We got married!

So I'm taking a break from packing to update the little blog here with a little about the wedding. It was a beautiful day and I can't say thank you enough to our amazing family and friends for helping us pull it off. So many people worked so hard to make it happen and we love and appreciate you all so much! We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our life!

So for those that couldn't be there, the wedding went so great! Everything looked beatiful and I love how it all came together with the flowers and attire and everything. It was super windy at the ceremony, but it was pretty short. The ceremony was short and sweet, just the way we had planned it. My dad walked me down the aisle and I couldn't stop smiling. I really thought I would cry at some point but I didn't because I was just so happy (although usually I get tears of joy, but I felt so peaceful during the whole day). Judge Renstrom read "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss and then we said our vows and promised to love each other forever and always and exchanged rings and then we kissed! And then we skipped back up the aisle, just for fun!

Our reception turned out so great because of all the people who helped out. The food was great (I got to taste a little bit of it) and we loved how everything looked. We loved visiting with our families and friends-we just wish we would have had more time!

If you want to see pictures from the wedding go here and hopefully I will get the ones from the photographer back soon and then I will share those as well.

John and I are leaving Wednesday or Thursday for our big move to Massachusetts so our online activity may be limited for a bit, but we will try to keep everyone updated on where we end up and how it all goes. I really want to blog more regularly since we will be so far away!

sleepless nights

So the last couple of weeks I've been on a strange sleeping schedule. I think it started because I was having a hard time sleeping in general...I would toss and turn every night, mostly thinking about all the things I needed to be doing. Then I went to Vegas for my bachelorette party and was up all night for 3 nights in a row and slept a few hours each morning. I've somehow stayed on that schedule this week. I go to bed around 4:00am and sleep for a few hours and then I wake up and remember I have a lot to do so I can't go back to sleep.

Anyway, I should probably try to get back on a regular sleep schedule...maybe I'll go to bed at 2:00am tonight and go to bed a little earlier each night until the wedding.

I'm getting married in 7 days! Some days I feel like I've been waiting forever and others I feel like being engaged has gone by super fast and I can't believe the wedding is almost here. I'm basically ready, just a few last small things to do. We are doing the food ourselves, so things will get crazy for 2 days before the wedding preparing everything. I think it's going to turn out great though and I'm super excited. I've had a couple of fun showers and tomorrow I have one more with John's family, which will also be fun.

The bigger project I'm working on is packing. Oh the joys of packing. Not really, of course. Luckily, most of my stuff has been in storage this last year while I have been living with Matt and Debi, so I don't have as much to do for this move. Except we are putting most of our stuff in storage, for now, so we can get out to MA and get a place and get settled a bit, I will get a job and then we will fly back here, pack a U-haul and take the rest of our stuff to MA. Sounds like fun, huh?

Anyway, I think the point of this late-night rambling is to put some thoughts down. Of course I have lots going on with the wedding and the move and job searching. I know everything is going to work out and I'm excited to start this new adventure with John. We were talking the other night about how the whole having a wedding thing almost seems like just a formality, which it is, but I hope it is more than that. I hope our wedding day is very special and that we enjoy the day and appreciate the chance we have to celebrate with family and friends.

So this week I am reflecting on my life and how things have been these last 30 years leading up to now and how excited I am for this new chapter of my life. I've waited longer than some to get married, and I loved my single life and all of the great things I've been able to do. On the other hand, I could not be happier with the way things are going in my life now. I know John is the right person for me to marry. He is my best friend, he is kind and loving and he makes me laugh, he supports me and encourages me to be my best, he is driven and we want to be successful together, he loves me, and we are a great team. I am so lucky that we found each other. We have definitely had some bumps along the way, but we are so ready now to be married and continue on this adventure together.

So let the count down begin! 7 days!

I'm still here

Hello blog world. I thought I would do a little post here to let everyone know I am still around and still trying to stay updated on everyone's lives. I think I just went so long without blogging that it seemed hard to start it up again.

Anyway, my laptop died a while back, so I haven't had one place to store photos, so that's my excuse. Although I haven't been taking as many photos as I usually do anyway. I will start storing pics on John's laptop after we get married and start sharing everything. :-)

So just a quick list of things we've been up to this summer so far, more pics maybe to follow:

-fun trip to Vancouver, WA the first of May to visit John's sister, Keri and her family and to be there for our niece Amy's baptism.

Oregon/Washington Coast

-my job at Deer Valley ended in June, and I was sad. I miss all of my great co-workers and the sweet babies I was watching every day. I'm currently looking for a nanny job in Massachusetts.

-John and I are planning to move to MA. For reals. Plans are being made and we will leave Sept. 1st for this grand adventure!

-I turned 30. It was rather uneventful, but a fun weekend with friends and family.

With Carly, Linda, and Alisha on my birthday

-John is working like crazy but loving his current project and happy to only have to travel to CA instead of Amsterdam.

-wedding plans are coming along great. Everything is pretty much done, yay!

-we had a busy July full of fun family time, fireworks, and a quick trip to Boston (work meetings for John and checking out neighborhoods we want to live in and checking out the city for me/both of us).

-I got bridal photos taken, but I will not post any for now because John doesn't want to see my dress before our wedding day. If you want to see them, search "Jessica Janae Photography" on Facebook to check out a few samples, just don't share with John. :-)

-Sadly, my Uncle Les passed away this last weekend-he had a heart attack while competing in a triathlon. It was sudden and has been a heartbreaking loss for our extended family. Please keep the Chariton family in your thoughts and prayers.

Things to look forward to this month:

-My bachelorette party in Vegas this weekend with my best girls.
-My cousin Brian's wedding next week and seeing a lot of my family.
-Wedding showers and wedding prep
-Packing and getting ready to move
-Getting married to my best friend and the love of my life in just 18 days!

Our engagement photo :-)