On Sleepless Nights and New Websites

I'm getting married in 4 weeks. My fiance has been away for training for almost an entire week and will be gone for two more yet. I find my sleeping habits dwindled to a bare minimum of late. Sleepless nights means my brain starts working overtime. And guess what happens in the midnight hours when I can't sleep??? Things like this new website:

:: A n d r e w & B r i t t n e y ::

That leads me to announce that I will no longer be publishing at this blog anymore. Aletheia Liberty will be a website existing only as an archive. So go browse this brand spankin' new site, and be sure to sign the guestbook.

I Wonder What God Was Thinking

Its always been a mystery to me,

How two hearts can come together,

And love can last forever.

But now that I have found you I believe,

That a miracle has come when God sends the perfect one.

So gone are all my questions about why,

And I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I promise that wherever you may go,

Wherever life may lead you,

With all my heart I'll be there too.

And from this moment on I want you to know,

I'll let nothing come between us,

And I will love the ones you love. I wonder what God was thinking

When he created you,

I wonder if He knew everything I would need,

Because He made all my dreams come true.

When God made you He must've been thinking about me.

He must have heard every prayer I've been praying
He must've knew everything I would need
When God made you, He must've been thinking about me.

[newsong]

One Of Those Reality Strikes

I know I will be the bride in a wedding in 43 more days and that I will then be married to this guy I really, really, really like... But for the first time ever in my life, I received an envelope in the mail addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Andrew and it makes me go, "Wow! I really am actually getting married!"

Our Love Story

Love is a funny thing. I used to think I understood it… that I knew how it worked… that it could never take me by surprise. I was levelheaded, I was logical, I was cool, I was calm, I was collected. I was in no danger of falling. Yes, I certainly would have liked to, but I didn’t think I had what it took. I wasn’t among those so lucky.

That is, until Andy came along.

It feels as though we have known each other since the beginning of time. But no, it wasn’t until a Saturday in March that some soldier buddy of my brother’s was carrying on an engaging conversation in the kitchen with my dad. I stepped out of my bedroom with absolutely no intention of falling in love and somebody said, "Andy, this is Britt." We met. The rest, as they say is history.

Our paths had recently crossed on an online photo of my brothers in which a number of his friends and family left numerous comments and plenty of playful banter. This Andy guy was sassy; then again, he makes the same claim against me. But what began as a series of poking fun at each other and a number of truces, turned into a meaningful friendship, which blossomed into a tender love for each other.

It was late one Sunday evening when Andy told me he had a deep question for me. He prefaced it by telling me how he had enjoyed the conversations we had shared over the previous month, how that in getting to know me he had come to realize that I was a real gem and that he had grown to like and admire me a great deal. He then asked for my permission to begin a relationship.

His request did not take me by surprise, yet it overwhelmed me as I sat there and realized just how much I had grown to admire this man. Over the last month of knowing him and spending time talking about life, God, our convictions and core values, I had long since come to realize that he was something really special. He was the man of my dreams, and then some. I knew "No" wasn’t even an option. I said yes.

The month that followed was one of learning to know each other even better, discovering all the more how perfect we were for each other, and our love continued to grow deeper.

He had successfully stolen my heart and swept me off my feet. My controlled grip on life and love was entirely wrenched out of my grasp and I fell,
head.
over.
heels.

The relationship that we shared had a deep element of seriousness to it. I was in love with a soldier, and my soldier faced deployment in the next year. A couple in-love can’t possibly anticipate with any amount of joy the pending yearlong separation, yet it was imperative that we both understand the price we would have to pay. We talked about what his deployment would entail, the sacrifices it would require and the pain of loneliness that we were sure to experience. Knowing what was to come made us treasure all the more the time we had together. We could never take each other for granted because we both know that we will be separated for a time sooner than we would like. So what perhaps would seem like an obstacle in the course of love, God used to only enhance ours and draw us all the more close together.

It didn’t take us long to mutually understand one thing: God created us for each other.

And so came a certain sunny Friday in May. Andy took me out to dinner, after which we drove out to a local park with winding trails through the woods. Showers and thunderstorms had been forecasted, but the weather could not have been more perfect. We found a bench by the lake and sat down. Andy put his arm around me and held me close as we watched the sun set and listened to the waves lap against the shoreline.

Abruptly he stood up, pulled a small box out of his pocket, and knelt down on one knee holding out a beautiful white gold diamond ring. "Brittney," he told me, "I love you very much. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?"

His love for me was precious. Without any hesitation I took his hands in mine, and gazing into his loving eyes I answered, "Yes, Andy, I will marry you. I love you so much." He slipped the gorgeous ring on my finger. We spent the next hour oblivious to the beautiful sunset that tinged the cloud-studded sky red, entranced by the sparkling stone on my finger. Its beauty betokened the promise of a life-long love that we would share together. It was a perfect night. Beautiful, serene and romantic. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for nothing. The joy we both felt was so great nothing could rob us of it.

We treasure the gift God has given us in each other and look forward to the lifetime we will share. Now that I have experienced such love I have come to understand that one can never fully grasp it. It’s too marvelous to retain; it can only grow more and more every day.

Engagement Announcement

Friday, the 30th of May Andy asked me to be his wife. I said yes, and have worn the beautiful diamond he placed on my finger ever since--the token of our love and promise to each other. We look forward to Saturday, the 30th of August when before God and man we will be pronounced man and wife. God has been so good to us.

I love you, Andy.

Love Has Been in the Air

I know, I know, that was a nasty thing to do to everyone out there... make a vague announcement as to my relationship status and then disappear for nearly a month. But I do have a really good excuse. Actually several, but I imagine the fact that my computer malfunctioned should satisfy the worst of you. Other really good reasons happen to be that I have been more than a little preoccupied by this really wonderful man of mine. So many of you have begged to know the story, and I fully intended to tell it before now. The hard part is that... well, like they say, it's a long story. But it's a really sweet one... and it's still unfolding... and it will be told... soon as I figure out a way to condense it into text form. I will try to appease your hungering appetite for a juicy story with a couple pictures. But first, allow me to publicly say that I can not thank God enough for the wonderful, strong man He has given to me.

A Lovely Equation

andrew + brittney = usNever have I liked math so much.

We Three Shades

...of diversity are....

Sisters for ya.

A Few Of My Siblings

One of the Many Last Snow-Falls of the Year

...Hopefully they're done now...

As you can see, I'm one of those sort of people who is a day late and a dollar short. But I thought people might enjoy a last glimpse of a snowy countryside before fully throwing themselves into Spring. The snow you are about to see is currently nonexistent--for the most part.

Horsing Around

So those of you who are out of state are all probably going, "They still have snow?" Well for one thing, these pictures were taken last month. But yes, we do still have snow... Patches of it. But if this hot 50-degree weather keeps up, it'll be gone this weekend. Can't wait. Spring is thinking about it.

A Girl & Her Horse

Spikin' it up!

Archie Aerobics

You are watching the pixelated performance of the amazing dog...
that has defied the laws of gravity.

He performs acrobatic stunts in mid-air,

such as walking on nothing but.... gravity.

He watches for storms on the horizon too.

I personally like his imaginary ladder trick.

Cute As A Bug?

Reason #4: Re: Bugs And Why Not To Avoid Them

(er, it's a dusty world out there!)