouement (or conclusion). Unfortunately, this certain couple had to experience just that… God needed to pull them apart for two years and work on them separately before He could bring them back together.
In July 2005, Jay came up and visited Trish and her family for 5 days. Even though he just came to visit her “as a friend” and she wasn’t expecting anything else, time would later tell that this was the beginning to a lifetime together forever.
Jay and Trish “officially” started dating on August 19, 2005, shared “I love you’s” and started talking about marriage in October 2005 and got engaged on December 17, 2005. Looking back, there were only 12 weekends that the couple spent together in between those 5 months! However, they were definitely wonderful times together… hanging out in Toronto and eating Chai food while laughing about everything, picking one another up at different airports (experiencing the whole “runway into each other’s arms” scene), praying together, having a marshmallow roast with friends in the sub-zero North Bay woods, and so much more… all the while… starting to realize that they were falling madly in love and experiencing first hand the phrase: “You know when you know”.So, there ya have it… a match made in heaven and two lucky individuals that get to taste the wonder of God!