please pray

We're 5 days away.
We're getting married this weekend!!!

This is probably the last post before the big day. I do have some stories of God's provision in the last few days that I'd like to encourage you with, so I'll try to post soon.

In the meantime, here are a few prayer requests:

1. Safe travel for our out-of-town guests
2. Nice weather
3. That our unbelieving friends/family will hear the Gospel at our ceremony and it will change their lives
4. Allie's grandfather is undergoing out-patient surgery on Thursday. Pray that he will recover quickly and be able to come and enjoy the day.

we're getting close!

So, we're 18 days away...
Mitch is currently in Grand Rapids, Michigan working with Mars Hill Productions, translating a movie into Filipino. He is the narrator for the film. :)
I'm really excited for him to come home though...

We are eighteen days away, and gearing up for our move, which is Sunday. I'll be living in the apartment until we're married.

We found a videographer, finally :) praise God.

We have our wedding rings :D

I met with our florist (Jonalee Earles) and did the run-through on my hair/make-up with Ashley.

I'm meeting with the wedding administrator at CLC tomorrow.

We are meeting with Jon Smith on Saturday.

I'm meeting with our wedding day coordinator, Bethany, next Wednesday.

We finished our pre-marital seminars, but we still have two meetings left with our counselors.

I'm meeting with the caterer on Tuesday.

So, we're busy.. busy.. busy.

I'll try to update again soon, because I want you all in the loop with all this fun stuff. :)

Please be praying for us, that we have strength to keep working on all the details. Pray that we will continue to enjoy this season. Pray that the Lord will begin uniting Mitch and I together as soon-to-be husband and wife.

Thanks!!

update. finally.

so i'm finally updating. and i know it's been.. forever.. but it's been really busy around here.

Most of the wedding details are coming together, we have our honeymoon booked, and I've even got most of the "life afterwards" details figured out (car insurance, electricity bills, etc..).

I started my new job at Llewellyn Realtors, and I am now living at the Langendorff's.

Our moving day into our apartment is Sunday, September 20th.

We're still looking for a videographer, if anyone knows anyone, please let me know :)

So, we're 27 days away... and we are so excited!!!

More Pictures!!!!

Thanks to Chavia!
http://chaviagraphy.blogspot.com/

new job and a "surprise" shower

I've been looking for a job here in Gaithersburg, and I've found one! Mitch saw it in the CLC Classified Ads last week. I'll be working for Llewellyn Realtors starting August 17th. And I'll be staying with the Langendorff family from then until September 20th (when we get our apartment). Their hospitality is such a huge blessing to me.

Last Saturday, my maid and matron of honors (Sherri and Erica), with the help of my mom, threw me an amazing "surprise" bridal shower! All my aunts and a few close friends from GCC came and we really had a great time. My sister thought of some funny games, and Sherri handmade these cute favors, with homemade chocolate (with detail "painting"). Everyone was so generous with their gifts for Mitch and I; I think I have enough kitchen supplies to actually make a meal now!! :)

We're going on vacation Sat, Aug 8 until Sat, Aug 15 in Lewes, DE with my family. And we are super excited about it! What a great time of relaxing and uninterrupted wedding planning! :)

welcome home!

So, Mitch and I have been searching for apartments.
We researched many (at least 30), went and saw a few that we really really liked, and ended our apartment searching day discouraged with no leads. Neither of us felt at peace with any of the ones we'd seen that day, or seen online previously.
We had both been looking around on Craigslist, the classifieds at CLC, and also calling friends who had basement apartments, or knew of people with one.
In the end though, we still did not feel at peace with any of the options we had. Although we would have loved living in some of the places, it just felt that God wasn't calling us there.
So we prayed and we waited and we were just hoping that the right place would just come at the right time.
And then Mitch found one in Germantown on Craigslist, and we set up an appointment to go look at it. When we saw the floorplan and the details of the apartment we both instantly felt that this could be "the one." We arrived at our appointment, and they showed us an apartment. We both loved it and could see that all of our major (and minor) preferences were all lined up. So we asked them to put it on courtesy hold, so we could go home, pray, and make a decision.
Mitch and I both felt God calling us to this particular apartment, and we both feel completely at peace with our decision to get it. So yes, we have found our first home!!

Our move-in date is Sunday, September 20th.

We are both so excited, and trusting that God will continue to provide the finances, the logistics, and even a job for me. If you could, please be praying for these things. We are in faith the if God has called us somewhere, He will make a way for it.

meetings, meetings and meetings, oh my

This weekend was the weekend of meetings.

On Saturday, Mitch had a meeting with Ken and Joselo, then the sound team work day, then we had a meeting with the wedding administrator, and then we had our engagement meeting with Erik Sheffer. After our long day at the church, we went to Yoyogi for sushi and chicken teriyaki. You can guess which was for whom.. lol. Then we decided to burn off our meal by going roller-blading in a parking lot at a playground in Kentlands. I'm still not very good at roller-blading, but I am actually getting a little better. Maybe next time we go out I'll be able to stand up straight and not stare at my feet the whole time.. haha

Sunday Robin Boisvert spoke from Proverbs 2, then Kenneth Maresco taught at Starting Point on Pastoral Care and Ministry. My parents came up to visit, and we all went back to Mitch and Rhea's apartment for lunch. Mitch's mom, Tita Nilda, made a fantastic meal, and then we played corn hole. We also went to Maggie Moo's for ice cream. I had never been to Maggie Moo's before, but I think it's kind of like Coldstone.



Afterwards, Mitch and I went to Kensington to visit a friend of his from MC. She lives in Arizona now, but she was back in town this week.

pizza and swimming and sports

On Sunday, Mitch and I went to the first service, because I started taking Starting Point this week. And Mitch is going with me, which is really sweet of him, since he's already a member. We were in Eric Sheffer's group, and Robin Boisvert talked about Servanthood and Stewardship. I thought it was really good, and I'm excited about the next 8 weeks.

Afterwards, we went to Ledo's with Charles and Emily. It was great to catch up with them over pizza, and talk about our wedding plans, and our lives.

Then Mitch and I went to Nike park to talk and then swimming in the pool at his apt. complex. While we were swimming, we talked about doing some sort of sport together, and I said I wanted to roller-blade! So we walked over to Target, found some roller-blades, and attempted to ride back. This was my very first time ever on roller-blades, and I really have no balance or athletic coordination at all. Mitch, of course, is really good at everything, so he was teaching me. We were getting it pretty good, when we came upon this small hill. But small hills on roller-blades turn into big hills, especially when you don't know how to stop. Mitch did his best to stop me, but I was going really fast. So we crashed.. but he saved me from getting really hurt by breaking my fall with his knee. I only got one scrape on my elbow and a sore tailbone. Mitch got a decent bruise on his knee, and scratched up the palms of his hands. But it was my first time, and I only fell once. I loved it though, and I can't wait to learn how to use them (and the brakes) so we can actually go out and use them. We're thinking of riding around DC and going by the Potomac River.

Any other suggestions of flat, paved places with no hills and people for us to go roller-blading?

great date and a wedding

Wow, what a weekend! Mitch and I had a GREAT date on Friday night!!! We went to Lakeforest Mall to get Panda Express, because I was craving Orange Chicken. I think Panda Express has some of the best orange chicken I have ever had.
Mitch really likes to play chess with the people at the Mall, so I wanted him to go and play. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was having so much fun. One day I hope to learn chess and to be good enough to play with him. Maybe I'll even win one time ;)

On Saturday, we went to Peter Dunne and Patti's wedidng in Philadelphia. We pick up some friends, Charlie and Melissa Jackson, their daughter Anne, and another friend Kaleb. The Jackson's flew in from Wisconsin and Kaleb drove up from Lynchburg, VA that morning. I borrowed my mom's van so we could all drive together to the wedding. It took us 3.5 hours to get there and about 3 hours to get home. The wedding was nice and it was good to catch up with friends who live far away.

Anne in the car
Mitch driving
Melissa with Anne
Charlie and Kaleb
:)
The happy couple: Patti and Peter Dunne

Why didn't the penguin buy a tuxedo for the wedding?

Because he was already wearing one!!! hahaha :)

Well, Mitch isn't a penguin, and neither are any of his groomsmen, so we went the other day to pick them out.

It was pretty fun to fill out the forms and look through the magazines until we found the one that we wanted. Mitch tried on this shirt, and I thought he looked hilarious with his shorts and flip flops on with it (sorry the pic doesn't capture that though.) We were flipping through the magazine and pointed out the one we wanted and learned that we chose the same one as Charles and Emily, which was cool. The vests are the same "wine" color as the bridesmaid dresses, with a wine colored tie. I think that Mitch is going to look so handsome in his tux, I can't wait to see him in 81 days at the end of the aisle waiting for me!!!

After going to Men's Wearhouse, we had dinner at Qdoba, and because we showed them our Student IDs, we got a free drink (they have pretty good iced tea there, if you were wondering). And, if you go on Monday and show your ID, you get a 1/2 price meal, and a free drink, so we're going to go back on a Monday sometime soon.

Mitch looking through the tuxedo magazine

wedding wire

We've made a wedding wire website!!

www.weddingwire.com/mitchandallie

"No, sir. I'm not a terrorist"

The other day Mitch and I went to the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the Montgomery County Judicial Center to get our marriage license. (You can get one up to 6 months before your wedding). We weren't sure what time they closed, so around 4:15 I called to ask. We were driving up 355 and were like 10 minutes away when we found out they closed at 4:30. Ah!
And of course, we hit like every single red light. lol
So we pulled at 4:28 and Mitch dropped me off so he could park the car and I could get in there before they closed. I ran full speed up the stairs and into the building. The secured government building. With metal detectors and security guards.. the whole thing. Except for I didn't quite realize all this until 2 or 3 security guards immediately notice me running, with my bag tucked under my arm.. "Ma'am!!, Ma'am!!" they all yell. Whoops! lol
Anyways, I was so determined to get the license that day, I just sorta tossed them my purse and tried to continue on. However, the man needed me to get my phone and camera out of the bag so they could run it through the scanner, and they needed me to walk thru the metal detectors. I sorta dumped everything out , handed him my phone/camera, gathered everything else and jogged to the License Department. (I explained my rush to the guards, and then they told me to hurry up, because they knew it was closing). All in all, a truly funny experience. Word to the wise: Never go running into a secured government building. Always walk, it makes you look way less suspicious. ;)
I stepped in the door and the man behind the desk says "You have 30 seconds.." After many explanations of why he didn't have enough time to do it now, or asking his co-workers if he should, I eventually begged him to please just enter our info., Mitch can just walk in and sign his name, and we'll be on our way. Took me a few times, but he eventually said he would (after he learned that I live 2 hours away from MC and it would be "so impossible for us to come back at another time"...). lol
Anyways, Mitch thinks this whole story his hilarious, but we're so happy we actually got the license and we don't need to go back again.

Psalms and counting down..

Thanks to my dear friend Emily I got this great idea to do a "We're engaged!" blog, and I also got this idea to read the Psalms backwards as a countdown. Charles and Emily started with more than 150 days til their wedding, so they will be able to read all of the Psalms before their wedding. Mitch and I have 89 days, so I'm gonna start at Psalm 88 tomorrow morning in my quiet time and continue on from there. Thanks Em, for the idea.

Also, big ups to Ashley Taylor for wanting to do my hair and make-up on the big day :) Thanks Ashley!! Love you!
And, does anyone know of good-priced florists in the Gaithersburg area? Or a florist that is willing to travel there?

love is the movement

So, it's 90 days til we get married!!

This weekend was a full one. We went to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond and set-up our gift registry :D Seriously, that was so so so fun. Then we went and picked out wedding rings... also fun :D Really fun...

We spent 4th of July at JP's house for a cook-out/pool party with my family and then we drove to watch fireworks with Nick and his gf Britt at the MC fairgrounds. We went to a friend's house after wards and played this game called "Set." It was fun but it made my brain hurt from thinking so much. We also played Apples to Apples which was hilarious, as always.


Church was awesome with Josh intro-ing Proverbs and Solomon's life with Maggie Grant coming up to visit. We went out to Potbelly's and then to bubble tea and Anthropologie and Old Navy and it was so fun. And I got to ride home with Maggie and we met up with my mom at Panera and went out to dinner with her, it was so great :)

I personally think these are funny :)

ninety.four.and counting.

I know it's been a long time, but we've been really busy. Since the last post:

- We've gotten bridesmaid dresses picked out and ordered,

- We found our invitations at Target,

- We booked a reception place,

- And we decided on a caterer.

I also got a 2nd job as a Nanny and Mitch led the band at Summer Celebration while working two jobs.

On Monday we made paper link chain countdowns for each other, one for each day.

We are just so so excited to get married!!! I love my man so much, and I'm so grateful to God that He is the giver of all gifts, and He has given me Mitch as a gift.

100 days!

LET THE COUNTDOWNS BEGIN!!!

We are 100 days away from our wedding day!!!

Here we come October 3rd!!

Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

Wedding dress..

I went wedding dress shopping with my mom today!! And... I found the one!! It's beautiful, and amazing, and I can't wait to wear it for my (almost) husband!!!
It was so fun though, walking into the bridal store with my mom, and picking out dresses off the racks to try on. We spent three hours in the store, but ended up with the dress and made lots of good mother-daughter memories. Trying on wedding gowns is one of those things I imagined as a little girl and I have always dreamed of the day I would go with my mom to find that perfect dress. And today was it!
I would love to post a picture of my mom and I from today, but I'm wearing the dress and Mitch isn't allowed to see it so I guess you will all have to wait until our wedding :D

More Pictures!

We got all our pictures today from Lydia. Here are some of our other favorites!

Stay tuned. We're getting close to pinning down a date!

--mitch

the ring

Allie's favorite

so, was I surprised?

So a lot of people have been asking me how I was surprised if there were so many hints..

First, I think the Lord made me dense that day so I would miss particularly obvious things. Or maybe I am just always that slow..

Also though, I guess a big hint probably would have been Mitch singing outside my window in the morning. I was suspicious after that, because the Filipino song was very "lovey" and romantic and we have a "no love, no romantic" rule (because it just tempts me to be discontent in our courtship). But Mitch and I talked after he came inside because I told him I thought he was being kinda insensitive.. and he apologized for being confusing and not recognizing that that would be hard for me. So that's what really threw me off. If he didn't apologize I probably would have been suspicious all day.

And Praise God I was surprised, I think that makes it 100,000 times better :)

Story time!! "The Engagement"

Saturday, June 13, 2009.

7:52am, My phone rings (and wakes me up). It's Mitch. He is asking me to print out the email he sent me, and to look out my window when I'm finished. He is outside in my front yard with a goofy little grin and his guitar. He starts out my day with a Filipino love song called "Harana" which means "Serenade." The email was the English translation of the song he was playing and singing, so I would understand. And it was so cute.
Next, we went to Federal Hill in Baltimore where we went on our first real date 14 months ago.
We picked up food from Quizno's and drove around UMBC because it had been a long time since we had been there.
Then we went to the Washington National Cathedral where we ate our picnic lunch and then read "Tales of the Kingdom."
In the middle of our story, Mitch told me he wrote a song for me and wanted to play it now. Still oblivious of what is to come, I happily agreed to hear it.
He wrote the cutest, sweetest, "said everything I need to say", song and then set his guitar down, pulled a ring out of his pocket and got down on one knee. He told me he loved me (for the first time!) and asked me to be his wife. I said "Yes!"
Wow!! I still can't believe it actually happened. But here's the best part.. Lydia Hartnett captured the entire thing on camera.
You can see some of the pictures here.