Monica and Matt are getting married!

My little sister, Monica, and her fiance Matt are getting married in October.  I've mentioned this very briefly in a past post, but the time has come to write just about them!  This engagement has been a long time coming, and our family was overjoyed when Monica and Matt finally got engaged.  They met in Lubbock about 4 and a half years ago when they were both working at Cricket's.  Matt had just moved to Lubbock from Nashville, and Monica was at Tech.  Their relationship has been so fun to see grow and change over the last 4 years, but even more so over the last year and a half since they've been back in Dallas.  They got engaged at the end of August, and the planning has begun!  I absolutely can't wait for October to get here so we can celebrate them in such a big way!

Monica has 6 bridesmaids, including Adelina and me.  We are her Matrons of Honor, and it is so fun to be a MOH!  This past October, Monica had this wonderful plan for asking Adelina and me to stand by her on her wedding day.  However, things didn't go according to plan.  We were on our way to San Antonio, and Monica's plan was to ask us in the car as we drove along a stretch of 35 that is almost to the exit we always took to get to my grandparents' house.  We would always start chanting, "We're almost there!" as we saw a chain link fence that let us know that we wouldn't be in the car much longer.  Monica was going to start this chant as we got closer to San Antonio, and naturally, Adelina and I would join in.  Then, she was going to ask us to be her Matrons of Honor.  It was such a good plan!  About half way to San Antonio, Monica found out that we were going to be exiting before we got to San Antonio so we could stop by my cousin's house.  So, Monica thought that she would start her chant when we exited.  Adelina and I did a great job of ruining her plan by being crabby and telling her that we weren't almost there.  So,  Monica let us know her plan and asked us to be her MOHs in the car on a random street.  We are so sorry we ruined your plan, but we can't wait to stand by you!

Yesterday, Monica's 4 other bridesmaids gave a wonderful engagement party for Monica and Matt.  We had a great time, starting all the fun celebrations to come in the next few months!  Matt has 2 nephews, Rustin and Travis, that he is very close with.  They live in Lubbock, and they came to Dallas this weekend to celebrate!  I'm so glad they were able to be here!  We had delicious food and desserts, and the wine was great too!  It was such a blessing to be with so many people that love Monica and Matt and can't wait to celebrate them!  I've included some pictures from the night.  Thank you Mary, Sarah, Megan, and Heather for hosting such an awesome party!  Thank you, Bobers, for opening your home to us!

Monica and Matt

Sarah, Heather, Monica, Mary, and Megan

Matt, Rustin, and Travis

Rustin and his girlfriend, Dani

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve and that 2012 has started off well for you!  Aaron and I went to Sharon's cousin's house just south of Sherman, and it was so relaxing!  We've gone up there for the last few years, and it is so fun for us.  The year has started off well, and we've done nothing all day!  Aaron and I are going back to work tomorrow, so we wanted to just lay around today.  I made sure that all my grades were done before I left for the break.  I finished all my cleaning and laundry by the time we left our house yesterday.  Today, I've been anything but productive.  I'd say it's a good start!

I must say, 2011 was a good year for us, and I'm hopeful that 2012 is just as great, if not better.  I haven't mentioned before that my sister is engaged, but she is, and her wedding is just 9 months away!  I pray for many blessings for Monica and Matt as they prepare to be married.  I know that their wedding is going to be wonderful, and I pray that the planning continues to be fun and relatively stress-free!  I pray that Claire continues to grow as a healthy, happy baby girl.  She is so much fun, and I love watching her personality blossom a little more each time I see her.  I pray that Aaron and I are blessed with health and happiness.  I look forward to the things that God has in store for us.  I pray that your 2012 is blessed.  May you have a wonderful year!