We are so thrilled to announce our little Valentine's Day Surprise! 

Peter and I are so excited about the new journey ahead

& I can't wait to share bits and pieces here on the blog!

Hope you all have a day full of love,

go hug someone and give them a big kiss on the cheek!
More details about our Baby E, very soon!!

Celebrating the 28th. {and our wedding video!}

Today is the day that makes us husband and wife for one full year. a FULL year, wow.... I can't believe it. It has literally zoomed by. The past year has been a year of happiness and excitement. A year about finding the comfortableness within all the newness. A year that has taught us a much deeper meaning for the word "team" than I ever imagined. I have enjoyed learning how to be a wife, even though I have a LONG way to go, and I pray daily that the Lord gives me many more years with that man of mine. All the little things that have filled the past year will always stay with me and I'm so excited to see where year two will take us!

The quote below brought tears to my eyes because it is exactly how I feel at the deepest part of myself about this wonderful man I get to call Husband.

Happy One Year to the best man I know. You make choosing love everyday so easy.

I am so blessed to love you for a lifetime!

& to celebrate I thought I would share our wedding video since I never shared it here.

It was such a perfect day and I love that we can relive it over and over by watching this beautiful video by our talented friend, Will Keown.

Peter + Cassie - 09.28.13 from Keown Films on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

& I'll be back to my regular blogging 

once we return from Boston in just a few days!

Six Years.

The picture below is the first photo that Peter and I ever had together. My mom found it a little while ago in her old emails. Of course I sent her a photo. I was smitten! 

This photo was before our first date, before the first kiss, before everything...

But today, Wednesday, July 16th, we celebrate a very important day! The sixteenth marks six years since the first date with the most wonderful man I’ve ever met. I remember vividly that night six years ago….

I was waiting patiently in the living room of the apartment where my mom and I lived. I had my favorite maxi dress on, lipstick was ready and I could smell my Victoria’s Secret body spray. I fiddled my fingers and checked my face in the mirror several times, while I waited as patiently as I could. This was the first time that Peter had ever picked up a girl for a date. I remember texting him and telling him what time to pick me up and he said; you don’t want to meet there? I replied with something like, no… if this is a date you can pick me up. I was bold and I was persistent but thankfully that worked for him. When I heard the knock on the door I felt my stomach drop because the most handsome (sexy) man that I’ve ever met was waiting on the other side of that door to take me out for sushi. When we arrived at the restaurant and the hostess walked us to our table I instantly wanted to turn my back to the entire room so I could focus on him and because I have an annoying habit of intense people watching. I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t interested. Apparently he had the same idea because he pulled out the chair that was facing the entire room for me, which of course meant I had to sit down. He pulled out the seat for me!! A sexy gentleman, that one. As we sat at the table and enjoyed our dinner and learned about each other I was pretty sure I hit the jackpot. He was funny and he made me laugh but not in that "this is a first date, so I have to laugh" kind of way. He made me really laugh which was so refreshing. And when he would laugh or grin and flash his dimples... man, I thought I would slide right off my chair and melt into a puddle of first date gooeyness. It was a good night.

Thankfully the nights have only gotten better. I learned that I didn’t need to pursue a man, that I should be pursued instead. And I learned that my timing isn’t as important as God’s timing. A lot has changed in the past six years. There were a lot of dates, some no dating, even dates with others but I’m most thankful for who we have become through all those dates. Our heavenly Father has guided us to this point and I could not be happier with where we are. I still think Peter is the sexiest man alive and those dimples still make me want to melt, just in a different kind of puddle now... more of a, is this guy really my husband puddle, which is honestly so much better than those first date puddles. You may think it is strange to celebrate a dating anniversary but I like to think that even after you are husband and wife, dates are still important. Even more important, so I’m thankful that I get to date this guy forever and I’m completely fine with the fact that sushi will always be our favorite kind of date night.

& just for fun, here's the Almost Two Years post

and the Five years post

Six Months.

We celebrated our six month anniversary on Saturday night by opening the bottle of wine that we purchased on our honeymoon in Sonoma and I made dinner for Peter. When I was working on my 101 in 1001 list and added #48, I didn't realize at the time how much Peter would really help me cook on a normal basis. He enjoys it and I enjoy his help so much. Plus, having him around in the kitchen a lot is fun.

After our busy Saturday of running errands we had a little break of rain which was unexpected. Peter worked in the yard and I painted the chicken coop so by the time dinner came around he was relaxing in the living room while I started to prepare dinner. He asked if I needed help but I gladly said no. I wanted him to rest and I also wanted to make dinner for him. He is always so helpful around the house and I really appreciate that, so it was really nice to do something for him and just let him sit back and enjoy it. By the time dinner was ready it was time for him to open the bottle of wine. Then we sat down and enjoyed our dinner and wine together. The dinner wasn't anything fancy, just some ravioli that I picked up from Costco and a can of sauce from Publix; simple but definitely tasty. And the wine (B.R. Cohn, 2010 Sonoma Valley Zinfandel) tasted even better than we remembered!! 

& here is the fun story behind those gorgeous flowers since I’m sure you are wondering! ;)

Tulips are my favorite. They are such a happy flower and they have always made me smile. I came home from work on Friday to find a vase of tulips and a card waiting in the kitchen. I gasped, looking at Peter thinking he has done the unimaginable, (he isn't the buying flowers type) and he flashed that sneaky grin and said they aren't from me! I grabbed the card with confusion and read it while tears filled my eyes. My sweet friend all the way in Missouri sent me my favorite flowers for our “Half-A-Versary” and I could have burst. It completely made my day. Not only am I blessed with this amazing man as my husband but I also have some equally amazing friends. Thanks Cassie & Matt for the beautiful flowers - we loved them!!! 

During the last six months of marriage I have learned a lot. Some big things and some little things, but through all these things I know with my whole heart that this marriage is good. It is such a wonderful blessing in our life and I’m so thankful for it. We work hard to love each other but that can be easy after only six months of doing it as husband and wife. My prayer for our marriage is to never stop learning together and loving each other on purpose. During the many years in our future together I know there will be ups and downs but I want to try my hardest to love and appreciate the man that the Lord has given me. Six months is nothing in the grand scheme of things but it has been absolutely everything to me. 
I'm so thankful!

something great.

{picture taken by one of my "new" cousins //

edit by me using Over & A Beautiful Mess app}

During the end of the wedding planning process I would get this exciting, crazy feeling of anticipation in the pit of my stomach at a meeting or while completing something that needed to be done for the wedding day. I couldn't help it. I never worried about it because it wasn't a bad feeling... it was just a feeling of excitement that I couldn't contain. It was like my heart was so full of love and happiness that it couldn't contain the emotions so it would just flood over into other areas. Butterflies in my stomach, shaking hands, feeling the urge to jump up and down {like that time during our ceremony when Peter was about to kiss me... yes, i jumped up and down in my weding dress in front of everyone, I couldn't help it} or trying to conceal the smile across my face and looking like a complete weirdo... all of those things happened quite frequently and I welcomed them. I knew they were good. I knew those feelings were right. A good anticipation for something you've always wanted is a wonderful thing. 

As I woke up the morning of the wedding I had all those feelings. Heck, as I was trying to fall asleep the night before I had all those feelings. Knowing that when I fell asleep on my wedding night I would be with my husband made me want to run up and down the hall screaming "Woooooo-Hoooooooooooo!!!!". It's so exciting to start this new season of life enjoying new adventures and experiences with such an amazing person. Sitting here thinking about how all my future days will begin and end with him makes me beyond thankful. It makes my eyes well up with tears and my heart pound so loud I can almost hear it in my ears.

As I sit here & really think about it I can't help but pray. Pray to try my best to live out that quote every day. When I wake up I want to anticipate something great. Not something big every day but something great. I pray that our life together will be a happy one. Not perfect but that it will be filled with goodness. I pray to always strive to become a better wife for Peter and never grow tired of loving him and that he will lead our home toward God's will. I pray that our marriage will be working for the Kingdom and not for our selfish, worldly needs so that when people look at our relationship they will see Christ at the center of it. I pray that He will place people in our lives that will pour His goodness into our marriage and our life. I pray for our future family and that their hearts will grow to know the greatest love imaginable. And I pray for our safety in this life ahead and that all of the great blessings we receive will always be accepted and acknowledged as a gift from our great Lord above because He is the greatest blessing of all.

So that is my little "jump back into the blog world" kind of post as a wife. It's been a pretty sweet life of wifey-hood so far and you can bet I have some little posts ahead about our time in California. It really was amazing and I'm so happy I married my best friend. It does make this wife thing a lot more fun, that's for sure! And I'll stop saying wife now... sorry, I'm excited about it. ;-)

Thirty-one Days!

I can’t believe that one month from today I will be walking down the isle to a super handsome man that will be all mine. I get butterflies in my stomach when I think about it. The past five years with Peter have been full. I can’t think of a word that fits it perfectly because there were so many emotions involved but one thing I know for sure is that the last 1,869 days (yes, I figured out the exact number!) have most definitely been full. Personally I think full is a good thing.

Full //

1. containing or holding as much or as many as possible; having no empty space.

2. not lacking or omitting anything; complete.

Yes, full is the perfect word to describe the past five years, 1 month & 12 days. I honestly believe that we all don’t have “the one” out there in the world. We have a lot of options and different people we can connect with but when I met Peter I chose him. I continued to choose him through all the ups and downs and I am choosing him now. When I walk into that church on September 28th I will be choosing him again. And with the vows I say in front of all our family and friends I will be promising to always choose him and with those words he will be my One forever and always.

In just 31 days he will become my forever soulmate. My one. My husband and my best friend & that makes me extremely happy. Full of happiness and thankfulness indeed! So, so full!! 

ps // photo credits go to Red Apple Tree and the edit was completed by me using the Over app. 

Five years.

Five years ago today I went on my first date with my future husband. Thinking back on that night I can’t help but laugh to myself. I honestly never dreamed I would marry that man. Of course the more I got to know Peter I had my hopes and dreams about our future together but I didn't think I could “catch him” and in a strange way I guess I couldn't.

My thought process on dating and relationships has changed so much over the past five years. To begin with, my focus was not on the Lord at all. I put most of my energy into myself and what I wanted at the time instead of striving for a closer relationship to God. Yes, I went to church on Sunday mornings when I forced myself to get out of bed after a late Saturday night but that was about it. My heart wasn't in the right place. 

I guess that’s why I can’t help but laugh a little bit when I think about how much as changed. How much HE as changed me. How I finally “let” Him change my little world around. Of course life isn't perfect and there will always be room for improvement but I do know that He is sovereign and loving in every move He makes and I’m so thankful that I can look back and see that in my life. I can see the Lord so clearly in my relationship with Peter now and that is the most wonderful part about this season we are in. The way that we have "caught" each other within His guided path. 

Tonight we are celebrating our five year (kind of sorta) anniversary with our second marriage counseling meeting. I honestly can’t think of a better way to spend it and for that I am extremely thankful. I am really enjoying this time right now as we prepare to become husband and wife. It is such a happy season and I’m glad we can celebrate it together. 

and Peter... I'll let you buy me some sushi this weekend, you know, for old times sake. ;-)

a year already.

On Saturday we celebrated a big day! One year ago on Saturday, after lots of thinking & praying, I decided to give my relationship with Peter another try. I’m positive it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Saying yes was a big deal… Yes to another chance with him. Yes to a future with him. Yes to sharing a life with him. It was a wonderfully scary feeling saying yes. Hoping for the best but some how knowing in my gut, this is it. This is what I was hoping would happen but never thought it would and then realizing I wanted it more than I could have imagined. Knowing that I wanted to spend all my days with this man. All the good, the bad and the normal, just another day, kind of days with him. Feeling an urgency in my heart to make him happy and wanting to be the best part of his day, every day.

So, what did we do to celebrate our one year of Cassie & Peter Part Two, you ask? We spent it house shopping and honestly that is a different post for a different day. Holy moly... I just hope we decide on THE ONE soon! Then we spent the night eating sushi and discussing the above mentioned house shopping. It really was wonderful. Making grown up decisions with my future husband and discussing fun plans for our life together on our anniversary was awesome. And like I said, we were eating sushi which pretty much makes any night a perfect night in my book.

Sadly this is the only picture I took all night.

The past year has been filled with so many exciting events I can’t hardly believe it has been a year already… time has completely flown by. But still, I’m ready for the next year and sitting here thinking about how a year from now I will be Peter’s wife makes my skin tingle. Makes me look like a crazy person smiling so big my cheeks hurt and doing a little jittery happy dance. Mmmm, life is good with you in it, Peter Eliya! Thank you for a great year and thank you for loving me!!

Thanks-Living // November

After the recent Thanksgiving holiday it seems right to finish the month with a link up at Top of the Page with Leslie and the “Thanks-Living” posts. I’ve really enjoyed this little wrap up the past couple of months and I know I will enjoy looking back on all these wonderful blessings one day. This month has been pretty nice and I’ve really enjoyed the end of 2012 so far. I honestly can’t believe it will be 2013 so soon.

I’m just going to be honest, when I look back on last years Thanksgiving, it kinda sucked. I wasn't very happy.I remember walking around my grandmother’s house and everyone asking me if I was okay…

“you seem upset?” …. “are you sure nothing is wrong?” …. “you feeling okay?"

After so many questions from everyone I finally confided in my mom and told her that I missed Peter. A lot. Last thanksgiving we had been separated with no communication for 4 months and I was okay for most of it. I had leaned on my relationship with the Lord and my amazing friends to find the strength to move on but with the Holidays approaching I was struggling but now look at where we are. I’m still amazed that things have worked out this way. The whole week of Thanksgiving I wanted to pinch myself. In a lot of ways last year can feel like yesterday which only makes me appreciate where I am right now even more!

While I’m sitting here writing my thoughts the only thing that I can think of is how loving the Lord is. The past year has been in His control, not mine. Not Peter. HIS control. Letting go of that relationship was the hardest thing I’ve ever done but I’m so glad I did because I realized that my relationship with Peter wasn't the most important thing. My relationship with my Maker is what should lead every decision I make and I know that now.

So right now at the end of November and the beginning of December I am thankful for His timing. I’m looking forward to December and the many celebrations ahead but most of all I am excited to celebrate the true reason for the season… a sweet baby boy sent to this world to die for our sins and that is definitely something to be thankful for!!!
I love this time of year! Hello December, I’ve missed you!

a book.

While I waited on the plane to Texas a couple weeks ago I spent some time looking at the magazines and books for the long flight. I got a little excited when I saw the one book I’ve been dying to read lately, Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman. Without even thinking I grabbed the book and had to buy it. No, Peter and I were not engaged but we were having many conversations about our future together and I knew he would be my husband so I couldn’t wait to start reading the book.

One of the many things I loved about this book is the quote below.

“This is not a book on how to plan a wedding. 
This is a book on how to have a successful marriage.”

Duh, all of the wedding plans are fun but the most important planning for me is my preparation to become wife. I pray to become a godly wife that mirrors what the bible says a wife should be. I want to be a wife that will support her husband and love him even when I don’t always agree with him, because we all know that will happen. I want to be the happiness on that crappy bad day. I want to become a wife…. not just a bride. So, I dived into this book and thought about our relationship. Making mental notes and reminders about things I felt were important to talk about. I read for almost the entire flight and then I packed the book away excited to spend a wonderful weekend with my boyfriend having no idea that he was going to be my fiancé in just thirty something hours.

I’m not going to lie… it feels a little bit more exciting to read this book now and see my new ring on my finger. When I am reading it I’m underlining and highlighting and circling important things. When I am finished I’m going to give it to Peter so he can do the same then we can go through our concerns together. I’m so excited about the many changes ahead but most of all I’m thrilled about who I get to experience them with.

This book really is so wonderful for all seasons of life.
single, dating, engaged or married... it has some great information to help you prepare for marriage or settle into marriage so go pick it up and enjoy! 

ACL Madness!

Austin is such an awesome city… the people that live there enjoy keeping it weird but I liked that too. There were a lot of hipsters and hippies. Amazing food. Spending time with a dear friend that lives far away ((so happy you came Jon)). The best bloody mary I’ve ever had and a yummy margarita too. Cute yoga studios. No such thing as mild salsa. Super scary birds that I am 100% sure wanted to eat me. A street of old houses that have been turned into awesome bars. Dirty, aching feet and a twisted ankle. One certain man dropping to his knee and making me the happiest woman in Austin. Spicy tacos from one of the many food trucks. Learning that food trucks really are the best invention ever. Life altering performance by Florence & the Machine. Only having to buy 1 souvenir T-Shirt because my future husband and I can wear the same size which made me have that ah-ha moment where I realized we are going to share drawers one day which also made me do a happy dance. Honestly, the list could go on and on… the many memories from Austin will always stay with me. It was a perfect weekend, sprained ankle and all.

I joked with Peter and said that since we got engaged during the ACL Music Festival weekend we should come back every year. When I say joke I mean I giggled after the comment but in my heart I was very serious. It only makes sense to celebrate with awesome music and amazing food every year, right?

It's Tuesday.

and after a very exciting weekend I haven't compiled all that excitement in a new blog post but I do know a few things.... 

I have a wonderful fiancé that I love very much! 

I have a mother, family and friends that are so excited for me!!

and that mother and a close group of girlfriends helped me celebrate last night! 

cheers to love because love is a great thing...

and I am so blessed to experience all kinds of love. 

Most importantly, the love of my Savior that will always support me and never let me down

the love of my family that He has graciously given me 

the love of my future husband and my future family

and the love of the amazing women that the Lord has placed in my life. 

All of this love is so important to me and I know I wouldn't be smiling in that picture without it!

after I can take a second to breathe I will share some fun from ACL because it was seriously amazing... I'm still tired from all the music, walking and amazing food! 

Until later, have a happy Tuesday and a high five to you.

just a little love note.

I've been patiently waiting for quite some time to share this post with all of you…

that picture above was the first picture Peter and I had taken of us. ever.

that was before I knew how funny this man was

before I was a redhead

before he was my boyfriend

before both the break ups… and before we got back together

before all of our many sushi dates

before we realized how different we are

and before we realized that makes us even better

before we got comfortable

before we understood what love was

before we changed our focus on Him and not on us

before we became a we at all

the past 4 years have been so important to make us who we are.

who we are separately. and who we are as one.

it helped us realize that God's timing is the best timing. 

I am more thankful for this man every single day…

Thankful that he is the other half to my favorite “we”.

…and so thankful that I am going to marry this man.

It’s official!! OH MY! He’s going to be my HUSBAND. 

It’s been a long time coming but I wouldn’t change a single thing.

I love you so much, future husband of mine, so so much!!!

more exciting news to come! xo

Faith&Endurance

This is probably the hardest post I've ever written.  I've been putting it off for a few days now and it finally feels like the right time.  I'm no longer in a relationship with Peter.  This is something that I have been praying about for a couple of months now and I felt like I officially got my confirmation to take that final step.  

The past 3 years have been so wonderful and I have learned so much about myself, the world and relationships in general. Right now I am sad.  I'm hurt, bruised... confused; but the ONE thing that has stayed constant is God's hand in everything.  I know my relationship with God is stronger than ever and that's why I had the strength to do what I had to do.  Don't get me wrong, it sucks... I'm just going to be honest!  BUT I truly feel like this is the right thing to do for me and my heart. 

I know it will be hard for a while.  Moving forward from something that had become a constant in your life is never easy. I am so thankful for the people I have around me... I'm extremely lucky!  You all have been amazing and I love you for that.  I might be a little slack with the blogging and some things might change around on here... we'll see what happens.  I am looking forward to the future, I know that whatever God has in store for me will be everything that I need.  

For right now I am going to spend time in God's Word and writing in my journal.  This helped me make it through the night on Wednesday.... 

The Book of James is simply wonderful....

ALMOST 2 Years.

I can't believe it's ALMOST 2 Years for me and Peter! In some ways it seems like it has flown by but then in other ways it feels like we've been together for so much longer!!  Very surreal.  I'm a very lucky girl... and since on our actual 2 year date we will be at his family reunion in NY I thought I'd take some time to do this now!! Hope you enjoy... 

Here are some highlights from the past 23, wonderful months!!!! :) 

One of our first pictures together... he grabbed my side and tickled me right when the camera was flashing.  I should have known I was going to have my hands full!! 

One of my MOST favorite pictures of us... this shows how incredibly happy he makes me! 

My 22nd Birthday dinner at The Melting Pot! 

Charleston Trip last summer for Peter's Birthday!! 

Shower in NJ for Joy and my first trip to meet Peter's HUGE Family!

Rehearsal Dinner for Joy and Fadi's wedding, such a fun time!

Favorite picture of us!!! 

This was taken at Joy and Fadi's wedding and I just LOVE it!!  :) Makes me smile!!! 

Halloween '09, went to see the Roots at The Handlebar... 60's theme! 

Christmas Festivities!! 

New Years Eve in NYC with Peter's cousins!

New Years Day, beginning of 2010!!

Jay-Z concert in ATL!! 

My 23rd Birthday party with Peter and his Mom! 

Spring 2010!

Peter's Surprise Birthday party!!  He had no idea! :) 

First Beach trip of 2010, Charleston! 

That's just a few of the fun moments of the past 2 years that I've loved so much!!  Can't wait to see what's going to happen next!!! One thing for sure, it's going to be amazing! :) 

Thank you, Peter for the best time of my life... I LOVE YOU! 

xoxo, Cas