Moving

Tomorrow I move into the apartment and start an entirely new lifestyle and chapter in my life. I will be fending entirely for myself for the first time. It has been a few years since I moved out of my parents, and I have been paying rent since then, but never before have I had an entire place to take care of. I will be doing all of the housework, shopping, cooking, etc and paying all of the bills. Of course I'm nervous and a little overwhelmed, but I trust that I will learn what it's like to be in charge of a household and manage a budget. I will learn lessons (hopefully the easy way) that will prepare me for marriage. Gone are the days of being able to buy something whenever I wanted or thought I needed it. Gone are days eating out whenever I don't feel like bringing something to work or making something after getting home. (Which will hopefully help my belly as well as my wallet.) I'm excited to take on the responsibilities. I do think I'll get lonely at times being in a quiet apartment by myself. I'll miss Luke driving his cars on the wall at 10:30 at night, Abby screaming bloody murder for no reason, Daniel being inappropriately my brother, the kids yelling at me because I didn't give them a hug good bye, Aaren's food and so on. But it is time for me better learn how to manage my money and continue taking the steps to prepare being the man Cassia deserves and needs me to be.

This is just another milestone in mine and Cassia's engagement that will make the fact that we're getting ready more real. It is hard to believe sometimes that I actually get to marry her in a few LONG months. As we start to order things and set plans in place, we are able to see what our wedding will soon be like. Likewise as we plan our budget, go through the pre-marital classes and books, talk about our desires, purchase furniture, and as I move into the apartment tomorrow, we are able to start seeing what our marriage will soon be like as well. It is obviously a lot to take in, and I'll be grateful when tomorrow is over. All this anticipation has been building up and it'll be released finally. And I'll be even more grateful at the end of the day on March 13th, 2010. :)

Big purchases

We bought a dining room table! And we actually got an additional $50 off -- thanks Lisa Mishler!

Also, pray for us as we're making a decision about an apartment; we're pretty close to making a decision.

Apartments, apartments, apartments

We checked out these apartments today (floor plan A2) -- definitely at the top of our list right now. At this point, Ben could move in early- to mid-October and pay less than $600 a month (not including utilities). It's very secluded, close to my school, and a lot of other things we like.

There is the potential for renting a house that we're going to look into. The thought of moving into a house right away does kind of scare me, admittedly. First of all, the thought of maintaining a house sounds daunting to me. Second of all, the thought of ever being alone in a house makes me far more nervous than that of being alone in an apartment. We'll know where God leads us once the time for decision-making comes.

Ben and I had an initial wedding-planning meeting with my parents, his mom, Brenda Whiten (my "other mother" and our wedding coordinator) and Nancy Bohovich (wedding planner in training). We talked about a lot of ideas. It's really overwhelming sometimes, to be honest. I can imagine the relief I'll feel when the wedding is over and there's no more planning to do, in that respect at least.

Apartments and Opinions

One thing I've learned in the short time we've been engaged is that everyone has their opinion. We are blessed that so many of our family members and closest friends are truly excited for us, more so than I honestly expected even. I think I've felt myself becoming overwhelmed with the barrage of opinions and ideas directed towards us though. Some are hilarious, and we more than likely won't take action with them. Others are definitely things to consider. What I have come to realize is that as much as I appreciate and love all of the support that we've had so far, we will have to ultimately decide for ourselves what is best for us. We won't ignore what wisdom people have for us as we choose our steps but we won't (and physically can't) put every single one of them into action. It has been fun making decisions that will actually take place now instead of all of our hypothetical "we should do this when we're married" conversations we had when we were dating.

I've been looking at apartments alot lately, and as much as I would like to buy a house right of the bat I don't see that as being possible right now. At least while Cassia's in school and working part time and I'm making what I am now. I think the best route for us is to spend as little money as possible on an apartment that'll suit our needs. The one we looked at today defintely is a big possibility I think.

Camden

Ben and I looked into the Camden apartments on 79th Avenue, just north of Bell. The downside to Camden is that you are apparently required to pay the "additional" fees for cable and valet trash pickup. This to me defeats the purpose of being "additonal."

We need to set an appointment with Brenda Whiten, our wedding coordinator -- hopefully next week. She'll be able to help us answer questions like, "Would it be weird to have the guys wear brown suits?" and "What do you think of having everyone take communion?" and "Which cake place did the individual cakes that you told us about?"