CHRISTMAS WEEK FESTIVITIES

Whew! This week is flying by and I feel like we are packing as much in as we can. Sunday night after church, dinner and some shopping we came home and watched the movie, The Holiday. It's on of my favorites and Matthew has never seen it so it was a must.

Monday after work we met Ethan and Rachel at our house and then headed to dinner and to look at Christmas lights. Ethan had never had Amerigo's hot chicken pasta, which is one of Matthew's FAVORITE dishes, so obviously we had to go there so that he could try it ;) I always get their lasagna there because it's incredible. The best lasagna I have ever had was on our honeymoon and then I tried Amerigo's and it is almost just as good, but Rachel got a cheese tortellini dish that I tried and it was delicious so I'll probably get that next time!

After dinner we headed out to look at some Christmas lights in the Franklin area. Matthew had looked up a few popular places/houses that we could go to and they did not disappoint! We saw some incredible Christmas light shows and had the best time! The last place we went to was the place Matthew and I found last year, so I was really excited to go back and see it again this year. And this year we got our picture made with Santa ;)

Here's what it looks like when you're walking up to it. It's at the end of a cul-de-sac and most of the neighbors houses leading up to his have a lot of stuff in their yards, not as much, but still quite a bit. Kinda leading up to his lol. 

 and you get to walk through most of it. It's great!

Tuesday night we went over to my best friend's house for dinner and then to look at lights at another place. She made a delicious pot of white chicken chili and we stopped at Sonic before the lights for dessert! Also, our girls got to meet for the first time! Kathleen and her husband got a puppy right around Thanksgiving and we have been dying to meet Miss Molly every since. She is just the cutest thing and is so fun!

It was a drive through light show and there were so many lights!! Some serious work and dedication went into this, it was absolutely incredible!!

 We had the best time and enjoyed all the lights from inside the car with the heat on and our puppies!

Today is a half day at work and then I am free for a few days! I am meeting my best friend after work to do a little last minute Christmas shopping and then coming back home and wrapping presents and watching Christmas movies. Matthew and I are doing our Christmas tomorrow morning and I am so excited to give him his presents.

Also, I just can't end this post without sharing what happened two years ago today..

THE easiest and best yes!

 You can read all about our engagement story, here and our first engagement anniversary, here :)

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CHRISTMAS WEEK FESTIVITIES

ENGAGEAVERSARY

Today is our engagement anniversary. I still can't believe that the boy I love went from being my boyfriend to my fiance to my HUSBAND all in these past 365 days! What a joy it has been watching Matthew take on these new titles and transitioning into them so well. So much has happened in these past 365 days, it's kind of hard to wrap my head around all of it. You can read all about how Matthew proposed to me HERE!

We were engaged a little under 7 months (208 days to be exact) and those months were probably some of the longest months of my life. They probably felt that way because Matthew and I were living about an hour apart and really only got to see each other on the weekends. I remember multiple times we were frustrated with ourselves on making such a "long" engagement. We had honestly thought about moving our wedding date up a bit, but in the end it worked out perfectly. Those 208 days were all in God's timing. We were able to plan and prepare for our wedding/marriage, and looking back now, I wouldn't have changed those 208 days of our engagement (I also wouldn't add any days to our engagement lol 208 days was definitely plenty long for us!) I thought I knew happiness 365 days ago, but come to find out, I had a lot of happiness left to discover (and still do!) 

I know that anniversaries will only get better from here. Days like today are the little ones, but it's still fun to celebrate even the small events. And I'm overwhelmed when I think about the fact that we haven't even really begun to scratch the surface of this whole marriage thing. 

Matthew, it is an honor to have your last name, and to be your wife. Having you introduce me to people as your wife will never, ever get old. What an adventure these past 365 days have been!

We had an engagement picture as well as a wedding picture taken at the same spot where Matthew got down on one knee. All three occasions were very exciting, and that's now my favorite spot on Tech's campus. 

December 22, 2014 was a really, really good day, but every day after that one has only gotten better.

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ENGAGEAVERSARY

We're ENGAGED!!

I still can't believe we are engaged! It all happened so fast and was completely unexpected. Of course we had talked about when we would get engaged and he completely had me convinced it would be sometime late spring or early summer. So I definitely wasn't expecting it anytime soon.

Last Sunday night I came back to Cookeville by myself because I had to work Monday and Tuesday. I had planned on going straight home Tuesday when I got off of work. My best friend was supposed to come up Sunday with me and spend the night but she backed out last minute. I was a little upset about it but didn't let it get me down too much. I slept in Monday as long as I could, waking up in time to put some concealer under my eyes and my hair in a low messy bun. I sit in a cubicle all day so I'm not too worried about my appearance at work. I had talked to Matthew throughout the day and he told me about how he had been cleaning out the garage at home getting stuff ready for a garage sale.   I got off around 3:30 and decided I was going to get Blue Coast for dinner and stop and get gas before I headed back to my apartment for the night. I got back to my apartment and opened the door and found Matthew sitting on my couch playing his PS3. I was in complete shock. He had hid his car behind a big work truck on the other end of my apartment parking lot. I was asking him all these questions of why he was there and why he was dressed up. He got up and said he felt bad Sarah couldn't come up and didn't want me to be by myself so he thought he would surprise me and take me to dinner. Most people have asked how I didn't see it coming then but that is not out of the ordinary. We always dress up to go on dates and he is just a thoughtful man! I even asked him if I should change and put a nicer dress on and fix up a little bit and his exact words "nahh, you look good and no one is going to see us anyways" We went to one restaurant that we both like but they were closed on Mondays and we didn't know so we decided on a local Mexican restaurant we both like.   Matthew was acting completely normal the whole time. I thought whenever he did propose I'd be able to see it coming from a mile away.   After dinner I mentioned I needed to stop at Kroger to pick up my cousin a gift card for Christmas but then said I could just get it later because it looked really crowded. Matthew insisted we go on and stop because we were already by it and he really had to use the bathroom. I thought it was really weird he couldn't hold it until we got back to my apartment, but didn't put too much thought into it.   We left Kroger and thought we were headed back to my apartment. We drove by campus and he asked if I wanted to walk around campus. It was mid 50's and had been raining all day but stopped and still felt pretty good outside for a couple of days before Christmas. I absolutely LOVE walking around campus at night and often ask if we can, so AGAIN didn't think anything about it when he suggested it. We parked and as we are getting out I notice Matthew putting on his big peacoat. I had forgotten my coat and thought it was very strange of him not to offer me his coat. I didn't say anything of course, I just thought he was cold and didn't realize I had forgotten my coat.   We walked all around the quad and then he point to the middle where we had played ball with the SOC and so we walked over there and sat down on some bricks. He started talking about how he can't imagine not being on campus anymore and how he can't imagine not going to intramural games, etc. I am getting a little emotional because I'm not ready for him to move back home just yet. Then out of no where he says "You know what else I can't imagine? You not being in my life" I snap back to reality and think to myself "OH MY GOSH" at this point he is going on and saying really sweet things and as he is talking I could tell he is getting REALLY nervous. At this point all I can think about is "OH MY GOSH IT"S HAPPENING" He then told me to stand up and so I did and he did too and then he got down on one knee and is still saying all this sweet stuff and for the life of me I can't remember all if it. I am tearing up and asking him a million times "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" like it wasn't obvious lol.

Obviously I had no idea what was coming that night or I would have painted those nails, but I am completely okay with it. If he would have told me to paint my nails I would have known, so it was perfect.

  He asked and I said YES and he puts the ring on my finger, stands up and hugs me and gives me a kiss while I am still asking a million questions. We walked back to the car and I'm asking who all knew and he told me my parents and his parents. I said something about send them a picture after I called my mom and he said we're going to see them tonight. Again, cue the million questions. I asked if they were in Cookeville and he said no we are going home to see them and I said "Oh I have to be at work at 7:00 in the morning" and he grinned really big and said "No you don't, you're off tomorrow, I called your boss and asked her if you could have tomorrow off" And that's when the ugly crying began. He joked that I was more excited about being off of work than being engaged but I assured him that wasn't the case at ALL. It was just starting to hit me that it was all REAL and finally happening.

We went straight back to my apartment so that I could change and put on some make up and look halfway decent to see family and friends when we got home while Matthew helped me pack to go home for Christmas!! We stopped at the SOC house before we headed home to see his brother and some friends and went back to campus with Nathan and Jenny so they could make a picture of us where we got engaged. We then headed home to his parents house. We got to visit with them and share the excitement and then headed to my house and my two best friends were there also. It was a crazy night and all happened SO fast. After I posted it on social media our phones were BLOWING up. It was all so exciting.   He had asked my dad that morning and of course my dad was happy for us. Like I said I still can't believe it happened. He played it off so well all day Monday. I had told him a long time I ago I wanted it to be just us, no cameras, no audience, not in public, just us and that is exactly how it was, a complete surprise! There wasn't a soul on the quad at that time (it's Christmas break so everyone is home), it had stopped raining and was decent out for late December, and we got to see our families and friends. Honestly the most perfect night.  We never went ring shopping together, he always had said he wanted to pick it out himself. and he did SO good!

  We are so excited and ready to begin this next chapter of our lives together. Now that the holidays are almost over we can start wedding planning!! Still can't believe I just typed those words. :) We haven't picked a date yet, but we do have an idea of when we want to we just have to wait and see with Matthew's new job fixing to start up when would be best. I will definitely share when we have an official date set though!  

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We're ENGAGED!!