To start things off we celebrated with our friends Dom and Bekah as they got married in Lynchburg, VA on January 5, 2008.
Who knew that one day later on our day trip to Washington, DC that we would get engaged? Kevin's plan was to go to Georgetown, VA (near DC), walk around town, grab lunch at Ima Vegetarian Cafe (Indian Cuisine), 
walk along the river, go to Grace Church for their 6pm service, and propose. 
He assumed I'd say yes...and I did! I had no idea that he had such a huge day planned. 
Kevin started his last semester of grad school a week later which consisted of a ton more writing. He's one of the most diligent students I know! I started the fun (only to be had once in a lifetime) task of wedding planning. I think I ordered my wedding dress on January 12 since I knew February is usually a busy month for work with no weekends to get away.
On Febuary 4 I got a phone call from my dad saying that my grandma had passed away unexpectedly. She never got to hear the full, details loaded version of our engagement story. My grandpa was a rock and said the whole day, "this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." What a lesson, being glad on the bad days too. Wow.
We went to the Ann Wharton Lecture Series on Valentine's Day where Em Griffin (author of COMS textbooks) was the keynote speaker. You can see below that Kevin was filled with glee by the dinner, the speaker, and my accompanying him. :)
In March we went to NY and Michigan over Spring Break. In Jamestown, NY Kevin was in our friends' Justin and Tiffany's wedding on the 15th.
From there we traveled to Kevin's hometown for a wedding shower put on by his family where I met his family, friends, gradeschool teachers, sunday school teachers, etc. It was so much fun to see the people that have been a part of his life for so long. We stopped several times and thought, "we are so blessed." Thanks to all who made it such a fun weekend!
At the end of March my friends Liz and Jen threw me a bridal shower.
It was great to have most of my friends in one place for a fun occasion. My friends are incredible! Too bad I don't have a picture of everyone who was there.
April proved to be another busy month. I threw a baby shower for my sister Shara one weekend...
Here's a picture of all the girls including Tilly (Jen's dog who was wearing a dress for the occasion).
Later that weekend I met my Grandpa Pick in DC to visit my brother, Nate. We had the best time as Nate showed us around town and hosted us at his apartment.
We also had a wedding shower hosted by my parents and church family in my home town the following weekend. Once again we were amazed at the generousity and the support of our family and friends.
Kevin finished grad school in May! We were so proud of him! His bound thesis was a coffee table book for awhile. What an accomplishment! YOu should have seen the dedication in person.
Kev started working at JMJ Landscaping Supply soon after graduation which proved to be a relief from such an academic way of thinking for a while. I have no pictures of Kev playing in huge dirt and mulch piles with real Tonka trucks. I think he secretly dreamed his whole life that he would play in the dirt as soon as he finished grad school. Every boy should one day fulfill his dreams and Kevin did! Too bad I don't have any pictures. Flash forward a couple months and a bee stings Kevin in the lip during the week before our wedding. The funny part of the story, being the caring fiance that I was, took him Benedryl at work. On the back of the box it reads, "when using this product, be careful if operating heavy machinery." Oh well, the guy needed some medicine to take the swelling down.
My nephew (now our 2nd nephew), Kaleb was born on May 21. He weighed in at 11 lbs 4.5oz. My sister was the talk of the hospital...what a trooper! 
At the end of May I was moved by work to a temporary apartment for the summer since the one Kevin and I would move into after our wedding wasn't finished. My apartment for the summer was nice, but it was quite the task to keep my stuff (boxes labeled summer or fall) and wedding stuff organized and easy to get to once I moved.
June...finished with the first move. Time for the last month of wedding planning and two wedding to go to in the Burg. I remember when I first looked at our schedule for June...how? when? wedding? marriage? :) As we said throughout our wedding planning, our goal was to honor God and to get married on July 5 even if ever detail wasn't finished.
My friend/co-worker Meg got married on June 7...
Our wedding was only 2 weeks away! Here are some pictures from what we lovingly called my apartment during the half-packed, half-moved, wedding planning galore days -- wedding central. And on into the 1st of July and the final week of wedding planning. Hooray!
(Nate & Kev's idea to throw leaves in the air while woalking down the aisle...we all almost fell over laughing)
(our attempt to find the LU Monogram and take a break from wedding planning before the final week started)
(Kaleb & Daddy helping--really, my dad wrapped all of my bridesmaids gift and giftcard box with precision. who knew?)
Thanks for all the help guys!You can see wedding and honeymoon pictures from July in our other posts. Here we are arriving back at our first apartment (for 2 weeks). Also below, a picture of our first meal at our house...thank you for wedding leftovers!
We also went to my friend/co-worker's, Elisha's, wedding on July 12 as Mr. and Mrs. Mahan.
We saw Shara, Kaleb, and Jon off as they were leaving for Galveston. It was Kev's idea that Kaleb's 1st Cup o' Joe come from his Aunt Rachel.
And, to top off July, we moved again into our apartment for the school year.
Oh what a post - it brought back so many memories. It was a HUGE year for the 2 of you - aren't you glad the two of you wanted a short engagement (just long enough to plan the wedding)? Not sure when you posted this, but we almost missed it. Thanks for the memories - can't wait for part 2. Give us a shout when it is completed.
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