I Will Rise and Sing

I am so excited to be linking up with Martha Kate and Jenni for Wednesday's Words. This is such a wonderful idea and such a great opportunity to reflect on His goodness on our little spaces of the web. 

So, today I want to share a song that a good friend played for me. You might have already heard it...it is just too good!

"I won't fear what tomorrow brings. With each morning I'll rise and sing. My God's love will lead me through. You are the peace in my troubled sea."

 

 I love the {above} line in this song...each morning no matter the circumstance I will rise and sing, I can be full of joy! It is because of God's abundant and magnificent love for me that I can do so. Will I have hard days? Heck yes. But my God will lead me through...He brings me peace in every calm and in every storm. Because of Him, I do not fear for he brings me peace, joy and comfort.

I hope this song brings you JOY today! Happy Wednesday, friends!

One Year of Marriage

Warning: Sappy Post.

Today, Robert and I, are celebrating one year of marriage!

 I really cannot believe it has already been a year since the day we said "I do". The day we were married was one of the best days of my life, but man this first year of marriage has by far surpassed that one day.

Marriage ia an incredibly beautiful thing, a true gift from God. 

This past year has been full of ups and downs, laughs and tears, lots of learning and a whole lot of love. 

 

God has taught us more than I ever could imagine through this union. We are learning better to love like he loves. To show grace in all circumstances. And to forgive always. We are experiencing just a glimpse of how great His love is for us. 

We love because He first loved us. 

1 John 4:19

Robert, Thank you for loving me with an indescribable love. Thank you for leading our marriage in the way God had instructed you to. I  am so grateful for your kind heart, your patience and your never ending hugs. Your positivity even in the tough times is inspiring and your love for all those around you constantly encourages me to be my best. Thank you for making me laugh like no one else can, for singing at the top of your lungs in the car with me and for all the kisses and hugs. You make life fun, exciting and just plain the best. Thank you Jesus for this man, my husband. Thank you for the gift of him and the gift of marriage. Robert, I am so grateful for you. I love you more than I could ever explain, but I promise to always try. You are one incredible man, friend and husband. I am so glad and so incredibly grateful I get to do this life with you, my love. I love you forever and ever, with all my heart, to infinity and beyond. 

Happy one year baby!

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs^.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

1 Corinthians 13: 1-8

End Sappy Post :)

April Goals

Last month, I started blogging a few goals for each month. And I am so glad I did! Because I had them out in the open, it held me more accountable to accomplish each one. 

So first off let's do a recap of my March goals...

1. Quiet Time Daily- I wish I could say I was perfect with this one, but I definitely missed a few days. I did finish my Wife After God bible study and just truly learned so much from it. I highly recommend it. It was so great to be in the word every day (almost) this past month and I, of course am going to make this a continuous goal of mine, like it really has always been. There is not much that is more important!

2. Be a Healthier Me- This month was my best month by far in a long time! So I would say I accomplished this goal! BUT I know I can be better. I cut out diet cokes completely and plan to leave them out for good. Most of the time I treated treats as treats but some days did not. So I am happy with the improvement I made but know there is always room for more! So this as well, will be a continually goal of mine- a life goal.

3. Finish Planning our Italy Trip- ALL of our hotels our booked!! Accomplished!

4. Go See Grease the Musical- When my mom visited, we had such a fun girl's night and saw the musical. We are so glad we went and it was such a blast! The music was in English and the speaking parts in German, but surprisingly we kept up!

5. Go on more Walks with Roberto- We did! It truly is one of my favorite things to do with my husband. Love the time with him in the outdoors.

Now onto...

1. Go on a picnic with Roberto- or two!  We went on a picnic last fall and it was wonderful! There are so many places here to go out and enjoy the weather and sit and relax on blanket, especially since the weather is warming up!

2. Read Five Love Languages with Rob- we started this book before we were married but through all the craziness never finished it. So this is the month!

3. No Fried Foods- just another step to a healthier me- I am sure I will make a goal like this each month. This goal will not be forever (I love my fries too much!) but eliminating them this month will be great for my health, for sure!

4. Read Lonely Planet Italy books- that way I am fully prepared for our trip! I need to learn exactly what we should see, good restaurants, secret tips, ect.

5. Go to a Soccer Game- Rob and I have been meaning to go to a soccer, well futbol, game here for some time. This month we promised each other we would make it happen! It is by far the most popular sport here and I know it will be a blast to go to.

And there ya have it! Ready for April and all it has to bring. 

What are some of your goals for this month?

The Wedding Day: The Ceremony

After recapping The Bridal Brunch, Rehearsal, Getting Ready, some Formals and a Special Moment (whew!), it is finally time to share the Ceremony!

The time had finally arrived...it was time to walk down the aisle to my (almost) husband! The ceremony started, the organ blasting full force- such a beautiful sound. The candles are lit by the best candle lighters, family makes their way down the aisle, the bridesmaids and groomsmen arm in arm make there way to the front, then the flower girls and ring bearers, all to the beautiful Canon in D.

^^^poor Lylah, all those people are scary. Being a flower girl is not always fun :)^^^

As I was waiting my nerves were out of control! It was such an exciting nervous feeling. It finally hits you- this is it! I am about to walk down the aisle to my groom and say yes to forever. The best feeling in the world. So I take a deep breath, grab my brother's arm and the Bridal Chorus starts. The guests rise, the doors open and there he is...the man I will spend the rest of my life with, the man I am so madly in love with. And all the nerves go away. You think I am joking? But it is so true! As soon as I saw him, the nerves settled and nothing but joy filled inside of me. We start walking down the aisle...Rob just smiling away up at the front and me, grinning from ear to ear. It is here. I glance at my mama, who is shedding happy tears on the front row and then I reach my groom.

Our pastor, Brother Danny, starts the ceremony and then my brother hands my hand over to Robert's, he leads me up the stairs and we exchange exciting, can't believe it is really happening looks at each other! Our wonderful friends then read 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 and Colossians 3:12-17. Then it was time for prayer and the exchanging of vows and rings.

 Robert and I said the traditional vows along with personal ones. I think we both were a little nervous to do so (more so me) in front of lots of people, but we both are SO glad we did! It was such a special moment. Neither of us were nervous at all while saying them and it was so special expressing our love to one another, to God and the commitment being made in our own words from the heart. There were laughs, lots of smiles and almost tears...but I held it together! Robert's vows...something I will never forget. So memorable, so sweet and so special.

Then our good friends (and bridesmaid and groomsman) sang Divine Romance during the lighting of the unity candle. They sounded amazing. Rob and I were able to light the candle and say a prayer together while this beautiful sound filled the room.

And now you may kiss your bride!!!

Man I love remembering these wonderful times! After the ceremony the wedding party walked back down the aisle and hung out in a hallway (a crowded but so fun experience) and shared lots of hugs squeals:) We then reentered the sanctuary for family pictures!

Since we wanted to hurry so we could get to the reception we made a list for our photographer, Betsy, of the "sets" we wanted. And it went pretty smooth! We had to find some missing people but it didn't end up crazy:)

 The amazing Lamberson side!

 My wonderful daddy, i love you SO much!

 The Lewandowski side! 

 The Arens side!

The Phillips side!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I carried my Poppy's handkerchief with me on the wedding day. It was so special to have with me throughout. I thought it would be to dry tears (which it did) but it was mainly used to wipe sweat from Rob's face :) I had to once during the ceremony (a good comical moment) and many times while taking pictures, man it was HOT!

A BIG family! Please take a moment to look at Brock's face...priceless. 

SO much love for all these people. We are so incredibly grateful for every single one of you. Thank you for helping make our wedding day so special. Thank you for all your love, encouragement and support you give daily. We LOVE YOU!

 So... my flower girls are sitting on their mamas laps, my bridesmaids! I am holding a picture from my mom's wedding day many years ago. In that picture is my mom with her two flowers girls...which are now my two bridesmaids (and cousins) in this picture with me. So my flowers girls (their daughters) are wearing the same dresses their mamas wore in my mom's wedding! Does that make sense? It was so fun and special! I thought the dresses were beautiful and they were the perfect sizes! Also those precious headbands were made by Shea (to the left of me), she makes all kinds and they are ALL adorable! She also made my beautiful garter. If you want her contact info let me know!

Oh and can't forget! A little look at our programs and little details...

 I made our programs on Zazzle, a budget friendly option and I was pretty pleased with them!

My great grandmother Cundiff's clutch, isn't it beautiful?! And our wonderful invitations by the wonderful Curry Invitations. I absolutely adored them! On the RSVP card we also asked guests to add a song they would like to dance to at the reception. It was a fun way to get guests involved and on the dance floor! The boutineer (and all the beautiful flowers) were done by Market Street Flowers!

Such wonderful memories, ones that I will never, ever forget. And so glad I can document it all here so I can remember every detail!  Very grateful for all of you that get through all these wedding posts...I'll come over with brownies. You deserve a treat! I truly appreciate you!

Next up...it is time to PARTAYY!

March Goals

I have seen a few different bloggers, talk about their goals/things they want to do for the month at the beginning of each month. I think it is such a great idea! Such a great way to focus on what you want to accomplish during that month and what fun things you want to try to do! So here is what I have decided our my goals for this month...

1. Quiet Time Daily- I should be done with my Wife After God devotional, but there have been way too many days where I have slacked. So this month, I am making no excuses. I will do my devo daily and have some quiet time with the Big Man. It is so important to do each day, so much room to grow in my faith!

2. Be a healthier me. This is a big goal for me this month. This includes making time to workout and making the healthiest choice possible with every meal. And treating treats as treats. I have been slacking way off on that the past few weeks. More specifically, this healthier me includes eliminating diet cokes from my life. I know they are not good for me and for some reason I have turned into a person that craves them. I know it's time to drop it! 

3. Finish planning our Italy Trip. Should be easy right? But sometimes all the research that goes into it seems a little daunting. I am not complaining, I just need to get my booty into gear and finish those plans! I need to get all of our hotels booked and secure. I am a big planner so I know once I get this done, I will be more at ease:)

4. Go see Grease the musical. Yes, they are showing it here in Nuremberg! I have watched Grease since kindergarten, yes like 5 years old. Then my mom made me stop watching it for quite a while cause I was catching on and singing some of the not so nice songs. Haha so anyways...I am thinking the speaking parts will be in German and the singing in English. We will see! It is showing while my mom is here- YES MY MOM IS COMING TO VISIT!!!! Can you tell I'm excited? So I think it will be the perfect girl's night!

5. Go on walks with Roberto. This is something Rob and I always want to do more of, but hardly do it! There are so  many pretty parks here that we want to take advantage of and walks always bring out some of the best talks. I know we will have some pretty, sunny days here and I want to soak it in!

So there are my March Goals! Goals for a better me and fun things to do. At the end of the month I will do a little recap of how it went!

How about you?? What are some of your goals for this month??

Our Wedding Day: Formals and a Special Moment

Today I want to share a little bit more of before the ceremony Wedding fun! I have had so much fun recapping my Bridal Brunch and our Rehearsal and the Getting Ready part of the Wedding Day. So now for some fun formal pictures and a special moment!

After much discussion, Robert and I decided not to see each other before the wedding. Robert had always envisioned seeing me for the first time walking down the aisle on this day and that is how I had always dreamed of it. Many people will tell you how much easier it is, how everything flows so much better, how much less stressful it is to have a "First Look", especially when it comes to the picture taking part of it, which is true in a lot of ways. So we really took all that advice into consideration. But in the end we decided to stick with what we really wanted and I am so glad we did because it was right for us. Yes, doing it this way makes for more "rushed" pictures with family and the wedding party after the ceremony, but you know what? It worked and it was just what we wanted! I remember trying to hurry a little so we could meet our wonderful guests at the reception, because of course not having a first look means your guests will wait a little longer for your arrival- but we made sure to have the bar open, chips and hot sauce waiting and our popcorn bar open to help with the waiting period! Full bellies = happy guests :) This way worked for us and it was perfect. So my advice- do what you want!! There is no wrong choice. The best choice is what you feel most comfortable with. If you really want to see your groom for the first time walking down the aisle- do it! If you really want to have a first look with all the great benefits it comes with- do it! Just do what you and your groom imagine and it will all be just fine!

The girls took pictures together before the ceremony and the boys took pictures together as well! It was really a fun time. I think we all thoroughly enjoyed being "models" :) And man our photographer, Betsy, is the best.

Look at all these handsome boys!

Rob's brother and best man and his dad...

Cousin and my brother!

such an amazing group of guys right there...

The boy's suits are from Jos. A. Bank and their ties (as well as the little's bow ties) are from the Tie Bar, which has so many budget-friendly options!

Now for my beautiful girls!

^^ look at those hot mamas! two amazing women, and i mean incredibly amazing. have i said that before? :)^^

The best friends a girl could ask for, I cannot thank them enough for their love and friendship.

My house party girls. Man these two are wonderful. So grateful for all they did on this day and even more for their friendship.

  

The Bridesmaid dresses are Mori Lee. I absolutely loved them and thought everyone looked so, so beautiful!

Flower Girls and the Phillips girls....We are Family! Sing it with me :)

 My groom...I still get butterflies in my stomach when I say that!

Next, it is was time for something special. It was really important to Rob and I to pray together before the ceremony. We wanted a special time "together" to hold hands and express our ultimate thankfulness to God and this gift of marriage he was blessing us with. And let me tell you...this was one of my favorite parts of the day. Just holding Rob's hand made me ball like a baby and being able to truly focus on the true meaning of this day before the ceremony started was just perfect. It really helped both of us to soak in the magnitude of what a blessing marriage will be and God's great love for us. Because after all, this day was not about Rob and I. It was about the covenant we were making to God and one another. It was a day to not only to profess our great love to one another but more importantly our Savior. It was a day to commit to this wonderful blessing and gift we are being given- marriage. It was a day to show our thankfulness to God and to promise to love one another as he loves us. With all the hoopla (fun hoopla) that goes into the big day, it is easy for me to forget what is most important. Our prayer time together was so wonderful to focus and really feel the magnitude of this amazing blessing.

 I was so glad to have our photographer capture this moment. These pictures bring back such wonderful memories. I will treasure them forever!

 And then of course we had a few laughs...

Rob did see a little bit of the bottom of my dress, just a little sneak peak:)

It was such a wonderful time! We cried, we laughed and let a lot of nerves out!

And there ya have it! More special moments before the ceremony...moments I will never forget and treasure forever. 

Next up...The Ceremony! Finally! I will share all that fun very soon!