26 Days...

What a crazy, productive weekend!! I got to go up on Thursday afternoon. I met with a woman in Athens about an assistantship position and then drove up to our house (I like the sound of that) to start the cleaning! I ended up getting a lot done before John Hoyt got off work. We met for dinner and went to buy blinds for the house! Friday I didn't get to even go to the house because we were so busy all day. I did get to meet with our wedding photographer and I can't even begin to describe how excited I am about the pictures! She had some great ideas and I am really looking forward to working with her! We decided to do a bridal shoot before the wedding so that I could get some of the ones of me out of the way so she could do a lot of him on the day of the wedding. Sometimes, I think the guys get left out and I wanted to make sure I had a lot of good ones of him too. We're hoping to do the bridal session in a couple of weeks! We got to spend Friday night with our youth group for a cookout which was awesome! It was so good to spend some time relaxing with everyone.

Saturday we got up really early and went over to the house to start working again. John Hoyt's mom and two of his sisters came to help us and they were so great! We got almost completely finished with the whole house! The only thing I have left to do is clean the really high cabinets because I couldn't reach them and I didn't have anything to stand on. John Hoyt started hanging blinds. We got done around 4:30 and went back to his parent's to get ready for Easter choir rehearsal. After rehearsal we went to eat and then went back to the house to start unloading my car (I brought some things from Milledgeville) and to finish up hanging the blinds downstairs. Easter was great and we got to spend some time with his family. After all of the Easter festivities, we went over to the Butlers (the place I've been staying at when I visit him since I moved to college) and started getting all of our shower gifts and my stuff that we had stored there. It took 2 trips in 2 cars to get everything to the house. Right now it's all downstairs in the middle of the floor waiting to be organized. I ended up having to stay up there because I didn't feel well after we got done and drove back down to Millly this morning. We got so much done! Next weekend is going to be crazy too with moving furniture and more stuff and trying to knock a bunch of wedding stuff out!

31 Days...

The past few weeks have been so amazing and so productive! Katelyn threw a DIY night and so many girls showed up to help with the programs and favors! We knocked about half of them out that night and then several girls came the next week to help finish them. We got them done very quickly! That is such a huge load off of me and I am so grateful to those that came for all of their help! I'm actually glad that my original plan for the programs didn't work out, because I love the new design so much better! I've been able to get a few of the other small details done. I took my dress to have it altered about a week and a half ago, so I'm just waiting to hear back from the alterations lady to pick it up. The most exciting thing that has happened recently is that we closed on our house on Monday!!! We're officially homeowners!!! John Hoyt has been working so hard the past few days before and after work to get it ready for me to come clean and start moving in. After we got the keys, the first thing he wanted to do was mow the grass. It had gotten pretty tall and so he went out the next morning before work and mowed it. He also went to Lowe's and got new locks for the doors and installed them last night. He and two of his sisters (April & Jackie) and his brother-in-law were able to get the washer and dryer in! Jackie and April cleaned the laundry room and Jon and John Hoyt got the machines up the stairs. Everything is slowly coming together! I will be driving up to Athens for an interview for an assistantship tomorrow afternoon and then will be heading up to the house to start cleaning! I packed a bunch of stuff last night at my apartment. I got a lot of my little decorations all packed up and some of my picture frames in boxes as well as a bunch of my t-shirts and winter clothes. I'm planning on loading all of it into my car tonight so I can drive it up to the house this weekend. Next week I'll be doing a lot of packing and moving. This weekend I'm planning on doing most of the cleaning so that I'll feel comfortable moving all of my stuff in there and eventually moving in. I can't believe I have a little more than 2 weeks of school left! I'm getting excited about seeing everyone and about graduation! It's very bittersweet though because I'm really going to miss a lot of my friends that I've made here and my apartment that I've lived in for 3 years. It's been an emotional rollercoaster because one minute I can't wait and the next I'm sad. I am just so thankful for all of the blessings God has given us and I am really looking forward to our wedding! Oh, and for those that are interested, our wedding website is www.mywedding.com/evinjohnhoyt!

47 Days...

My stress level is pretty high this week. I'll be graduating with my bachelors in less than 5 weeks but before that I have 5 major projects due; one every week. My amazing friend/roomie, Katelyn is throwing a DIY night on Thursday and a lot of my friends are coming over to help do some DIY projects like the favors and programs. I'm trying to get all of that stuff together. We had an idea for the programs, but that isn't going to work anymore, so I'm scrambling to get something else together. I've got some ideas, but I need to run them by John Hoyt before I can change the design. It's just going to be a pretty crazy week with my project due this week and of course my weekly paper on the wonderful B.F. Skinner :). We should be closing on the house next week (hopefully)! We were supposed to close this past Wednesday but we had some problems with the water company. All of that is straightened out but it delayed the closing slightly. I'm disappointed but I'm also a little grateful because it's given me a chance to focus on the wedding a little more. I just can't believe we have less than 7 weeks to go! I am getting so excited about our wedding and FINALLY being married! John Hoyt and I had a really chill weekend and it was so nice to just spend time together. He took me on a shopping/minigolf/dinner date and we just relaxed and had a great time! The next 7 weeks are going to be slightly crazy so it was nice to take a breather. My MOH threw me a bridal shower on Sunday which was so much fun! A lot of my friends got to be there and I was so grateful for them! Please continue to pray for me and for us as we close on the house, finalize all the wedding details, and try to graduate!

54 Days...

So much has happened during the past few weeks. I was on Spring Break last week and I had such a great time with my friends, Amanda and Tori! On Friday, John Hoyt and I drove over to Alabama to attend my grandparents' 50th Anniversary party! I was so amazing to see that after 50 years they are still so in love and so happy! It was so inspiring! After the party, we drove back to Georgia to celebrate John Hoyt's dad's birthday with his family. Sunday, we had our church shower that John Hoyt's family threw for us! It was so much fun and we got a lot of beautiful things! On Monday morning, Tori, Amanda, and I left to drive to Pennsylvania! We got there Monday night and then got up early the next morning to drive to Niagara Falls! It was such a fun day! We got to see the Falls on the American side and then we drove over to Canada to see that side too! We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, and then went to the Skylar Tower (a spinning resturant) for dessert! It was so much fun! On the way back, we had a terrifying trip though. What would normally take about 4 hours ended up taking 8 because we got trapped in a huge snow storm in the mountains. I was driving and it was awful. We got pushed off the road by an 18-wheeler and almost hit the guard rail. It was only by God that we didn't hit it because I lost control of the car and we were sliding on ice and couldn't stop. When we finally got about 10 mintues from home, we got stuck on a hill. My big truck couldn't make it and a Pennsylvania DOT angel saved us! He somehow got my car turned around and we were able to take the long way home. It was truly a miracle because we were stuck in the middle of the road with no way to get up the hill or even move to the side of the road. It was an adventure to say the least. We got home at around 5:15 the next morning. Wednesday and Thursday we stayed at home. On Thursday night we had a "wedding celebration" with some ladies from our church in Pennsylvania and some of our neighbors and friends. Since the wedding is in Georgia, we knew that most people wouldn't be able to make it to the wedding, so they all came to celebrate with me while I was there. We played our slideshow and some music from the wedding, had some great finger foods and got some beautiful gifts! It was SO much fun! We are less than 8 weeks away from the wedding now! I really only have to finish up some details which can be time consuming, so I'm trying to work on stuff a little at a time. We are just so excited! There has been a slight delay in the closing on our house because of a problem with the water company, but it might be good because it gives me a little bit more time to focus on the wedding. I am so thankful for that 2 weeks between graduation and the wedding to finish up and organize everything!

70 Days...

So much has happened since I posted last time! We finally found our house!!! The weekend after my last post, we looked and looked and still couldn't find anything. I left Sunday night feeling very discouraged and upset and wondering what we were going to do. It seemed that we had exhausted all of our options. While I was on my way home, John Hoyt called me and said that he had been looking online at houses in Pendergrass, a town really close to Braselton, where we had been looking. He said that he found two houses that were really beautiful from the pictures and that were definitely in our price range. When I got home that night, I looked at them and fell in love with one in particular. John Hoyt called the real estate agent and set up a time to look at it on Monday night. He loved it and thought I should see it in person, so I drove up that Wednesday night to look at it myself. I fell in love immediately and knew that this was the house for us. We had to put in a bid on it, and so we decided to go ahead and do it that night. We were supposed to hear back to see if we won the bid on Thursday because the bidding ended on Wednesday night, but we didn't hear anything all day. We were so anxious and nervous to hear if we got the house or not. Luckily for me, I was at UGA for my new student visitation and so I was a little distracted. We didn't hear anything all day Thursday. Friday, I was still at UGA and John Hoyt text me and told me that he needed to talk to me about the weekend. When I got a break, I called him and he started telling me about something for that weekend so I thought he hadn't heard anything yet. Then he said, "So, when do you want me to dig up that bush in front of OUR house?". There is a bush that I hate right in the front of the house, so I knew that we had won the bid!!! We were so excited!!!! Saturday, we met with our real estate agent to sign the contract. We should be closing sometime around the end of March!! We are so blessed and we can't wait to start cleaning the house and painting to make it our home. Right now there are 2 hot pink rooms that need to be painted. I just can't wait to get in there and put my touch into it! The house is in the perfect location between his work and UGA. It's also pretty close to his family and our church!

Now that the house is pretty much settled, besides all the paperwork, I can start thinking about the wedding again. John Hoyt and I got some minor shopping done for the ceremony last night. Last weekend we went to Alabama to do our premarital counseling with Pop, since he is performing the ceremony. While we were there, we finalized the details of the ceremony so now I can finish up the program and start working on that. We bought our vases for the sand ceremony and the sand and wax to seal it. Last weekend, I also bought the rest of the napkins for the reception. We've been working on music for the reception and all of that too. Time is ticking away, so I'm trying to stay focused and get everything done. Once we get to close on the house it will be a balancing act trying to get the house ready, move, finish up school, and work on the wedding, but I'm excited. My new obsession is HGTV.com. I can look at rooms that have been decorated on there and so I've been having a blast doing that. John Hoyt and I looked through the pictures I saved and picked out some colors for some of the rooms. We also were blessed with a phone call from a friend who works at Lowe's who found us a brand new, in the box, washing machine for VERY cheap! We went and picked it up Thursday night and we're storing it at John Hoyt's work until we close on the house. Our friend is in the process of looking for a dryer and a fridge for us as well. We are so blessed to have so many things going for us right now!

89 Days...

Only 3 more months to go! It's amazing how fast time is flying by but we're so excited! We did some more house hunting this weekend. So far we haven't had any luck in finding something. There is one we really like, but we're trying to decide if we want to put in an offer or keep looking and see what else we can find. It's been an emotional rollercoaster but we know that God is going to lead us to where we need to be. We've been praying so hard and so much! Sunday, I went shopping with Christa and Jackie to pick out plates for the reception. We got that taken care of so that's one less thing I have to take care of! John Hoyt and I had plans to go to Starbucks and just sit together and make all of the minor decisions about the wedding that we haven't made, but Starbucks closes earlier than it says on their website :( It's hard for us to focus sometimes when we're not by ourselves and it's very rare that we have quiet time on weekends to make decisions. It's good that we have some time :) Our last shower was planned and we're really excited about it! Our church is throwing us a couple's shower!! I can't wait!

With the house hunting kind of being our first priority, we haven't really gotten a chance to work on wedding stuff. I've been very busy with school too, so wedding is just kind of taking a back seat for the next few days. We're hoping we can get something settled with a house really soon. John Hoyt is going to scout out some houses this week with the real estate agent and see if there are any that I should look at when I get to go up there next time. I feel like a grown-up and I'm not sure I like it :) I am really looking forward to having OUR place and having all of my belongings in one place. My plan is as soon as we close to start moving all of my stuff and have one room designated WEDDING and just putting all of the wedding stuff in that room! That will be one very full room, but I'm exicted that it's getting here so soon! Now we just have to find the house for us and we'll be good to go!!

94 Days...

Well our stress levels just moved to an 11! It's a good 11 though because the reason is really exciting :) We got pre-approved for a loan on a house this past weekend! We spent most of the afternoon on Sunday looking at houses and we found out that in order to be able to move in when we want to, we have 2 weeks to find a house and make an offer. That's a little nerve-racking, but we are also really excited. I will be going up there this weekend again to look at houses and hopefully make a decision to put an offer on one. We are really excited but really nervous at the same time. Just please be in prayer for us as we make this huge decision for our lives. We didn't get a lot of wedding stuff done this weekend because we were so focused on the house. We were also able to celebrate Valentine's Day! He took me to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta as a surprise which was so much fun! We both love art and we were so excited to be there! We also went shopping and had dinner at O'Charley's (my favorite). We were waiting for a table and his aunt and uncle that I don't know very well walked in. When we got a table, we asked them if they wanted to sit with us. It was so great to get to know some of his extended family that I don't know very well! On Valentine's Day we met for dinner in Madison since both of us had to work and I had some school on Monday during the day. We ate at the Chophouse and then he took me grocery shopping which is really romantic because I hate shopping by myself. We have been looking online at houses this week and will hopefully be able to make a good decision this weekend or next week. We can't believe it's all happening so fast! The wedding is a little more than 3 months away, so we're getting to crunch time. But that's ok :) We're so ready to be husband and wife. All the stress is worth it! Your prayers during the next few weeks would be very appreciated as we make some big decisions! Thanks!