MARRIED GIRL BLOG!

Here's my (well "our") new blog address:

http://www.thewinburns.blogspot.com/

I won't be updating this blog anymore :-(

Five more days....

Barrel of monkeys...so corny, I know!

Last Sunday, "Unca Andrew" had the best idea to use a blue barrel for rolling down the hill. We found out quickly that I was the only one who would fit without flopping around and getting seriously injured. Well, I did roll down the hill a couple of times without getting too dizzy. Leave it to Andrew to find a way to have some fun with yard objects! Molly, Ellie, and Manning loved it!

a little blurry, but this is before I went rolling...

Andrew was telling me to hurry up because the barrel was too heavy. How sweet!

Here we go...


it's over...and I am laughing my head off!

ahhh....those legs!!!!!!!!!!!!

Molly, Ellie, and Manning all in the barrel

all the kids and Uncle Andrew...

Manning sporting the no-pants look...I guess this is how he got eaten up by mosquitoes :-(

so strong... ;-)

2 months to go!!!!

Only two months left until our big day! That means nine weeks. I can't believe how fast the time is flying...

There's so much going on right now!

1. I got a job!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be starting in the operating room at Baptist as a nurse on July 10, conditional upon my passing the NCLEX exam (which I take on July 1!!!)

2. Andrew and I think we've found a place to live...more to come later ;-)

3. I have had some of the most fun showers lately. Speaking of...I have GOT to finish my thank you notes!!!!!!!! Seriously, I am amazed at how generous our friends and family have been. I even got my red kitchen aid mixer from Grannie!!!!

4. Beth and Josh will have baby Levi soon! I cannot wait to see his beautiful face!




I know this doesn't come anywhere close to catching up on my blog! I will try to be better about it...but let's be honest, there's too much going on. If I'm this bad now, I'll never blog with kids one day!

The Garden

A few weeks ago, Andrew and I started the garden. It's definitely a family effort... and so much fun! Hopefully, the deer will stay out and it'll grow!

I got a little dirty planting, and that really brought be back to my childhood. I remember snapping beans, shelling peas, and picking tomatoes EVERY SUMMER!

Engagement Pictures!

Andrew mentioned last night that I hadn't posted any of these...so here's a little preview of our engagement pics. We had a lot of fun. Brantley and Richard were great! I don't know how we'll choose one!

Easter

This Easter, Andrew's grandparents (Pee Paw and Mee Maw) came into town from Kentucky. It was great meeting them, and Mee Maw even made me an apron! It's so precious.

On Saturday, we dyed Easter eggs...which I haven't done in years. It was so much fun, especially to watch Manning, Molly, and Ellie.

On Sunday, my Mom, Dad, Gavin, Grannie and PaPa came to have Easter Dinner at the Winburns. We had a lot of people there, but it was so much fun to get everyone together. Randomly, our grandparents all share the same anniversary! Isn't that crazy?

I think all the guys had fun, because the Masters stayed on the TV the whole time.

And...the biggest news of the weekend was that Emily Ann is pregnant with Baby #2!!!!!!!!!! Baby Turner is due in December, so this will be a fun Christmas!

For those of you who don't know (since I don't think I've ever fully explained it...), Andrew is one of four children. In order, they are: Lara Beth, Andrew, Emily Ann, and Sara Lynn. Lara Beth is married to Jay, and they are parents to Molly and Ellie. Emily Ann is married to Philip, and they are parents to Manning. Sara Lynn will be a senior at Anderson University. Ok, I think that covers it! If you haven't already, you'll eventually see pictures of everyone on here!

I'm going to try to get better about Blogging...it's just so hard to keep up! Many people have asked for wedding updates, so my goal is to be better now that school is finishing up.

We dyed Easter Eggs! You can't really see it, but this is our "wedding egg." It says 8-22-09!

Manning and "Unca Andrew"

such concentration

our finished work

Molly, Ellie, and Manning ready to go hunt the easter eggs...We dyed about 7 dozen!

Prom 2009

No...we didn't go to prom. Andrew had an alumni semi formal event on Friday night. I'll put up some pictures for you to see. Honestly, Andrew & I both said that we NEVER thought we'd be at one of these things again. It was fun though, and I'm glad that we went.

Bowling...

Last Sunday, Andrew and I went bowling with some people from church. I tried to make him a bet that if I won, he wouldn't get to hang his deer in our living room. I did pretty well. I even got a 133. However, it still wasn't good enough to beat Andrew. We'll see about that "bet." I'm not really a gambling girl, so it wasn't for real anyway! ;-)




Check out Andrew's super 80s shoelaces. Yes, those are my "cool" velcro shoes. Apparently, I didn't look old enough to get big girl shoes.

"And that is how it's done...." (So humble!)

I wondered why my legs were sore from bowling until I saw this picture

I was a little competitive...

Less than five months to go...

The Dress...

Yeah right! Did you seriously think I would put up pictures of the dress on here?? However, I do want everyone to know that I have one!!!!!! Mom came into town on Friday, and we (along with Emily Ann and Andrew's mom) found the dress at Evelyn's in Camden! I just love Jody and everyone at Evelyn's. They were so helpful! Definitely try them if you're in the area...if you need a wedding dress! I can't give details, but I will tell you it's white! Haha!

It's only been a few days, but I've done a good job at keeping it a secret from Andrew so far! Poor guy...it's really not fair. He's a trooper though!

Other news: We booked a photographer, and we'll be taking engagement pictures soon. I can't wait. I just need to decide where to take them. Any suggestions??

Oh yes...this is not related to the wedding at all...but it's still funny, I think. Actually, Jennifer Peace and I may be the only ones who appreciate it. It's one of those had to be there kinda moments.

Yesterday, Jennifer and I were out at Riverfront Park. It was so beautiful outside, and we were having fun just walking and talking. All of the sudden, this little bicycle bell rings (I'm talking one of those bells from around 1940). So, we move over to the right to let the person pass, and this PRECIOUS little old man drives past us on his adorable old bike....complete with HUGE radio attached to the front (blaring "oldies" music)! He was wearing blue exercise shorts, a plaid untucked button down shirt, tennis shoes, and grey tube socks! It was so cute!!!!!!!! Anyway, I know that no one else will think that was funny, but besides the tennis shoes and tube socks...he was straight out of the 40s...I loved it! Maybe we'll see him again next time!!!!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just found out that my cousin Beth and her husband Josh are having a BOY! Beth is my first cousin on Mom's side to have children, so we are all so excited!!!!!!!!!! Beth has always been like a sister to me, so it's almost like this is my nephew instead of cousin. Josh and Beth, I am so happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!

And...might I just add....I knew it was a BOY!!!!!!!!!

We're engaged!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I now have a great reason to update the blog (since it's been over a month!!!!!!)


Andrew and I are engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It happened last Friday, February 27, 2009! I was so surprised, and he did a PERFECT job with the proposal...which I'll get into a little later. First, I need to share another little funny story that some people know. I had been working on Thursday (the 26th) in the hospital. Andrew and I had seriously talked about marriage, but I had no idea that we'd get engaged so fast. Andrew still hadn't talked to my dad (or so I thought), and he'd just started asking me about what I liked in rings. So, on this long 12 hour Thursday, I went down to the gift shop to buy a Bridal magazine. A nurse looked over and asked, "Are you getting married???" I told her that I was sometime before the end of the month. She said, "Well, honey...the end of the month is in two days!!" I laughed and just reassured her that I would NOT be getting engaged that fast and that I had meant by the end of March!

So...fast forward to Friday. Andrew and I both had busy weeks. I knew that I would be exhausted by Friday, so we had just planned to go out to eat, then come back to my apartment to watch "The Holiday." Andrew had wanted to go pretty early, and I'd joked with my friends that morning that we were going with the senior citizens that day. During dinner, Andrew was totally normal....not nervous or jittery at all. He did eat almost an entire blooming onion and the loaf of bread, which made him unable to eat his meal--but that's normal too! So, we drove back downtown to my apartment. When we came in the door, I was already thinking about the comfy clothes I would change into for the movie. As I walked around the corner and looked into the "living area," I saw a vase of star gazer lilies sitting on the coffee table. (disclaimer: Andrew knows that I like flowers at random times other than predictable occasions) I was so happy to see them and said, “Aww!!!!!!!!!” Andrew said, “Yeah…I got you a little something!” I walked over to the coffee table and saw a Bible sitting on the corner of the table. On top of the Bible was a white note card. On the bottom of the Bible was my name. But wait…something was different. It didn’t say “Meagan Brown”…it said “Meagan Winburn.” At this point, I knew something was up, so I sat down on the couch immediately. I asked Andrew if I could open the note on the top and he said yes. When I opened up the card, I saw “Will you marry me?” The ring was tied to the ribbon bookmark from the Bible. I looked over at Andrew, who was down on his knee at this point. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes!!!!!!!!!! After what seemed like 5 minutes of us hugging on the floor, I said, “I want to see the ring!!!!!!!” He put the ring on my shaking finger.

I immediately called Mom four times in a row, but got no answer. Andrew told me that she knew it was happening, but that she and Dad were out to eat. He assured me that we’d drive to Greenwood later so that I could see them. As Andrew and I sat on the couch waiting for Mom to call back, he told me how the whole proposal was planned. He had Sara Lynn (his youngest sister) come downtown with him when he came to pick me up. She hid behind my apartment with everything in a box. When we drove away, she and Gavin set everything up in the apartment. Andrew told me that he’d sat down with Dad earlier in the week to talk with him about asking me to marry him. I was so overwhelmed with how much preparation went into the entire proposal! At that time I heard a knock on the door. When I went to the door, Mom, Dad, Andrew’s parents, Gavin and Sara Lynn were there! They’d been eating at California Dreaming while Andrew was asking me to marry him. So…Andrew made it possible for us to share that night with our families. It was perfect! After being with our families for a little bit, Andrew and I went to surprise Philip and Emily Ann (his sister and brother in law who started this whole thing!) Emily Ann screamed and cried...it was great!!!!!!!!! Andrew also surprised me with MORE flowers waiting in my room when I got home that night. I couldn't have imagined a better proposal and it was the most special day of my life... so far!!!






Sorry that this post was so long...and it probably has tons of errors. I've just had people begging me to update the blog. So, here it is.


Oh yes, one last very important thing. We are getting married on Saturday, August 22, 2009 at First Baptist Church in Columbia!!!!!!!!!!! Yay for finally having a wedding date!!!!!!!!!




The Browns



Sara Lynn (so gorgeous!) , me, and Andrew

The Winburns (minus Jay, Lara Beth, Ellie, Molly, Emily Ann, Philip, and Manning!)