My Fiancé Is On The Other Side of The World

Daniel has been out of the country for the last couple of weeks on a mission trip. He is on what his school calls the "capstone" trip and it is part of his degree. He was in Hungary for a while and now he is in Thailand. Several people were saved during their time in Hungary and I look forward to seeing what the Lord does while they are in Thailand. Please be praying for him and his team!!!

 

Thankfully we have been able to stay connected through e-mail and we were super excited to be able to Skype a couple of times! Having to be apart so much during our entire relationship is making our wedding day even more exciting! Saying "goodbye" is becoming harder and harder for me to say.

He will fly in July 24th and I am sooo ready to have him back! (:

 

Right before he left we completed our last counseling session with the pastor that is officiating the ceremony and we went to apply for a marriage license. I cannot even begin to describe what an incredibly surreal moment that was.

And of course my mom took a picture of us as we left... (:

 

 

While he has been away, I've been staying busy with wedding planning, packing, showers, and did I mention wedding planning?

My days are full as I try to juggle life at home with my busy family of nine and preparing for the future.

A friend was engaged shortly after I was and she and her fiancé are getting married the weekend after Daniel and I are. She too has a large family and it has been so good to talk to her about the joys and struggles during this season. She really encouraged me to make time for my siblings over the next couple of months. The closer we get to the wedding the crazier it gets, but I am doing my best to not miss the moments to spend time with my younger brothers and sisters.

 

(me and the sibs...minus Macheus)

 

 

Last Saturday a few of my amazing friends threw a wedding shower for me  So many dear friends were there and it was such a fun afternoon. We took a bunch of pictures and I will post them soon!

 

m.e.

 

Goodbye College!

Here are the pictures from Daniel's graduation! I was so thankful to spend the weekend with his family celebrating this milestone in his life.

 

 

 

 

So proud of you, Daniel!

 

m.e.

late night ramblings

Hey!
It's late and I should be sleeping, but I wanted to "pop-in" to say, "Hi". :) :) Someone told me today that they hoped I started blogging again once I was married. Quite frankly, so do I. :/ :P

This evening I went to a friend's wedding with my mom. It is so funny how differently you look at everything when you are in the middle of planning your own! I guess I have more of an appreciation for all the "little" details.
The ceremony and reception were outside and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! There were storm clouds looming off in the distance, but I firmly believe that the Lord held them back!
The ceremony was very meaningful and it was encouraging to see two young people on fire for the Lord as they begin their marriage.

This month's highlight was traveling to see my man graduate from college! He has worked so hard and it was so exciting to be there to watch as he crossed the stage to receive his diploma. Hope to post some of the pictures from his graduation tomorrow!

Goodnight!

Four Months!

Today marks four months since I began courting one of the most amazing guys in the world.
Every month I learn something new (I definitely don't have this whole "girlfriend" thing figured out yet)!
Our relationship for the most part has been a long distance one, but Daniel has come home on numerous weekends! During the agonizing times of separation (Slight exaggeration...Well, not really:) we are very thankful for modern technology. We do some serious Skype, people. :P

Here are a few (random) shots from the past four months.

There are no words... (:

 First time cutting his hair!

He makes me laugh :P

Hanging with two of my favorite fellas.

 We match! Mom snapped this pic after we had been working on building a goat shelter out of flats. ;) Well, Daniel was...I was busy learning how to use a hammer. *smiles*

Country boy;)

Daniel, 

Thank you for making the last four months the best ever!

Love,

         McKenzie

The Jewelry Box-Part Two

My parents immensely enjoyed my reaction to their news. ;) It was such a sweet time of the three of us sharing what God had been doing over the last couple of weeks.  I couldn't believe how well my mother kept the whole thing a secret!
Daddy shared with me about the day that Daniel met with him and asked for permission to court me.  They met at a Subway on my Dad's lunch break and he saved the receipt from their meal (isn't that absolutely adorable:). 

My dad gave me a quick overview on what he and Daniel had been discussing together when they met in the evenings.  The two of them had been reading through Voddie Baucham's book, "What He Must Be."  Dad asked Daniel to get the book (which he did right after lunch:) and to go through it his last two weeks at home.

I learned that Daniel had not even been considering a relationship when he first started coming over to spend time with my dad; he simply was looking for someone to mentor him over the summer.
The one thing I kept thinking about while Dad was talking to me was that God had orchestrated all of it.  Someone recently made this comment to me, "God has such great ideas!" I couldn't agree more.....☺

Daniel went out of town with his grandpa around the time that daddy told me of his intentions. It gave me a few days to pray, think, and pray some more. He texted daddy on the morning of August the 17th and asked if he could talk to me on the porch around 7:30 that evening.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I couldn't help but smile when I let Daniel in the door....That grin of his is so contagious!
Dad stepped into the room and made small talk with Daniel while I made a mad dash to the kitchen to get a drink of water and to try one more time to regain my composure.  Madeline and Mom were baking pies together and they both looked up when I entered the kitchen. My mom knew I was stalling and she shooed me out.  I nervously ran my fingers through my hair and hurried back to the front door. Dad left the room just as I entered and Daniel asked me if we could talk on the front porch.
Daniel up to that point had always seemed so confident and sure of himself.  I wasn't sure exactly what to say or even how to act, so I just followed him outside. It didn't take me long to realize that I wasn't the only one who was nervous. ☺☺

So, you are probably wondering why the title, The Jewelry Box...

When I sat down on the swing Daniel handed me a brightly colored gift bag. He said that there was a story behind what was in the bag, but he wanted me to open it before he told me.  I pulled the pink and green tissue paper out of the bag and found this.....

Daniel found this beautiful jewelry box in an antique shop in Florida. He walked into the shop just a few minutes before it was supposed to close, but the lady who was running it stayed late to paint it for him.
When I opened it, I found a pink rose inside. ♥

The rest of that conversation is history....But, I will say that August 17, 2013  will never be forgotten, and what he told me that night will always make me smile. ♥ ♥ ♥

 "Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever." Psalm 136:26

 

And the story continues.........