I was planning on getting a tattoo yesterday. I went down to Caspian's and showed them what I wanted... and they informed me it would have to be about 3x the size of my picture. Yeah, I'm not all about that. So I'll just wait until I find a parlor that can accommodate my needs. I'll go to Mos Eisleys while I'm home and see if they can take care of it. I'll post a picture if I get it done. I think I want to add to it after this mornings message also... so thanks Johnnie!

I am very excited to be home soon. It will be a super long car drive all by my lonesome, but I'm up for it. I'll just need a good audiobook and some good playlists. I have a lot of good plans for my spring break. Most importantly of all... Chilis! I plan on taking my maid of honor their for dinner some night. I have deeply missed Chilis. My stomach needs some good Cajun Chicken Pasta and a Chocolate Milkshake.

Matthew and I are having premarital counseling with Mike Massey, a campus pastor here at Liberty. It has been going well for the past couple of weeks we've been meeting with him. We're going through a workbook. It is interesting to hear Matt and my answers. We're doing the workbook separately then talking about our answers. We have very similar views on most everything. Which is good. We have been blessed by our upbringing and our families. I am so thankful for our parents and grandparents and the models they've given us. Mike asks us extra questions leading off of our answers. There have been a couple we hadn't even thought of yet and it's funny because we just kind of look at each other like, "Good grief! What would we do if THAT happened?" I think we're pretty well prepared for marriage though. We've both read a lot of books and have been through a marriage class together, a 6-week marriage seminar together, and now our premarital counseling. We won't be ready for anything that's thrown our way and it will be hard at times, but we are ready to go through anything together.

I have finished addressing my invitations. My mom is sending me a couple more addresses she just has to add... and then it's just sending them off the first week of April! It's all so real now. We're really getting married! In 90 days! Three months from tomorrow we'll be boarding our plane for London! I convinced Matt to go to Paris for a day also! So we'll be spending 6 days in London and 1 in Paris! I am so excited! We considered traveling around Europe on the Eurorail and just flying in and out of London... but we decided that we'd save that for an anniversary trip. (which means we'll save our money for now and travel when we're more settled with an income!) I am so excited to be Mrs. Matthew Iveson. A lot of people think I'm too young to be getting married and I haven't really discovered myself yet. I do not agree. Not just because I'm in love and that has "blinded" me. No, but I have lived a good lot in my 20 years. I have gone through several different phases of life and have tried out a few different lifestyles, some which I am not so proud of. I have grown a lot in college and have learned what I believe, what my value systems are, where I want to go in life, and who I want to live it with. I am graduating in May with a good GPA and recommendations from professors and my internship employers. I'm planning on attending Graduate school for the next year and getting my Masters degree next summer. I plan on working fulltime for the next few years while I get my Masters and then while Matt is working on his (which will take longer than a year). And when we are financially able and have the space and time, we will hopefully be able to get pregnant and begin that portion of our family. It is a pretty well thought out plan. I know it could be altered. If Matt and I were to have an early pregnancy for some reason, then we'd adjust. I wouldn't get my Masters right away and he would hold off a few more years on his so we could save up some money. If one of us were not able to get a job we'd obviously put aside the Grad School plans for awhile as well. We've thought it through and even though we are both pretty young, I think we're ready to begin our lives together. I'd be doing all of this on my own anyways, so why not do it him?

A bonus we have in our relationship that a lot of other college students do not is our lack of debt. Thanks in large part to our parents, we both have no college loans and no payments to make on our cars. My car has a little under 76,000 miles on it and Matt is getting a new used car for graduation which I think has right around 100,000 miles on it. Both in great condition and perfect for newlyweds. Together we have great credit so should have no problem getting loans if we need them or buying a house when we can. We have been wise with our money and have realistic expectations about our first few years of marriage financially. I think we'll do just fine.

I highly recommend "The Power of a Praying Wife" (or Husband) to any engaged couples, newlyweds, or really any married couples. My dad sent Matt the husband book last semester and as he read it and put into practice the tips listed in the book, he began seeing a real change in our attitudes towards each other as well as our overall relationship. I thought it a good idea to purchase the wife book for myself and I have also seen great changes in our relationship and how we interact with each other. It has helped me to pray for Matt but also just to learn a little more about what men need specific prayer for. I'm not sure if you know this, but men and women are very different! Being so, they need prayer for a lot of different things. Sure, we all need prayer for the basics, but when I pray specifically for Matt's need for achievement at work it really helps his outlook on his job and what the purpose of his work is. It has been such a great aid in our relationship and I'm sure we'll both read these books again later in our marriage as healthy reminders.

Finally, taxes. Enough said.