the MAN I'm about to marry...

...is amazing.
and I didn't think I could go another second without telling you all how wonderful he is.

Seriously, my heart is just overwhelmed and overflowing with joy.
For the Lord to allow me to be committed in marriage to Justin Good is more than I could ever have asked for.

This is a man who was worth being choosy for. He was and IS worth years of being picky in who I dated, who I liked. He was worth being single while all my friends getting married. He was worth all the tears I cried as I came home from these weddings because it wasn't my time yet. He was worth the wait. Two hundred, a million times over, he was worth the wait.

This is a man who loves me extravagently. If you think that he tells you often on Facebook how he feels, you should hear how often he tells me. I never have to doubt for a moment his love and dedication to me. He tells me, shows me, proves his love to me over and over and over again, always in a sincere fashion. This man is genuine.

This is a man who loves the Lord, deeply. Justin is committed to serving the Lord, to glorifying Jesus with His life and to leading us, and someday our family, in loving and following the Lord. Not only does He love the Lord, but he is willing to be corrected by the Lord, taught by Him.

This is a man thats willing to admit when he's been wrong. Towards the Lord, towards me. And even though these incidents are few and far in between, he doesn't hesitate to apologize and make amends.

This is a man who speaks volumes with his eyes. He blesses my heart just by the way he looks at me. As if I'm the only woman on the earth. I feel warm and fuzzy inside when he looks at me. It's just this look of pure devotion. Refer back to how often he tells me he loves me and....whoo. It's enough to make a girl swoon.

This is a man who acts like a man and treats me like a woman. He opens doors for me, does the heavy lifting and fixes things when I'm fed up with trying to fix them.

This is a man who works hard at his job so that he might provide for me, and one day our family.

This is a man who believes family takes precedence over ministry. A man who will sit with me on the couch after my night shift, talking, making sure that I feel ok, reassuring me, hugging me even though it makes him an hour late to work.

This is a man who understands what marriage means. What the Lord meant a husband to be to a woman and a wife to a man. Of the covenant relationship we are entering into. He understands and he embraces it. He is excited for it. He is excited to be my husband, to protect me, lead me, provide for me, to be my covering, to love me as Christ loved the church. It's no small feat, to love an emotional complex woman with unwavering, unconditional, covenant love. Yet he embraces it. Can I emphasize that enough? He embraces it. It and I are not a burden, something that he is to do because the Lord says to. This is his heart, he desires to spend his life learning to love me like this.

This is a man that I can laugh and be silly with. We make milkshakes, we watch the stars, we go for bike rides and hikes, we throw Scrabble pieces at each other and flick water in each other's faces while we wash dishes. We laugh! We are silly and mushy and crazy. I love it. I love him.

This is a man who comes home with Java Chip ice cream when he knows I've been craving sweets all day. Need I say more?

I love him.
I'm so excited to be his wife, to learn to serve him, submit to him, raise a family.
I can't wait to give him children. To see his eyes light up the first time he feels the baby kick.
I can't wait for all these firsts in our lives.
First house, first baby, first pet, first time I am called Kristen Good, first time we eat pancakes for dinner. All those great things.

So lastly, I leave you with this:

7 DAYS!

SO much

There is so much going through my head right now, I'm not even sure where to start. It's all a jumbled mess of spaghetti. Lots of change right now.

Completely moved out of my apartment Monday.
(Wasn't sad. Was too tired and sweaty to be sad.)

Slept at the trailer for the first time Tuesday.
(Justin slept at his mom's Tuesday)

Last week of Awaken was last Wednesday.
(I miss them already...)

T minus 10 days and counting till Mr. and Mrs. Good!
(It still feels like forever to me)

2 days till my wonderful friend Skyla gets here.
(Can't wait....we have SO much to do and I need a Skyla-hug)

One week-ish until the CO peeps roll in.
(I miss their faces SO much! NEED to catch up with them!)

Bridal Shower Sunday.
(Just got the living room cleaned up fully...ish)

Remembered about the marriage license.
(Yeah. Going for that Monday.)

Hair fiasco on Sunday...many tears.
(fixed it yesterday, my normal girl agreed to do it!)

Trying to think about joining a small group at APC
(feel like I have no time to make a good decision about it)

Am tired and emotional.
(I'm a girl....the emotional thing was pretty much a given)

Loving eating my almond torte cake
(like 2-3 slices per day. Yum. Yeah.)

Really badly just want to sit with Justins arm around me for a while
(No time really...but we are getting married in 10 days. Should fix it.)

There. You've got facts and emotions.
Welcome to my pre-wedding life.

(I'm so grateful...for everything.)

Date Night

We have been working hard for the past week,
(well, longer than that, but more so this week)
and we finished packing up my house this afternoon.

Tomorrow we are moving.

So, tonight, we went on a date. (!!!)
It was perfect.
He is perfect.

We went to the movies and saw The Time Traveler's Wife.
I cried and laughed that I was crying.
Justin lovingly laughed, too.
It was a great moment.
I felt loved.

He's so good at this unconditional love thing.

Really.

Like Friday night, we were saying goodbye on my front steps as usual
and he just looked at me, with that LOOK!
The one that says he thinks I'm beautiful.
And then he said it.

The funny thing is, he didn't have to say it.
He's said it enough in the past, that I finally believe him.
When he looks at me, I FEEL beautiful.
No matter how I KNOW I look, I feel like the cutest girl on the earth.

Friday night, after we said goodbye, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
(there is a mirror in there, the only one left in my house.)

Oh my goodness.

Mascara smudged all under my eyes, sweaty hair plastered to my forehead,
bangs sticking straight up under the headband I had pushed them back with.
(we'd been packing in my hot apartment all evening)

I laughed.

Because he had looked at me like that and
still smiled at me like I was the only beautiful girl on the planet.
He thought I was beautiful.

I told him tonight how much I appreciated that he can look
past all the makeup smudges and sweat and still call me beautiful.

His response?

"There's nothing to look past. You ARE beautiful."

Sigh. He melts me.
So you see....he is perfect.
and he's mine.

(thank you Jesus)

Finally, to top off the evening, the text he sent me
about five minutes after we'd parted for the night:

"ilyaimy!!!!!! I just can't get over how beautiful you are!"

(and I can't get over how amazing he is.)

Tupperware Nonsense

all the tupperware that has a lid.

All the lids that don't have a tupperware.
HOW IN THE WORLD DOES THAT HAPPEN?!?!?!

(and yes mom, I know that one of those lids goes to the
nice Pyrex stuff you gave me....don't worry,
I already pulled it out of the throw away pile and packed it.)

Moving is Chaos

Wondering what all the pink blogs on the kitchen cabinets are?
They are my cute little heart shaped Post-It Notes of course!
They say "empty" on them.
So I know that the cabinet has been cleaned out and is done!
helps me out.

Sleepy Update

I am at work, being sleepy, waiting for 7:00am to come so I can give a med. All the kiddos are clean, dry, asleep and afebrile- Yes. So, I thought I'd do a quickie update. Sorry for all the update posts....I am just too tired.

1. Wedding is going well. Trying to collect all the last minute RSVP's.
2. I pick up my dress from alterations today - YAY! I love ANY excuse to try it on.
3. I am getting married in 25 very long/short days. I can't wait. (!!!)
4. This week has been packing packing packing. Justin and I are moving all my furniture and as much of my stuff as we can this Sunday. So, if you can help move....come on over on Sunday afternoon.
5. I am packing all day Friday and Saturday. I could use some help, so if you're free...head on over!
6. Our families and parents are wonderful...really. We love them.
7. Justin and I are planning a "fun day" coming up soon on our day off before the wedding.
8. I am sleepy.
9. I just found out about Pandora....I think it's neat.
10. I called and my cable/internet is getting turned off on Aug 24th
11. I'm really excited for my bridal shower on the 23th.
12. One of my friends and her husband are moving into my apartment after me. I'm glad someone I love will be in this cute little apartment. (I will miss it.)
13. Justin and I are pretty much done fixing up his place....we can't wait to organize it. Him more so than me. :)

ok, thats long and that's all. Can't think of anything else. Message me with any questions

Oh, one last thing. Justin is just amazing....he is so good at loving me and expressing his love for me. I always feel loved, cherished, protected by him. Case in point.....yesterday evening after he left he sent me a series of one-liner text messages with things he loves about me. I giggled the entire (almost) hour that he was sending them. I love being in love and being loved.

He's the best

Friday morning I opened my door to go to work

and was surprised to find these taped to my screen door.

I then stepped out onto the porch
and noticed something was in my mailbox.
These lovelies.

Feeling all happy and loved inside,
I walked to my car and was (again) surprised
to find this written on my sidewalk in chalk.

"Roses are red...

violets are blue....

I wrote this silly ryhme...

because I love you."

(This is what my fiance does at 2:30am in the morning when he can't sleep.
I love him so desperately much and oh just can't wait until Sept 6th.)

The next day my neighbor commented on the sidewalk
and how cute it was and sweet Justin was to have done it.
She said, "Kristen, you are a lucky girl."

I agreed, although I would call it something other than lucky.
I would call it blessed.
I am VERY blessed.

Justin is the kind of man I've waited my whole life for.

The kind who comes over to hug me when I'm hurting.
Who holds me until all the tears are done.
Who makes me chocolate-peanut-butter-milkshakes.
Who prays for me and over me.
Who loves me unconditionally.

Amazing.

...one last picture.
The back of the card he made me.

He's sweet.
(and that's an understatement.)

Well then.

Now I remember why I stopped really blogging in the first place!

I don't have time!

Lol. Really, I want to make time, but at the end of the night when it comes down to the fact that I have time for two or three things, eating, showering, talking with Jesus and calling Justin win out over blogging. Sad, but true.

Now I'm at work and the kiddos are all comfy cozy and (some) still asleep. I went downstairs to the cafeteria, grabbed some coffee and now I'm all set to go. I'm needing coffee more and more lately. :) We're pretty busy and sadly, I just think it's going to get worse as the wedding gets closer and my move out date moves up! It's all going well though. Here are some quickie updates:

Stellan is doing MUCH better. Go here to check up on him and get some CUTE pictures of him.

Justin and I are doing wonderful. Finished premarital counseling, chose a caterer, (almost) ordered flowers, picked up the rings, (almost) finished painting the spare bedroom, moved more of my stuff out and are going to sort through Justin's storage unit Sunday and pick furniture moving day #1!

Oops, a call bell is going off. Must go!