Countdown

So, Lord willing, Luke and I will be married July 5th :)
There are still a couple things up in the air that might change things. We want to make sure that Luke's parents can be there, so the day may have to change. But we are hoping for Fireworks (and an easily memorable anniversary).

Decor and More!

All right kids, Christmas.
After almost 50,000 straws

And countless man hours

Unorthodox came togetherwith the graphics

and the community project

and the multitude of straws

The stage set

The trees strung with lights
and the straw wrappers strategically placedthe pvc pipe hung

and the stage lit

And then the people enjoyed :)

Another eventful Christmas experience has been just the fact that I am in Texas. And as we al know, everything is bigger in Texas. Including the light displays. Luke, our friend Aduma and I decided to drive through a light spectacular on our way back from visiting people in Longview.
For 20 dollars we saw the most lights in one location that I have ever seen.

The entrancedriving through the light forest


Oh, did I mention this is in Texas?
with a little respect to Louisiana, see the alligator?
Fleet elementary?
The wedding couple ( yes I just had to take a picture)
all the water looked like it was flowing
and the birds moved from one location to another
and the flowers were.... flowers.
can you spot the flying cow?

the lion and the lamb.

The whole experience was a mixture of beautiful and just plain strange. Overall it was a blast! And the end segment was a whole nativity story theme, but unfortunately the camera battery died. :(

Engaged!!!!!!

So I know I said I would post pictures of the Christmas decorations when they were finished, but something else has taken a bit of my attention. :)
After staying up 'til 3 o'clock in the morning on Saturday Luke and I decided to play hooky and sleep in during church because we were completely exhausted. The plan was to celebrate the finished design, as well as our 6th & 7th month anniversaries this Sunday since we weren't able to early due to my illness at 6 months, and being out of town for the 7th. So we had a late lunch and enjoyed relaxing at Luke's home Sunday afternoon, then at 3:30 I left to go get all spiffy. We had talked about going to the park after we ate so while getting ready I packed some jeans and my shoes (the official shoes that started our whole dating in the first place.) At 4:30
Luke showed up all clean and shiny in my favorite shirt of his, which I picked out for him before we ever started dating. He also brought a beautiful pink rose bud from his rose bush out front of his house. We made our way to the Melting Pot, and excellent fondu place, and had a wonderful meal! Fillet Minion and chocolate....... yum.
After we ate we made our way to the park, and I slipped on my jeans and shoes, so as not to freeze in the chilly air. We get out of the car and Luke said he had a present for me. In the back of the car he showed me a potted white orchid:). So beautiful! I thought that was the end of the presents. we walked a little ways and sat at a bench and cuddled a little bit and watched the ducks at the pond. He told me that he loved me, and that the more time he spent with me, the more time he wanted to, and that he wanted me to be with him always. Then he got down on one knee and said "Will you marry me?" And I very quickly said yes, and began bouncing up and down, smiling like a giddy idiot. It was wonderful. The ring is aircraft grade titanium, and the diamond is suspended in tension for the setting. So cool. Exactly what I would have gotten. The perfect mix of design and simplicity. The park itself was of significance because one of the first times I hung out with Luke he and Amanda and I went after church and walked around and ended up getting horribly lost. Five miles later, my Church shoes were just too painful, so they ended up leaving me beside a Jahovah's Witness Church, and running until they found the car. It was crazy. It was also the park that we went to to try out my new shoes the day Luke bought them for me. The shoes were his way of asking me out, so it was all the more special that I was wearing them last night. We also frequented this park the night we had our first real fancy date. It was a wonderful night, and a wonderful experience. We went back to Luke's house and called friends and family and just smiled at each other in delight.


Well stay tuned and I promised to show some pictures of the madness that is strawland, here at Firewheel, and keep anyone who cares informed of wedding progress and such.

Thanksgiving

So This weekend has been amazing. One of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had. In part due to the man in the picture below. It's crazy how different a holiday can be when you have someone special to share it with. But on top of that I spent it with a group of 23 and sometimes more people who are some of the greatest people you will ever meet. This time last year I would have never expected myself to be in Kansas for the next Thanksgiving with a group of people I barely know but who are fast becoming like family.
Why Kansas you ask? Well it is the home of the Hawthornes, a family that takes in stray college students over the holidays. The Students are invited by their sons Curtis (fjord) and Craig (Grey). (Many have chosen to stray from there families in favor of the Kansas get away, and quite a few, including Luke, are repeat offenders.) The weekend was so Laid back that over 4 days it was up to you to pick your pace, and be as active or lethargic as you chose.

The weekends events included :
A ridiculously hard puzzle and Games! : Munchkin, Settlers of Catan, Axis and Allies, Polish Ping Pong, and Stupid (don't ask)

FIRE!

Keeping Warm

New Friends

And Friday evening it began to snow

And everyone went out to play and experiment with the coals of Thanksgivings fire.

There was the lift

and the placement

the fan & the flame

The cutting of the hole

The realization that the hand saw just isn't going to cut it & the introduction of the drill

The onlookers

The Supervisor/Enabler tries his hand

The hand gets really hot

The Laura watches with delight and stands far back with healthy fear

The mission is accoplished

The crowning glory (the phoenix rises from the ashes)

The final act

The morning comes covered in white

As does the car

Other events of the weekend :
*Sheet rocking basement rooms
*Eating
*Taking random quizzes about how well you will survive the zombie apocalypse
*Eating
*Figuring out why the router doesn't work
*Eating
*Driving back home in the front seat, smiling that you are the girlfriend of the driver, and not crammed in the back of a Mazda 3 with 2 other people for 6 hours
*Eating