This is why I love my photographer

She's already posted 11 pictures from yesterday!!! Here are three. If you're on Facebook you can find the rest there...

I LOVE MY PHOTOGRAPHER!!!

We had our engagement picture session this afternoon with our photographer, Kelly Adler of Kelly Adler Photography and I had the greatest time! The weather was great and the colors were fantastic. We took them on Main Street in St. Charles and got some AMAZING shots (at least I think we did... I was on the other side of the lens, LOL). I cannot wait to get the pictures later this week! Stay tuned!!

This makes me feel great about my school choice...

LU's School of Education had its accreditation extended for 7 years. There weren't any discrepancies found in the program AND the state asked to use our paperwork as an example of other schools in the state to use when they're facing accreditation.

So, people may b!tch and moan all they like about LU's lack of social awareness or how crappy financial aid can be, etc... But it's a damn good school. And it makes me proud to be a lion.

Here's the story...

T Minus...

5 months!!!

I get married 5 months from TODAY. Woo hoo!

And I ordered bridesmaids dresses yesterday. They should be in aroun Thanksgiving.

AND we have engagement pictures with our awesome photographer Kelly Adler on Sunday.

Basically, I'm excited for all things wedding this morning. :-)

Life... What Else is There to Say?

It's been two weeks since my lasst update, so I thought I'd write a quick post about what's going on in my life. 'Cause I know that you all are dying to know.

WEDDING: We're almost at the five month mark and I'm starting to get excited. I mean, I was excited before, but my friend got married a week and a half ago and that was the last wedding I'll go to before MINE and I just kept thinking, "It's almost MY TURN!!!" I'm getting giddy. Ha ha. We need to find a reasonably priced baker. That's the last of the big vendors left to book. I bought a veil today from my friend Amanda over on STLWed. We're ordering bridesmaids dresses very soon, once I get the moola from the other 3 who haven't paid me. I've done mock-ups of the invitations and the programs and they're looking pretty good! I'm currently addicted to projectwedding.com for inspiration and I found two pictures -- one of hair and one of a bouquet -- that I am currently drooling over. :-) I've been engaged for over a year and half and I really cannot wait to become Mrs. Hall. J is amazing and I can't wait to become his wife.

STUDENT TEACHING: I LOVE TEACHING. It makes the last four years completely worth it to know that they haven't been in vain. I love being in the classroom. I love helping kids learn. I love making my kids laugh. I love helping them grow. I love it all. What I don't love is lesson planning PLUS writing my standards. ANd I HATE not having a job, but I logistically cannot imagine when I would have the time to work and whether I would be able to handle it, so I'm sticking to sitting jobs which just barely get me by.

CHURCH: We recently did our own Cardboard Testimony at church. Holy. Moly. So emotional, so moving, and it made such an impact. We're int he middle of a series on hope and I hate to say it, but I'm excited for Advent -- the four weeks before Christmas. Advent and Lent are my two favorite times in the church. Christmas and Easter are, like, the whole reason the Church exists, after all. I'm not participating as a youth leader this semester so that I can put all my effort and concentration into student teaching and I miss my kids SO much. I've already found a curriculum I want to do with them next year that has a girls' and a boys' curriculum in addition to a follow-up curriculum. I'm excited about it, and I can't even do it until next September!

I'm not sure what else there is to update on. If I think of anything, I'll post. I promise.

Make an Informed Decision

Whether you support Obama, McCain, are undecided, or support a third party candidate, I am a strong believer that you should know why you're voting the way you choose. I was first able to vote in 32004 and my best friend said she was voting for Bush becuse "my dad would be mad if I voted for Kerry." WTF?? I didn't care that she was voting for Bush, I was mad at why she was voting for Bush.

So, thanks to my friends at STLWed, I present to you, a nonpartisan view at the two major candidates' platforms: where they stand on Iraq, taxes, health care, education, gay rights, gun control, abortion, etc. You want to know what they stand for? Find it here.

Everyone spins things to make them look more appealing and their opponent look incompetent. Check out how true or false those claims are here or here.

The election is in a little over a month, and whomever is elected will determine history. Why are you voting??