wrap up the week.

Another week flew by! We are now at 7 weeks to go until our special day!

Cain is at Drill this weekend so I am trying to get as much done as I can! I know that the next couple weeks are going to be extremely busy so the things I can get done in the weekend leaves little time for any relaxing. Here is a look into what all went down this past week...

This picture sups up what Graci loves most about my house haha. Just chilling on the van sits that are in our kitchen right now!

So I've had this surprise up my sleeve for quite some time but had to keep it on the down low that way Cain didn't know what was going on! Cain has been wanting to get his bike new tires, breaks and a tune up since the end of riding season last year! I told him we would start saving up for it and once we had the money we could take it in to the shop! Well I lead him on to think we didn't have the money saved yet when I actually had the money saved for quite some time!! I called the shop and set up a day to take the bike in without Cain knowing! He kept bringing up the bike though and I knew how bad he wanted to get it fixed. So I told him to just call the shop and get a day set to bring in the bike and we would take money out of savings to get it fixed! 

Before he called the shop I called and let the lady know what was going on and that he would be calling and to make a fake appointment! He called and set up the appointment and it wasn't until another 3 weeks from now! Little did he know he would have the bike in just a few days :)

Thanks to my dad we loaded up the bike without Cain's help! I was little nervous about that part but it all went smoothly! This was on Monday, I will talk about Cain getting the surprise here in a minute :)

Nova is really enjoying the warm weather we have been blessed with lately! This is a normal drive with her. And don't worry... I can lock my windows... she won't get chocked!

 On Wednesday Cain had the honor to be apart of a Military viewing. A man in his Unit passed away over the weekend and Cain was asked to take part by standing at the head of the casket.  Of course Cain was honored to do so. That morning before he had to leave I went over to the apartment and made him breakfast and mastered my lint rolling skills. As an soon to be Army wife it's a must know how! No spots, lose strings, dust or nova hair allowed on the uniform!

I took this before he needed to walk out. We have the American flag behind our couch inside the apartment. It was perfect for this shot!

Saying our goodbyes! Telling him before leaving how handsome he is :) 

Seeing how I will be moving out in a month I have been going through all my things in the house. I found these while doing so... I was/am a HUGE LOST fan! HUGE.

 She likes nothing more then to lay on my lap while I drive.

Or on Graci's sit.

Thursday was a GREAT DAY! First off I got a call that my ring was back!!! Without telling Cain I went ahead and got it without him. Once I was with him I said "Guess who put a ring on it" He took a couple guesses and I said nope to all... then he started asking more questions trying to guess who got engaged. I said "I didn't say anything about getting engaged... just put a ring on it" Finally after another couple tries he yelled "YOUR RING!" We both laughed and were pretty excited about the whole thing! I love my ring and happy it's back on my finger!

Also on Thursday I was taking Cain to get his bike! I met him at the apartment and he was outside waiting for me. I said "Get in the car!" I saw that he had shorts on so I ran inside without him and put his jeans in a bag so he wouldn't see. I took off to the shop where the bike was at. He had no clue where the shop was so it worked out good. But I got so excited before getting there I made him close his eyes!

Once we pulled in I made him keep his eyes closed and got him out of the car. I ran to the trunk of the car where I had his helmet and then handed it to him with his eyes still closed. He knew right away what was going on. He was shocked though! And I think it's funny that he said "How?" How was I able to do that. I laughed and was like "Babe, it's me. You're still asking "HOW?"? 

Once home I got my first ride of the year! Loved it too :) My bike jacket came in the mail that night too so it all worked out perfectly!

 I love that Cain has this bike for a lot of reasons. It's something he loves to do. And it saves money on gas. But it's something we love to do together. It's a past time for us. We love driving on country roads and spending that time together. I loved that I was able to save the money for it to get fixed so we could enjoy it this summer.

I never would have thought I would be riding on the back of a sports bike but I love it. I'm with Cain, why wouldn't I love it?! Anything with him is fun.

Now that the weekend is about over I will get to see Cain and we will be able to spend sometime together and get to ride the bike again this week. Unless it snows... which I heard might happen! Boo.

Lanette

Living for today

Although these pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago I couldn't help but share. 

The last couple of weeks have been so busy it's hard to remember what all I have done. The drives from Waynedale to Bluffton are getting longer each time. Once at the apartment it is getting harder to leave Cain. We are counting down these short weeks and days until we can say the "I Do's" And not have to travel to see each other every other day. 

It's hard to complain seeing how this time last year Cain was in TX at AIT and I only got to talk on the phone with him about two hours out of the whole day. So even though yes I wish we were just married already, I am thankful for where we are today. Having gone through that time apart you are able to sit back and be thankful for what you have. Who knows when Cain will have to be gone again. I truly don't take a day for granted because of that unknown. 

My life is a blessed one with great company at home. I can not say enough how amazing my parents are to not only me but Cain ... and Nova :) I am also thankful for Cain's family who loves us. We have a lot to be thankful for all year long.

It's easy to get caught up in the moment when things go wrong and you can't see when they will get better. I do try and make everything perfect and that always seems to make things worse in the end! Being on top of everything is a joke, yet I still try to make everything go as planned and when it fails I get very disappointed. But when I sit back and just stare at the things around me I can breath a sigh of relief. Life is good, I am blessed and everything is in God's control. 

Cain helps me see things in the big picture. He is so supportive of all my dreams and often helps me to relax. He has perfected the whole "Just sit back and relax" thing. I am not trying to make fun of him I'm honestly saying he has something I wish I had! What I would give to sit back and relax. My mind is always running around with things to do, people I should go see and what needs fixed. 

His smile and cheerful laugh is what makes my life so wonderful. Maybe that's why it's so hard to leave him everyday. It will never get easier. And when the day comes again when he has to leave for weeks or months... I will miss him then too. 

But if there is something I'm good at, it's giving him a smile right back. I can't help but smile when seeing those eyes light up. His dreams of the future make me so proud and no matter where he goes I will be home with open arms and that huge smile to welcome him back. 

Counting down those days until "I do" But will never stop living for today! And being content with where we are at in our lives. 

Hebrews 13:5-6

Lanette

Weekend surprise

Before I take on this next week that is filled with so many things, I thought I would tackle the recap of our weekend.

Last Wednesday night I got a very surprising txt from Betsy my cousin from Florida. The txt went something like this..

Betsy: Wish you could come get me!

Me: Yeah, be there in 20 hours.

Betsy: More like 2 hours.

Me: If I was to fly there!

Betsy: No, drive.

Me: WHAT?!!!!

She had made a surprise visit to Indiana without me knowing! It takes a lot to surprise me so I was very happy! We tried picking her up Wednesday night (she was at my pawpaws two hours away) But we had car trouble (Which still needs taken care of) so that next morning Graci made the trip with me to pick her up having to use my parents car!!

Like always it was like we were never apart. We have the best time together. I feel as though our time together only gets sweeter the older we get and the more we can relate to the ups and downs of being an adult. Though I will never forget our memories spent together as children.

She is a huge blessing in my life. Cain was happy that I was able to get my time with her but he was glad to be able to also spend time with us. We both respect Betsy for the woman she is and wish we could see her more!

For those who don't know, Betsy is my maid of honor and she will be back in May for the big day!

Things are coming together so nice for the wedding! We have spent more time talking about the excitement of the day then actually "planning" I think. To be honest as long as we have each other there with our family that's all we need.

Though I wish I could share more about the weekend I am so tired I can't stay up any longer. 

8 weeks until I do!

Lanettte

She is brave

 Graci is back in town! Last week she was away with her family vacationing in Florida. Lucky duck. When I picked her up yesterday I saw that she had mastered yet again the perfect little tan with her nose cutely pilling.  I said "Hey! It's me who has a wedding coming up, you can't be tanner then me!" She just giggled.

She went straight out to my car where Nova was waiting. I was so happy to see the sun out because that meant we could go outside and play! But the wind was really strong yesterday so we didn't spend as much time outside as we would like!

Graci can get Nova to do about anything she asks. "Nova get up here!" Nova tried and failed.

So Graci got down to the first level of benches and then said "Nova girl get up here!"

Not the most classy jump but it worked.

A couple more times trying to get to where Graci was at and Nova made it. With Graci there to greet her.

I swear these two are the best of friends.

 Graci is very independent. Her answer to almost everything is "I know" and surprising she does know what she is talking about. But she doesn't ask for help, ever. She can do it because well, she knows how of course! Before leaving to take her back into town she says "I'm going to check the mail!" She ran to the end of the drive, with nova following close behind. She tells Nova to "Stay!" and like the great dog Nova is she just stopped where she was out and watched Graci go the rest of the way...

It was windy yesterday.

And paper is light, so unless you've got big hands to grab on...

This could happen.... lol I saw his playing out in my head before it actually happened.

At this point I am laughing so hard I am surprised the pictures weren't blurry from shaking. I yelled "Need help?" knowing the reply would be "No I got it!" 

Nova just watching, probably getting a good laugh too :)

And like always she proved me wrong, she really did have everything under control. She picked up the lost letters in the ditch. I'm still laughing of course... haha

Back out it again. Most kids would have called for help the moment something like that happened. But Graci isn't like most and is very determined when she sets out to do things.

And life never seems cut any of us a break though!

That silly wind was just to strong for those little hands :)

Graci ran after those letters once again. I put down the camera and started walking over "Here let me help get the rest" She replied "Okay I'm going to take these inside now!" She had picked all up but one. She would have done just fine without my help but I wanted to make sure she knew I was there if she needed me. 

Graci is brave, smart, determined, outgoing, polite and extremely breath taking beautiful. I'm so blessed to have been able to watch her grow into this amazing kid. She isn't a baby anymore. But I'm thankful to have been there when she was a baby. To be able to see that out going baby only continue to grow more wild and free!

Lanette