The end of a chapter and beginning of a new one!

Well we are only ONE week away from getting married! It will be the end of our engagement and the beginning of a wonderful marriage and life together. I am so incredibly excited! My life has changed so drastically in the past year and I wouldn't change it for the world. I have a man who I love so incredibly much and who loves me so well and treats me with such respect each and every day. We have a beautiful home. Wonderful wonderful friends. AMAZING family. It has been so fun to become a part of another family. We have learned so much in our engagement about each other and about how God desires for us to live--it has been an amazing experience. We have done a lot in our engagement. We sold a house. We moved me twice. We moved him once. We totally remodeled the upstairs of our house. We have planned a beautiful wedding. We have gone through a budget reduction at his school and watched him lose his job and get it back due to God's faithfulness. We decided for Pat to take a coaching job elsewhere. We have coached between the two of us 4 sports during our engagement and directed a youth league. We have spent countless hours planning things just to realize that in the end it's not about our plans...it's about God's and His plan will always work itself out. We have watched our friends and family support us beyond belief. We have had four bridal/wedding showers. And so much more. We are ready...very ready to enter into this next chapter of life. We are beyond excited for the wedding and the reception to see almost 300 people supporting us and celebrating our love for each other. We are ecstatic about traveling to Hawaii and starting our lives together. But more than either of those things we are thrilled to just start this new chapter of life on a strong foundation and watch what the Lord teaches us and where He takes us in our life. We are a good team together and I'm so grateful that the Lord brought us together in His perfect timing. I had known of Pat and his family for years but had never met him and our paths have crossed so many times between high school and college but this was HIS perfect timing. I'm grateful.