Engagement Update :)

So I haven't blogged at ALL about the engagement!!! I've actually been working on our wedding website a lot instead of the blog. Although we are in now way done with the website, here is the URL so you can check it out:

www.theknot.com/ourwedding/JeremyAaron&PaigeJennings

This has our engagement story, wedding details, will have our registry, etc. etc.! We will be updating it often, so feel free to bookmark it!

We will be getting married on January 8, 2011* in Los Angeles. :) Pretty much every detail is on the website. Check it out, and don't forget to sign our guest book!!

Big things we have so far:

-Engagement pics! Found on Facebook and a few on the website.

-Site for ceremony and reception, including catering.

-My dress

-Bridesmaids dresses picked out

-Colors: darker red, brown, cream, gold, and white.

Big things we're still planning:

-DJ

-Photographer

-Videographer

-Florist

-Bakery for the cake

:)

We are sooo excited!!! We have very exciting things leading up to our wedding day too!

-Jeremy's graduation on May 8

-Our Egypt missions trip on May 9-26th

-I graduate on December 18th

-Wedding on January 8th!

-Sacramento reception after the wedding, date TBD.

Thanks for all your love and support, family and friends!

With love from Organizational Communication class,

Paige

Happy birthday to my sister!!!

My sister is my best friend. Now, I know I previously said that about my mom. Well welcome to females, best friends sometimes come in packages :) The three of us are a dynamic trio, that could not function without our hilarious and dedicated third member, Brooke.

Growing up I had one mission. Some wanted to be doctors. Some pilots. Besides my passion for being a dolphin trainer in sixth grade, I always wanted to be my sister.

Being four and a half years older than me, she was always leaps and bounds beyond my developmental stage. When I was in diapers she was tap dancing, putting on a show and loving the spotlight. When I was toddling she was grabbing me around the waist and spinning me around, much to my dismay. When I was a shy little girl she would talk to strangers for me and protect me from my biggest fear, dogs. When I was in first grade, she was starting a cool new school. Second grade I got to go to school with her. I would tell all my friends about her and go watch her play basketball. Trust me, it was the cool thing to have a SIXTH grader as your sister!

When she left to middle school and kept a journal, I'd sneak into her room to read it when she wasn't home. I was enthralled with what was going on in her life. When I was in 5th grade, she was a high school cheerleader. A hot high school cheerleader, said all my guy friends, as she came to get me from school in her uniform. "Whoa! Who's that?" "My sister" I'd reply as I strutted away. Watched her go to dances, watched her with her friends, waiting for the day I was her age.

When she went into high school I couldn't believe she had a LOCKER! I memorized how she decorated it so one day I could do the same. She had the prettiest handwriting in the whole world, and I would take papers she threw away to copy how she wrote her letters. When she started dating Josh in 8th grade, that's when I was really fun to be around ;) I would tattle on her when she talked over her daily hour. I would put a wrapping paper tube up to my vent to listen to her conversation. When I had my first dance in middle school coming up, I went into her room and asked her how to dance. She turned on music, looked at me, and said, "Show me what you can do." Horrified, I stood there. She danced and I copied her, more memorizing moves in my mind to practice when I was alone. I asked her questions about boys, kissing, friends... When she got her license she would take me out for ice cream cones or on her errands. Her long blonde/brown hair blowing in my dad's red Mustang. Yeah, I was with HER!

It was my turn for high school and her turn for college. I found myself bringing pictures and scrapbook paper before classes even started to make my locker just as I had seen. I tried out for Dance/Drill team, her in the crowd cheering me on. (And wanting to die she was so nervous for me!) She was there with me to register for classes, to make my schedule, to show me around the school. My birthdays always had posters around the school because of her. I always had flowers and balloons on Valentines Day. Always a listening ear.

I don't remember how she asked or where I was, but I remember the feeling when she asked me to be her Maid of Honor. At 14, I was far from qualified to take this honorary position. She didn't care at all. For her lingerie shower, she thought a Mexican Fiesta was a GREAT idea! (HA!) So easy going and carefree. I've never seen a bride so willing to go with the flow. Her wedding day she looked gorgeous. She radiated love for Josh and happiness for this event. Danced the night away with her friends. And I cried happy tears but also tears of loss, knowing that I had just lost my roommate and partner in crime at home.

Our relationship grew as I would visit her apartment, then duplex, then house. Moving off to college was a sad time for us, as we had to use Skype, phone, texting, and emailing. She gave birth to my beautiful niece, Evelyn, and named her middle name after me. What an honor. Then I saw her become the kind of mother I want to be. Singing to her crying baby girl to lull her back to sleep. Sacrificing sleep and luxuries to make little Evie happy. Singing and dancing to make her laugh.

With Chet as another addition, I see even more clearly how motherhood fits her like a glove.

She is my Matron of Honor. My sister. More than a sister, she is my best friend. The most reliable, honest, open person I know. She values family, quality time, words of encouragement. She is organized, color coded, dedicated to the task at hand. She is thoughtful, caring, and looks out for your best interest. More than a best friend, she is my sister.

Happy birthday Brookie. I love you so much!

44 Reasons I LOVE my Birthday Girl!

That's my MOMMA! :) (Sorry to subtly reveal your age...)

1. She's thoughtful.

2. She's HILARIOUS!

3. She's soft.

4. She loves a clean house.

5. She's beautiful.

6. She loves Iced Tea.

7. She loves my daddy. (Flashback to her Prom. Yes, that's my dad!)

8. She didn't ever leave me when I threw up. (I was scared). Even if she was gagging along with me.

9. She is feisty. You don't mess with this ninja!

10. My most often and favorite memory of her is reading her bible, tea in hand, blue or pink robe in the morning.

11. She puts Bible verses all over the house.

12. She laughs troubles away.

13. She is very intelligent.

14. and is very humble.

15. She loves everyone. Yes, everyone.

16. She will gasp louder than anyone when she sees a beautiful sunset. And not even care that her gasp almost made you crash, because she is still so focused on the sunset!

17. Loves trees in the fall.

18. Long walks after dinner.

19. She doesn't force her opinion on others. Even when it's right.

20. She gives and gives and gives...

21. She makes a FAB Christmas tree.

22. She knows everyone's name at church. And their story. And their families stories.

23. She can read the feel of a room like no other and is somehow able to make it more positive and welcoming.

24. Remedy for a bad day: long hot shower and a nap.

25. Laughed harder than anyone I know at Napoleon Dynamite and Baby Mama.

26. Saver of money. Splurger of Hot Tamales.

27. You can't beat her steak and potatoes. OR caesar salad.

28. She makes red velvet cake just for dad.

29. She makes the birthday WEEK special.

30. She doodles when she is on the phone.

31. Ordained minister, mother, pastor, grammy, wife, daughter, sister and friend? Yep.

32. Decorates beautifully.

33. Hilarious story teller.

34. Faithful friend.

35. Loves to tan. Loves to be tan.

36. Will stop and smell the roses. (But doesn't trample the pansies... ;))

37. Godly advice always is on the tip of her tongue.

38. Big soft fluffy towels. Long baths to escape.

39. Singing "Silent Night" every night and tickling my back until I fell asleep.

40. Supporter of my passions.

41. Reader. Reader's Digest. Good House Keeping. Bible. Beth Moore.

42. Soft PJs. Soft sheets. Soft soft soft.

43. Egyptian traveler. Future world traveler with Paige & Jeremy.

44. My best friend.

Happy birthday Momma!!! Those descriptions only begin to describe the amazing woman who you are to me and to countless others.

I love you!!!!

February 2010

Hello faithful blog readers!!

I should take a poll to see who reads this. I will randomly run into a high school friend and they will have been reading it all along and I had no idea! (Hi Brooke Bond!)

It's crazy to thing I have 10 weeks left of this semester.

10 weeks until Jeremy graduates.

10 weeks until EGYPT!

10 weeks to figure out what to do for summer.

This month has been great. I am able to balance work/school/homework/boyfriend/friends/family semi-successfully :) One thing that is sadly left out is exercise who is going to squeeze its way in there pretty soon. (Story of my life)

I have PICTURES! Woo hoo! Finally.

First, here are some from my Sacramento Valentines weekend. Jeremy and I were so glad to take our long week off of school and head on up to my hometown!!

Mom & Chet on the Playground :)

Avatar 3D!!!

Jeremy playing with Evie :)

Me and my little man, Chet!

Smiles!

Second, we went out! Yes, Jeremy and I got all dressed up (tie required) and went out to an amazing restaurant with some close friends (and some strangers) to celebrate our friend Gene's birthday!! He is an amazing host and even paid for 30 people's four course meal & dessert! Aka a LOT of money! What a gracious guy.

Jessica (on my semester of SA), Elli, Myself

Our main course for dinner. WOW! Mushrooms, lobster, shrimp, ravioli, filet mignon, chicken, steak.... :)

Dessert!!! Yummy!!!!

Jeremy and myself :) (The steam made my hair go flat!)

Before leaving for dinner :) Notice the difference in the volume of my hair! lol

That's all!

With love from APU,

Paige

SACRAMENTO!!!!!

Off for a Valentine's weekend in Sacramento with Jeremy and my family!

Last Valentines Day I was in South Africa and Jeremy somehow managed to find a local florist to bring me flowers, chocolates, and a note from him :) *love* I cried tears of joy and happiness! How thoughtful is he?!

Can't WAIT to see those babies!!!!!

With love from APU,

Paigey

Bad Blogger Update!

Hello :) I should change my site's name to to "bad blogger" since that's the theme this year of my blogging!!

Life is going GREAT! I am preparing for my missions trip to Egypt, doing classes/homework, looking for summer jobs/internships, planning post-graduation stuff after December, etc!

I would really appreciate your prayer as I am trying to figure all these things out.

Especially 1) career and 2) plans this summer.

There are SO many different directions I can go in: teaching, non-profit work, wedding planning... and I need DIRECTION! My eyes and ears are open. So let's see what comes about! Unfortunately this is paired with hard work too s0 I need to be doing my part of networking and researching!

That's all :) More posts will come later & I will try to maintain a weekly blog from here on out!

With love from K164,

Paigey

2010!

Hello blog readers,

It's been a while! I took a break along with my Christmas break from blogging (considering I was with 90% of my readers) and now am back!!

I also have started a blog entirely for my Egypt mission trip coming up in May with all of the updates, prayer requests, etc. This is my "personal" blog. That address is:

egyptmissions.blogspot.com

Christmas break was a great time of relaxation and family. It started off with Barbie coming down to LA for a visit and Disneyland celebration of her birthday!! We had a fun weekend, she got to meet the Aarons, and I got a lot of shopping done for Christmas!

Then we drove home to Sacramento and I had a great week with my family. It was so fun being around the kids (Evie and Chet) and baby cousins (Taryn and Hailey)!!! Babies and kids make Christmas so much more entertaining! I am truly grateful for my family and Church family in Sacramento.

The day after Christmas the fam was packed up and we flew off to Denver, CO for a Wesleyan youth convention my dad directed. We had an AMAZING suite on the top floor (although Brooke and Josh were convinced there was a secret REAL top floor ;)) and enjoyed the luxuries of being "upper class" :) What a treat! Another treat was that Jeremy was able to fly out with us and we frolicked around Downtown Denver and had a fun time in the cold!

In Denver my mom, sister and I had the opportunity to speak to about 300 high school girls on "1o Things I Hate About Me", which focused on the lies we tell ourselves and the truths about God that combat those lies. It was a great time and I enjoyed speaking with my two best friends! I haven't heard Brooke speak much since high school group and it was great to see how fabulously she did! I think we all had a great time doing that and hopefully the girls got something out if it too!!!

After Denver the fam + Jeremy flew to Sacramento and we got to celebrate New Years Eve there along with the days following. It was so nice to relax, hang out, eat leftover Christmas goodies and be able to sleep! Jeremy left on the 4th and I spent the few last days with my family and some friends.

Now I'm back at APU! Beautiful 80 degrees yesterday & a little rain today. Lovely! Seems like I hadn't left at all but in some ways it feels like I was gone forever. My classes this semester are GREAT with fabulous professors and I am excited to learn so much in the land of Communication. These are the classes I'm taking:

-Rhetorical Theory

-Communication Theory

-Conflict Management

-Intro to Journalism

-Organizational Communication

-Communication Internship

My Communication Internship is with World Vision International (worldvision.org). I am in a department called "Governance," which most people, including some even who work for World Vision, haven't a clue what that means. Governance assess all of the global offices of World Vision and makes sure what they are doing aligns with what the standards, mission statement, goals, etc. of World Vision are.

So, I started on Tuesday interning for them. My first mini project was to compile binders for the trip today to Lebanon. Some of the Governance staff flies over to Lebanon and with previous material gathered, they assess the office more and give them tips/guide lines in order to make their office even better.

Looks like it will be an adventure! :) I love my boss and the people I have met there yet. The office seems to fit like a glove! (Minus the fact that I hate heals and have to figure out what to do about my outfits- tailor my pants for flats or wear Band-Aids??? Yuck!)

Many of you have been asking about how my friend Anna is doing, as she is in Haiti and experienced the earthquake. She is ok and there was no catastrophic damage done on her facility. Feel free to check out her blog, which can be found by clicking "Anna Kagstrom" on my links on the right hand side of the page.

If you'd like to donate to the relief effort or to Anna's rescue center specifically, you can contact me and I will get an address for you.

With love from my apartment in good ol' Azusa,

Paige