Yearly Boys Weekend!

Duane is away for his annual Boys Weekend. His mans ball team plays in the provincial tournament in Vernon where the boys eat alot of meat, drink alot of beer and even play a little baseball! I am sure the weekend is full of crude manly jokes and some scratching of their bodily parts! I am sure there will be some belching and some talk of other disgusting bodily functions. Each year I am reminded how much I love my fiance and how this man has become my best friend over the last 3 years. I am reminded how much fun we have together, how adorable he is and how much I miss him when he is gone! This weekend that Duane and I spend apart is a reminder of all the reasons that I love him and I am marrying him! I LOVE you Baby, and I can't wait to see you on Monday!

On a side note: I am rather diapointed with the people who I love in my life who can't/won't help me out with the wedding favors tomorrow afternoon. It looke like it will just be me and my mom and I think that that totally bites! Thanks everyone!

Family Planning

Tonight as we drove home from a friends birthday dinner, Duane and I discussed what a fun family they are, how open and "real" they are. The conversation than turned to how we would like to raise our own family in a similar fashion. Open, Fair, Honest, fun, and "real". We want to be the parents that are also friends to their children, but at the same time have rules for them. I want to listen to them and be able to negotiate fair rules, but also be able to joke with them about real things. I want them to feel like they can talk to us about their problems, issues and that we might be able to stear them in the right direction.

This wasn't the first time that child raising has been a topic of conversation between us, nor I am sure will it be the last. But each time we discuss our tactics and our hopes for our children I become more confident is our ability to be good and loving parents. We have both learned from the mistakes of those around us, from our own parents (all who love us SO much but were not perfect in some aspects of parenting), and possibly even from television (Can television actually have had some positive impact???). It's exciting and scary to think that soon we will be married and possibly starting a family of our own, and that we might actually be good at it. Now if only I could convince Duane to adopt I would be ready to see how well we actually do!

Presents for being lucky enough to meet my match?

Last weekend was bridal shower number 1! This was a very sureal experience for me, not only was a surrounded by family and close family friends, but it was a party for ME! It was the first time since I was little that a party was thrown in my honor just for me. I was also faced with a strange realisation. I am being honored and "showered" in gifts because I am lucky enough to be marrying my soul mate, my lover and my best friend. It seems a strange tradition (for lack of a better word) to throw a party for someone who is getting married. Should we not be throwing parties for those who are single and celebrate their independence? Should we not throw a party for someone who has finally left an abusive relationship, celebrate their liberation? I feel so blessed that I met a man who makes me luagh (and yes occasionaly makes me cry), who holds me when I am sad, who holds me just to be close to me. I feel lucky to have found a man who I think is so incredibly handsome and has such a giving and friendly nature. I feel lucky to have found a man who cherishes me, who loves me, who thinks I am beautiful even when I am feeling gross and God Bless his soul wants to spend the rest of his life with me by his side. And now Because I have found him and the happiness that he has brought me, I get a party in my honor! It seems so odd, yet it is something that I have never given a thought to while attending other peoples wedding showers or celebrating someones marriage. I never gave it a second thought until the day I came face to face with my first bridal shower.

Please don't get me wrong, I am VERY appreciative to everyone who loves me and is sincerley happy for Duane and I, and for everyone who worked so hard to throw such a lovely shower. AND Anyone who knows me KNOWS I love presents (even when I feel a little like they are undeserved).

On a funny side note: My second cousin Julia asked her mom how they were going to be able to recognize each other at the "shower" without their clothes on. Kids say they darndest things!