Wedding Stuff

That seems to be monopolizing my time. Who knew there was so much work in planning a wedding? Well I'll update everyone on details and progress I have made on this overwhelming project!
First off Beau and I wanted all of our brothers and sisters to be in the wedding. Our family was very involved in our courtship and we thought they should be involved in the wedding too. That's an explanation for this long list.... ;-p Beau has 6 groomsmen. Josh is the best man, then Zach, Daniel, Micah, Nathan, and Caleb. That's all the brother's except Noah don't worry he's not left out. I have always wanted to have the same number of bridesmaids as there were groomsmen so I have 6 bridesmaids. Bethany is my Maid of Honor, Tonya Williams is my Matron of Honor, then there's Chelsey Anders, Katie LaFollette, Brittany Muse, and last but not least Francie. Then we have 2 bible bearers Noah and my little cousin Carter Ward. I am very close to Carter and his little sisters. They are more like nieces and a nephew than cousins so of course they had to be included. Then comes the little flower girls 5 to be exact. Ruthie, Abby, Emily Ward, Hailey Ward, and Addyson Ward. We love children (coming from a family with as many kids as both of ours have you have to love kids!) and we wanted the ones who are especially close to be included. Then of course we have our 2 ushers. Critter Anders and Eric Hogan mutual friends of both Beau and I. Actually when you think about it all of our attendants are friends with both of us. But on with details.
We are planning to get married in Lynchburg, VA on Saturday, March 26th, 2011 at 2:00 in the afternoon. We also decided that with as many kids as we have in the wedding we should have our pictures done before the wedding. With all the kids the pictures would probably take a long time and hold up the reception and it will be easier to get kids to smile when they are freshly dressed and not tired of being dressed up yet. If that makes any sense. My colors are red and white. White is the accent color. The bridesmaids will have red floor length dresses with 3/4 length sleeves and a white lace overlay over the bodice and sleeves. Sister Melanie is making the dresses for the bridesmaids! She is awesome! I am so thankful for all the help and advice that everyone has offered! it sure is making everything easier and smoother. Sister Tonya Anders is a wonder! She has been right with me the whole time helping to get me organized and on track and just making sure everything runs smoothly. I don't know what I would do without her. The flower girls are going to wear a white tea length dress with a red sash. Sister Melanie is making the sashes out of the material that the bridesmaids dresses are made with so they will match.
Oh yes flowers. I am having red and white roses with baby's breath. Shannon is doing the flowers and that is definitely a blessing. It sure is a blessing to have all these talented people around who just jump in and help with whatever is needed! Shannon is so creative and she knows what to do! Brother Ben Fulton is going to be our photographer. He is awesome with a camera. He has been friends with my family for years. Grayson is going to be our videographer. He does a great job at that. My cousin Vanessa is going to be our caterer. She actually has a catering business in South Carolina. She is Carter, Emily, Hailey, and Addyson's mother. She has the catering business because it's something she can do from home to help bring in some money but she still gets to be with her children. She does a great job. She is also making our cake.
We are having a firefighter themed wedding. Sort of.... We are just having little touches here and there. My colors are red and white, we are going to have a firefighter and bride cake topper, and cut our cake with a little fireman's axe. Beau's helmet will be sitting next to the guest book and we might have toy fire engines sitting around here and there. We are thinking about having a little wagon made up to look like a fire truck pulled up the aisle with the littlest flower girl in it. Little cutesy things that will still look elegant and weddingish without looking kiddish.
I got my flower girl baskets the other day. I got 5 baskets for just over $30! That's good! I looked and looked for flower girl baskets that were what I wanted but didn't cost an arm and a leg but everything seemed ridiculous. I saw flower girl baskets that cost as much as $60-$70 for one! I have 5 flower girls there is no way I can pay that much for a basket they are going to use once! So $30 for 5 was a great deal and they were exactly what I was looking for. I also got a C.R. Gibson wedding memory book. That book is really nice! It has places for you to write everything down and put pictures and it also doubles as a guest book. It even has a place for you to write down all the gifts that people got you and helps you keep track sending Thank You cards. I ordered the fabric for the bridesmaids dresses the other day and got crepe back satin for $3.80 a yd and shipping and handling was free! Yay!
We are still not for certain who is going to preach the wedding. Pappaw wanted to be able to enjoy it so he's not doing it. We talked to Brother Smith about it and he said he would be happy to do it as long as he is in the country. He was going to try and keep his schedule clear but we won't know for sure until sometime this month. Music just doesn't seem to be going to well for us. Everyone I talked to is going to be out of town during the wedding or is uncomfortable playing wedding music. So we are still checking on that. We are currently on the look out for a place to have the reception. The Lynchburg church has a great sanctuary but a crowded fellowship hall. We checked out the cogop's fellowship hall but Dad and Pappaw both say they want too much money. We are currently checking out fire stations. I am supposed to talk to the Captain of one of the Lynchburg stations tonight. My neighbor lady is the district chaplain for the fire and rescue in this area and that includes Lynchburg so she checked around and got a hold of this guy for me and I'm supposed to talk to him tonight. I might even get to look at the place Saturday afternoon.
Our Thanksgiving was great. Beau came and got to meet some of my family that he hadn't met yet. Friday evening my cousin threw a Pampered Chef Bridal Shower for me. That was fun. Pampered Chef stuff is really neat and handy! I had a good time visiting with all my family. I am jealous of Beau though. Vanessa and Jacob's kids love me and always say they can't wait to see me but when Beau comes the kids make a bee-line for him and I have to coax them to come to me! Not fair! lol He is great with kids and I am happy that the kids like him.
I am flying out the 13th of December to FL. The Cox family is having their get together down there this year. Beau wanted me to come so I'm going. Then Beau and one of the guys and I are driving back to VA with his truck and a trailer the 23rd. We are going to be back in time for Christmas and he is going to get all my stuff and take it back. See his class schedule has been changed and he won't have another break until the wedding. So this is the last chance to get my stuff down before the wedding. So from the time I got home from Thanksgiving I have 2 weeks to get all my stuff packed up and ready to go so it will be ready when he brings me home and be completely ready for the Christmas program and have it the day before I leave! This Saturday is the district minister's banquet in Lynchburg. Mom and Dad are going to that but Bethany, Chelsey, and I are meeting up going out for lunch and then going to see a play. We are going to have a lot of fun. Then hopefully Mama, Daddy, Bethany, and I and possibly Sister Tonya and Chelsey are going to go meet the guy I'm calling tonight and look at the place. Anyway please pray that everything works out. Anyway I have spent way to much time writing and I have a myriad of other things that I need to do! So Long for now!

I'm Engaged!

And have been for a month and a half.... So why have I not posted before now when I obviously have so much to say? Because I have been tremendously busy! So I know everyone wants the story though I'm pretty sure no one actually reads my blog anymore just because how long I take to post. ;-p But at least it posts to my FB when I post here so two for the price of one you know. So lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start, lol. The Cox family and our family came in to the assembly the Sunday before it started. August 15th. We got there and unloaded the van and car and headed to the KFC to meet the Cox's for supper. We hadn't seen them for a year so we had quite a reunion. Then we all loaded up and headed to the store where we got our groceries for the week. By the time we got back to the apartments and unloaded our groceries it was after midnight. I was tired and ready to go to bed so I started to get ready to have a shower but Dad stopped me he started talking to me and wanted me to stay up so I did. A few moments later Beau came to the door and said he had something he wanted to show me. I went out the door and Bro. Jerry and Sis. Betsy were out there and Mom and Dad came out too. Beau blindfolded me and took me up a huge hill! I couldn't see a thing and I had no idea what was going on! When we finally stopped Beau told me to look up and close my eyes then he took my blindfold off. He told me to open my eyes and there was this huge white cross lit up with a spotlight it was cloudy that night so the light cast a perfect shadow of the cross on the clouds and the stars shone out around the the clouds. It was beautiful. I will never forget it. While I was still looking up at the cross Beau asked me how I liked it. I told him it was beautiful. He said, "Before we bring this little tour to an end I have a question to ask you." At this point I turned to look at him and when I did he was down on one knee and he took my hand and said, "Charity Baldwin will you marry me?" I was speechless for a minute you would think that I should have expected it with the blindfold and everything but I just wasn't expecting it then. I told him yes! We are so happy. We kept our engagement quiet until we had told all of the grandparents. Then we turned the kids loose and told all of our friends. It was all over the assembly pretty quickly. lol We had a great time at the Assembly. The Lord moved in a mighty way! It was so refreshing and just wonderful! Micah was baptized in the Holy Ghost Saturday night late or early Sunday morning either way you want to look at it. Then my cousin Katie that we had been keeping this summer was baptized in the Holy Ghost Sunday morning during the Sunday School program. It was wonderful! We got home late Monday night then left for SC Friday morning. Papa had his 75th birthday so we had a family party for him down in South Carolina. On the way back home Monday we went to a bridal shop in Fort Mill, SC that specializes in modest bridal gowns and modest formal occasion dresses. It's a christian shop not a Mormon one. Now I've got all my stuff for my "attire" except maybe a tiara I haven't decided on that yet. So we got home late Monday night then Friday morning I went to Roanoke and hopped on a plane to FL to surprise Beau for his birthday. He was definitely surprised! We got a couple registries set up while I was there and had an initial phone conference with Sis. Tonya Anders who is helping us plan our wedding. I also found the perfect shoes for the wedding they go perfectly with my dress and veil. Yay! The best part? They were on huge clearance and I got them for $7.00!!!! Hurrah! Got home Friday evening exhausted. The next day was a surprise birthday party for one of my uncles so we went to Richmond for that. Then I've stayed pretty busy between wedding planning and Church stuff. Had our local planning meeting at our church then of course our Regional Minister's Convention. We picked Nate up there and had him for about a week before we headed down to FL for my birthday. I'm 21! I had a great birthday and thanks to everyone who left me a message on my FB wall! Anyway just got back and finally had an opportunity to post so I am! I will hopefully update soon with some of the wedding plans. I have to go now. Our main computer crashed so we only have the macbook now and that makes it hard to be able to use it. Micah needs it for School now so goodbye for now!

Hello Again

I don't really have too much to blog about. I'm still babysitting James, I have VLB service twice a month, and sewing every Thursday. Right now I am working on a quilt for my hope chest. I am doing a very simple 6 in. square style quilt. I started on a different design and by the time I finished a one foot block decided that I would much prefer doing 4 seams to a foot block instead of 130 seams. I do have one block of that design though. When I was going through fabric scraps and picking out what I wanted I found myself picking out floral patterns. So I guess it will have a floral theme. Anyway, I guess that's enough about a quilt. I ended up only having one VLB service in February due to snow. In keeping with the Valentine's season I did a service on God's Love for us. Speaking of Valentine's day I sent Beau a firefighter belt buckle and a card. Who said you have to give candy? I knew he'd like the belt buckle so I sent him that. He likes it a lot. Josh says he wears it all the time. Yay! I got something he really likes!!! He sent me a box of gourmet chocolates and a sweet card. Let me assure ya'll we have not gone without teasing specifically from our siblings and on my part all the church folks at my local church with my pastors wife leading the pack. Nathan blushed when he read the card I sent Beau and it wasn't even a sappy card! Mom helped me pick it out. James is getting bigger every day. At least it seems like he does. He just turned 6 months old and he is huge! He is so smart. He recognizes people now. I hadn't watched him for a week while they were on vacation with the whole Williams clan and when he came back and I babysat him he was so excited to see me! He almost jumped out of his car seat and when I picked him up he hugged me. The other day he pulled himself up to a sitting position from laying on his back. He is so sweet. Anyway, that's about it for now. I know not to much to tell but then that's why I haven't blogged...

A new post, finally....

Yeah, yeah I know, way past time for a new post. But seriously I haven't had time! Lame excuse I know... I have been babysitting little James for Tonya and Steele four days a week. Besides the fact that I haven't really felt like blogging. I know I'm bad. Let's see October hmmm..... Oh yes, at Thanksgiving we went down to South Carolina and saw Mama's family. We got in to Papa and Grandma Jane's late Wednesday evening. Thursday we spent with Aunt Kathy, Aunt Kim, Katie, Vanessa, Jacob, Carter, Emily, Hailey, and Addyson. Beau and Zach came in Friday morning. Then we had our official dinner Friday afternoon at Uncle Wendy's with my immediate family plus Beau, Uncle Wendy, Uncle Doug, Aunt Kim, Katie, and Papa. (Grandma Jane had to work that weekend.) After we had dinner and visited for a while, all of us young folks headed to Vanessa and Jacob's house. We played music and games and watched a movie and had a sleep-over. The little girls fell asleep as soon as the movie started but Carter made it through the whole thing. The next morning Mama and Daddy came over and Vanessa and I made breakfast for everyone. It was a morning of mishaps right Ness? lol Everything ended up good. The guys settled down and watched football while we slaved away in the kitchen... After a while Carter and Emily wanted to show us their fort so Beau, Micah, Bethany, Carter, Emily, Hailey, and I went on a hike. We found the fort and the kids climbed around in it for a while then Carter took off in another direction so we all followed him. Bad idea... Carter got us lost! Beau managed to get us back to the house again after about an hour. Very interesting. Especially if you have three year old who decides she needs to use the bathroom but refuses to use it in the bushes because "That's just disgusting" and there's too many germs. She cracks me up! Meanwhile back at the house Mama and Ness were making a birthday cake for Zach. We hung around there and visited all day. Then headed back to Papa and Grandma Jane's to spend the night. Sunday morning we went and saw all our good friends at the Midway church. After church we had a birthday party for Zach with all the young people and Papa and Uncle Doug. That afternoon they were having a singing so we stuck around and enjoyed the music and were drafted to sing two or three songs. No church that night so we headed back to Papa and Grandma Jane's. Then we took Beau next door to meet my cousin Brad and his wife Kayla. The next day was Monday which meant Beau and Zach had to head back to Florida and we had to go home to Virginia. But not before we met Aunt Kathy and Addyson for lunch and then went over to see Aunt Terry and Uncle Ted. Things kept coming up and it was about four before we actually headed out our different ways. We finally got home and got back into our routine and it seemed like Christmas rushed up on us. We got snow the Friday before Christmas and it knocked out our Christmas play. The snow however did stick around until after Christmas so we had our first white Christmas in years. Beau and Zach came in on the 23rd of December. That evening, Mama, Daddy, Pappaw, Mammaw, Beau, and I went on a triple date to Applebee's in Farmville. Then next morning Beau had to head up to Salem to his grandparent's house. He came back Monday for our Baldwin family Christmas. Then he had to head out Tuesday back to his grandparent's again. He came back New Year's Eve and brought Nate with him and stayed through Saturday morning when he had to head back to Florida. We had a good visit. New Year's Eve we had a watch night service at church and Beau and Nate were able to come to that. Oh yes, Christmas presents. In our family all of us kids draw names. In other words we only have to have a Christmas gift for one sibling much cheaper than having to get one for all four. I had Zachary's name and got him the Greater Vision Live at Oaktree DVD. Micah had my name and got me a bunch of dish towels and potholders for my hope chest. All of us kids went together and got Dad a new Large print Thompson Chain Bible with his name engraved on it. We got Mama a couple of stainless steel muffin tins. Mama and Daddy got me a stainless steel spring-form pan and a stainless steel muffin tin pan. Beau got me a really nice scented candle. It is really cute it has a little lamp shade! I got him a casual shirt and a tie to match a dress shirt I had given him for his birthday. I also gave him a framed picture of him and I that he had requested and a wallet size picture of me. (also requested) The first Sunday in January a baby dedication was held at our local church for James. Brother Jimmy and Sister Vicki and all of their kids including Kaylan and Nate and their little one were there as well as Brother and Sister Creech and Sister Vicki's brother and niece. That evening we had our Christmas program. (better late than never...) Since then nothing much has happened except James is getting bigger and learning new things every day! He is rolling over and can sit up with a little support. He is being spoon fed now as well as bottle fed. It's exciting to see him grow. He is sleeping less and playing more and he can recognize some people's faces and voices. He recognizes his Mommy and his Daddy and Mama and Daddy and all of my brother's and Beth and I. He has started giving hugs! He's given his Mommy one and my Mama one and me one. He is so adorable! I know, I know, I need to post pictures of him but I don't have the time tonight. He is roughly five and a half months old and a cutie pie! Well that's about it for now. Congratulations if you made it all the way to the bottom!