Post-Christmas update

Our first Christmas together was a success!!

We spent Christmas eve at my house. Jesse got his first pair of "Donaldson Christmas Eve pjs" and got his first taste of the Christmas eve story reading. We exchanged our usual Christmas eve gifts which are our family "game" presents, presents from siblings-to-siblings (which Jesse was included in thanks to Clayton deciding on his OWN to buy Jesse a Christmas gift) and cards we got.

Cards were extra special this year. We put them on the tree when they come in the mail and when we got back from UT Jesse noticed that there were 4 cards from Grandma this year. Upon further investigation, we discovered that Grandma had included Jesse this year! We talked to Grandma Christmas day and told her how much it meant to us that she included Jesse and she said "What thoughtful? Y'all are getting married and so he is my grandson now." Such a sweet gesture to make our first Christmas together and engaged even better :)

SO we woke up early and Jesse and I lost to Clay in the pickle present game, sad day. Then we all opened gifts. I was so excited to see Jesse's face when he opened his TV! Everybody got some pretty awesome gifts. Jesse got me a new watch, a massive bottle of my favorite perfume, and the Sims 3 xbox game! I got Jesse a wallet, a pillow, COD Black Ops, a vacuum (not very fun), and the TV! Mom and Dad even got us a family Wii! Mom made chicken fried steak and we all had lunch.

A special gift from Mom and Dad to Jesse and Me was an ornament. I told mom I wanted to start collecting ornaments so that when Jesse and I have a tree we have something to put on it. We got our first one! It's a frog prince holding a big diamond ring :) So excited to start collecting more!

After lunch Jesse and I drove to Georgetown for Christmas afternoon/night with the Hanrahans. We ate Christmas dinner and opened gifts. Then Jesse let me play my new Xbox games :) (Yes I asked for Xbox games though the Xbox is really Jesse's... what's his is mine now though right?)

It was a very wonderful, special first Christmas together and we are looking forward to many many more!! We certainly felt like an engaged couple trying to make it to both family Christmases.

As for New Years, we don't have plans yet but we do sort of have resolutions. Jesse wants to make all A's again this semester. (Yes he made all A's this fall and we are so stinkin' proud of our little smartypants!) Mine is to set a wedding date by our one year engagement anniversary which is May 4 and to get a school plan in order whether it's PA school acceptance or applying and getting into a new different surg tech program.

Here's hoping we get the Donaldson-Hanrahan life ball rolling in 2011 !!

BEST CHRISTMAS YET!

Merry Christmas y'all !!

We are so excited for Christmas this year!

We have never spent a Christmas together in the almost 4 years we've been together. This year we are finally getting to spend it together :) It is the best Christmas present I could ever ask for!

I cannot wait until we are married and making our own Christmas traditions and spending every major holiday together.

I'll have to update with Christmas presents... let me just say, Jesse must have been a very good boy this year (I did get my ring didn't I) and he is going to be VERY pleasantly surprised at how much better his Fianceé is at shopping than his girlfriend was :)

Utah Trip

We went to Utah this past week to visit the Fuentes family :) We were there for about 6 days.

We finally got to meet our Lil' Booger (thanks for the nickname Uncle Jesse)! She is too cute for words and getting so big already! I think Jesse was in hog heaven when holding her. He couldn't walk by her without trying to entertain her or make her smile.



We also had fun getting to know Richard and Austin better. Plus we earned cool Aunt and Uncle points by getting Austin (our nephew) a Steelers hat and Boggle for Christmas.



It was incredibly beautiful there. The snowy mountains were gorgeous and surrounded their house. We went into SLC and saw the downtown area which was decorated with all kinds of Christmas lights.



Jesse and I played in the snow too! We made a snowman one day and entertained JackJack in the backyard because he couldn't get enough of the snow!

It's Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving !!

I have so much to be Thankful for this year.

• I'm thankful for Jesse. He makes every day better just by being in it. He makes me feel more and more loved each day. He is smart, and funny, and caring. He gives me so many smiles and laughs. I have never been happier. He is the best thing to come into my life. (I could go on forever but I won't)
• I am thankful for family. Both my blood family and my soon-to-be family! My family has always been there for me. We welcomed new family with a wedding and the birth of our first niece! In the next couple of years, I will have a whole new side to my family, I'll have more moms, dads, brothers, and I'll have sisters!
• I am thankful for my education and all of those that have played a role in it. Especially a select few college professors who made class more enjoyable and who cared about me more than just a student name on a roster.
• I am thankful for my job. Though I may hate it some days and though it's not exactly what I thought I'd be doing after college, I am thankful I have one at all. It has allowed me to start saving for the wedding of my dreams. I am thankful for the wonderful kiddos who can brighten a lousy work day with a hug or a smile. (and I'm even thankful when they call me "mom" or "mimi" bc they can't say my real name but need to get my attention).
• I am thankful for my health.
• I am thankful for Jesse's health. He has progressed so much farther than the doctors thought possible and I couldn't be more proud! He is healthy as a horse and happy as a lark!
• I am thankful for my pets. Newman, Freckles, and all of my fish babies.
• I am thankful for amazing friends. They have gotten me through some very tough times and without them I wouldn't be the person I am today.
• I am thankful for US troops who serve for my freedoms so I don't have to.

P.S. I am also thankful that this year's Christmas list has wedding books instead of an engagement ring on it! ;)

There is so much to be thankful for and I hope you take time out of your football, turkey eating, and family time to reflect on what you are most thankful for this year!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by all the people who love you and who you love in return!

Wedding Bands, CHECK!

Jesse is now the proud owner of a Tungsten wedding band!

He needed a special size so it won't be in for a week but wedding bands can go on the list of things we've done!

Things we've done: wedding bands, card holder, colors, and we've made some song choices.

Now only to tackle the other 100+ parts of planning.....

Tungsten Rings

We went looking for Jesse a wedding band again today and he found "the one."

It is tungsten and boy is it complicated. I've heard some not so exciting things about tungsten (i.e. it shatters if dropped and in an emergency Jesse may lose his finger because it would be harder to get the ring off than his finger) Every store had a different answer for each of our questions about tungsten. Can it be engraved? Will it scratch easy? Does it shatter? Can it be easily taken off in an emergency? Yes, no, maybe ?!

I'm now home doing research to see if tungsten would be the best choice.

Can it be engraved? Yes, but only laser engraving.
Will it scratch? No
Does it shatter? Well I saw a video of a dude hitting one with a hammer and it wasn't damaged, so no, not easily.
Can it be taken off in an emergency? Yes.

Not sure why I trust the source I found but it just seems like they knew what they were talking about.

Now since we've decided tungsten is ok, we have to decide if the place we found "the one" is a reputable enough place. I'm weary because it is not a big name chain but more of a small time, may be closed in a year kind of place. But it's the ring he likes the best and it's super cheap, so if something did happen to it, we wouldn't be out a lot of money and it could be replaced.

Decisions, decisions....

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO WEIGH IN ON THIS ONE & LEAVE A COMMENT!! :)

Jesse

WARNING: Mushy blog post, may cause feelings of queasiness, read at your own risk! :)

I am just so in love and even though we are long distance right now, we make it work with weekend visits. Every visit Jesse reminds me just why I fell in love with him in the first place and why I want to spend forever with him.

It's the little things. I've noticed over the years that the big things are important but the little things count just as much. He is so good with the little things.

He gives me flowers just because, he tucks me in when he's here, he goes on little shopping trips with me on the weekends even though they are more suited for women friends, he tells me I'm beautiful every day (and I believe he means it!), he always listens when I complain about work (or anything else for that matter), he lets me cuddle on Football Sunday and nap while he watches the games.... I could go on forever.

Everyday he makes me feel loved and it is the best feeling in the world! I can't wait to be his wife!



Hug and kiss your other halves every chance you get!

And don't forget to tell them how much you love them!!

Such a Sweetheart

I just wanted to take a moment to brag on my wonderfully amazing, extremely thoughtful Fiancé.

I came home from work and he surprised me with some beautiful orange roses just because!

He probably doesn't know this but orange roses are said to be a combination of yellow roses that symbolize friendship and red roses which symbolize love. Perfect since he's my best friend and the love of my life!


Just wanted everyone to know what a lucky lady I am & what a sweetheart I will be marrying :)

(This one looks yellow but I promise they are orange)

Wedding Bands

So I already have my wedding band because my wonderful husband-to-be bought my rings in a set but we still need him a wedding band.

We went to look a little this weekend (since we want to buy bits and pieces over the next couple of years) and it's kind of a weird experience. He's never worn any kind of jewelry except for a watch so it's odd to see him with a ring on. It will definitely take some getting used to for both of us once he does pick one and starts wearing it.

On the plus side, he found a couple he liked and what an inadvertently thrifty shopper I'm marrying, all of his favorites were VERY do-able price wise. He has a basic style in mind it's just a matter of finding the perfect one. After all, he'll be wearing it everyday for the rest of his life!! :)

DRUM ROLL PLEASE !

Here she is... our B-E-A-UTIFUL NEW BABY NIECE

*AVA BELLE*

This is one of the little outfits Uncle Jesse and Aunt Keleigh sent
after we found out Amanda had a baby girl.

Look at all of that beautiful hair! We haven't met her yet but we love her soooo much already!

BABY UPDATE !!

IT'S A GIRL !!

Ava Belle born 7:55 MDT August 3, 2010
6 lbs 14 oz, 19 3/4 "

We have a niece :) :)

We can't wait to see pictures of the beautiful new baby in the family !

Mom and baby are doing great after a home delivery in a birthing pool. We got the call at about 10:30 pm our time. Congrats to Mommy Amanda, Daddy Richard, and Big Brother Austin!


P.S. Today is our 3 1/2 year anniversary of being together and our 3 month anniversary of being engaged :)

What an exciting week!

YAY FOR BABIES!

This is totally un-wedding related but AMANDA'S IN LABOR !! That means that Jesse and I will be Aunt Keleigh and Uncle Jesse soon!

We are sooo excited and can't wait to plan a trip to go meet baby Fuentes!

(We are also excited to find out what it is... we are guessing girl but who knows!)

We are hoping mom and baby make it through labor healthy and happy and can't wait to see pictures of the new Hanrahan-Fuentes family edition!

My Fair Wedding

I have a confession to make: I'm a wedding show addict.

I love WEtv and TLC because of all of the wedding shows and I love Wedding Sundays and Say Yes to the Dress Fridays.

Of all of the shows I've seen, never have I ever loved an episode more than the My Fair Wedding TEXAS episode that was on tonight.

The girl was so sweet and David was so clueless about all things Texas, but he still managed to give her her dream country wedding. I've seen him change so many things about the bride's vision in other episodes that kind of got away from their plans and even though he was a bit skeptical at first, he still kept with her original ideas and created a beautiful country wedding.

Her husband was so sweet too and just wanted David to create her perfect wedding. Then he wrote and sang a song to her at their wedding out under the stars.

Soooo sweet, sooo country and soooo Texas, it was THE BEST episode I've seen, of any of the shows I watch religiously, hands down.

"Everyone's hearts are bigger in Texas." -David Tutera

Wedding Blog

Hello All!

I thought starting a blog would help to keep everyone up-to-date on our wedding planning.

I know there are some long distance people (and just busy people) that may not get to be as involved with everything we are up to so hopefully this will serve to keep everyone in the loop! Now of course we won't be divulging EVERY detail since we want a certain surprise element to the wedding but we'll give out little tidbits here and there.

Plus we know the wedding won't be for a while so for now, there may not be much to write.

We have done a few wedding related things though :) Me, Jesse, my mom and dad, and Jesse's mom all went to a bridal fair in June. It was pretty overwhelming to say the least. There are soooooo many things to plan and sooooo many different vendors in San Antonio (which is where, for now anyways, we are planning on having our wedding). One very good thing did come out of the fair.... we got FREE engagement photos!!

A photographer at the fair was giving out free sessions to brides who wanted them. Of course I jumped at the chance for free pictures. So we booked a date and June 26 we had our pictures done. The guy was so nice he let us choose the place (Hemisfair park) and he let us do two outfits! It was 800 degrees outside (ok maybe not but it felt like it) but it was sooo fun!

We did some semi-formal ones and then changed into Dallas Cowboy gear. We took photos downtown for 2 1/2 hours. Even Jesse enjoyed himself :) Monday we went to get the photos from the photographer. he gave us a CD with all of our pictures and they turned our GREAT!



To top it off, I was able to order an engagement photo book for FREE too from shutterfly.com!

The only other "real" wedding thing we've done is buy a card box... actually a card birdcage. It's one of the few things I knew that I wanted and we had been casually looking. I knew in my head what I wanted but we hadn't been able to find one. Then one day in Hobby Lobby there it was. I know we weren't running out of time to find one or anything but it was exactly what I had pictured and 50% 0ff.... so it was fate! It was our first official wedding purchase and probably the last for a long time although we are hoping to buy bits and pieces for the wedding over the next few years so we don't have a huge amount of money to spend all at once.

We also already have our color scheme and "theme"/inspiration in mind :) now if I can only stick with it and not change my mind as time goes on!

We're Engaged!

Jesse and I are engaged!! He proposed on May 4, 2010.

Jesse told me a week before hand that I could have my graduation present early but I had to wait until "our day" which is the 4th of every month. SO naturally, I patiently waited (begging every day).

May 3rd rolled around and he mentioned a second present so of course I just wanted to know why a day early would hurt. He told me if I waited until at least midnight I could have them so I willed myself to stay up. For probably every couple of minutes after 11:30pm I kept trying to convince him opening them early would be a great idea. None of it worked so at midnight he finally gave in.

I was convinced I knew what my wrapped gift was and was half right. Then he said, "I have to go get your second gift." He went to the hall closet and brought back some flowers.... calla lilies, my favorite. I was busy admiring the flowers when I noticed he was down on one knee with a ring!

I was surprised and couldn't believe it. Then I understood why it had to be midnight so that it was the 4th.

The 4th was special because it was "our day" but also because May 4 is the anniversary of the car wreck so naturally I hate(d) that day. Jesse said he partly picked it so we could have a good memory on May 4th instead of the bad one I have had for the past 3 years.

What a sweetheart!

SO now we're engaged and loving life! We can't wait to start planning and starting our new life together as husband and wife.

We won't be getting married for a while because we would like to both be out of school first. While it will definitely be hard to wait, it'll give us time to save so we can have the wedding of our dreams.