6 months and counting....

wow, it's hard to believe and eli & i have six months left until our wedding....whoa!!!! it's amazing. i'm sooooo excited and looking forward to our new life together as man & wife. no nervousness yet, but we'll see as we closer to the date. haha. our last premarital class was last night. had a blast not only talking about the last chapter of the book...soulmates...but we chatted about movies (scary movies), games, our wedding, and about dogs. still so much to do....but the class definitely allowed me to be able to communicate with eli better. :)

p.s. to alexis & michael, your wedding is tomorrow!!!! so exciting!!!! may the Lord continue bless you tonight, tomorrow, and forever.

premarital class #7

technically tonight is the last class since we're done watching all the dvds...the topic of the night was "are you and your partner soulmates?" it's a very fitting end to our class.....what makes us soulmates is not how well we get along or how much alike we are, but how we are connected to the very depth of our souls, through our spiritual bond with the Jesus Christ. and of course, i couldn't leave without taking pictures...so here is our group....so blessed to have met these wonderful couples and i just pray that the Lord continues to work in each of their relationships, not only leading up to the wedding, but everyday after that. and for kyle & kristina, they were so great and wonderful!!! thanks for opening up your home to us each thursday night and for being real. p.s. thanks also for all the yummy cookies. hehe. pictured below from L to R: eli, ara, corey, christina, alexis, michael, nikki, and anthony

premarital class #7

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tonight was our one-on-one with kyle & kristina. it went really awesome!!! and we talked about the breakthrough that eli & i had the week before (totally based around the whole gender gap breakdown). the topic for the night is "do you know how to fight a good fight?" eli & i had a lot of moments were we just looked @ each other and just smiled because we could totally relate to some of the other couples. after class, we went over to christina's house and had a game night. it was awesome getting to hang out with all of us as a group. the girls talked about their weddings (of course...hehe) and our progress with it...invitations, guest list, etc. while the guys stayed in the kitchen and talked guy stuff...haha. after, we played taboo, girls vs. guys, where the girls totally demolished the guys. it's a valiant effort. it was definitely a busy day for me and eli....2 cake tastings, kayaking, our one-on-one, and game night...woohooo!!!

premarital class #6

christina brought some really yummy cupcakes for us during this class. yum!!!! "have you bridged the gender gap?" is the topic for tonight. it was a very insightful discussion and eli & i had a lot to think and talk about after the class was over...

premarital class #5

we're all complete tonight...tonight we talked about "can you say what you mean and understand what you hear?" hmmm, this is something on communication and i know eli & i need to work on this....i guess the answer to the question would be sometimes...haha

premarital class #4

we brought sushi over this week...even though it was cinco de mayo (oops..i totally forgot). corey & christina couldn't make tonight. : / this week's topic is: "have you developed the habit of happiness?" i know that this is something i struggle with, and i tend to get frustrated so much more easier than eli does. hopefully reading this chapter and applying it in my life will help me to live a happier life, not only with myself, my relationship with eli, but with all those around me.

premarital class #3

the topic of the night..."can you identify your love style?" i already know that my top two are words of affirmation and quality time and for eli, it's physical touch...but it's amazing how you still impart your own love style (language) on your significant other wanting that for yourself and vice versa...when they don't even respond to it that well...hmmm, something to think about....

premarital class #2

so we watched the first video today...the question being, "have you face the myths of marriage with honesty?" who knew that there are so many myths....the one that really stood out to me was that our spouse will make me whole." i guess i never really thought that us as individuals are not really half of something, we're already whole and we have to basically blend two wholes together. our first homework assignment is to read the chapter and complete the corresponding exercises in the workbook.

premarital class #1

tonight was our first premarital class. it was pretty awesome!! the other two couples are alexis & michael and corey & christina along with me & eli and nikki & anthony. i have a feeling that we're going to have a great eight weeks ahead of us. we talked about how we were proposed to, they asked all the guys if they knew their anniversary date (haha, poor eli...we have so many, but he knows them all...), why are we (individually) taking premarital classes, and what was the most embarrassing thing the other has done. we will be diving into the book, "saving your marriage before it starts." so we will be going through the book during the next several weeks. i am so excited to see how the Lord will strengthen our relationship during this time....eeeeeehhhhhh!!!!

premarital counseling orientation

so today is our premarital counseling orientation at the rock. we first had brunch at corvette diner after service before going back to the rock for orientation. we were able to meet our counselors, kyle & kristina utne. i introduced myself to kristina afterwards...she seems really nice. it is such a blessing that one of my thursday small group women is also doing premarital at the same time, in the same group! so it's awesome we're doing it together. i wonder who else is going to be in our group...i'll have to wait and see.