bragging rights....

I'm gonna take a minute to brag on my caterer and executive chef for the wedding.. Now, I've been tirelessly working with Monmouth and Scott regarding the menus for the wedding, bridesmaids luncheon, and Mrs Dana has been working on the rehearsal dinner. I knew coming into this whole wedding thing that Monmouth had some of the best food in the state of Mississippi. I also had HEARD of Scott as a chef and "southern culinary God". Ha :) this guy is the REAL deal. Voted as one of the top five chefs in the New Orleans area, he has taken the 1818 restaurant at Monmouth and transformed it into a fine dining experiance. I am PROUD to say that Chef Scott Varnedo is this years 2010 James Beard award winner and will be presenting his coursed meal July 28th in New York City at the James Beard Restaurant. I secretly checked his proposed menu online when I read the initial statement of his accolade and am proud to say that some of my wedding hors dourves are on his menu! ;) way to go scott!! I can't wait for all the friends and family who we love get to come meet you! Congrats!

My friends are ENGAGED!!!

Ok, there are people in this world that I absolutely adore... and then there are more people in this world that I ABSOLUUUTTTEEELLLLY ADORE ADORE!! Two people that fall in the category of "adore adore" are Clay Sartain and Sarah Lewis.. The friendship came from Clay and Rickey being ball buddies, teammates, troublemakers and partners in crime during college, best friend, and groomsman in our wedding. Clay has ALWAYS taken me under his wing as his sister and our doggies are even friends! Now, when Clay graduated college at Delta State he moved back home to take a teaching job in Southaven. It was HERE he met my sweet Sarah. I swear to you, the first day that Clay called me and said he had met a teacher at school I was apprehensive, because I love Clay and I am protective of him-as he is me. But soon thereafter I met Sarah and she stole my little heart. They are the perfect mix of a couple- very communicable, HAPPY, followers in faith, and devoted and dedicated to thier friends. These people are SO special to me and I am so glad they are in mine and Rickey's life...

AND THE GOOOOOOD NEWS IS..... CLAY AND SARAH GOT ENGAGED!!!!

In our little group of friends (or as we like to call it, the family-because we are pretty tight and its like a family), Rickey and I were the first to get engaged. And now its so exciting to watch my friends fall in love, and meet thier soul mates, have babies that I am proud to be another Aunt to, and just see them excel in life. I've had the blessing of having someone in my life (my Betty) who always wanted to make it a point to teach me to be loving and supportive of others- and REVEL in thier blessings. And I am definately enjoying this special time with my friends Clay and Sarah because to ME, they are two of the most deserving people that I know! I cant wait for this precious wedding! YAY!!

I also wanted to send a shout out to my friend Lisa aka "Wheezy Baby" (as stated by Rickey).. She's an avid follower of our blog and I love her! :) Hey Wheeze!

Candice and the new house... and BABY!

Harrison wanting to wear his dad's saints hat to nursery school... :) He's so cute


Growing boy! He's having a hard time these days being able to sit under his table since he's SOO TALL!



Cooking dinner for his mommy!





Candice and her sweet baby boy! Easter 2010

Engagement Party :) Formerly the Oliver Britt House, now called the 512 in Oxford, MS

Family Dinner at City Grocery

Just wanted to spend today to blog about my sweet Candice... She and her hubby, Glenn, have just bought a house in a GREATTTTT part of Baton Rouge (mine and Rickey's future home) and I am sooo excited for them! This is her first time to buy a house, since they rented in Houston, knowing they would not be there for the rest of thier lives.. Also, with the new house I am just so dang excited to say that they are having a new BABY! Baby Benjamin will be here so soon after the wedding and I am so excited to meet him! That Harrison and Ben are just the light of our family's eyes and Rickey and I are so excited that once we move to BR, we will get to spend so much more time together.. Candice is seriously the sweetest and most thoughtful person in the world, besides being a fantastic mom, a peacemaker, a philanthropist, and just awesome sister... I love her and today, this blog's for you!!!

LOVE YOU CANDICE, GLENN, Baby Harrison and new baby BEN!

avec tout mon couer,

Lacey

50 days and counting... SCARY

Im posting this at 5:18 in the morning... Gosh, where has my sleep gone.... :( Working nights and planning this wedding while trying to get everything together to POSSIBLY move in the near future has switched my nights and days up so terribly.. and there are also a slew of baseball players over here that are studying for finals with Rickey- so while im writing this, I am listening to a "wager game/study session" that is being held in my kitchen using flashcards and history questions.. So far, Cody Kelly seems to be in the lead in getting questions right and wagering points.. Rickey is a very good teacher so I hope they all do good. Poor things are all having to take thier finals late because of the GSC baseball tournament that was held this week here in cleveland.. Anywho.. Enough about that...

First on the blog agenda.. I cant believe we are down to FIFTY DAYS... 50 days... 5-0... It really seems like just yesterday, we were just getting engaged.. and In a few sum odd days, we will be saying I DO and this wedding will be a sweet sweet memory of planning, some stress, and lots of boxes taking up my living room. I am ready for it to be here. I am excited to say my vows, which Rickey and I will write ourselves and also say traditional vows. Rickey is very nervous about this and I have even given him the clearance to say NO but he's dead set on writing his own vows to say. This stems back to the first time that we ever had a conversation with each other on the phone.... When Rick was playing baseball in Johnson City, all we had was the phone to get to know each other. We would play the famous "question game" in getting to know each other- he would ask one, I answer.. I would then ask one, he would answer.. These questions would stem from the senseless ("If you could dress up as any MLB mascot and dance on the field, who would you choose to be and why?") to the need-to-know ("What is the kind of girl you'd like to marry?").. The latter question was posed to Rickey as the SECOND question in our phone conversation span, and he answered with a long description of this and that, this and that.. And then he paused and said "My only condition for my future wife, is that she and I write and recite our own vows to each other at our wedding"... Now, this caught me off guard at the time because it was definately something that I have always wanted to do and girls, who plan weddings forever and ever since we are little, think about these things.. But guys? I mean, who does that and especially SAYS that? It was perfect... So in that conversation, we mutually agreed that was something that we LOVED and something we would both agree to do in our OWN weddings- never imaging we'd get to share that together in our wedding to each other... :)

And so it is... He still wants to do it.. Although I've given him chances to back out he still wants to do it.. He calls it "manning up".. I like to think of it as keeping a promise he didnt even know he was making to me on day one.. I havent sat down and written mine yet where as Rick has, but I say them, certain words and phrases that I know I will say, in the car when Im alone and get emotional EACH and EVERY time.. I know they wont be too long- 5 to 6 lines at the most for each of us- but some of the most dear words I could ever recite off my heart. I definately want to take traditional vows as well.. Those traditional vows are precious words, the words that a preacher speaks on behalf of his ministry from The Lord, are timeless. Words that couples and generations of our families have spoken for years and years and years and YEARS. Words that have carried such a meaning- there is not much else that is comparable. I definately want to say the same words that have been recited throughout the course of time.. with the addition of my very own words to Rickey.. It promises to be an emotional ceremony and there probably wont be a dry eye in the room.. So bring a hanky :)

While its on my mind- say a prayer for my wedding photographer Debbie Medlock.. Her family has experianced a great loss and her husband has been ill.. Keep her and them in your prayers.. They are a special group of people and Debbie and Mike are two of the sweetest people you would ever meet.