Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. It makes even me want to go to the ranch. Sort of. But really, this woman loves her husband and thinks he’s super hot. I can totally relate.
Everything about this day was perfect. Even our kiss got a high 9-1/2 rating from my father, which is why I’m posting this photo. Because let’s be honest, everyone wants you to go for it on the kiss. So we did.
To answer some common post-wedding questions: Yes, I’m changing my name to Joanna Linberg. Yes, the day was wonderful. Yes, married life is even BETTER than we thought it would be. Yes, we’re incandescently happy. No, we’re not having kids right away. Yes, my husband is the hottest man alive.
So now that the wedding biz is all tied up, I’m kind of stumped about what to do with this blog. I love reading other people’s blogs and I do like writing (when I’m not creatively sapped from work), but I’m not sure I want to commit to writing here consistently. I have all sorts of good ideas to blog about while I’m doing things (and I’ve even taken some pictures of our Mega House Cleaning!) but I really don’t want to stop living in order to blog about living. I’d rather do it on my downtime.
Or at 4 p.m. on my first day back from work.
image courtesy of the radiant Nicole McIntosh
And it’s really hitting me today. I’m so excited! Here are three short prayers for the big day:
3. That the ceremony and the whole day would reflect God and His place in our lives and in our marriage.
2. That all the guests and everyone else involved have safe travels to Des Moines and around Des Moines.
1. That everyone involved will feel peaceful and happy and be able to enjoy the day.
Here’s four ways my life won’t change once I’m married:
4. I will still not like cleaning up the kitchen.
3. I’ll still have all my ratty old pajamas that need to be thrown out (although I bet I’ll do that a lot faster now that someone will see me at night and in the morning).
2. I still won’t be able to touch my toes or have magically clean feet all the time.
1. I will still love Brad with all my heart and that love will grow as each day passes.
I just called our rental company to add a few more tablecloths to our order and they said I had a credit on my account, even after adding those tablecloths. That’s right, folks. Our vendors are giving us money BACK. This is what every bride dreams of.
And five people who are making it really hard for me to get married:
5. Mom
4. Dad
3. Jed
2. Jill
1. Jessie
Yes, this is my family and no, they’re not trying to sabotage my wedding. It’s just that my family is (and always has been) so great that this week has been full of emotion for me. Absolutely everything I do makes me think, “This is the last time I do this,” including getting ready for work in the morning with my sisters or coming home late and finding my mom up waiting for me to talk about my day, or listening to my brother pick up his guitar and play, or answering my dad’s “What are we going to do tonight?” question. This transition is hard, maybe even harder than guest list shenanigans.
So if you see me getting tears in my eyes a lot this week, just roll with it. I’m ecstatic to marry Brad; I just need a little time to adjust to this change in my world.
…and six people who have promised to be on the dance floor all night long (and must keep their promise):
6. Max
5. Jessie
4. Jonathan
3. Noah
2. Marie Elizabeth
1. Emeric Dwyer (scotch in hand, to be sure)
And 7 moments I’m looking forward to and want to savor:
7. Waking up Saturday morning and taking 10 minutes to write my feelings down in a journal.
6. Coming downstairs and squealing, “I’M GETTING MARRIED TODAY!!!”
5. Putting my dress on and knowing this is the moment.
4. Spending those last few moments with my sisters before heading down the aisle.
3. Seeing Brad.
2. Finally getting to hold hands with Brad after spending the whole day away from him.
1. Getting in the Corvette after the party is done, tired, but still super excited and finally having another moment for just the two of us.
And family is coming in less than a week! Eight people I’m really, really looking forward to seeing:
8. Stephie, my cousin. She’s my buddy and I love hanging out with her. She makes me feel cooler than I am.
7. My grandparents, but especially my Grandpa Bob and Grandpa Curt. They’re both so excited to see one of their granddaughters get married and I’m so pleased they’re coming for it.
6. Luke and Elizabeth! I don’t see this couple nearly often enough but I love them both dearly.
5. More family: All my cousins, aunts, and uncles. They are so much fun and will tear up the dance floor.
4. Tida, Nate’s fiancee. I haven’t seen her in months since she’s been on rotations. She gave me the girl’s opinion on Brad early on and convinced me to meet him. Muah!
3. Sam Thompson. He’s just one of those people in my life that I know will love watching me get married. And that makes me so happy!
2. Hosanna and her two girls, Leziga and Mercy. Last Thanksgiving Hosanna shared that she was thankful to count my family as her family, since she and her daughters moved here from Niger (?) without any of their family. It was beautiful and I can’t say how excited I am to include them in this big family event.
1. I can’t wait to see Brad. These last few days leading up to the wedding are getting more and more busy and I think by the time I see Brad at the end of the aisle, I’ll just want to snuggle up with him, relax, and talk about how our lives just changed.
In honor of it being nine days until the wedding, here’s a list of nine things I’m looking forward to post-wedding (nothing Brad-specific. That would be gross):
9. Opening all the guest book notes and reading them.
8. Getting extra pages for our guest book and adding our program, invitation, candid photos, and some of the great notes we’ve gotten to the guest book to make it a scrapbook.
7. Organizing our house and rearranging the furniture! Then decorating!
6. Getting a grill and having our first grill-out with some friends.
5. Coming home from work (to Brad…had to get that in here somehow I guess), having a drink of wine with dinner, and not having to worry about driving home afterward super sleepy. Wine just makes me fall asleep about 20 minutes after I drink it.
4. Tim’s wedding! (And there’s the good-looking couple to your left.)
3. Not planning a wedding anymore, plus not spending so much money on the wedding anymore. This girl needs a new pair of jeans.
2. Jessie and Jonathan’s wedding!
1. Ok, Ok, actually what I’m most looking forward to is falling asleep and waking up next to my best friend every day. It doesn’t get any more blissful than that.
image courtesy of my friend Tim’s wedding site. Pretty funny. You should read it and then let him know in whatever way possible that he is a lucky man to be marrying Rebecca. I adore.