Hitting the pause button.

Sometimes I have found myself needing to take a deep breath through all these plans...like my life has gotten stuck on fast forward in anticipation for what is coming in less than two months and I have to make a conscious effort to stop, look around me, and actually see what is going on.

And sometimes there are days when it hits me all over again...

I'M GETTING MARRIED.

*squeeeeeaaaaaaaallllllll!*

One of these times occurred the other day when Shay and I were sifting through the 100+ engagement shots we took last Saturday in the hopes that we would find one, maybe two, possibly three that would pass my ever-so-rigorous-and-slightly-overly-critical-judgement and make it onto the official announcement. Surprisingly there were 20 or so that passed...some more than others...which is something I am truly grateful for as it's yet another thing that has been successfully crossed off our "to do" list. During this quest for the perfect picture, one of them caught my eye and made me stop completely. As I gazed at the picture in awe and noticed yet again the little token of love and affection that had been carefully placed on my finger with more sacrifice than I'm probably aware of, I was completely blindsided. These were my engagement pictures. There was my fiance, who would someday be my husband, the man who would lead and guide my children and I throughout the rest of our lives, my very very very best friend and the biggest blessing I have ever received.

And in 55 days, 13 hours, 46 minutes, and 10 seconds I get to officially keep him forever.

Needless to say, that puts a ginormous smile on my face. :)

I used to wonder who this man would be that I would someday fall forever in love with...what his name started with, what color his eyes were, whether or not he'd laugh at all my corny jokes, what kind of music he liked...and the list goes on. I never would have nor could have guessed what was in store for me, but I'm glad that was the case. I like that the surprise I got is the best one of all!

Here's a sneak peak at the pictures that made the cut:



The ducks behind us were quite amusing. :) Their flight south for the winter was apparently delayed and they were so starved that they literally followed us around the pond as we took the pictures, hoping that we had come instead to feed them. A couple had even lost a foot somehow but were still able to keep up with the others...it was pretty cool to see how they had adapted. :)



This "dock" was questionable...much less sturdy than I remember it being as a little kid. Then again, I never used to care about that anyway...as long as I could hang my homemade fishing pole off of it and catch gazillions of huge imaginary fish, it was the best place in the whole world.



I always wanted a picture like this, but never knew it until now... :)



He was trying to dip me. Without warning. And I was like, "Nuh-uh." Right after I stopped laughing. :)



Kissy-face! :) His poor ears are so red, we were both freezing! I probably shouldn't have procrastinated so much on getting these taken, Mother Nature didn't want to wait as long as we did. :P



I always wanted a picture like this too. Only I knew that one beforehand. And I rigged the shoot so I could get one. He wasn't being very cooperative for very long though...



...and this is where we ended up. Gosh I love him. :)



One of my favorites, hands down. :) I think we'll have cute blonde-haired blue-eyed little ones someday. Yep. :)



Another fave, which will probably be one that ends up on the announcement itself.



And this is how the adventure ended, as most everything should in my opinion. :) Sealed with a kiss!