First comes love, then come marriage, then comes....surgery?!?!

 3 of my biggest and dearest blessings are my children, they are truly the lights in my universe. I would love to give such a gift to my husband. On May 11th, I will be undergoing surgery to repair my tubes, so that I can possibly do this. If all goes well, then we can start trying at the end of the summer. The surgeon is quite confident that the surgery will be a success. As long as she does her job, I am very confident I can take it from there!!

Family Photos

 Family photos taken December 2011! A bit overdue........

Too long!

WOW!! So it has been 13 months since my last post! I am not even sure if I still have any followers ;) Since last January I have had an amazing bachelorette party, moved into a new house, had a fairytale perfect wedding, went on a memorable honeymoon to Lake Tahoe, hosted an Italian exchange student for 6 months and have been blissfully married for nearly 8 months. Oh and I still am providing loving daycare for our community and working on my photography as well as being a very busy mother to 3 kids!

I hope to be little more consistent with this blog this year!!

Falling Into Place

I have had good intentions of keeping this blog a little better updated. A lot has happened since my last post...and some changes. Hey, I am entitled right? We have set a date...FINALLY. July 4th 2010, we like the idea of fireworks on our wedding day and the fact we will have it off every year;-) We have our venue picked out for the ceremony and reception site. The beautiful Kelty Estate in LaFayette will be the backdrop for our special day. http://www.keltyestate.com

Oh and my colors changed as well. Purple and silver instead of pink and red. I am a woman, what can I say! I am slowly getting things marked off my to-do list and Tony has booked the honeymoon.

Less than 6 months!!!

Say yes to the dress already!

So I had thought I had my dress picked out pretty much before Tony proposed. Now I am not sure. I think I picked it because it was inexpensive and simple. You can see it here: http://www.bridalonlinestore.com/Collection/displayimage.asp?image=haylee-front-b.jpg

It is pretty. But I am not going to get married again...so I suppose I should get something I REALLY LOVE. So I went dress shopping several weeks ago. Tony's stepmom Diana, Steffanie and Ashleigh came to give me their (very) honest opinions. It wasn't nearly as much fun as I had hoped. First of all, it is actually very exhausting trying on dresses. Some of them are heavy, and some require an unusual amount of flexibility to get on and off. After 3 hours, I was starved, dehydrated and nursing a migraine. It wasn't all bad...we had some good laughs and the ladies were very helpful and it was kind of amusing to see my daughter trying on wedding gowns as well;)

I do like this one, I love the fabric and detailing, but strapless dresses squish up my armpits. Not something I want on my big day;)

I like the back of this one......

This was Di's favorite one.

This one is VERY pretty!! But there are those squished up armpits again.....

I was noticing I look like my momma in this picture..A LOT!

I really like the red...makes the dress pop.

So my search continues, I am going in a couple of weeks to another dress shop. Perhaps I will find "the one"!

Engagement Party

Tony and I celebrated our engagement on August 29th, at the very lovely home of Mike and Diane McKeel in Gresham. If you did not get an invite, well it got lost in the mail. Seriously. I had very nice invitations made up, and the company was supposed to mail them individually to all of our recipients. I received a message from my mother telling me thank you for the beautiful engagement party invite......all 26 of them!! Needless to say, the company screwed up and mailed all the invites to my mother..in KANSAS!!! I found this out less than 2 weeks before the party. They will NOT be handling our wedding invitations.

Anyways, regardless of that small obstacle, we had a wonderful party. Good food, awesome friends and family and we could not have asked for a more beautiful location. Thank you Aunt Diane and Uncle Mike! And thank you Papa for your very sweet speech. I am honored to be joining such a wonderful and loving family. And there is also the fact that it was a reason to get my hair done and buy a new dress....and shoes;)



I get the feeling he kinda likes me.......



Tony & I and our sweet flower girls.

A little about the bride-to-be....

Well as you know, my name is Brandy=) I was born January 21st, 1977 in Cameron, Missouri. My parents split before I was a year old, and when I was 3, my mom packed all we had in her truck and we drove to Oregon, where she met up with my step dad. I lived in Beaverton with my mom and half brother until I was 13, that's when I was placed in the foster care system. After that I moved several times, before I ended up in Gaston where I went to high school and met my kids' dad. I did not graduate with my class, for me raising my daughter took priority. I did get my GED in 2006.

My bestie and I on the day I recieved my GED.

In 1997, I was reacquainted with my dad, and reconnected with my older brother. We have alot of making up to do....which is hard to do when so many miles separate us.

I love so many things, but right up there at the top of my list are God, my kids, (Tony of course!) and photography. I am blessed to be a work at home mom, I am a daycare provider and have been for 15 years. There isn't anything quite like being able to send your kids off to school with a hug and a kiss and greet them when they get home with a smile and fresh cookies(=

In my spare time (Do mom's really have this?) I love to read, and scrapbook and plan new adventures for my kids. I also enjoy writing, especially about things I have strong opinions about! Sometime in the (hopefully) near future, I will once again have a horse...another object to keep me busy...because quite frankly I don't think I am busy enough;-)

Some other things that make up ME are....working out, wine, camping, fishing, thunderstorms, music, singing ( although I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket), having someone brush my hair, cooking, dancing, the beach, being spontaneous, tickle fights, laughing so hard I cry, arguing, taking naps in the sun, road trips, snuggling with my kids in my bed, foot rubs, nachos, planning awesome parties for my kids, watching football, shooting hoops, dreaming, making smores with the kids in the back yard, babies, candles, getting my yard ready for spring, orchids, roses, lilacs, Ashleigh's wit, Dustin's sensitivity, Aiden's orneriness, my girlfriends, shopping, getting a pedicure, leaving a legacy for my kids, being right...ALL the time, dressing up for no reason at all, teasing people, animals...specially mine, BBQ's, and making a difference in the community.

There will be a pop quiz on all of this=)