Sunday, February 27, 2011

Thank You For 30 Years!


February 28th marks my parents 30th wedding anniversary. CONGRATULATIONS, Mom and Dad!!!

You have given me such a strong example of what qualities make a successful and enduring marriage:
  • unconditional love
  • compromise
  • putting another's needs before your own
  • the importance of fun and humor
  • never go to bed angry

Even as I write this, I respect what it takes to make 30 years of marriage work... but more than anything, it baffles my mind. This year I will be starting my FIRST year of marriage -- and I have no idea what challenges, hardships, joys and trials lay before me. You have successfully lived and loved THIRTY YEARS of MARRIAGE. I have not even lived 30 years of life!!! I can't even fathom 30 years of marriage.


Thank you for your example. Thank you that I know, without a doubt, I was born from your love for each other -- not your love for children -- your love for each other. Dad, you loved Mom so much, SO MUCH, to have a child with her at age 51. Because you loved Mom so much, you were chasing a toddler in your mid-fifties, teaching me to water-ski, throw a softball, and play tennis in your sixties, and paying college tuition bills in your seventies.



All of those things were your love for me... but really, it was your love for Mom.


And Mom -- you married Doctor Sanden! The same man who dictated medical charts at the office... and to this day, he still dictates letters to you at home. You have taught me what it means to love and respect your husband. You are a real-life Abigail (not that I am saying my dad is a real-life Nabal. REALLY, he's not!!!) You stand by dad in all things and I hope to follow your Proverbs 31 wifely example as Chris' wife.

I have carried with me every day that I am a product of your love and respect for each other. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. you put the needs of the other above your own needs. (Please provide Chris and me tips on HOW to do this!!!!)

Thank you for 30 years of loving each other more than yourself.

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Saturday, February 26, 2011

More Than A Name

Yesterday I took, what I thought would be a "quick" detour to check out the sales at the Borders Book Store in Greeley on my way to meet Chris. Brooke in a bookstore with prices 20-40% off... not a quick detour.

That being said, I perused my usual reading genres looking for deals too good to pass up when I realized that, with marriage, more than my name will be changing.

I was in front of the Christian lifestyle books for singles when I realized I didn't need to look for great deals here anymore. Ever since, probably age 12, I have always checked the Christian single books at every bookstore I've visited. Sometimes its a quick glance, other times its hours comparing titles, authors and reading excerpts. Passion and Purity, Boundaries In Dating, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Let Me Be A Woman, Boy Meets Girl, When God Writes Your Love Story, When Dreams Come True... all of these and more I have found in the Christian singles section over the past 15 years. I don't need to peruse this genre anymore... after 15 years of frequently this genre, I guess I have about a 15 year break coming until my own children are approaching the dating age.

For the first time ever that I remember, I looked in the Christian marriage section.

More than my name will be changing on June 25, 2011. My nonfiction reading will not include ways to seek God as a single adult, but as a wife -- and eventually as a mother. Thankfully, it is the same God I am seeking. I can't imagine how chaotic and confusing my faith would be if I worshiped one God as a single woman, and a different God as a married woman, and a different God as a mother, and a different God as a grandmother.

Different books, same God!

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Friday, February 25, 2011

Wedding Countdown: 4 Months

Chris and I are ONE MONTH CLOSER TO OUR WEDDING!!!
FOUR months to go!

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Four months until this:becomes beautiful centerpieces.

Four months until these:
contribute to an elegant and beautiful room where we'll celebrate the wedding.

Four months until this:
becomes variations of corsages, bouquets and boutonnieres.

LESS than four months until this:becomes DELICIOUS food at our rehearsal dinner (hold the garlic)

Four months until we:become husband and wife - for LIFE!

And four months until:
Happily ever after BEGINS!


As you can probably tell by these pictures, Chris and I had a very productive wedding planning time in Michigan and we are beyond excited about how beautiful our wedding celebration is going to be!
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Unexpected Chivalry

This evening I decided to take a "quick" run. I could tell the sun was pretty low in the sky, but I thought I could make it around the 4-mile square that I run before it became too dark. About half-way through I realized that the sky was darker faster than I had expected, and there are street lights in Greeley, so it was okay that I was still out despite the fast-coming twilight.

That being said, I ran my route faster than usual, which felt great, but I was extremely relieved to get back to Chris' safely.

When I walked in to Chris' house, Chris' roommate (also named Chris) greeted me and said, "I had no idea where you went..."

To which I responded, a little surprised, "Oh, I tried to go for a run before it got dark, but I misjudged my timing a little."


He then went on to tell me that he was sitting out in his truck talking on his phone when I left (I hadn't seen him). So he saw me leave the house, but was confused then to see my car still parked out front... and he didn't see me anywhere. He mentioned this fact on the phone to the girl he was talking to just as a truck gunned the engine right in front of his house. Chris said, "I immediately thought, 'That truck didn't take her... did he?' and I squealed out of my driveway to follow him!" He chased this truck a couple of blocks trying to get a head-count of how many people were in the car and if any of them could be me before he determined the truck hadn't taken me.
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I've got to say, I was humbled by this unexpected -- albeit, unnecessary demonstration of chivalry by Chris' roommate. I always feel protected with Chris, but I had no idea his roommate would go to such lengths to make sure a truck hadn't driven off with me.

Thank you, Lord for the chivalrous men in my life.


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Blog Fonts

So, the fonts of my blog are driving me CRAZY -- because they are not staying! This is not the third day in a row when I look at the fonts on the blog and they are different from what they were yesterday... so I work with a friend to help me fix them... then the next morning I wake up and the fonts are different again.

Blogger seems to be in love with Times New Roman because every font on the blog (other than my post) seems to INSIST - EVERYDAY on being Times New Roman. I HATE TIMES NEW ROMAN FONT!!!! Pretty much any font I would take over Times New Roman.

Does anyone have ANY IDEA why my fonts have a mind of their own?

Thanks for the feedback...

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P.S. The MINUTE I posted this post, half of the fonts on my blog changed from Times New Roman back to the fonts I prefer. I'm beginning to think I'm going CRAZY!

Monday, February 21, 2011

New Blog Design!

Welcome to the Mountain Miller blog -- a change from the Mountain Brooke. Technically, this blog re-design is a little premature as Chris and I are currently The Mountain Millers-To-Be, but the blog redesign is one more check off my To-Do list between now and June 25, so here it is.

I won this awesome blog redesign from the One Less Orphan One Less Broken Heart giveaway last November, and I asked if we could wait until 2011 to do the redesign. A HUGE thank you to Kim who is responsible for the great header, fonts, colors and layout! If you like the redesign, check out her website at her design website.

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Friday, February 18, 2011

As of Late: February

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Christy is hosting the monthly As of Late and I'm a day late, but still want to join!
  • As of late, I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off (in the past two days I've driven over 600 miles)
  • As of late, I feel very behind on my blog-post and blog-reading routines
  • As of late, I have a new blog address and I'm working on a new blog-style to reflect the life changes on the way! :-D
  • As of late, I seem to have hit both a weight-loss and motivation plateau in my work-out routines. I've lost about 9 lbs thus far in 2011, and I would like to lose another 9 or so pounds... but I've been stuck at my current 9-lbs-down for about a week and I'm losing motivation to keep working-out with the plateau...
  • As of late, I am on mid-winter vacation and it is much needed, but will not be very restful. Chris and I will fly from Denver to Michigan tonight for a marathon of wedding-planning appointments on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I am excited for the planning and going into everything with an excited attitude, but I'm a little concerned about the lack of resting that will happen on our "vacation"
  • As of late, I have completely swapped my coffee addiction for flavored green tea - its delicious and is supposed to be much better for you
  • As of late, our SAVE THE DATE cards have been mailed!!!! I will post it next week, but I want to make sure those who are going to get it in the mail see it in person before they see it on the blog
  • As of late, our wedding website is ready for visits: http://www.mywedding.com/chrisandbrookemiller/index.html
  • As of late, I really need my hair trimmed...
What is happening as of late in your life?

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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change!

Last weekend, Chris and I celebrated Valentine's Day in several fun, funny and romantic ways.

On Saturday, we went to a community theater production, The Porchlight Players, of the musical, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" This was a REALLY funny musical on the spectrum of love -- the first date through funerals...
There are two things in my world that signify something is a special occasion, and this date included both of them -- I wore high heels and I wore perfume! I can count on 1 hand home many times I wear heels and perfume in a year, so it is a big deal when it's a heels and perfume date! :-D
It was a dinner theater production so we had a wonderful dinner before the show... chicken and salmon (it helped me with wedding menu ideas...)
The musical was hilarious and sweet, but the date was especially romantic because Chris and my first date was to a Porchlight Players production, December 18, 2009. We went to see Barefoot In the Park and there were may of the same cast members in both shows.
The players gave all the females flowers as we left -- but they gave me extras when they found out that our first date was Barefoot In The Park and now we're engaged...

Chris and I exchanged Valentines on Sunday evening and here are the line-up of our cards...
And the HUGE Valentine balloons with Chris in the background.
We tried to create the Old Chicago Thai-Pai pizza and it was REALLY good. We used shrimp instead of chicken, which was good. Next time we'd like to try a different crust but we'll definitely be making this again! YUM!
Chocolate-covered strawberries -- gotta love Costco.

How was your Valentine's Day?

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Monday, February 14, 2011

Love and Prayers

"Love talked about is easily ignored; Love demonstrated is irresistible."

I came upon this quote nearly two years ago as a description of what God had done for us... what a perfect reflection for Valentine's Day.

Love Demonstrated Is Irresistible!

I am excited to write about how Chris and I celebrated Valentine's Day together, but that post will have to wait...

Tomorrow, I will be administering a state standardized test to one student. When administering the test, I cannot have access to my phone, my computer, any work or even a recreational reading book. So, I'd like you to send me prayer requests.

I will have at least 1.5 hours of sitting still, watching this student take a test tomorrow and 1.5 hours of sitting still on Wednesday. I will be spending this time monitoring the student taking the test -- and praying.

If you do not want to leave your prayer requests in the form of a comment, please email:
brooke{dot}sanden{at}gmail{dot}com

I look forward to hearing from you.

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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Wedding Dreams: Southern Plantation

Chris and I have been having dreams about our wedding -- yes, our wedding is turning into "a dream come true" but I mean we've been dreaming - in sleep - very weird and funny things about our wedding day.

This week I had an all-time funniest/weirdest dream and given that we are still 4.5 months away from the wedding, I figured I had better start sharing some of the funny dreams on the blog because they may be destined to get weirder and funnier as the big day approaches.


This weeks funniest dream was that Chris and I had a theme wedding - Southern Belles and Southern Gentlemen held on an old fashioned Southern Plantation. IN THE DREAM we invited half of our guests to come in black body paint to be the slaves in our Southern Plantation wedding. WHAT KIND OF A DREAM IS THIS?!?!!? Is this residual stress from working on the guest list? I think half of the guests should come serve at the wedding?!?! Oh man!!! Luckily, it was a dream, not a real idea... but wow!

In my defense, I think a couple things triggered this totally crazy dream:
  1. I just started reading Gone With the Wind (I'm hoping to make it through the book on this try)
  2. I just finished listening to one of the the Little House on the Prairie books (Little Town on the Prairie) on tape and in this book, Pa is apart of a minstrel show where he dresses in black-face.
  3. I fell asleep the night before thinking about Lincoln's birthday and the song from "Holiday Inn" Abraham, where all the performers wear black-face. Happy Birthday to Mr. Lincoln, by the way...
So, there really was semi-legitimate context to my nutso dream... but I think its really funny nonetheless. I can only imagine what wedding dreams lie ahead.

Happy Saturday!

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Friday, February 11, 2011

You Found Me!

If you're reading this post, it means you were sent here via re-direction from The Mountain Brooke! A big "Thank You" to Kim, who taught me how to re-direct one blog to another. Please update your browser to our new website home: mtnmillers.blogspot.com

I know the header still says The Mountain Brooke -- but changes are in the air and it will not remain The Mountain Brooke for long.

With all the craziness occurring around June 25, I am preempting some of the changes... think of us as Mountain Millers-To-Be until it is official.

Thank you for walking with us through this life-changing time and beautiful journey!
And THANK YOU for all the menu suggestions -- I got more emails than comments and your feedback is much appreciated... now the next question, do you guys want to hear what we decide before the wedding or wait to see pictures and hear about everything after the wedding?

The same question regarding all wedding details -- bridesmaid dresses, hairstyles, cake design, etc?

And keep in mind, we're blessed to be taking a 2.5 week honeymoon after the wedding, so it will most likely be late-July before I post wedding details after the wedding...

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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Menu Feedback Requested


This is essentially my third consecutive post (one last night, sleep for 10 hours, two this morning), so please scroll down and catch up on my past 12 hours... especially this one.

I am collecting feedback on wedding menus.

What have you liked? What have you disliked?


Do you really pay attention to what you're eating? Only when it's delicious or horrible?

I have about 24 hours to finalize what Chris, my parents and I are going to try at our "tasting" in about 10 days, and then we will make our wedding entree decisions from there.

Does red-meat work when you're not cooking to order? Everyone gets medium-rare whether they want it or not?


Is chicken elegant enough for a wedding?

Is fish a happy medium, or the cop-out choice that says I clearly couldn't decide between steak and chicken?

HELP!

If you don't want to leave a comment, you can always email me at brooke{dot}sanden{at}gmail{dot}com


THANK YOU in advance for your help!


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The Mountain Millers

Please update your bookmarks to my new url: mtnmillers.blogspot.com

Okay, also if you know how I have have brookesanden.blogspot.com redirected to mtnmillers.blogspot.com please let me know because my blog ignorance is driving me crazy right now.

Also, consider yourself warned that some changes are on the way as I begin transforming The Mountain Brooke to The Mountain Millers.

Thanks for walking with me through these blog and life changes.

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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Tired and Cold

For the past three days I have been two things:
  • Tired
&
  • Cold
At first I thought the tiredness was due to Superbowl Sunday and then a 3am drive back to Eagle on Monday morning... but after two GOOD nights of sleep, I am still EXHAUSTED! My mom said she was cold and exhausted for the first part of this week too. Does anyone know of a random bug going around?

No fever, no nausea, no stuffy nose or cough -- just INSANE tiredness and being cold. Not even chills that accompany a fever, just to-the-bone cold.


Any diagnoses out there?

I'm going to bed...
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Word-Filled Wednesday: Psalm 113:1-4

PRAISE GOD it is WEDNESDAY!!!!
Praise God that each day is one day - ONE. We are not asked to take several at a time... one day given, one day lived, one day gone. Praise God that days, and Mercy are new every morning. PRAISE GOD!

137 God-given days until Chris and my wedding (written Tuesday night) -- 136 if you're reading this on Wednesday. :-D

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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Engagement: The Proposal

Consider yourself warned... this is the LONG version of Chris' marriage proposal. For a shorter version see here.


As described previously, Chris had me completely convinced that, although we had discussed a wedding for summer 2011, he would not be asking my parents for permission to marry me until Christmas 2010, and not proposing any before January or February 2011; that being said, he and I had looked at some styles of engagement rings but nothing had been determined. So when people ask me if the proposal was a surprise, the truth is, YES, it was. Not that we hadn’t talked about joining our lives in marriage, but that I was COMPLETELY CONVINCED that Chris had not talked to my parents yet and WOULD NOT propose until 2011.


During mid-December (2010), Chris started asking me some specifics about Riva Ridge, a black diamond ski run on Vail Mountain where my dad proposed to my mom nearly 30 years earlier. He said he had read an article in a skier’s magazine about Riva Ridge and the article said it was one of the top ski runs in the nation. Chris said he definitely wanted to ski Riva Ridge the next time we skied in Vail.


He and I planned on skiing Vail Mountain on our way out of town on Saturday, December 18 on our way to see his parents to celebrate Christmas in St. Louis and then proceeding to Michigan to celebrate Christmas with my parents. December 18th would also mark 1 year from our first date. I commented to my mom around December 14th that Chris had really emphasized that he wanted to ski Riva on December 18th, and if I didn’t know better, I would think he was maybe going to propose. My mom just scoffed at that suggestion. Little did I know, as soon as I told Mom my suspicion, although she scoffed hoping to deter me, she promptly hung up the phone and ran to my dad saying, “He’s going to propose on Saturday on Riva Ridge!”


On Thursday, December 16, I had a similar conversation with my roommate, Maggie, where I confessed that I was worried about how much I suspected that Chris was going to propose because I REALLY DIDN’T THINK he was going to, but I was afraid that I actually was suspecting it and I was going to end up disappointed that he didn’t propose when I had NO REASON to expect him to do so. I told her that he had been so honest with me that he wasn’t going to propose before January and I just had to GET THIS THOUGHT OUT OF MY MIND. She, having no idea that Chris was planning to propose, had an amazing, God-Planted (if you ask me) idea – she said, “I bet he is thinking about proposing on Riva, but

he wants to ski it first with you sort of as a dry run to get a feel for it. Then, maybe he will propose there in January or February. Since he has never skied Riva before, this will be a way for him to learn about the run to see if it is really an option for proposing.” I told Maggie she was brilliant and her idea made so much sense! Chris had not skied Riva Ridge before, and maybe he was considering Riva as a place to propose in January so OF COURSE he would want to ski it first to try it out. My suspicious were completely gone once Maggie planted this idea in my head.


Now on the subject of maybe Chris will propose – someday – on Riva, I confessed to Maggie how worried I was that he might pull out an engagement ring on the ski slope. I told her how many belongings I have seen get lost in the snow on the slopes – I’ve seen entire SKIES get buried in powder and they are GONE. How could he, in his right mind pull out a small, valuable engagement ring on a ski run in the middle of a snowy mountain? Maggie said she could understand my fears and if Chris ever broached the subject of proposing to me with her, she would relay my concerns about losing the engagement ring in the snow.


On Friday, December 17, one day after our conversation and my new conviction that Chris would be skiing Riva the next day as a “test run” for a possible later proposal, Chris caught Maggie when I was out of the room and told her he was going to propose on Riva Ridge the next day. He showed her the ring and told her to please keep it a secret. Good to her word, Maggie told him how concerned I was about a ring getting lost in the snow. Chris assured her, he would not drop the ring.


Chris and I packed up the car Saturday morning, December 18 to head “home” for Christmas – his home then my home. It was snowing very hard between Eagle and Vail with no signs of letting up, so I told Chris that we didn’t have to ski in Vail as originally planned. If he thought it would be better to just stay on the road and save skiing for another day, that was okay with me. He later told me that he really wanted to get me on the mountain and get me on Riva Ridge – but he wanted everything we did that day to be my idea so I wouldn’t be suspicious of anything.


We got to Vail and I told him that skiing that day was up to him. He said that I had sounded like I really wanted to ski, and neither of us had skied on Vail Mountain yet that season, so he thought we should take a couple of runs. So, we bundled up and headed out.


First we skied Northwoods, which is always one of the first runs I ski each season. My sister died of cancer in 2002 and her ashes are spread in the woods on Northwoods and a very small Vail charm is nailed to a tree, which marks the spot where her ashes lie. Each year, I look forward to visiting that spot of Northwoods. Chris knows what a special spot this is for me, and so we both skied Northwoods as our first run. It was a PERFECT day on the mountain – a perfect mix of snow and sun! It was snowing and the snow was accumulating so we were skiing in inches of powder, but it was not a blizzard that the snowfall affected visibility or temperatures on the mountain – a rare combination when it comes to Vail snowfall.


After Northwoods, Chris said we should probably head down the mountain so we could hit the road. He asked me what I wanted to ski down the mountain. It should be stated here, that Chris had kind of been complaining on Northwoods… his boots were giving him trouble, he wasn’t accustomed to skiing in powder, his goggles were fogging up, etc, etc. I told him that we didn’t have to ski Riva Ridge today because the last thing a skier should do is ignore what your body is telling you, ski too hard on your first day, and then injure yourself unnecessarily for the rest of the season.


When it was time to head down, Chris told me I could choose what we would ski down. I told him that if he thought he could handle it, I would really like to ski Riva Ridge home. Riva Ridge is one of the few runs on Vail Mountain that lets you ski from the very top of the mountain to the base of the mountain in one LONG shot. Riva Ridge merges with another run about halfway (Tourist Trap) and those two runs combined (Riva Ridge and Tourist Trap) enable skiers to ski from the very top of the mountain to the absolute base.


The story I have heard for 27 years is this: After spending a few years teaching my mom, at the top of Riva Ridge, my dad looked at my mom and said, “You have turned into a pretty good skier, Chrissy. If you ski behind me for this entire run – top to bottom, without falling, then I’ll marry you.” She skied behind him the entire way – top of the mountain to base – and he married her a month later.


Chris agreed to take Riva Ridge down the mountain and he told me later that if I had suggested we take a different route down the mountain, he would have come up with some way to convince me that we should take Riva Ridge instead.


So, at my request, we headed down Riva Ridge – none too quickly because it is a difficult run (black diamond) and it was snowing and it was our last run of the day so I was in no hurry. As we skied down the mountain, Chris and I took some video footage of each other skiing – what I did not know was during one of the times Chris was taping me skiing toward him, he added the commentary that this was our year anniversary and he was completely in love with me and that, “she has no idea, but I’m about to propose to her here in a minute or two.” Then I ski up and wave and wish him a Merry Christmas – having no idea what he has just told the camera.


About mid-way down the mountain, Chris said that his boots were really bothering him and he needed to get out of his skies to stretch. I was mildly suspicious that he might propose at this point, but it would really be like Chris to get out of his skies, say something romantic to make me think that maybe a proposal is coming – and then get back into his skies and speed down the mountain.


So, with mild skepticism, I paid attention as Chris got out of his skies and started reflecting on our past year together. Chris commented on how great this year had been and how much we had learned about each other and how he considers me the best thing that has ever happened to him and how after this year, he really believed that we could get through anything together. And again, at this point in the speech I was pretty much expecting him to hop back in his skies and ski away. Then he said the phrase which I’ll never forget, “I am really excited to marry you, Brooke. And when I asked your parents if I could marry you, they were really excited too.”


That’s when I realized what was happening – and at the same time, I couldn’t believe what was happening. As I let it sink in that he had ALREADY spoken to my parents, Chris knelt in the snow and unzipped his coat and pulled out a box – and I immediately said “DON’T DROP IT!!!!!!!” He assured me that he would not drop it, and he pulled out a GORGEOUS ring and asked me to marry him.


I think I was still in shock as I said “YES!” and he pulled my hand out of my ski mitten so he could put the engagement ring on. We hugged – I in my skies, and he in his ski boots and then he yelled “SHE SAID YES!!!!!” for all on the mountain to hear.

I immediately had a million questions about when and how he spoke to my parents, how he had a ring, was he really sure he wanted to marry me… all of those questions, and he was so excited to tell me all the details -- -- -- and then we realized that we were still in the middle of a ski slope and would have a 10 hour car ride ahead of us when we could talk through all of those details and maybe we should ski down the mountain. We stopped a couple of skiers and asked them to take our picture and then we skied the rest of the run on cloud 9.

At the bottom of the mountain, we put our skies and polls away and headed for the showers at the spa associated with my parent’s Vail condo. We ran into many of the condo’s staff members (who I have known for many years) and they were the first people to whom we told the BIG NEWS.

Then we each enjoyed showers, dry hair, clean clothes, etc in the spa and we hit the road for Missouri. We called my parents from I-70 near Vail Pass and they admitted that they had been living on Colorado time the entire day as they had been sure since my conversation earlier that week with Mom that this was the day and time when Chris would pop the question. They were also thrilled to share with us their part of the story – how Chris has asked their permission over Thanksgiving and how they had kept it secret for nearly a month.


I don’t know how Chris and I made the drive from Vail to St. Louis safely because we were both starring at my beautiful, sparkly engagement ring – and at each other - the entire drive. We were in an absolutely love-bubble. To be honest, we still are.


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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Engagement: Glowing

Every Tuesday night since December, I have met a group of women from throughout the valley to do a variety of work-out routines. All of the work-outs we do come from Beachbody and it is a nice way for us to try different products and decide which might work for each of us.

This past week, I took my mom to the class with me and we spent some time talking to the organizer, Kelly, when it ended. Kelly is ADORABLE and awesome and 3 months pregnant with her third little miracle -- and -- grew up with one of my good friends from college (MaryCarol, for those of you who know her).

The three of us (mom, Kelly and me) were talking about her pregnancy and my mom said something she has said to me most of my life, "There are two such amazing and special times in a woman's life and that is when she is the bride-to-be and when she is the mother-to-be..."

Kelly then handed me a compliment I think I will remember for years to come. She asked me how the wedding plans were coming and then said, "Brooke, you look great -- you are absolutely glowing during your engagement."

I, of course, laughed and said it probably had something to do with the fact that she always saw me after work-outs... but she didn't let it go. She said I looked so happy and so radiant and was absolutely glowing in preparation for my wedding. What an amazing and heart-warming observation for her to notice and tell me.
I feel like I am glowing -- I don't know if it has something to do with how often I work out these days, or if it is seeing life through the reflection of my beautiful and sparkly engagement ring, but I really feel like I am glowing.
I always imagined I would radiate joy when I am pregnant -- but to radiate joy in anticipation of my marriage -- I just never thought about it. Okay, maybe at the rehearsal dinner or at an engagement party or bridal shower -- but I am more than 4.5 months away from the commencement of Chris and my marriage and I am glowing!


Chris makes me so happy. We do not agree on everything -- sometimes it feels like we hardly agree on anything, but that is just my imagination running away with a situation. We agree on the important things -- and we are head over heels crazy for each other.
As of June 25, 2011, this will become our little family and I am beyond excited. I am excited about everything between now and our wedding day. I LOVE all this planning we're doing. I do not feel overwhelmed or burdened with wedding planning. I feel so blessed and joyful and privileged to be planning a beautiful wedding where family and friends will come to witness and celebrate the beginning of my marriage to the man I love!

That's not to say that the planning process hasn't had some difficult moments. At one particularly hard part of the planning, my aunt related the planning process to childbirth and labor... the result is beautiful and life-changing and you would endure anything for the amazing result -- but there are some painful and difficult moments in getting there.
I feel like the most blessed bride in the world! Like that saying, "God loves you... but I'm His favorite!" I am so happy I am glowing! I don't believe I have ever had such joy in my life -- the kind of joy that just penetrates every muscle and curve and bone in my body. Whatever happens today, I am completely in love with a man who wants to marry me. How can I keep from glowing?
All photos were done by Marc-Photography at my childhood home in Norton Shores, MI.
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