It's Pouring Blessings .... Wedding Showers
I have been so blessed by co-workers and friends by the 2 of 4 showers I have been able to have so far. My first, was hosted by the wonderful co-worker: Emily Loveall. She organized the party below from the spred to the wonderful gifts. Thank you Emily and all those who contributed to the presents at Covenant.

Jackie Fogas, Nicole Olivestro, Kelly Maxwell Penny, Jeremey, Jane, Betty

Stuffin' our faces w/ all the good food. Thank you to all those who came to the shower.
Friends' Shower thrown by my matron of honor Staci (Mathenia) Blankenship
Staci invited all my best girlfriends to the Log Cabin at Covenant Seminary. It was a dreary rainy day but it was fun for us. Staci and I started running errands around 10am after staying up until 3am. (Not a smart idea - being that I do well w/ little sleep). I had so much fun... even the games weren't painful. And the gifts... man oh man are Michael and I blessed. We got everything from a toaster to backing sheets. It's so nice to start out with such wonderful things in our house to make it a home. Pictures below are from that shower. Thank you ladies for all who came.

Staci had a cake made just like the invitation... it was SOooooooo Good.

The games were painless.... and 6 people went home w/ great prizes.

I hope all the ladies had as much fun as I did. I am blessed to have 2 more showers:

1st) In Pinckneyville in which my mom and sisters will be there.

2nd) Thrown by my church, a couples party..that should be so fun.

What is love.... and what's Hebrew have to do with it?

The symbol above is the Hebrew expression for Love - it has 3 parts.

1. Raya

A Love that is shared among friends, admiration. Translated as friend, or companion, someone you hang out with.

2. Ahava

It is the love of the will. it is more profound than romantic feelings. This is murch more than temporary urges. Ahava is making the decision to join your life to the life of another. This is an emotion that leads to commitment.
Love in Hebrew is "Ahava" , which is made up of three basic Hebrew letters, . These three letters actually are broken down into two parts: a two letter base or root, , and the first letter, , which is a modifier. The meaning of the two letter base, , is "to give". The letter "aleph" , which precedes these two letters comes to modify the meaning of the base word, "give". The meaning of , is "I give" and also "love".

The answer to that question can be found in the ancient language of Hebrew. In Hebrew the word for love is "ahava." Every Hebrew word has its root word from which its meaning is derived. The root word of ahava is hav, which means to give. In other words, loving is synonymous with giving. Love is the constant choice to give to another. You don't fall in love; you create love. You act lovingly, by giving to your partner

3. Dod

The love that is only experienced with the blessings of Marriage. A love that unites two people into one, that creates a the intamacy. Dod is the physical, sexual element to a relationship.

We mistake things like friendship, commitment, or lust for love, but God wired us a certain way to experience all that love was really meant to be. Not to hold us back or to make us miss out on the best that life has to offer. God created love, and wants us to feel it all in the way it’s meant to be felt.

If you have one of these, you might be at the begining of love but it can never be the end. A complete love will have all three elements, with God's Timing. Using one of these out of context will cause the misuse of love.

Michael and I will have these words engraved on our rings....Raya - on my engagment ring since that's where it started. On his wedding ring, we have Ahava for our commitment to one another and then Dod on my wedding rings since this element of love we now get to experience in the bonds of our marriage.Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

(1 Corinthians 13:4-13)

All love comes from God, who is it's creator, but we must be good stewards of the blessings of love He gives us.

The UNINVITEDs
(those we do not speak of.....)

So.... It is amazing how bold people can be. The closer the wedding gets the more assumptions I am faced with. It's now becoming a daily occurrence that a person asks "When is your wedding?" but the new phenomenon is ....the response of "I can't wait for it." ..... Hmmmmmmm - really?

My confusion is that these are people NOT on the guest list and in no way have I led them to believe they are invited.

I am just blown away by the boldness.... hopefully this will stop after the invitations are sent out... but maybe not. I feel bad but I am bound to 240 people availability at the reception site. NO MORE PEOPLE WILL FIT. The church is small, too. I have already overbooked myself. I have invites going to 300 people... remember only 240 can really come... I hope it all works out. I hate this! It's uncomfortable... but it's like saying to people .... you're not important enough in my life to spend $30 on you.... It's not that..

I would think that most people would not want to come anyway once they realize there will not be any alcohol... NONE. Michael and I have invited people that have invested in us as a couple or in us individually throughout the years (or that we have to because they were on our parents' guestlists).

How many people are suppose to be on top of the Cake?

"IN-LAWS"

This is such a touchy subject right now for Michael and I. I have not lived at home since I was 18. I moved out to go to Mizzou and never came back. My parents (3 sets of them) have all cut their appron strings long ago. My parents know that I am a busy "woman" and my life leaves very little room for much extracirricular activities - like meeting every whim they may have. My parents have their faults but I think for the most part they see me as an adult (I just don't know as much as they do). I know what your thinking.. Carin if your parents are such a delight and are evolved "What's the Problem????"

Michael came back from college and .... moved back home and NEVER LEFT. In his defense, he was sick, and then recoverying from cancer so he didn't have the opportunity to move out. 8 years later, he's at home, frustrated and ready to leave. Needless to say, Mama Schindler has attachment issues.....She ready to get him out of her house... but I am not sure she's ready to let him go.

Maybe I am hypersentative, I am a VERY independent person. I can't stand people placing unrealistic expectations on me. Or place it on me without my knowledge and then being mad that I fell short. FRUSTRATED!!!!

Another thing, Michael's mom asked Michael what we were doing the morning after we're getting married... ((((((WHAT))))))) - Does she really want to know? Michael and I have kept our purity no secret... we have some catching up to do and maybe just relaxing and getting ready for our honeymoon, which we are leaving on Monday. She told him that she would come up to our house and make dinner or we could go down there... WHAT......I don't want to even see my parents after my wedding. I feel like the picture above ... too many people wants to be on the cake. There is a time for family, but ... From June 2 @ 11:45pm - June 12 @ 8am - FAMILY FREE ZONE. I have a feeling that protecting our maritial boundaries is going to be an ongoing struggle. Pray for me!

Let us Eat Cake...
So the cake....I HATE ICING - so the idea of a BIG SLAB of cake covered in sugar makes me kind of grossed out. I have a student in my high school ministry that is a talented baker - and so much more. She is making our "Cupcakes".

Cupcakes eliminates the need for cake cutters ... that I would never use again (let's face it there's enough keepsakes from the wedding that could fill an attic- one more thing is not needed) Cupcakes eliminates the need for servers - each person can come up and get their own cupcake... and you don't need plates... it all ADDS UP in the saving side. It's also much easier to store a cupcake for your 1st anniversary than a hunk of cake.
We are building our own cake stand that will look like square cake and then the cupcakes will be on that. All my projects are great and saving me lots of money but they are about to put me in the grave... it will all be worth it when I look back and see that I paid for it all by myself (w/ a little help from my parents) without putting anything on credit!

Plus I am excited about song while we share cake ----"How sweet it is to be loved by you" by My family's favorite person ever ---- James Taylor.

The Photographer....

This is actually one of the things Michael and I agreed on....The photographer is one of the most important parts of our wedding. We can't do that part over....and the pictures are forever.

We actually interviewed 4-5 different photographers.... it was grueling. Everything starts to mush together and some were steals and others were really overpriced! In the end ....we found someone that after we left the meeting Michael exclaims - " I love them, they actually talked to me!" This for us was a huge deal because many in the wedding industry only acknowledge the "Bride" forgetting it takes a couple for a wedding to happen.

Because we wanted a June wedding but Michael wanted to really take his time with the proposal...We actually booked our photographer in July and didn't get engaged until August 18th. What we found though was that everyone that had the style we wanted were going FAST!
So after interviewing the BEST PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF EVER... we put our deposit down with Bobbi Brinkman Photography. (www.bobbibrinkmanphotography.com) and they have a blog on blogspot (www.bobbibrinkmanphotography.blogspot.com). Their shots are AMAZING and one of the BIGGEST reasons we hired them was they "got" us. The saw our vision for the wedding the passion we have for the Lord, they take amazing pictures and...... they talked to Michael (lol). They also made it quite clear that they would be there to protect me....people get bossy at weddings... and it's usually not the bride. She said she could serve the tough love when I couldn't. I appreciate that... because as you all know.. it doesn't take much for me to cry. And i want all my tears that day to be from JOY not frustration at family and the unexpected.

Bobbi, Tina and Dell are a delight to work with. They have been an unbelievable resource for things and so helpful. They did our engagement shots ... here are just a few from that day last fall.

Our Honeymoon . . .

We have been blessed... that we are even going on a honeymoon. We saved $1500 for our honeymoon to get us started.... My car broke down and 2 weeks later the savings was GONE. My bio-dad, Alex, heard about it and then PAID for our honeymoon as our wedding gift. We couldn't have went anywhere without his generosity. So now Michael and I have 7 days to look forward to in Tulum Mexico - in the Mayan Rivieria.

We are going to the Dreams Resort : http://www.dreamsresorts.com/tulum/
This is what I am looking forward to .. the big payoff for ALL THIS STRESS



My favorite pictures are these.....(Just daydreaming about being there)


God is sooooo Good... I can't wait to go....Mexico Here we come.

The Ceremony

We are planning a night candlight ceremony at our church. I am really excited about it - I just hope it works out and there is enough light for the photographer.

Because the architecture (or lack there of) at our church we are adding some dramatic elements like a Chuppa. A traditionally Jewish wedding canopy - Michael and I are not Jewish but like the way this will look and it covers the hole in the wall that is our Baptistry perfectly.

or Another Version is this:

59 Days to Go....

Wedding Attire

The Bridesmaid dresses Were, ARE, and will forever be the "Baine" of my existence.

But this is what they look like .... I am excited about them. And my sister Kelly said they are very comfy.

(In Black)

I have 2 flower girls... Helene (3 1/2) and Leci (2 1/2) and this is their dress

(Black Sash)

Aren't they going to be SOOOO Cute... I can't wait. Leci is excited about getting what she calls new "tappy" shoes.

The Dress.....

It all started in August when, my mom, sisters: Christi and Kelly, my step-mom - Brenda, my dad, Michael's Mom - Bonnie, my girlfriends Becca, and Jen (Bridesmaid) all went Dress Shoping
Word to the wise: ONLY TAKE 1-3 PEOPLE WITH YOU. Otherwise- too many opinions.

What I thought was going to be the most magical day ever... trying on wedding dresses "every little girl's dream" was one of the worst experiences of my life (that's a bit extreme..but I was ready to elope after this.) Parts of it were fun... like the picture below:

Lunch after dress trying-on at Demetrios. Beautiful dresses all over $1000- Out of my price range.

Again.. dress shopping next to a bunch of early 20 year olds will really make you realize that your body changes A LOT from 21 to 29. And shopping for wedding dresses is only fun if you wear a size 8 or smaller.







My Dad was such a good Sport.... hanging w/ the girls... thanks Daddy.








This is when things got Crazy....

At this point... everyone had their favorites... I still felt like none of them were right (they didn't make me cry).

I had tried on like a million dresses... which is a work out in a half.

Don't you like the "bib" tan line from a Youth fundraiser 10 months prior.... geeze.



The dress did not get found this day but weeks later when I went "just Becca & I"
It was much more relaxed and we both were on a mission. Becca is getting married the week before me and we both loved each other enough not to put each other in our weddings. We went to the first store... HORRIBLE customer service - I put dresses on her and then she helped me... no help from the staff. We LEFT

We finally arrived at Wedding Creations in Washington, MO. Where the minute I walked in, I was drawn to this dress in the display window. But didn't think much about it. I tried on dress after dress w/ no success. I then remember .... "the dress in the window" (I am thinking of that doggie in the window song my papa used to sing to me). Anyway... the sales person brought it to me and I tried it on.....

IT WAS PERFECT -

Becca and I both teared up and I knew it was the "One"!

And the details pile up and up and up

This feels true for me.. since I don't ever see Michael. I have seen him less since we have been engaged. Monday is bible study, Tuesday night is class, Wednesday night - we see each other at youth group but ...we're at youth group. Thursday night we have our date night... and since we have NO money (weddings are expensive) ....it consists of dinner (that I cook) and Grey's Anatomy....

If I could save anyone "my" headaches... ELOPE

Details that I am dealing w/ right now...

1. My invitations should be in this week so I will be stuffing them, labeling them and getting postage...and praying that i didn't forget anyone.

2. Making sure that all the flowers are completed.

3. Finishing Guest Book, Unity Candles and starting on Programs

4. Praying for sanity.

Pictures to come of details of the wedding.