Introducing Our Wedding Party!!!

Right before Christmas, Nathan and I decided (at the very last minute, which is a testament to how INCREDIBLE our wedding party is!) that since a lot of people were home for the holidays, it would be a perfect time to get our wedding party together for lunch. We went to Jake's and although not everyone could make it (some as a result of the last minute planning and some weren't in town) we had a blast! We are so blessed to have such incredible friends and family to share this amazing process with! Thank you so much to all of you that came and to every single one of you for agreeing to share this special day with us! We would also like to thank the significant others/spouses of our wedding party! You guys are all amazing and we always have so much fun hanging out with all of you! Thank you for giving up some of your time to share in this process as well! So, without further ado, here is our wedding party!

Our wonderful lunch!

Best Man - Peter and his wife, Anne
Nathan and Peter have been friends since high school.

Peter and Anne got married in May of 2007. Nathan was Peter's best man.

Maid of Honor - Margarett
Margarett and I have known each other since 6th grade. We were born in the same hospital on the same day and were often mistaken for sisters (once, even twins! Ha!)

Groomsman - Tony and his girlfriend, Ashley
Tony is my big bro!
He works for a commercial real estate company here in Dallas!

Bridesmaid - Rachel

Bridesmaid - Loral and her boyfriend (fiance?!?) Matt

Rachel and Loral are Nathan's little sisters.

They are currently attending BYU in Provo, Utah.

Groomsman - Matt
Groomsman - Steve
Matt and Steve are Nathan's older brothers.
Matt is in the Navy and lives with his wife, Adrianne, and their three kids in San Diego.
Steve is in the Army, currently stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Groomsman - Sheldan
Sheldan is Nathan's cousin.
He is in the process of moving from Bakersfield, CA to Las Vegas for work.Groomsman - Kyle and his wife, Kelli
Nathan and Kyle have known each other since they were little, but became really good friends while in college. Kyle and Kelli were married in 2005. Bridesmaid - Katie and her husband, Patrick
Katie and I have been friends since 5th grade.
Katie and Patrick were married on New Years Eve, 2006. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding.
Bridesmaid - Elizabeth
Elizabeth and I have been friends since 5th grade.
She currently teaches kindergarten in Southlake.Bridesmaid - Liz
Liz and I have been friends since kindergarten.
We were roommates and worked together at Reel FX for over a year. Flower Girl - Maddie
Flower Girl - Abbie
Ringbearer - Luke
Maddie, Abbie, and Luke are Nathan's nieces and nephew (Matt & Adrianne's children).
They live in San Diego.
Junior Bridesmaid - Samantha
Junior Bridesmaid - Caroline
Samantha and Caroline are my cousins.
They live in Plano with my Uncle Frankie and Aunt Jami.

(Pictures coming soon!)

Bella's New Game

So, Bella has discovered that whenever she wants to play and we don't, all she has to do is get a hold of something she isn't supposed to have (watches, socks, gloves, etc.) and we'll chase her! In this instance, she has her daddy's running watch. I apologize for my laughing in the background, but it's pretty funny when it's not happening to you!

We hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas and wish you all health and happiness in the new year!

By Request - More Bella!!!

We don't have that many pictures of our puppy yet, but we are hoping to take Bella on her first excursion to the dog park this weekend, so we'll be sure to update after that!

Bella discovered the toilet paper holders at my mom and dad's house. Apparently three bathrooms have been hit so far!

New Jersey!

This is a long overdue post, but at the end of October the family took off for New Jersey to surprise my Grandpa Joe for his 80th birthday! Nathan had the pleasure of coming along and meeting the family! It was an absolutely wonderful weekend and, of course, everyone fell in love with Nathan! It was so much fun to be able to show Nathan all of the fun places Tony and I went during our summers growing up. We even had the chance to hit two other states in the 3 days we were there! We went to Philly for dinner at this awesome diner our first night and drove through New York the last day, just to give Nathan a little taste of the big city we all love so much! I can't wait to go back and show him around one of the greatest cities on earth! So, without further ado, here are some pictures from the trip!

The Boardwalk on the Jersey shore. Tony and I visited here almost every summer growing up. It's where I honed my ridiculously amazing whack-a-frog skills!

With my dad's parents. That's my Grandpa Fred and my Grandma Rose! The men! This is my Uncle Sandy, my dad, Tony, the birthday boy (my Grandpa Joe), and Nathan. We're waiting to go into breakfast. This restaurant had like 200 omelettes on their menu (no joke!) If there's one thing the Ruggeri/Calatozzo clan knows how to do, it's eat!! The girls! Well, minus my mom. She somehow managed to stay out of every single picture. This is me with my Grandma Annette and my Aunt Diane. Can't beat fall in the northeast!

Say hello to Miss Bella!

A week ago Nathan and I were driving by Petco and saw an adoption sign outside. We went in and discovered that they were having a kitty adoption that weekend. After playing with the kittens for a little while, we got the urge to look at some puppies. My mom said that a new pet store called PetLand had just opened, but we shouldn't go because we would fall in love with one of the puppies. We, of course, went anyway and after playing with a few puppies, they brought out the cutest little white ball of fur. We instantly fell in love! We honestly went in with the intention of just looking at puppies and we walked out with Bella! She is a white maltese and she weighs 3.5 pounds. She is the cutest little thing, super super cuddly, and we love her to death! We have spent the last week working hard on potty training. She has already visited both sets of grandparents and successfully marked her territory in each house. My parents and Nathan's parents will be very happy to know that we have come a very long way in 1 week! Bella now goes on the newspaper and then stands and patiently waits for her treat! She is the cutest little puppy! We'll have to make sure she gets a chance to meet everyone during the holidays!

Thank you!

November 11th never used to mean much to me. Growing up I honestly didn't know it was a special day. I mean we didn't even get a day off of school and you ALWAYS get a day off of school for the special holidays, right? Wrong! It wasn't until I was in college that I realized the significance of this seemingly insignificant day. My mom called me on November 11, 2002 and asked me to call my grandfather. His birthday was at the end of October, so I asked what the call was about. She told me that it was Veteran's Day and that I should call him and say thanks. It was at that moment that I realized the important day that I had overlooked for all those years. So every year on Veteran's Day I stop for a moment and reflect on all of the brave men I have in my life that fought so hard to preserve the only way of life I have ever known. This Veteran's Day carries with it even more significance as Nathan's brother Steve landed safely in the United States yesterday after 14 months in Iraq. To him I say with complete sincerity, thank you for all that you do and for the sacrifices you have made for this country. I would also like to take this time to thank my Grandpa Joe, a veteran of the Korean War, my Grandpa Fred, a veteran of World War II, and my late great-Uncle Pat, also a veteran of World War II. Although I have not had much of an opportunity to discuss the wars in depth with my grandfathers, I had a unique opportunity to discuss wartime experiences with my Uncle Pat before he passed away. My freshman year of college I was asked to write a profile on someone that I considered to be a hero. After my mom explained all that my Uncle Pat had done and seen in his three years in the service I knew, without a doubt, that he truly fit the bill. My Uncle Pat and Aunt Emily represented true love in every sense of the word. My Aunt Emily passed away last year and my Uncle Pat was never the same. He soon followed, passing away in late December so that he could spend Christmas with his beloved Emily. So on this day, Veteran's Day, I honor his memory by sharing the story of Uncle Pat and his heroics. The profile I wrote about him was published in a college textbook. If you care to read his story you can find it here:

http://college.cengage.com/english/blau/writing_works/1e/resources/wor/wor11.html

Again, thank you to all of those who fought, and continue to fight, to preserve our way of life and our freedom. Everyone, no matter how busy you are, should take a moment today to offer them thanks.

It's Official

We didn't have a lot of time to get it done, but after a change of heart on the location and camping out in front of the registration office for 3 hours, we can now make it official! Nathan and I will be getting married on February 13, 2010 at Perkins Chapel at SMU!!! We are so excited to finally be able to make the date and the church official!! Perkins Chapel is absolutely beautiful and we believe it fits us really well! The people at SMU have been fantastic and it was well worth getting up early and camping out by their office all morning! Now if this seems weird, please understand that Perkins Chapel is very popular among the Dallas folk. Nathan and I heard stories of people waiting outside the office for 6 hours on the day they started taking reservations for their wedding month and still not getting their date! Lucky for us we're having a winter wedding, so 3 hours was all it took. Of course, not a single other person showed up to wait in line during those 3 hours, but I still think it was well worth it in order to secure this beautiful church! We are so blessed to have such loving family and friends and we can't wait for you all to share this wonderful day with us! Let the countdown begin! Only 467 days until we're married :)