We have officially moved to our NEW home: The NEWLY-Wed Blog!!
The URL is as follows: http://newly-wedblog.blogspot.com/
Please bookmark this site for the lastest news, pictures and videos of our brand new lives as NEWLY WEDS!!
In Christ,
Jason and Sarah
Believe it or not Jason and I have survived our first month as a married couple (it’s been a bit longer than a month now, actually). But I have to admit – it’s been the most exciting month to date. I never knew that all the real fun of a wedding wasn’t until AFTER it’s all over….
In short, we are loving every minute of being married. Just to be able to come home everyday to see and hug the one person in the world that means the most to you is one of the greatest pleasures in life. Even though I’ve been in school for a few weeks now and things are crazy, it’s still a blast to get to spend my life with my best friend. Having him there all the time is simply amazing. So far, being married is much better than waiting to get married :).
In other big news, a few weeks ago Jason and I picked out a kitten to adopt. Yay! My house will finally be complete! In all honesty, not having a feline around was really making me home sick. However, the little guy is too small to get fixed yet, so we have to wait until he’s two pounds to bring him home. It should be in about two weeks. Once he comes home I’ll post pics and let everyone know his name (I’m keeping it all a surprise). Until then, I am eagerly waiting his arrival!
I’ll post more later about our (mis)adventures as a married couple and look out for a NEW blog for the newlyweds! Since the wedding’s over and done it’s time to move up and on to something bigger and better (which will allow me to post more pics!). So watch out!
In Christ,
Sarah Kenney
PS Lastly, my name change is legally official – I got my drivers license and everything! So I really am Mrs. Kenney now!
Thats right – we finally tied the knot!! It has been an amazing journey to get to this point, but by the Grace of God Jason and I united in marriage on August 18, 2007 at River City Grace Community Church (www.rivercitygrace.org). The day was incredible and truly memorable – by far the best day of my life to date!; and not just because I married the man of my dreams
The day was a bit crazy, I will admit. My hair appointment went longer than expected and as a result I was about a half hour late to the church. But as I had predicted God was wonderful and took care of everything from then on. The rest of the day went great! Well, aside from some issues musically. But even still it was simply amazing. The ceremony was so beautiful – more than I imagined it would be. However, I didn’t imagine crying the entire time. It’s true! I couldn’t even sing the hymns! It was so very nervous just before the ceremony but when I walked down the isle and saw Jason eagerly waiting for me all my fears melted and at that moment I was the happiest girl in the world. The look on his face then was masterfully captured by our photographers. It is, I think, my favorite picture from the whole day so far.
After the ceremony we took tons and tons of pics (not the most exciting part of the day), BUT Jason’s best friend Corey was home from Greece where he was stationed with the Seals and he stopped by for just a bit to say hi and congrats. It was so awesome! It made me so so very happy for Jason considering if we did have a wedding party this guy would have been the best man. So it was very special for Jason to have him come, even if just for a moment or two.
Once we got into the reception it was all easy from there. Although, I was a bit bummed that I didn’t get to talk to everyone that I wanted. (I know people will be understanding about it). Also, I was bummed that I only got ONE bite of my own wedding cake. That would be the bite that Jason fed me. I’m bummed because it was so good and I wish I could’ve had more! Oh well. At least we have the top in our freezer for our one year anniversary!!
Shortly after four o’clock we hit the road after making a quick stop at my (parents) house to grab some things. We drove all the way out to Mendocino – sending pictures to my dad on my phone along the way. The drive was gorgeous (we went right through wine country at sunset), but way too long for two newlyweds waiting to get to their wedding night. By the time we got into town it was totally dark – praise God we didn’t get lost – and we were way past check in. We stopped in at the main hotel to get our keys and map to our private cottage in the mailbox at guest reception. Luckily we found the cottage considering it wasn’t very well lit or marked.
But at the end of the day it was all totally worth it. The honeymoon was amazing – just relaxing and romantic – and we are fully enjoying finally being husband and wife. Since we got home we’ve been working like mad to get our apartment together. Its going great, come to think of it. God has been amazing in His providence. We are looking forward to an upcoming church wedding shower which will give us a chance to celebrate with our extended family.
Along the course of our honeymoon we decided that getting married was one of the best decision we’ve ever made. I truly would never turn back. In fact, I wonder why we waited so long! So, to make a long story short the wedding went great and the honeymoon was just amazing! I will write more about the honeymoon later when I have the pictures uploaded. Meanwhile, there are some proofs available from the wedding to look at. Here is how you can look at them:
I’m eagerly waiting to see the rest!
More fun stories later!
– Mrs. Sarah Kenney
Yes, you heard correctly! We have residence. Well, that is to say….Jason does.
We signed the lease a little over two weeks ago and Jasons been living there since July 14th. Its been such a blessing having him living in Sac. Plus its great for his commute with the CLP at Home Depot (see earlier posts for more info) – which otherwise would be almost twice as long if he were coming from EDH. We’ve had great fun getting the place set up to be our first home together. Who knows? Maybe the next move will be into a house! 🙂
The main point of this post is just to let people know how God has amazingly blessed us with our first apartment. Everything is coming together and God has just providentially arranged for everything we need to arrive just in time. God declares that this is how it will be in His Word and man is he faithful! He is amazing and we cannot express just how blessed we’ve been. We are both overwhelmed with gratitude (mainly to God, but also to our friends and loved ones with whom none of this would be possible). Needless to say, things have been coming along just fine.
In wedding news: We’ve both just realized that the wedding is three weeks away. Yeah, we can hardly believe it either. After waiting through a year and a half engagement three weeks feels like nothing. This, of course, is a sober reminder to me of just how much I have left to do. I am confident, however, that God will take care of it – even if He does it at the very last minute (sometimes He works like that, you know?).
Meanwhile we both continue to keep our noses to the grind stone in working and trying to pull this wedding thing off in reasonable fashion. Tonight: We’re going downtown to get our marriage license. Tomorrow: We sit down and try to sign us up for benefits with HD…..Isn’t wedding planning fun???? Ok, I never said it was glamorous work, but it is pretty exciting, no?
I think thats pretty much everything thats been going on. I’m gonna try and get the wedding programs finished and printed out this weekend (God willing) and I am still working on getting the rehearsal set up. Trying to get everyone involved to coordinate together has been a major hassle for me. But by the Grace of God everything will be just fine.
More updates as the blessed day draws nearer!
In Christ,
Sarah
I just wanted to send out a quick prayer request regarding Jason’s job situation.
Currently, Jason is Department Head of Plumbing at Home Depot in in Folsom, which he’s been doing full time since December. Now that he has graduated, he is eligible for HD’s College Training Program. This is a program for people with a Bach. degree who want to pursue becoming an Assistant Manager(ASM) with HD. He submitted his resume and was called in for an interview a few weeks back. It went well and they are planning to have him come in for the final interview within the next few weeks. If he is accepted into the program he would go through a six month training for the ASM position. Being in this program itself would give him a significant raise. After the six months is up then his progress is evaluated. If he is done well, he can become ASM once there is a vacancy (this may mean he leaves the Folsom store). A starting pay for an ASM is, I believe, is $50k.
We’ve talked about it as a couple and if this all goes the way it’s been going it is something Jason will pursue. I only humbly ask for prayer in all of this. The quicker we can start saving for seminary, the better. As for me, I’ll most likely get into a full time job with the state come January 2008 – right after I graduate. This will lead to some good money and security. So my plans are a bit different, and I have my own hoops to jump through. It’s just the story of two college grads trying to get their first jobs out of school. You know the deal…
At the end of the day, all we ask is for simple prayer regarding all this. Pray that God will show his providence, even when we can’t see it.
Thanks! More later!!
Finally – the semester is coming to an end. As Jason gets ready to graduate and classes are winding down I am able to kick the wedding planning into gear. Can you believe it’s less than three months to the big day now?
I do plan on updating more as the summer starts and planning becomes more intense. Here is the long and the short of whats been going on since my last post….
– Our premartial counceling continues. As hard as it is to face all the issues involved in keeping a healthy and serious relationship, it’s been fun. Jason and I have had a harder time in keeping up with the materials, but Pastor Greg has been very great about giving us leeway in it all. Plus, we have the extra wiggle room between now and August.
– We are starting to finalize ceremony structure and we picked our vows.
-My dress was altered a few months back (in March I believe). It’s essentially ready to be worn down the isle. It hangs in my room as a constant reminder of what I have to look forward to.
-We are finalizing all the details for vendors – pictures, video, cake, etc (we are not actually using anyone professional, per se. Just people we already know.)
-We FINALLY sent out our annoucements on April, which was a huge accomplishment for Jason and I.
-We are already getting gifts off of our registry! What an unexpected surprise and true blessing from God! There’s Romans 8:28 in action.
-We rented a storage unit for all the things we are accumulating together as a couple. It’s a comfort to know that we will have things to put in our first place together.
-We will start a search for an apartment here in the next few weeks. The quicker we can get a spot secured, the better. It’s going to be a blast looking for our first place together! We are still trying to figure out where in Sacramento we want to live. We may end up in Folsom, or we may end up in Rancho/Fair Oaks. It all depends on how things work out.
– I got my summer school classes (I am taking two classes from June 5 – July 12) so the date August 18, 2007 is set. I am also registered for Fall 2007 classes and it seems that I am still well on my way to graduate December 2007.
-I’ve created an official wedding planning binder with everything I need in it. It may sound weird, but I’m actually proud of it.
-I am really looking into creating a detailed schedule for August 15 – 18. Those days will be probably my busiest of the year. Timing and planning ahead are essential. It’s just a lot of work for me to get it all together. It, or course, will be worth all the work. Also, my plans for the summer are filling up fast. With school, wedding, and social events it seems I will be busy most every weekend this summer.
That should be all the important things. Either way, you can tell things are busy and going well. Please pray for Jason and I regarding our preparations for marriage and our work situations. Managing to work everything out logistically it an essential part of us being able to get married and move in together (it’s much harder for us since we are younger, both living at home, and technically still students). God has been amazingly providential for us in this venue, but prayer never hurts.
Lastly a huge Thank You to all our loved ones for the support and love as we prepare to wed and start our new lives together. It’s been such an overwhelming blessing.
More later!! Thanks!
So it turns out I honestly do not have enough time to keep this blog updated. As a result, this post will just be a bullet point list of current updates. Here goes…
1. I bough a dress about two months ago from David’s Bridal. It’s amazing. I need to call soon and schedule some fittings.
2. We are sending out wedding announcments at the end of the month. Such a huge endavour it’s blowing my mind. But it should be alright.
3. We recently registered at Khols and Target :).
4. I finally got the wedding website up: http://jasonandsarahwedding.tripod.com/August2007/
5. Jen and I have started working on design and decoration for the reception. It will be lovely.
6. We made reservations for the honeymoon at The Inn at Schoolhouse Creek. Google it. It’s worth it. We are staying in the Sea Cloud cottage. I can’t WAIT.
7. We set a date: AUGUST 18, 2007. The only thing holding this back is my impending summer school. I should be able to schedule my classes to accomodate for this date.
I think that’s all for now….More details and info to come later.
-Sarah
I went shopping tonight at Jessica McClintock to see if I could snab myself a good deal….Well, unfortunatly I couldn’t, but I did find a dress that fit amazingly well. Right down to the hem, too. I was shocked. Not to mention that it was under $200. What an amazing thing, no? But it really wasn’t what I was looking for…Take a look for yourself…
I think my mom and I will go out to David’s Bridal tomorrow and look over those choices. Maybe we will get lucky – they seem to be having a sale. So as I’ve alluded, the hunt continues.
We are progressing through our premartial councling with Pastor Greg – which is going very well. I’ll talk more about that in detail some day later. Needless to say it’s been going very well.
In other news, it seems that God is directing us to get married this summer. [Jason asked me to remove the information regarding his current employment, since it is still speculation, and he has been instructed to not reveal such information as this time. It is safe to say that God seems to be bringing him to some promotions.]Meanwhile my job at STRS is going great. I’ve been told I will be able to go as an intermittent State Employee which will give me benefits, state employee status, but still only working three days a week. This combined with both our impending graduations (Jason’s being in May 2007 and mine being in December 2007) makes the possibly of a wedding this summer quite large. We will be discussing this with Pastor to see where he stands and then make our decision from there. But it seems hopeful. I am quite keen on August 18th 2007. Nice, huh?
That’s all the latest for now! Take care!
– Sarah
It’s been a while since I’ve updated, I know. I’ve just been SO busy with school and everything else. It’s rather crazy. So I will try to remember to update on everything. Forgive me if I leave anything out….
LITTLE DETAILS…
I plan on having my hair done something like this…
http://www.aboutjulia.com/juliaimages/displayimage.php?album=465&pos=0
Of course it is based off of one of my idols: Julia Roberts.
I plan on using two items from Abba Dabba for the church….
An archway – http://www.rentrain.com/abadaba/product.php?id=41494
And a runner – http://www.rentrain.com/abadaba/product.php?id=41804
I also found a place to buy that wedding dress I mentioned earlier for a price that I just MIGHT be able to afford.
http://www.houseofbrides.com/product.php?productid=6085
I still need to go downtown and try it on. I want to see if I even like the way it looks on me before I buy it online. Still, the prospect is rather exciting.
OTHER THINGS
I counted up some change that I’ve been saving for about two years and it seems to have added up to a little over a hundred dollars. I will be using this directly into our wedding account.
I am highly involved with the website www.theknot.com. It’s by far my favorite wedding planning site out there. Alot of my resources come from this site. I also take a gander every so often to Martha Stewart Weddings (http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml;jsessionid=TLZZNSTMA3GM1WCKUUXCHPWYJKSS0JO0?type=learn-cat&id=cat247&rsc=topnav).
I created a updated Wedding Budget in excel to keep track of all the spending. It’s a rather splendid file, if I do say so myself. I also created a word document of a rather rough outline of the actual wedding ceremony, including music. Nothing there is set in stone, but it’s a great head start. I know now exactly what I am interested in having as far as a ceremony. I’m just hoping to keep it to half an hour – personally, I really hate to sit longer than that at a wedding. Really, does it HAVE to be that long?….
I can’t explain why, but something tells me I want this lady: http://www.vikkig.com/ to take our wedding photography. That is of course unless I can manage to get someone from church to do a really nice job for much less. But this is kind of what I am thinking.
I guess this is all for now. I will try to stop in more often. I promise.
I guess the biggest news is that we finally went over to Golden One (as planned) and opened the account for wedding expenses. The trip was even initiated by Jason – much to my delight. We went to the branch right behind campus and were blessed to have our good friend Blair open the account for us. It made it much more relaxing to have someone you know there to help you out.
So it begins. We opened the account with a humble $500 and we are hoping (God willing) to see that grow exponentially over the next year or so. It is truly a blessing to see how wonderfully God has provided for us. I regretfully admit I take that for granted so very often in all of this.
I read the Ralph Drollinger article yesterday at lunch. (You can view the article at: http://www.capitolministries.org/docs/CA/2002/CA01-28-02.pdf). It was quite amazing. It really opened my eyes to a lot of new things about marriage. I hope Jason gets to read it soon. Not just because it has some amazing biblical knowledge, but also because we are meeting with Pastor on Sunday afternoon and technically it was our “homework” to do so.
I also have a little something special planned for my sweetheart: I recently bought two notebook for our premarital counseling (as per the instructions of Pastor) and I bought some stickers to decorate them to say “Groom to be” and “Bride to be”. They look very sweet. I will hopefully post pictures later of my “craftiness”.
So as it is that we opened this account and all, that dreaded “b” word has been a relatively major topic for us as a couple. Yes, you guessed it – budget. (eep!) We’ve been throwing numbers around and talking about what we’d like to have happen. I’ve done some rough calculations (emphasis on rough – as in, subject to change/adjustment at any point in time) and it seems as if we could pull off exactly what I envision and keep it under budget. Luckily we have plenty of time to get this all worked out so as long as I stay on schedule – things should run beautifully.
Included in my potential budget are…
This ring for yours truly…
As well as this location for a honeymoon…
http://www.schoolhousecreek.com/rooms/display.asp?rid=14
That’s all really for now. I’ll be back later for more. 🙂
-Sarah
Wedding Updates; JMK and SCM 