Everything about You...

This one is for Andy.

I am honoured, grateful, blessed and so happy that you chose me.

When we met, I promise you, it NEVER crossed my mind that we had even a prayer of being together. My radar was probably down at the time. But God had it all planned.

You're who I prayed for. You are the kindest, most generous, loving person. Your warmth and genuine love for people draws them to you. You are the heart of your home. I love to watch you with your friends, there's something so special about the love you have for them.  They truly are your family, you made it so.

Your love for God is beautiful, and authentic. Real.  Your dedication to your witness and ministry is what showed me that you were covered, chosen. Your service and commitment, that's what I want to be in my own.

I was strong willed, blunt and impatient. But sweet and vulnerable, so you said. And you saw through all of that mess. Your calm, peaceful spirit, rested with mine, and through Him, I am developing those same traits. No one is perfect.

You are the second thing I think about in the morning (Him first) and the first one I pray for at night. My life without you is unimaginable, but knowing you has blessed and enriched it beyond anything I ever expected or hoped for. Our love keeps me sane, happy, grounded. Everything about you is right. Most days... lol

This wedding, all of these plans it's all for us to enjoy one of THE best days we will ever have REGARDLESS of what happens, who's there, who's not.  But mostly, I'm doing it for you. You take care of me and have been from day one. Without being asked, without hesitation, without a deep breath. Of course not without frustration, I AM Heidi after all. Now it's time for me to take care of something, with just a little help from you.

There is no doubt in my mind, that He is at the head of this life we're enjoying. And with all of the prayers, love and blessings from our God, we are a success story, and we will continue to be. I am so proud of us, and so excited for our future. You make it all worth it. I love you.

Always,
Heidi.

The Budding Bridezilla

Gooood Morning!

I promised to drop this one in last week. But I was sooooo busy that I forgot.

So sorry peeps!

Please note. This will happen to you at some point during your wedding prep.

As I've mentioned countless times. My fiance' is super cool under pressure. I on the other hand am a certified, card carrying gully boar. Now more recently I have developed a maturity and patience that surprises people who knew me just a few short years ago. It's amazing what prayer, patience, a good mama and a good decent man who influences me can do ;)

Now hear this, I want what I want. Andy wants what he wants. We have agreed to what WE want for our wedding. So there is no possible way for us to fail miserably. We believe that there are always alternatives. And with hard work, dedication and TRUE faith in God, we cannot be stopped, once it's His will for us.

Truth.

I had to make a quick decision about a crucial part of our plans. And note I said I, because I tend to think quickly. Not always a positive, but  I am well aware of who I'm marrying. You know that statue 'The Thinker'? That's really a sculpture of Anderson M. Bowen. He takes a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time to come to a decision once it involves risk. And believe me we need that. Little Miss Impulsive here would have us buying land and houses to renovate and forget the light bill. So someone has to be stable in the relationship.

Anderson M. Bowen (lololol)

But I also dislike INCOMPETENCE and WICKEDNESS. Here's the background without going into too much detail. One of our vendors has an associate who is greedy. He/she found out that we wanted to book a service through their company, and actually called me after the event that we both WORKED at, to try to convince me to come and make payment under his/her name. Here's the thing, I am loyal. We both are. Anderson and I were impressed with the presentation by the initial Vendor and have NO INTENTION of being poached.

This person moving in for the kill. But they don't know me yet!

Where is the integrity? Barbados is yay big. So screwing up your reputation for a commission is quite frankly a dumbass move. Furthermore, I do NOT like being crossed. Especially when it comes to an event I have been mentally planning since 1990.

So out came Heidi The Headhunter. I was on the phone so fast that Andy was in complete shock. Big man allowed me to know he had never seen that side of me in 6 years. And Poor me, I blushed. And then I got kisses so the blush went through the door :) I should be more forceful more often then huh?? (lolol) I suppose I was holding back that facet of my personality, because I want him to shine. I don't dumb down nor do I NORMALLY hold back. But I'm a softy when it comes to Andy and I let him take the reins. But this time, this witch (ahem) was messing with the wrong one.

This is mild compared to how I was.

Regardless of what happens, here's the lesson for today. If you have a dream, an idea, heck even a notion or a hunch. And it's feasible? GO FOR IT. Do not hold back. Make sure that it is in keeping with your values, no compromises. Things don't just HAPPEN. You must plan. Discuss with the older heads and go forward. Life is too short to live with regrets.  And I want little to NO regrets on Wedding Day 2014. TRUST.

enough said

Bridezilla for two days OUT!

Love you all,
Heidi xoxo

The gift of giving...

Lovebugs!!

I HAD to come at you with this one. It is big, HUGE, monumental. How good are you at ACCEPTING gifts?

I LOVE Christmas, birthdays, Easter, Independence, Crop Over, why don't we give gifts at Crop Over? Such fun :) You get me right? I love to give a gift. But I am not that great at receiving. Now a wise old owl once told me that, you should be just as comfortable receiving as giving, because there is a GREAT deal more humility involved in accepting something from someone. You may be unaware of their circumstance, financially or mentally, and whatever they give you whether they can afford it or not is a sacrifice and it takes a measure of generosity and love.

So, Andy and I have received offers from various family and extended family members to assist us with our Wedding,. A few of them in particular keep mentioning the 'harsh economic times' and their willingness to help us with paying for our home and the wedding itself. Cue the pride. Which as we ALL know goes before a fall. And we both find falling quite embarassing, soooooooooooooooo.

Anderson Bowen and Heidi Aboab, don't do receiving very well. It is not that we are arrogant, or puffed up ( although I lean to the arrogance every once in a while, I'm a work in progress). It is that we generally like to work for what we want or need, always have, and we are so used to being independent and taking care of ourselves, that accepting help from anyone but each other or our immediate families (mostly parents) is a foreign concept. And sometimes a little difficult, since we know we have to work for what we want.

We HATE using people. Have zero tolerance for begging, and we try very hard to stay within our means. Our sensitivity towards the subject is so great, that during our frequent car chats, we express how uncomfortable we are when friends pay for dinner, offer to bring things to a lime, family gives us cash or want to give us a thank you gift for something we have done.

BUT, weddings tend to make you a bit humble. At SOME point, you realise that you CANNOT do it all on your own. That people are just as excited for you as you were for them at this point in their lives. That your family and friends are ACUTELY aware that at times because you are sacrificing for your big day that you simply CANNOT out the money for a fun night out, movie, food. Because at $$$ a plate + drinks + VAT, you need to cut back somewhere.

Anderson and I declared our hand early. We are paying for our wedding and honeymoon ourselves, but we know that our friends and families will want to give us gifts. And we graciously and humbly accept. It is about give and take. If you know us, you know we are generous and at times OVERLY generous. Giving of our time, advice, money, in kind. God has blessed and favoured us by meeting all of our needs. We are secure knowing that He has already provided. And part of that means understanding when he has sent one of his angels to bless us, just like we blessed others.

I hope you understand what I mean. Of COURSE we want wedding gifts, that adds to the excitement and fun of the wedding experience, but we also want our family and friends to know that we are SO SO SO SO grateful. That you do not HAVE to do it, but we are APPRECIATIVE and thankful for everything that you do for us now, on wedding day and beyond.
We love you!

We are grateful!!

xoxo,
Anderson & Heidi.