Dear friends,
I am writing to tell you that this is my last day at a computer. After today I will be too busy painting my toenails, loving my man, dining with family, moving Danny's stuff to our home, laughing, reading, sleeping in the middle of the bed, taking extra long to shave my legs, and enjoying my last few pre-wedding days. Next time I write to you I'll be an Unterkofler. How excited am I? So very. Seeya when I'm a Mrs!
Shalom,
Kaylyn Machelle
7.28.2009
7.27.2009
silly me.
The past few nights I have been "nesting". You know- cleaning out my closet, making space for Danny, scrubbing the toilets, vacuuming, filling bags to the Goodwill...and all in the middle of the night. Needless to say, I have been tired and out of energy during the day. So last night I decided to do something about it.
Around midnight I took a couple sleeping pills. I had bought these pills for a trip to Chicago I made last year because, quite frankly, sleeping through a plane ride is well worth the neck and back cramps. Anyhow, within 10 minutes I went from being on my hands and knees scrubbing grout to completely passed out in bed. Finally, some rest.
6:45 am rolled around and my alarm went off. Time to get up for my workout date. Seriously, I couldn't do it. I fought it for a good ten minutes and then rolled out of bed, changed, brushed my teeth, and drove on auto pilot to my soon to be sister in laws.
I don't really remember the workout. I'm not sure I even really did it. But I did...and planned to come home to make coffee and get ready for work. But...that plan changed when I came home and couldn't do anything else but pass out on my bed. For three more hours. Yikes.
Woke up again around 10:30. Still groggy. Oh my gosh- what is going on with me? Got up, grabbed the bottle of sleeping pills. No directions on it. Peeled up the wrapper cover (sneaky!) and read the recommended dosage: for adults- 1 pill every 24 hours.
The lessons of today are many...
- read the bottle, even if you have to peel it up
-don't accidently take 2 when you're only supposed to take 1
-if you do take 2 by chance, make sure you are willing to sleep for 11 hours and spend the rest of the day in a fog
Praise God this didn't happen Thursday night...I'll do anything to not look like Sam's sister in Sixteen Candles. (and I'm not just referring to the shoulder pads.)
Around midnight I took a couple sleeping pills. I had bought these pills for a trip to Chicago I made last year because, quite frankly, sleeping through a plane ride is well worth the neck and back cramps. Anyhow, within 10 minutes I went from being on my hands and knees scrubbing grout to completely passed out in bed. Finally, some rest.
6:45 am rolled around and my alarm went off. Time to get up for my workout date. Seriously, I couldn't do it. I fought it for a good ten minutes and then rolled out of bed, changed, brushed my teeth, and drove on auto pilot to my soon to be sister in laws.
I don't really remember the workout. I'm not sure I even really did it. But I did...and planned to come home to make coffee and get ready for work. But...that plan changed when I came home and couldn't do anything else but pass out on my bed. For three more hours. Yikes.
Woke up again around 10:30. Still groggy. Oh my gosh- what is going on with me? Got up, grabbed the bottle of sleeping pills. No directions on it. Peeled up the wrapper cover (sneaky!) and read the recommended dosage: for adults- 1 pill every 24 hours.
The lessons of today are many...
- read the bottle, even if you have to peel it up
-don't accidently take 2 when you're only supposed to take 1
-if you do take 2 by chance, make sure you are willing to sleep for 11 hours and spend the rest of the day in a fog
Praise God this didn't happen Thursday night...I'll do anything to not look like Sam's sister in Sixteen Candles. (and I'm not just referring to the shoulder pads.)
7.24.2009
71-80
71 getting sweaty during a workout
72 showering after a workout
73 having a clean house
74 cream blush
75 getting new perfume
76 pandora...oh, pandora!
77 sidewalk chalk
78 having a newphew in the midst of 3 (soon to be 4) nieces
79 iced coffees in the late afternoon to kick my butt in gear
80 taking advantage of the best pre-wedding advice and sleeping completely sprawled out on my bed :)
72 showering after a workout
73 having a clean house
74 cream blush
75 getting new perfume
76 pandora...oh, pandora!
77 sidewalk chalk
78 having a newphew in the midst of 3 (soon to be 4) nieces
79 iced coffees in the late afternoon to kick my butt in gear
80 taking advantage of the best pre-wedding advice and sleeping completely sprawled out on my bed :)
7.23.2009
instead of's
- Instead of a guest book we'll never look at again, Danny and I thought up a creative way to remember who was there to share our special day with us. As you walk into our venue, there will be a big glass jar full of fabric squares. You'll grab a pen, write a little note, bible verse, smiley face, thumb's up- whatever you want. Then the sweet mom of a dear friend of ours is going to sew the squares up with fun fabrics to make us a quilt. And we'll use it for the rest of our lives and remember the happiest day and all who were there with us.
- Instead of dancing to Lovers in Japan's acoustic version like we thought, our first dance is going to be to Jon Foreman's In My Arms. If you remember, he sang this song to me before he proposed. It is a better dancing song, slower, shorter, the lyrics are so meaningful, and well, we just love it. (But we still really love Lovers in Japan, too, so we're using it as our recessional)
-Instead of white cake, chocolate cake, and yes even lemon cake, we went with a carrot cake. Trust me- it's incredible. Don't miss out on a piece.
-Instead of getting cold feet, being nervous, or any other scary emotion- Danny and I couldn't be more excited to unite as husband and wife. I never knew love could be this good! Thank you thank you thank you for all your prayers and encouraging words the past 9 months of our engagement. We are so blessed with wonderful friends and families and we are eternally grateful.
- Instead of dancing to Lovers in Japan's acoustic version like we thought, our first dance is going to be to Jon Foreman's In My Arms. If you remember, he sang this song to me before he proposed. It is a better dancing song, slower, shorter, the lyrics are so meaningful, and well, we just love it. (But we still really love Lovers in Japan, too, so we're using it as our recessional)
-Instead of white cake, chocolate cake, and yes even lemon cake, we went with a carrot cake. Trust me- it's incredible. Don't miss out on a piece.
-Instead of taking our bride and groom pictures after the ceremony, we're getting dressed up again the next day to take them. We don't want to be rushed and we want to have good light and we don't want to be away from our lovely guests for hours while we could be partying it up! So we'll snap just a few on our wedding day with our wedding party and families, a few of just us, and wait until Saturday to take the majority of our lovey dovey pictures. Oh ya, and our photographer is simply the best.
-Instead of getting cold feet, being nervous, or any other scary emotion- Danny and I couldn't be more excited to unite as husband and wife. I never knew love could be this good! Thank you thank you thank you for all your prayers and encouraging words the past 9 months of our engagement. We are so blessed with wonderful friends and families and we are eternally grateful.
7.21.2009
Come Away My Beloved
There is something beautiful about the staff here at CrossPoint. The unity we have is beyond anything I have ever experienced. Every Tuesday morning we sit around this table- praying, sharing, reading, crying, dreaming, holding hands, laughing, eating, spurring one another on, encouraging each other, confessing, and striving to grow in Christ likeness. It is like nothing I have ever experienced. Really and truly, these people have quickly become my family and every Tuesday I am in great anticipation of the meeting God has prepared for us.
This morning we read an excerpt from Come Away My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts. I want to share parts of it with you...they come from pages 130-131:
"Behold, you stand on the threshold of a new day. For I have truly great things in store for you. Yes, you have not power to conceive what I am about to do. For I will bring to pass a new thing. You will rejoice exceedingly. You have heard of the showers, but I say to you: I will send a mighty down-pour. Many have cried out to Me from hungry hearts and have received of My fullness and seen My glory; but I say to you: In the day of the great deluge which is coming, many will come to know the reality of My power who have until now not even dreamed of such a thing. Many who are scoffers and many who are honest doubters will find themselves swept away on the swelling tide of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit...
...Be faithful regardless of apparent failures and discouragements; for My word shall surely be fulfilled, and your eyes shall see revival in proportions such as never before witnessed in the history of the human race...
Keep your eye on the end of the course. Victory is secured already. Do not let the hurdles cause you consternation. Stay in the running. Truly, I am at your side. According to each day shall your strength be; and the race is not won by the swift, but the obedient shall receive the prize."
My heart is very encouraged by these truths this morning and I pray yours is as well. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, and what is to come is far greater than anything we could ever fathom. It's not merely a wave that is swelling above us- it is a flood, my friends. The Day is coming!!!
This morning we read an excerpt from Come Away My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts. I want to share parts of it with you...they come from pages 130-131:
"Behold, you stand on the threshold of a new day. For I have truly great things in store for you. Yes, you have not power to conceive what I am about to do. For I will bring to pass a new thing. You will rejoice exceedingly. You have heard of the showers, but I say to you: I will send a mighty down-pour. Many have cried out to Me from hungry hearts and have received of My fullness and seen My glory; but I say to you: In the day of the great deluge which is coming, many will come to know the reality of My power who have until now not even dreamed of such a thing. Many who are scoffers and many who are honest doubters will find themselves swept away on the swelling tide of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit...
...Be faithful regardless of apparent failures and discouragements; for My word shall surely be fulfilled, and your eyes shall see revival in proportions such as never before witnessed in the history of the human race...
Keep your eye on the end of the course. Victory is secured already. Do not let the hurdles cause you consternation. Stay in the running. Truly, I am at your side. According to each day shall your strength be; and the race is not won by the swift, but the obedient shall receive the prize."
My heart is very encouraged by these truths this morning and I pray yours is as well. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, and what is to come is far greater than anything we could ever fathom. It's not merely a wave that is swelling above us- it is a flood, my friends. The Day is coming!!!
7.20.2009
wedding programs #2
They're finished! Thank you to my sweet friend, Kaylyn- it is such a lovely wedding gift and Danny and I are truly grateful.
11 days :)
11 days :)
7.16.2009
hooray for internet...
...too bad it's not at our house! But because I can now, here are two pictures. One, of my flower bouquet. I just love it.
Second, our secret present. It is an early wedding gift from my favorite parents in the world. By the way, I think it should be against the law for the bride's parents to give a gift. Haven't you done enough already? Sheesh! Enough! (But thank you...we use our picnic table nearly everyday!)
Good evening to you.
Second, our secret present. It is an early wedding gift from my favorite parents in the world. By the way, I think it should be against the law for the bride's parents to give a gift. Haven't you done enough already? Sheesh! Enough! (But thank you...we use our picnic table nearly everyday!)
Good evening to you.
please sit down and have an update or six.
-Yesterday Danny (he got the day off of work) and I took 20 students to 6 Flags. If you've never been there, it's pretty much like getting dragged around like a ragdoll all day. The 100 degree temperature didn't help much. But we had a blast and it couldn't have gone better. (except if it was 20 or 30 degrees cooler, the drinks were free, and Danny and I hadn't forgotten to put our lunch in the cooler)
-Danny and I wanted to choose a verse that we are basing our marriage off of. We chose the Shema, mainly Deuteronomy 6:4-5. We know that if we truly want to love one another, our love has to come from the overflow of the great love we each have for our Savior. If we merely love each other from ourselves, we will always be in need. But if we love God first with all we've got, and love one another second, we will always be in an abundance of love. We'll be reciting it in Hebrew during our ceremony. (or at least that's the plan)
-My wonderful father-in-law-to-be knows me well. While I wouldn't consider myself a perfectionist (would I?), I am really into details. So, he paid a little bit extra for the flowers so I could go and design my own bouquet. What can I say? I am in love. Think ivory roses, peach roses, coffee beans (can't find a good picture...but they're little green balls), and brown orchids. Classy, yet modern...elegant, yet imperfect. I have pictures but...
-We don't have internet at our townhouse anymore. One day it just stopped connecting. It was a sad day for us. And my computer won't recognize memory sticks (note to self- get that fixed before fall). So that's that..Until we get back from our honeymoon and can get our own hooked up, since we are unable to steal (borrow) from our neighbors now.
-Other than having a slightly damaged neck from our trip yesterday, work is going well but I have definitely been fighting some battles. I'd like to get into more detail, but I should work it out a little more with God before I share it with you. How about this- you promise to pray for me, and I promise to share about my insecurities, doubts, and fears when the time is right. Pinky promise?
-15 days. FIFTEEN! ............... That is 15 dots. Thats not a lot of days, huh? I know...and I couldn't be more excited! I'll be back soon. Oh, and Danny and I have another video for you to look forward to. This one and this one was so fun for us to make, we figure we should do a pre and post-wedding one as well.
Joy :)
-Danny and I wanted to choose a verse that we are basing our marriage off of. We chose the Shema, mainly Deuteronomy 6:4-5. We know that if we truly want to love one another, our love has to come from the overflow of the great love we each have for our Savior. If we merely love each other from ourselves, we will always be in need. But if we love God first with all we've got, and love one another second, we will always be in an abundance of love. We'll be reciting it in Hebrew during our ceremony. (or at least that's the plan)
-My wonderful father-in-law-to-be knows me well. While I wouldn't consider myself a perfectionist (would I?), I am really into details. So, he paid a little bit extra for the flowers so I could go and design my own bouquet. What can I say? I am in love. Think ivory roses, peach roses, coffee beans (can't find a good picture...but they're little green balls), and brown orchids. Classy, yet modern...elegant, yet imperfect. I have pictures but...
-We don't have internet at our townhouse anymore. One day it just stopped connecting. It was a sad day for us. And my computer won't recognize memory sticks (note to self- get that fixed before fall). So that's that..Until we get back from our honeymoon and can get our own hooked up, since we are unable to steal (borrow) from our neighbors now.
-Other than having a slightly damaged neck from our trip yesterday, work is going well but I have definitely been fighting some battles. I'd like to get into more detail, but I should work it out a little more with God before I share it with you. How about this- you promise to pray for me, and I promise to share about my insecurities, doubts, and fears when the time is right. Pinky promise?
-15 days. FIFTEEN! ............... That is 15 dots. Thats not a lot of days, huh? I know...and I couldn't be more excited! I'll be back soon. Oh, and Danny and I have another video for you to look forward to. This one and this one was so fun for us to make, we figure we should do a pre and post-wedding one as well.
Joy :)
7.09.2009
thank you, Henri Nouwen
"Writing is not just jotting down ideas. Often we say: "I don't know what to write. I have no thoughts worth writing down." But much good writing emerges from the process of writing itself. As we simply sit down in front of a sheet of paper and start to express in words what is on our minds or in our hearts, new ideas emerge, ideas that can surprise us and lead us to inner places we hardly knew were there.One of the most satisfying aspects of writing is that it can open in us deep wells of hidden treasures that are beautiful for us as well as for others to see."
I've felt like a dud on here lately. But God is definitely moving and exciting things are happening...it's just hard to find time to sit down and tell you all about it. I'll get better- I promise! Hidden treasures coming soon...
PS Went to pick up my wedding dress Monday. It didn't fit right. I cried. Then I got claustrophobic. Came back at the end of the day. Still fit all wrong. I didn't cry. Tried it on an hour later. Perfection. :) Phew, that was a close call...
I've felt like a dud on here lately. But God is definitely moving and exciting things are happening...it's just hard to find time to sit down and tell you all about it. I'll get better- I promise! Hidden treasures coming soon...
PS Went to pick up my wedding dress Monday. It didn't fit right. I cried. Then I got claustrophobic. Came back at the end of the day. Still fit all wrong. I didn't cry. Tried it on an hour later. Perfection. :) Phew, that was a close call...
7.08.2009
honeymoon!
Last night Danny and I finalized our plans for the honeymoon. We didn't want to have too much of a plan, but we are pretty sure on these things:
staying at the Monaco Hotel
coffee at Stumptown
hiking and waterfalls at Mt Hood...especially to see Multnomah Falls
maybe a little donut eating at Voodoo's
wine tasting at the Portland Countryside
white water rafting on Clackamas river
reading at Powell's
lunch at Kenny & Zuke's
and whatever else we feel like doing :)
23 days!
7.02.2009
mystery fruit
We had a cherry blossom tree on the patio when we first moved in. It was lovely with little pink flowers everywhere.
But then...the flowers turned into little green balls...
Which turned into bigger green balls...
Which turned into apricots...
Which turned into a cobbler!
I don't know how it happened, but it did...mmm... I am a happy girl.
Oh, and a very fun package arrived today!
We plan to use it over the weekend. I'll show you what it is after that!
7.01.2009
dear july
Everyone said you would come quick. I nodded and smiled. Now I know they were right all along.
This month you have a lot of fun things planned. Like a day at 6 Flags with my students. And 2 more bridal showers that just sort of came out of nowhere. And my big sister's birthday. And picking up my wedding dress. And service projects. And lots of reading. And coffee with students. And a shopping date with mom. And a manicure/pedicure. And a rehearsal and dinner with some of my favorite people on earth. And, best of all, my wedding day (and wedding night...although, let's be honest- that probably belongs to August).
I just wanted to write to let you know I am very, very excited. I am looking forward to it all, especially the one that'll leave me with a new last name.
Let's be great friends, okay? Just please keep the sunshine out of the shade, the sweating to a bare minimum, and a lack of those my-groom-left-me-at-the-alter and my-wedding-dress-is-a-dreadful-shade-of-bubble-gum-pink dreams.
Truly yours,
Kaylyn Machelle
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
