Xapa to the World

Tag: Butler County Ohio

  • Getting Married: 34 Weeks – Combining Forces

    This is more of a question post.

    Matt and I decided that we wouldn’t talk about combining our regular finances until we absolutely had to. We both seem to have a good handle on the bills that we have and why add extra stress before the wedding by jumbling up our financial systems until necessary.

    That said, I’m curious about when you all (the sparse readers) started combining the different aspects of your lives together with your spouse. Was it before the wedding? Was it after? Was it at random times, depending on the aspect? Like…I’ve taken over one or two boxes to The House of my things – decorations and such that I’ve gathered through the years until I had a place to display them. Matt also signed up for AAA, so he added me on as part of his household and now I have my own card. 😀 That was nice. Still has my current name on it. We also went ahead and opened a joint checking account just for the money we get together for the wedding. That seemed a very logical and not very invasive thing to do.

    There was one thing that did come up that I was on the fence about: a return address stamp. I was hoping that I would have got the one I decided on in the mail by the time I wrote this entry, but alas, it’s taking its dear, sweet lovin’ time. A return address stamp might seem like a fairly innocuous thing. BUT, sometimes small details can really trip up a brain. By the way, I got a discount for an address stamper through Groupon, which is what brought on this whole ordeal. And a mental ordeal it was…you’ve been warned.

    The traditional return address label is the bride’s family home, or the ones paying for the wedding. However, since Matt and I are taking care of the bulk of the finances for the wedding, this didn’t seem like an issue. For a practical aspect, there’s not a lot of room at my current home for lots of gifts and such that might come through the mail. At The House, there’s a whole spare room set aside for wedding things – to be converted to a project room once it’s all straightened up after the wedding. So, for things like gifts, or items we are buying ahead of time, having them sent to The House just makes sense. We’re also inviting out-of-town friends and guests to send postcards for our wedding guestbook and those will be sent to The House as well.

    But, there’s still the question of the return stamp. Do we put both of our first names and the address of The House? Or do we just have the address with no names? I was really torn about it. I didn’t feel comfortable using Matt’s last name before our wedding date. I also didn’t want people to think that we’re living together already, even though most who know us would not think that. Equally important is the cost idea: I didn’t want to buy a stamp to only use for 8 months and then have to get a whole new one for after marriage. So, I made a compromise. A little out of tradition, I went ahead and ordered the stamp with my future address labeled as “The Martin House.” Yes, it’s a dumb thing to get all concerned about, but I do have 8 months, I might as well think about details like these.

    So, what about you? Was there one thing about combining your life with another person that got you on edge or was a real struggle to work through? I don’t think there’s any real right or wrong answer, and our idea of a good arrangement might not work for someone else. I would love to hear your thoughts, though. Might as well learn from those who have taken this path already.

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    I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!

    My Pinterest Wedding Board

    Our Wedding Website on WeddingWire.com

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  • Getting Married: 35 Weeks – Engagement Photos

    Oh my word! Yesterday was such a gorgeous day! Anyone else have a great Saturday? I have to admit that I was a bit worried about it earlier this week. See, back in July, I scheduled to have our engagement photos done yesterday. No idea what the weather would be like, but I was so super hopeful. And then this week, it was cloudy, rainy, gross, cold…and when they said we would finally get some sunlight, we didn’t. I was doing my best not to get undone though, and I’m glad everything worked out great.

    I am so fortunate to have a photographer as my matron of honor. Of course, I don’t want her to do my wedding photos, since it’ll distract her from other duties, but she was so excited to do our engagement photos. We’ve had her do some pics of the family (my mom, me, sisters, and their kids) and she’s done pics for friends and such. I’m thrilled to see what else she comes up with for us!

    I love my Butler County, Ohio. There’s just enough city (and nearby Cincinnati) and country, that it’s a really beautiful place. The MetroParks have always been lovely, but it seems like this year, they have really stepped up and worked to integrate them into everyday life. There are quite a few parks just within a small radius of where I live, my favorite growing up being Harbin Park – which holds the highest natural point in Fairfield, maybe the county…I’m not sure on that last part. However, I think my new favorite park would have to be Rentschler Park. I had a dear friend who lived in one of the homes on the park, so I had some exposure to it while in high school. Honestly, I just didn’t appreciate it much. There’s quite a lot going on here. There are soccer fields, playgrounds, fishing pond, a creek weaving through the woods, indian earthworks (I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen these!), rustic gray barn, lots of walking paths, and a view of the beautiful Erie-Miami Canal. It makes for a beautiful time.

    It also has a special place in my heart because it was here Matt first told me he loved me. Albeit by accident…but I heard it and acted like I didn’t, since I wasn’t sure if he really wanted to say it yet. Two days later, he did…and he meant it.

    So, it was here that we wanted our pictures done. I’m glad that we could introduce it to Lanna and her husband, Matt. They didn’t even know it existed and I’m pretty sure they will use it again for future backdrops. Love first times! Can I just say how awkward it is getting pictures done? Especially when you’re trying to make them not look posed, but having to pose. Plus, there’s the whole kissing in front of people. Matt and I are NOT PDA kind of folks and the most we do is hold hands and sit close to each other. Other than that, it was a great experience! The weather was cooperating, except for a stray cloud that stole the sun away at an opportune moment, and we were with dear friends who we could laugh and cajole with.

    So, when the shoot was done, we went separate ways and on with the rest of our evening. Matt and I headed over to my pastor’s house to practice some songs for Sunday morning worship and to see friends. While we were hanging out and then getting dinner, Lanna was busy editing away to get some preview shots up for us. I am so excited by what she has put out so far, I’m literally checking my phone every two minutes or less to see if there are any new ones. Alas, we have to wait for the CD for the rest, but here are the 6 she loaded for preview.

    Can you say, “Awww?!?!” I have no more words. 🙂

    Oh, but if you are in the Cincinnati area and would like to book Lanna for your photos, you can contact her through email: lanna.hoffman [a] gmail.com. She’s pretty fab, and I’m not just saying that because she’s my best friend, matron of honor, and engagement photographer. 🙂

    —————————–

    I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!

    My Pinterest Wedding Board

    Our Wedding Website on WeddingWire.com

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  • Reflections on the Planning

    I love and hate that God asks us to do things that are way outside of our comfort zone.  My pastor has mentioned often that he is a huge introvert and really doesn’t like getting up in front of people.  But God called him to be a pastor and he’s an amazing one!  For me, I can’t stand planning things.  Even planning a get together with friends drives me nuts!  I would much rather someone else make all the decisions and let me know where I need to be when and what I’m supposed to do.  And yet, inevitably, I will feel God say to me, “Sarah, I think you could plan such and such.  You know, I really want you to plan such and such.  It would be great for you if you would plan such and such.”  And I start down the fairly stressful path of planning an event. 

    I don’t do this often.  It’s really God who has to convince me that it’s something I need to do.  But He did so back in November of last year.  If you can’t tell, something that weighs heavy on my heart is the atrocity of human trafficking.  I’ve been in exposure and awareness mode for the last few years – learning as much as I can, attending various events, getting connected with others who are concerned about it as well.  But, as I helped out with a Fall shopping day for Stop Traffick Fashion, I really began to feel like it was something our church needed as well. 

    And I cringed.  I would have preferred to tell the ladies in my church about it and then they plan it.  I would even have consented to talking about it in front of the church (another thing I’m not a huge fan of doing), but with the words coming out of my mouth, the task was placed in my hands.  Our WMU leader was really excited about the idea, because she had been reading a couple of articles recently about human trafficking in the church women’s literature.  God was in this.  I’m not saying that I did it all – by no means – Brenda Heckman and Julie Johnson (Christmas tablecloths and all *wink) and Amy Jones and Jo Collas…they are some amazing ladies.  I’m so grateful to have them as role models to learn from, especially in regards to unity of kindred women and…the dreaded – hospitality. 

    I am not practiced in hospitality at all.  I can’t remember what all is needed to make people feel comfortable.  For me, I go to an event to learn something and to network…and I assume everyone else is there for the same reason.  Shocking, but that’s not really the case.  Thankfully, the ladies mentioned above organized the food and decorating and there wasn’t much for me to do on that part besides being a grunt and moving tables and chairs. 

    My primary task was organizing speakers and getting the word out to the community.  I may not have done the last part as well – and really the first part, I’m thinking went exactly as it should have gone, but nothing like I planned.  I was anticipating having a speaker share at each hour something in regards to human trafficking.  Emily would share about Stop Traffick Fashion and Hagar International.  I would talk about the Christian responsibility and upcoming events in the community.  And the one I was most excited about, a Hamilton Police Officer would come and share about human trafficking in our community, state and nation. 

    It was awkward trying to figure out how we were going to stop everything and have everyone listen to a speaker for all of 5-10 mins and then go on their way with eating and shopping.  The only really solid group of “fresh” people was right between 10:30 and 11:15.  So, I asked for Officer Collins to share with everyone what she had been researching.  And it was great!

    I wasn’t surprised that, as a local police officer, there wouldn’t be much experience with human trafficking.  I would be surprised if even the local sheriff’s department had any experience with human trafficking.  Our wonderful local sheriff isn’t that keen on the rights of illegals – no matter what condition they are in.  So, I wasn’t surprised when she shared that she got wide eyes and remarks of disbelief or discredit from fellow officers when commenting that human trafficking may be an issue in Butler County, OH.  She talked about not finding much information within the department to go off of, so she began to broaden her scope to the state of Ohio and then to the US.  She was surprised to find that Toledo is #4 in Top Cities of Human Trafficking.  Ohio is #7 in the US for human trafficking.  It’s an issue in every city (which would include Fairfield and Hamilton…”every” being an all-inclusive term).

    I think that about 50 people came to the event.  Most of them bought something from STF.  But what I’m most excited is how God brought me to a job where I would meet this police officer, who I could then coordinate with and share a concern and a need in our community with.  And that she would then become interested in the issue and maybe work on spreading it to the rest of the department. 

    I don’t know what this means for Butler County.  I don’t know if we’re on the edge of something starting or if it will take a few more years for anything to get going.  I don’t know what my part will be or if I will even have a part in it.  But I know that I am available to God – even if it involves more planning – that I will keep going until He stops me. 

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