Wedding Pics

I am attaching the pictures that I have so far starting a couple days before the wedding...they aren't the photographers pictures...those we should have in a day or two and hopefully I can post some before we leave for Mexico on Saturday. Out of a special request from my Dad...here's what I have so far! =)

My mom and me a couple days before the wedding...after we ate at Mimi's Cafe...very appropriate! =)

Bobby and me at the Rehearsal at Ashley Manor

One table at Abuelo's for the Rehearsal Dinner - mostly Bobby's family

The other table at the Rehearsal Dinner - Bobby's mom is next to him...the rest is my family, except the guy by me whose head is cut off (sorry Corey!). Andrea (good friend) is his girlfriend and is taking the picture.

Megan and I - before the ceremony

Kyndall and I - before the ceremony

Stiking a pose

Mom and me before the ceremony

Bobby's mom, me, and my mom before the ceremony

My mom and my Aunt Sandy - primping before the ceremony

My mom - a.k.a my Matron of Honor

Dad walking me down the aisle!

Dum dum dum dum....

You may kiss the bride!

Wiping off my lip gloss on Bobby from the kiss!

"Escaping" from Ashley Manor after the ceremony

The wedding-mobile decorated for us by neighbors and family

We didn't get too many honks (if any) on the way back from the ceremony...but we did the next day before we washed it off.

Post-ceremony pics...we will have many more of these to share once we get them from our photographer this week.

At OUR house later at night - Karaoke Begins!

Stefan and Keely singing their hearts out...awesome singers!

My cousin Allisa and my Aunt Sandy belting it out!

Our neighbor, Mike, and Bobby's brother, Ray singing a duet

Nephew Zach - son of Bobby's brother Kenny - he piled in with Bobby's sister Nora and family, even though the rest of the family couldn't make it...and we loved having him!

Andrea (friend from Illinois., worked with her at Cat) and me - NYE Party (she was the wonderful hairstylist for my wedding hair - loved it!)

Two cute couples - Bobby, me, Andrea and Corey (her boyfriend)

All the girls' cousins - Bobby and I's nieces and nephews - New Year's Day. We all went to the park near Bobby's bro's house and Bobby and I somehow got reeled into playing touch football with all the boys! Okay, okay...we really liked it...but we were SORE the next day!

New Year's Day at the Cheesecake Factory - the girls and Bobby and I ate with Dad, Mom, and Aunt Sandy before they left AZ the next day.

The New Marin Family! (doesn't Kyndall look like she's my little koala???) =)

Phillipians 4:6 when you're in a fix!

For whatever reason, this morning I remembered back to college and one of the church services. A girl was sharing that her dad used to remind her..."Phillipians 4:6 when you're in a fix!". Somehow, after all these years, this is one thing I have never forgotten....and it came to mind again today when I was reading the Bible. I've been reading about Paul...and he is the king of always being in fixes! Not because he deserved it...but for God's glory.

Phillipians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

This verse applies to so much happening around me right now. My sister, bro-in-law and neice are in a far off country....for weeks to pick up their little one. Travel, foreign country, long time away...all of that makes the situation nerve wrecking to begin with. Then, on top of that...they are gone for the holidays...and...most likely, my wedding. And I think one of the reasons I am okay with this situation (although majorly disappointed and sad) is the verse above. I have presented my requests to God (He definitely knows that I want a miracle to happen so they can make it!)...and I wholeheartedly trust Him with this. I know the decision to work magic in this situation and bring them back sooner so they can be here for Bobby and I's big day isn't mine...it's God's. There is some reason for this if they have to miss it. And I may never know the reason...and that's HARD for me! But...you know, I've got the peace from God right now that it will all work out. Will it work out to what I humanly want? Who knows...but it will be what God wants...and that's, in the end, truly my want as well. I have one millimeter of a perspective compared to my Lord's perspective....and one tenth of an iota of the knowledge and power...so why should it be what I want? It shouldn't. So, I keep praying EVERY DAY for the miracle to happen because God is so capable of making that happen...but I trust if it doesn't there is some wonderful reason as well.

Then, of course...just getting down to the details of the wedding...the last three weeks are inevitable with details, something that I wanted to avoid as much as possible so I don't get lost in them...but guess what...sometimes (especially now!) you just have to get engrossed in them and major stress comes with details. So...the verse above definitely applies here too...I am giving this new marriage (notice I didn't say wedding!) to God...actually, Bobby and I gave it to God a long time ago. Once that happens, you release soooo much of the pressure that you have on yourself to get it all to happen just perfectly. Perfect is God's perfect, not mine. I don't care if my dress gets lost, my hair all falls out and I trip down the aisle...if I get to say "I do " to Bobby...that's what matters. This reminds me of what Bobby always tells me...he always says that he'd marry me in a burlap sack (what the heck is that anyway?) on top of a garbage dumpster, as long as we get married. That focus is so important to me...the bigger, significant picture...although easy to get lost the closer the wedding gets. God's definitely helped me with this...the peace that passes all understanding is amazing...and the fact that it guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus is so spot on too. Since I have chosen (with God's help) to always focus on the marriage and not the wedding in all of this...my heart and mind follow.

By the way, the verses that precede Phillipians 4:6-7 are neat to look at too.

Phillipians 4:4-5
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."

Remember...these verses are BEFORE the first set. So...prior to the worry, anxiousness verses in 6-7 there is a focus on rejoicing and praising in the Lord and extending gentleness to others. That to me means that's our first priority in God. That's part of the package deal that God gives us. Even AS you have worry and axiousness consuming your mind, you still are to be rejoicing in God and being gentle to all. Now...picture yourself in a highly stressed, worrisome situation right now...how often do you or I rejoice in those times....and then are gentle to everyone around us? Probably not. So...rejoice in him...be gentle to all...and then you get to pray and petition your requests to God. The result? The peace that passes all understanding! That one of the best gifts God gives us, as His children.

This got me to thinking...how often do I praise and thank God first and foremost? Then on top of that...how often am I gentle to all (even when I don't want to be or they don't deserve it)? I got the praying thing down pretty darn good (sometimes for selfish reasons)...to ask for whatever I want...but there are two steps before the praying that I often overlook and miss. Therefore, my goal is to work on those two things from this point on....praising God and gentleness...shouldn't be too hard, right?! =)