We are Chiawana

It's official. Your children's futures are in my hands, hence my hiatus from blogging. All of my creative brain power has been used up masterminding finely tuned Spanish Lessons until this WONDERFUL 4 day weekend. I have finally found a few moments to update you all on my/our lives (teaching is in no way a one person gig, Dennis is just as invested as I am! Thanks for listening to hours of teacher talk every night sweetheart, love you!)

Well, what can I say? Teaching is everything I hoped it would be and more. I am 100% convinced that I was sent to this earth to be a teacher. I absolutely ADORE it. Now don't get me wrong, I have my moments where I wish I could just sleep in instead of heading out at the crack of dawn, but other than being the exact opposite of a morning person, life is bliss. And now that I'm the actual legitimate teacher, and not just a student teacher or para educator, I have felt this overwhelming need to be in tune with the Holy Ghost. Sorry, but I'm going to get all sappy spiritual on you here for a minute. I have the privilege of working with some really special kids (and by special I mean awesome) who have come from some amazingly heartbreaking situations. And in my short time at the school, many of them have opened up and shared tear-jerking details of their lives. A lot of them are simply looking for a listening ear, while others are desperate for advice. I feel like in my 25 years, I've been through some rough patches, but nothing like what these kids go through everyday, and so I find myself thinking, "What in the world am I going to tell this kid!" I don't know how often I've had to say a prayer in my heart asking for Heavenly Father's guidance on what to say and how to react. I suppose I'm feeling a little of what a parent feels. But for the first time I feel like I need to have the Spirit with me, not just so that I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but because I absolutely NEED it in order to best serve my little niños! Anyhow, life is great. We are blessed.

Wedding Decor

When planning this wedding, we really wanted our families to be involved, the cost to be kept way down, and for it to look BEAUTIFUL! In my opinion, we were very successful! Instead of having the same centerpiece on every table, my mom and I went around and collected a variety of pretty, vintage looking things to arrange on each table. Here is a dose of our DIY Vintage Wedding Decor!

We wanted to make sure that our guests had fun, so we provided lot's of games. There were fancily wrapped card games on every table, croquet, a bubble table and horse shoes!

VEGAS RECEPTION

For our guest book, we had people put their thumb prints on a tree and sign their names! It will soon be hanging on our wall.

"A boring reception is such a shame

So we provided some awesome games

On each table the games begin

With Uno, Skipbo and Phase Ten

You'll find more games across the way

With horse shoes, bubbles and croquet!"

For the food, we wanted to mix the Argentinean culture and American, so we served emapanadas and alfajores, as well as Hot Dogs, Popcorn, and Candy. It turned out absolutely delicious and very esthetically pleasing!

WASHINGTON RECEPTION

Here's a pic of the cute popcorn bags! We took white paper bags and fancied up the top with a decorative paper punch.

The Photo Wall

It's been almost 4 months now since we got married. So I figured it's probably about time to post the wedding pics! We were so pleased with how they turned out, thanks to our awesome photographer and friend, Tiffany Parrish. You win Tiffany. These rock.

I decided to start off with what are in my opinion, the most fun; The Picture Wall (which was so amazingly handcrafted by my Father in law David!). So scroll through them and check them out. If you came to our wedding, chances are you are in one of these pics!

PS: the people in the real frames are some of Dennis' Grandparents, so cool huh?!