the past few weeks....

have you ever planned a wedding before? yeah, me neither. after this, though, i'm thinkin i'll go pro. it's not that i'll be great at it, it's just that i really think the second time around would be so much easier. dad says he's not paying for the next one (wink wink...just kidding--settle down, everyone...sheesh).
i can honestly say i've hit the part of wedding planning that typically turns a normal girl into a monster. can we say, bridezilla? i know i can. "bridezilla". see? i am trying SO hard not to go nuts. i was convinced i had this wedding planning thing all figured out when josh and i made all the decisions so early in the game and with little hesitation. there was a HUGE gap of "there's just nothing more do to on this wedding-planning stuff. i'm bored, and i thought this would be hard. who says a wedding can't be planned in 7 months? this is a cake walk..." then that gap managed to closed itself over the holidays, and i hadn't even realized it. THEN, one day i woke up, rolled over, and thought "oh crap, i have a LOT to do, and only 4 weeks to do it". that day was...saturday. and boy, has it been a hectic week. when i'm not sleeping, eating, talking, or listening to someone else talk, i'm thinking about the wedding. "i have to call the site and ask about the table layout. i have to start figuring out where people are going to sit. i have to finish making the programs and the menus. i have to figure out what to use as chair ties. i have to double check the budget. i have to call the florist. i have to talk to the photographer. i have to make a timeline. i have to count my guests. i have to pray for good weather.... oh my gosh, i need josh."
oh, josh, josh, josh. josh has been ahhhhhh-mazing! from day one he has desired oh-so-much to be part of this process, and he's done an excellent job. it's awesome, he is totally into this. i'm glad he's invested--makes it a little more difficult for him to back out of the whole thing ;-) josh has taken care of the wedding favors, the music and dj discussions, the tuxes, the marraige license prep work, his passport, the ceremony order and the officiant. he's also had input in every decision in the wedding except the flowers--he just couldn't get himself to sincerely care. i don't mind--i'm not hugely obsessed with flowers either, so i can understand how he feels. oh, and in his "free" time, he's managed to ace 4 classes (he's working on 2 more as we speak), coordinate the ever-changing "musical chair" effort taking place at his 200 employee office, do his real job, keep up with his favorite lakers, climb a rock or 30, make it to holiday and birthday gatherings, keep up with Puppy June, and keep his soon-to-be-wife happy through one of the most stressful times in her life.
i'm not going to lie here, it's not been all fun and games. one thing i didn't expect about this 7 month period of "being engaged" was how much both josh and i would want SO BADLY to JUST be married already!! we've grown closer through the wedding planning process, and have thought so much about what things will be like when we GET married, yet we've been forced to lead our two separate lives SO incredibly separately. getting married won't necessarily solve it all--we'll still have our indivudality and lead our own lives--but we'll get to "home-base" it at the same place after a hard day of work. we'll get to walk the dog together, eat dinner (and breakfast!) together, and best of all we'll get to stop saying "see ya laters" after a long day of hanging out. instead, i'm hoping for the "goodnight"/goodnight kiss duo. :-)

joshua.ryan.johnson

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSHUA!!!


Josh, Baby, you are so so so special to so many of us... You are an AMAZING friend to many, brother to some, son to a couple, dad to a dog, and fiance to a happy, happy girl. Your love, thoughtfulness, intellegence, talent, wit, and strength make me a.d.m.i.r.e you more than you'll ever know... May you have the most INCREDIBLE birthday spent with all those you LOVE! You deserve it, and so much more!

Getting closer...in more ways than one.

At 44 days left, we are coming down the final stretch with wedding planning and we are still having fun (mostly).   Right now it’s all about checking off items on the “To Do” list.  Tuxes rented? Check!  DJ hired and filled in on music selections? Check! Seating chart completed? Let’s not get ahead of things just yet….  There are still a lot of things left to do to prepare for the big day, but I know that everything will fall into place and the day will be perfect. 

We have made it a point from the beginning of everything to outline our expectations for the day and from one another so we can make quick decisions, and not focus on the unimportant things.  The whole planning process has taught us a lot about how to communicate and how to rely on the other person.  We already know that we work well together, since that’s how we met, but doing life with someone else is different than just working together.  While we know that married life will be much different than engaged life, the process of planning the wedding together has taught us a lot about how to communicate, trust, forgive, and look after one another.

Emotions are running high right now.  From frustration that it hasn’t happened already, to pure elation that we are going to get to spend the rest of our lives with each other.  From looking forward to sharing a house, and never having to say goodbye each night to the other person, to pure disdain at packing a house full of nine years of nesting.  From happily imagining what the big day holds for us, to the frustration of having a list full of “To Do’s” left before we get there.  The next 44 days will be full of all sorts of emotions, but each one of them teaches us something about ourselves, and each other, and prepares us for a lifetime together. 

The process of planning a wedding together has been a highlight of life so far with Gigi.  Going through each of the emotions and stages of planning has been an awesome experience.  When I see how much we have learned from each other and how much we continue to want to know the other person completely, it makes me so excited to get married to this incredible woman.  In 44 days I will be married to the woman of my dreams...and let me tell you, I can’t wait!