So many changes...Love our girls...

Wow, so its been a little bit since we have updated, but things have been a little crazy.  It is amazing how kids change your life.  They make you more loving, more caring, and more understanding.  But at the same time, they make you more defensive, stronger, and more diligent.  I for one know that since having Emma and Savannah in my life, I have changed immensely.  I would lay my life on the line for either of these girls. I would fight those who tried to hurt them, and I would go to the ends of the earth to make things happen for them.  I am so glad to have them in my life.

Recently we have had some big steps.  This past weekend, Savannah had a very big dentist appointment.  She got her very first filling. We had Mommy (Shelbi) Daddy (Mike) and Mommy Nikki all in the room when it happened.  I laid with her in the dentist's chair and held on to Nanna while Mommy and Daddy and I told her how good she was and what a big girl she was while Mike's Uncle filled her tooth. She did SUPER well!  We were all so proud of her.  When she came home with us, she was excited to brush her teeth and to floss.  Its amazing what kids think.  Also this is her first week in VPK - Big girl school. 

Another big step was Emma starting Middle School today.  I am so proud of her.  She did a lot of reading this summer (although most of it under duress!!).  Although there were a few hang ups this morning, like the bus being late and Daddy taking her to school, but I am hoping that  she learns her schedule, makes new friends, and has some fun at school.

Man these kids are growing entirely too fast!!!

So many things going on with the kids lately, that Mike and I have not done anything for the wedding. (Slackers!!)  I think within the next month we will be going to Dubsdread to check out their wedding planner and the site, etc.  Also in the next few weeks I will be going with my Mom and my step-mom to try on wedding dresses for the first time!  Stay tuned for pictures.

Well, thats it for now!  I cannot wait to hear all about Emma's first day of school!!!  

So Lucky...

Have you ever thought about your luck?  I mean seriously thought about it, your station in life, your relationship, your family, all of the good things in your life, like kids, good jobs, etc.  With the wedding, Mike and I have really been looking at our lives individually and together and we are both really damn lucky.  Although, I don't chock everything up to luck.  Mike, the wonderful man that he is will look me deep in the eyes and say "I am the luckiest man in the world to have a fiance like you" and I will look at him and say, "it was lucky for us to meet one another in life, but it was hard work, determination, understanding, compassion and passion that make us the couple that we are..."  There are some things in life I lucked out on, one of the biggest things being parents who love and support me and are exciting about Mike, the girls, and I embarking on our lives together.  I am lucky to have wonderful friends who are there for me whether it be coffee after work to just relax, or to listen to me drone on about wedding colors, venues, ideas, etc.  I am amazingly lucky to have a job that I love with co-workers that support me and are excited about the wedding, and a boss who is a friend and is so excited to be walking me down the aisle with my mom.  I am honored indeed.  

Mike and I are lucky to have two beautiful, healthy, loving girls who are excited about Daddy and Mommy Nikki getting married, and are thrilled we will all now have the same last names. 

With all this luck, we have never taken one another for granted, nor have we taken the gift of our friends, family, or careers for granted.  We are both hard workers and work to support all of our relationships and still maintain our own relationship with eachother.  

I wake up every morning and smile, as I know in my heart of hearts, that I am marrying the man of my dreams, my soul-mate, and above all , my best friend and I know that luck has nothing to do with that.  

Why does it feel like there is so little time??

Sigh, so it's still over a year out at the earliest date we would want to get married, and yet I feel like there is so much to do and so little time to do it in.  First off, we cannot really pick an actual date until we find a venue for the wedding itself.  We have a few places in mind, some include, Leu Gardens in Winter Park, The English Gardens in Winter Park, and Dubsdread in College Park.  Although we will have somewhere around 100 attendees at max, we still want to have a relatively intimate wedding.  I am finding out that there are some places that just don't give you any help with your event.  In that case we would be forced to hire a planner and staff, which is not something we want to do.  Also, some places have severe time constraints, like, you only have 1 hour to set up your entire event, and an hour between the ceremony and the reception and no time to set-up.  What are couples supposed to do in that situation?!

So there are our current dilemmas.  Also- we want to find an affordable venue, that will provide lots of staff and assistance and help with decorating, etc.  Preferably we would like to NOT to go into severe debt for our wedding.  I know, we are wishing for the moon aren't we?  We are trying to save by doing a lot of stuff ourselves, such as making favors, centerpieces, invitations, etc.  Hopefully what we put into the wedding in time, will pay off in the end.

We are lucky though to have eachother.  Mike is super involved in the wedding, which I LOVE!  I am so glad that he has not turned this into some "Do what you want and tell me where to show up" kind of thing.  It makes me super happy that he helps make decisions, has an opinion and is willing to spend hours at a time looking at wedding stuff, sharing ideas, and wandering through the wedding aisles at assorted crafting stores.  I am so lucky to really be marrying my best friend and soul-mate. 

So lucky to have one another.

 

The Proposal...

So, I suppose we should have posted this first, but, oh well, we are new to this stuff.  So here goes.  This is the story of our engagement.  

     The story starts on the July 4th weekend of 2010, when Mike decided that he was going to go to the jewelery store to look at engagement rings.  THIS is unbeknownst to me (naturally).  On that date, Mike picks out my ring, which, we can all agree is freaking FANTASTIC and completely my style as I am NOT exactly a dainty girl ya' know. He puts a down payment on the ring and makes monthly payments on it.  February 2011, the ring is paid off.  Mike is now confronted with the challenge of finding the right moment to pop the big question.  Little do I know, everyone else in the world, has 1) seen the ring 2) knows Mike wants to propose 3) is anxiously waiting and accidentally dropping clues.  Luckily for me, I am oblivious to said clues.  Well, most of you know that I spent most of May and the beginning of June in and out of the hospital with some pretty severe health issues.  There were lots of tears and frustrations.  In fact, I was sure that Mike was going to get sick of all the health crap and leave me. (guess I got that one wrong).  I also inadvertently foiled the planning of a trip to New York that Mike was planning with my boss to pop the question.  Mike had a good cover story and with all the trips to the doctor and prescription costs, we decided to put off any trips for a while.  A few weeks go by and its June 13th, we are sitting on the couch watching a NASCAR race. Well, lets be honest, I was reading a book and Mike was watching the race.  Savannah was here but down for a nap.  Emma was at her grandma's for a visit.  

     I always wore an Irish wedding band on my left hand - It was from a good friend, and I loved it, and I am half Irish.  Mike would always play with it and we would joke about how one day another ring would replace it.  He starts talking about us, our relationship and the future - this is not abnormal.  But he starts talking about spending the rest of our lives together and such playing with my ring.  I begin thinking to myself, "hmm he actually wants to have a conversation, let me put my book down"  As he is holding my hand I notice his are shaking and freezing, which is COMPLETELY out of the ordinary.  Mike tells me that he loves me. can't see us with anyone else, and sees our future together always, and for those reasons (he gets down on one knee) he says he wants to know if I will spend the rest of my life with him.

     Needless to say, bring out the GIGANTIC Ring, the shaking, the tears, and of course the YES!  We talk we cry, I shake, and I say "um, you know I have some phone calls to make, right?!" hahahah... The rest is history in the making.

Early Morning Post - Thoughts on the Girls and the Wedding

So its very early in the morning and all I can think about is the wedding since it was the last subject Mike abnd I discussed before bed.  First, weddings spawn the weirdest dreams.  Last night I dreamt that our wedding favors were tiny tins with little man-eating plants in them.  Anyone out there some sort of dream analyst that can tell me what that means?! 

Lets move beyond strange dreams.  One of the biggest reason's that I am excited to get married to Mike is to sort-of solidify our little family.  Emma is super excited about the wedding and squealed onthe phone when Mike told her that he finally proposed.  ( I suppose at some point I should post thats story too... maybe later).  Savannah was napping when he did it, and when I woke her up, we told her that Daddy was going to marry Mommy Nikki.  We were getting ready for the pool and I told her we had to get changed.  Nanna's first response, "Are we going to the wedding Mommy Nikki?"  She is very excited about getting a new dress and to have a party.  As most of you know, we got Delilah on the same day we got engaged, really just a coincidence but she is now Delilah the Engagement Puppy.  Emma asked what the puppy's name was, I told her, Em's response was, "No, what's her full name".  I said Delilah Amurao that way we all will have the same last name when Daddy and I get married. She seems to think that all of us having the same name is pretty cool.

Both girls melt my heart and I love them dearly.  I am so glad to have them in my life.  I am a very lucky woman to have been taken in by these little girls and so lucky to be able to do so much with them.  It really means the world to Mike and I.

Delilah - The Engagement Puppy!

Playing catch-up!

Ok, so here we go again.  Here are some of the decisions we have made thus far regarding the wedding party:

• Maid of Honor 
• Jeanette Jofre - Nikki's Stepmom
• Best Man
• John Serrano - Mike's friend and Co-worker
• Bridesmaids (in no particular order)
• Aya Chin - Manon's Wife, Nikki's Friend
• Annie Ledee - Nikki's Friend
• Becky Ledesma - Nikki's Friend and Little Sister from another Mother :-)
• Groomsmen (in no particular order)
• Jeremiah Hurst - Mike's Second In Command at Work and Friend
• Johann Amurao - Mike's Brother
• Manon Chin - Mike's Co-worker, Friend, Aya's Husband
• Andy Avila - Friend of Nikki & Mike
• Junior Bridemaid (Certainly the most important)
• EmmaLeigh Amurao - Mike's oldest daughter, Nikki's step-daughter
• Flower Girls 
• Savannah Amurao - Mike's youngest daughter - Nikki's step-daughter
• Kate Marie Jofre-Furno - Nikki's little sister
• Ring Bearer (We should probably ask Manon and Aya --- Are you guys looking?!)
• Ryu Chin - Son of Manon and Aya Chin
• Parents of the Bride
• Dannielle Atkins - Mother
• Karen Furno - Mother
• Jeanette Jofre - Stepmom
•  Parents of the Groom (much more traditional here)
• Mr. Alfredo and Mrs. Evangeline Amurao 
• Walking the Bride down the aisle
• Dannielle Atkins - Mother of the Bride
• Kenneth Rosenfield - Boss and most imporatantly Friend of the Bride and Groom

That is all the updating for tonight - We are exhausted! OH WAIT - One more thing.... We did pick colors - We are using both a nice Orchid Purple and an Ocean Blue (NO IT'S NOT TEAL!)

Our First Post!

So, wow, setting up the blog was an effort on its own! Here we are, in the madness of deciding the important stuff when planning a wedding:

1. How many people should we have attend? (everyone we have ever met is not an option)
2. Who should we invite? (every long lost distant cousin?  NOT!!)
3. Where should the wedding be? (Orlando?  Someplace Close? NOT THE COURTHOUSE!!)
4. What time of year should the wedding be? (Fall-Spring - we got this one)

So in reviewing those few things, what we have come up with is a moderately sized wedding of about 120 people, our close family, friends, and co-workers that know us and are happy for us, someplace located in the metro-Orlando area and lastly the window of time is November 2012 - March 2013.

We are shooting for a nice fall day in November to start out with, but we need to decide on a venue.  There are soooooooo many options, hotel, resort, garden someplace, reception hall of some sort???  As I am working the wedding around Tax Season time is crucial!