Honeymoon Period...

I am confronted with what others expect of "the honeymoon stage." The questions I am faced with on a daily basis is, "So, how's married life?" In which I have been answering honestly, "It's harder than I thought it would be."

In which the response comes back to me either two ways:

1. "Yeah ...Our first year was the hardest. It just takes some time." Usually followed up by encouragement and advice.

OR

2. "Really?" Followed by a head tilt and a look of pity.

I am sorry, I don't sugar coat anything. I am having a hard time. Marriage is wonderful and I love sharing my house and life with Michael but it's a HUGE ADJUSTMENT!!!!! I am (like so many other people who dare to be as honest) selfish, stuck in my ways, and a huge control freak. I do not share well. I feel like I am learning how to live with a roommate with an entirely different context than ever before, and I am. I have to be willing to sacrifice and put my needs second. I am having to realize that there is more ways to do things than how I do them. I am learning a lot about myself. And It's hard.

I feel this honesty is judged by the "super-happy to be married Christians" in my circles. And I feel like a horrible wife and newlywed because I not floating around on a cloud just happy and with a stupid grin on my face.

I promise I am not a violent woman....

Michael had softball practice on Saturday and came home with this on his head. He took a bad bounce to the forehead and now is getting a black eye. Suprisingly enough, he chose to play softball on Sunday instead of going to a friend's wedding. HMMMMM - really?

Michael is doing better but is still whinning...boys! And it got him out of house work all day on Saturday while he recovered while watching movies, holding a ice pack to his head and moaning every so often about the pain...supscious - I think so..

I think he's going to live.

The Circle Squad....

Jen Martin and I attended Beth Mertz wedding, a wonderful woman from my bible study. She went with me due to the brain damage of my husband - just kidding. He chose softball over me.... but I am find with it, really I am - not bitter in the slightest. But Jen and I went. We immediately started laughing as I opened the door to see that we have the same dress only inverted designs... hence the Circle Squad... diameter divas.... LOL!

The wedding was beautiful! Beth & Luke waited till their wedding day to have their first kiss - the will power that must have taken. WHOA!!!! But how honored I was to be invited to such a God-honoring ceremony. What an adventure they have before them... have fun on your honeymoon guys! Congrats to Beth and Luke Sinak! God's Blessings on your marriage

Coming Together......

I moved into “our” house in January 2007. I have been living here but not completely “moved in” for six months. Michael and I decided not to truly decorate until he moved in so that the house would feel like “ours” and not him moving into my house. So … as of right now – we DO NOT have Michael moved in except for his games, movies and, oh yeah, his clothes. Everything … piles and piles of things are still at his mom’s.

This weekend – I was determined to make headway on the house. I need order…even though I am typically a messy person. In the past 2 weeks since returning from our honeymoon, I have completed 13 loads of laundry. I HATE LAUNDRY!!!

All this laundry had to go somewhere… so Michael and I rebuilt 2 closets in the house: His closet downstairs and one of mine upstairs. I know I have two closets – stop judging me… I do actually wear all those clothes (need I remind you… 13 loads of laundry).

More headway – I set up our bathroom and unpacked all Michael’s stuff out of his overnight bag into the bathroom. He is no longer a house guest but living there as far as the bathroom is concerned. I also added some special touches, like adding the shelf and hiding the clutter in nice wicker baskets.


I also have been over the past week been buying things for our bedroom. Michael even went shopping with me and helped me pick up a Duvet cover, shams and decorative pillows after giving him a dissertation on “Why we need these things for a bed?” I never realized how men thought about these things… or should I say, how Michael thinks. He was comical – “A sham is a cover that goes over a pillow case, a cover for a cover…. That doesn’t make sense???” It’s a learning process for both of us. I moved around the bedroom and finally have presentable bedding (even though our bed is a mattress on the floor). We are getting a bed frame soon. Here are some pictures of our new bedding.
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As the wedding money is coming to an end, Michael and I decided that what we really wanted was some patio furniture. After shopping around for a few weeks, we found a great deal at Garden Ridge. Michael, being the handyman that he is, set it up this weekend. He was so proud.
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It is nice making the house a HOME! The thing it does require is patience. I want to finish it now, but the provision is not there for instant gratification. So we have to be willing to wait. But one thing is for sure, it’s more of a home with Michael there!

So I have a funny story.....
"Did I marry a Murder?"

So this all started on our way home from our honeymoon, where we befriended a flight attendant that said to Michael, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like someone?" With a sheepish grin, Michael knew what was coming but I was unaware. The flight attendant in her charming southern voice said, "Do you know who Scott Peterson is?" I had never noticed it. He does look similar to a man so disgusting that he would slaughter his pregnant wife.... what a person to look like.

Later after getting off the plane before customs, Michael and I went to use the bathrooms. He was already out when I met him outside to see that he was talking to our pilot and the flight attendant from earlier. I was coming out of the bathroom when the pilot asked Michael with a giggle in his voice, "Where's your wife?" I waved my hand with a smile as the pilot yelled out... "Never go fishing with him." This is one of Michael's favorite stories from our trip - go figure?

So take a look and decide for yourself.

Thank goodness... I know the truth... or do I ....LOL

I always knew he had it in him......


Michael, I have found, is a romantic. During the week of the wedding, He was wonderfully thoughtful and protective. He really stepped up! (Warning: This is an entire blog to brag on my new husband.)

• He was in charge of our wedding night hotel. He picked a great hotel. We stayed at the Westin - Downtown. They upgraded him to a suite and we had a corner rooom that looked out over the city. It was the size of a small loft. When we arrived he had already checked in and had rose petals from the front door to the bed. I was so impressed. We had champagne and strawberries waiting for us.

Believe it or not... the room was nicer than the pictures on Westin's website. Every hotel should have a 4pm Check out! We didn't leave until 3:59pm.

• Michael gave me a scrapbook for our wedding present. He stole my memory box of items I had been saving from all our outings, dates, and special moments. He took these things and ON HIS OWN he made me a scrapbook of some of our most important moments. I was so impressed. I could see the time and care he put into it. It made me cry so hard, I made waterproof mascara run. He also had flowers delivered to my dressing room. They were beautiful. And after the morning I had, they helped me get focused on the people who love me. (There are pictures on the photographer's website)
• And when he saw me for the first time in the church before the wedding... all he could say was "WOW" with a childlike grin on his face. A smile that made me feel as I were home for the first time.

I love my husband and I hope he knows how much I love and appreciate him. I will post pictures with this blog when I get access to them.

WE'RE MOVING BACKWARDS....

I blogged about the honeymoon, then the wedding... now rewind to the Bachelorette Party.

It was fun... even though I was running late. That was the theme the week of the wedding... "Late." It was fun! We went to Hacienda on Manchester. Dinner was good, the drinks were good except what I was coaxed into drinking.... by .....Emily and my sisters. But here's some pics from my last wild and crazy night out...LOL. Thank you to all who provided me with the eye candy for Michael. I appreciate you sharing my almost last single night out.

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The Whole Gang

The Last Picture of the "PHILPOTT GIRLS"

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Christi & Kelly --------------------- *Cheers Katie

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Gifts for me..... or for Michael?????

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Jen wonders if she is going take back the gift that she gave me

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The Covenant Girls w/ Tatoos -----*The Last Standing...

Pictures I wanted to share....

Getting Ready to walk in to the reception

Michael and Andy before the ceremony

The Halim's ...

My dancing queens..... move it girls!

The most beautiful reception...breaking it down

Michael and Katherine... what's so funny?

The Cake .... Katherine - great job!

Hanging out with the girls

Jamie, Chelsey, Stephanie, and Me.

The whole gang going crazy

Lisa, Kathy, and Kristen

Nothing but trouble: Matt, Kenny, & Ben

I am so lucky to hang out w/ these fabulous women each week...

Getting the Party Started....

Wedding Pictures ....

For those wanting to see pictures of the wedding go to:
http://www.bobbibrinkmanphotography.com/

Click "Enter"
Click "Info" bullet point at the bottom
Click "Client Viewing" to the left
Click on "Carin & Michael"
Enter your personal email
the Password is "blessings"

Enjoy - feel free to order pictures you want directly off this website. Bobbi and Staff would be happy to help you in any way.

The Wedding … in retrospect

The wedding was beautiful and more wonderful than I could ever imagine… the day of the wedding was a little less than optimal… actually I almost let it ruin what the day was all about. I tend to have hope for people to do things because of what I would do even though it’s a hope that will always let me down. My expectations were to high and I allowed myself to be really hurt by others actions… BUT…when I saw Michael for the first time in the sanctuary of our church….all that junk melted away and I was reminded that my family, my disappointments, all the things that didn’t go as planned, the rain outside as it poured couldn’t change how I felt about that man. His smile lit up the room as he turned around to see me. My eyes welled up with tears (because I am the biggest cry baby ever) with joy and overwhelming sense of pride that this man would be my husband. He chose me… whoa!

The only thing I would change about that day is that everyone would have cooperated so that I could have enjoyed it more instead of micromanaging every last detail …. I couldn’t have had a wedding without my girlfriends who came to save the day – truly superhero’s to me: Pam, Becca, Jen, Staci, Emily, Desi, and all the ladies who decorated the hall –You made my day more special just by you being there to support me.

Becca, thank you for loaning me your mom when I needed one so much! Also – the day was blessed by Staci’s devotion…. When so much of the day was feeling like it was ruined …. Staci, you reminded me that that day was about Michael and I and God and NO ONE ELSE! Thank you for helping me keep the focus and blessing me and all the others in the room with your words and praise for our perfect faithful Father.

I am glad for my photographer’s words of advice… don’t go down that aisle until you are ready. That extra time with my dad was priceless. It allowed me to gain a little composure and truly process what was about to happen, since the whole day felt like playing dress up. As I walked down the aisle, I made the decision to look at Michael and no one else….So if I didn’t look at you or say hi back… sorry I was a focused woman looking at my wonderful blessing at the end of the aisle. One of my students from youth group told me that he had never seen me look more happy – that I just grinned from ear to ear as I walked down the aisle. But why wouldn’t I – have you seen how cute my husband is and when you know him you can’t help but fall in love with him.

Looking back at the day, I remember feeling the love of friends and family and realizing that as we get older our friends are a more crucial part of our lives taking the role of our family. I could not have gotten through this process without their support, prayer, and unconditional love (and hours of free therapy).

Advice for Upcoming brides:

Make sure you are very specific with family and the bridal party on what you expect of them. Don’t assume they know anything.

Surround yourself with positive people on your day.

Plan who will help with tear down of the church, reception and who does the odds and ends of gifts, where left over items go, guest book and things you’ll want back.

Make sure to check your guest list before writing your thank you notes. I had gifts from people not formally invited – you’ll need their address.

Make sure you are VERY specific with your DJ- you should not have to micromanage them at your reception.

Have at least 2-3 friends taking pictures of you getting ready, rehearsal dinner, rehearsal, wedding and reception. These are people who know you and who you love – they can get pictures that the photographer can’t or won’t be able to due to time limits. I thought 7 hours was enough and it wasn’t …..so much was missed that I wanted as memories for later.

Make sure all ceremony details are taken care of, like communion, the pastor’s microphone being on, someone knows when to light the candles.

Enjoy the day and remember that it’s about you and your husband… at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if anyone else was happy – you & your honey have to be happy! IT’S YOUR DAY – NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS. You didn’t get to choose what they did or do on their wedding day…that’s not being Bridezilla, that’s protecting your day for what it’s meant to be.

Remember …. All your planning and stressing are over the wedding end in a matter of hours when you drive away from the reception and think “whoa it’s over….” I am thinking of staring a “what-know” support group for newly married women who have free time for the first time in ages.

ENJOY and take it all in. Take time with your new husband the night of to talk about your experiences and your favorite parts. It helps you to remember and take the day all in.

Our Honeymoon...

Our honeymoon was AMAZING (thank you Alex). It was the most wonderful wedding gift. We went to Tulum, Mexico, which is about 2 hours south of Cancun. We did leave the room - we have proof - some major tans. We spent about 6 hours average a day in the sun by the beach or pool. We went snorkeling and kayaking (which was an adventure), we took nightly walks on the beach and the stars were amazing, and the food and room were more than we could ask for.

We upgraded upon our arrival to a suite and it was a great move for only $40/night. At our first dinner at the Sea Side Grill, which is our favorite at the resort, we ate salads, fillet mignon shrimp, cheesecake, and some glasses of wine. After finishing the meal... Michael sheepishly looks at me and says, "Can we just leave?" ...and the answer was yes. The whole resort was all inclusive - all the food, drinks, and room service you could handle. We had a wonderful time but we are both trying to adjust back to reality and not having a king size bed...lol
Please enjoy some pictures from our trip -
(WARNING: the slide show is about 70 pictures )