warning, huh?

tornado warnings are not that scary. they're not that scary unless you are a first grade teacher with the responsibility of shoving 44 children into a bathroom area between your classroom and the one next door.

it's not really the responsibility that scares me. i can handle that. the scary part is putting a bunch of kids, who haven't had recess in 3 days because of rain, in a small room with nothing to do.

so, thanks for the warning office personel. now let me give you a warning:

if you ever stick me in a tiny room with 44 6-7 years olds for that long again without a tv or movie of some kind, i'm comin' after you.

i'm comin' after you...and i'm comin' fast! ;)

i love you...

michael and i have a lot of ways to say "i love you." there are many funny ways that wouldn't make sense to anyone if they heard us speaking to each other. they are basically phrases that have been invented by the silly way we talk to each other. these silly phrases are the ones we use most often.

i love all of our different forms of expression. however, when it's just the plain, simple, honest feeling stated in a serious, "I love you." it feels amazing.

baby-thank you for the playful and the serious. i love the way you love me.

i love you.

great expectations met.

great expectations is the company that we hired to take my wedding pictures. they also took my engagements and bridals. the studio is owned by three cousins who do an amazing job of conducting business together. the photographer is tommie huffman. she is amazing.

my engagements and bridals both turned out beautifully. i can't wait to see my wedding shots.

well, the day before my wedding, landon, sarah and ellie had their pictures taken. sarah and ellie are coming in tomorrow to look at the shots and choose some for purchase. landon isn't going to be able to come. so, great expectations posted the slideshow of ellie's pictures to their blog. i looked at them yesterday...

they are insane!

i have never seen pictures this beautiful. i mean, it helps to have beautiful models, but seriously they are gorgeous. sarah looks like a model, landon looks sooo handsome and eclaire is outstandingly beautiful!

i am sure i will spend a fortune ordering pictures of my own. wow!

and if you didn't catch this earlier...SARAH AND ELLIE ARE COMING TOMORROW!!!!!

my day will be brighter!

wow husband!!!

okay, my husband is talented. he just is. everything he tries to do, he does well. in fact, he exceeds in everything he tries to do.

he is a great speaker. he has a great personality. he is a great husband. he is an amazing provider. he is a fantastic basketball player. he is a talented golfer. he is a great friend. he tells the best stories. he is a great man.

last night, i was reminded anew of this fabulously talented man. he plays basketball for our church league. yes, it's just church league, but michael played basketball long before this. he was a professional basketball player in south africa playing on several different teams before he was brought here to play on a basketball scholarship. i mean he actually played against magic johnson in south africa and stole the ball from him twice. i promise, michael is really good.

well, i've known he's really good. i've just never seen him play it. he is a conservative player when he plays with the church. afterall, the team mostly consists of just men from our church who are out to have a little fun and do a little sport together. michael usually passes the ball off and takes less shots than just about anyone else.

last night, he kept the ball a lot more. he brought the ball down the court. he drove the basket. he made the shots. he made the passes that led to other shots. he was amazing.

there was a younger guy on the other team who is also clearly talented, and knows it. he was trying to guard michael and wasnt doing a very good job. michael scored on the guy several times.

it was just a really great night in which i was reminded of my husband's amazing talent. it's just cool to be close to someone like that.

thanks for choosing me babe! i love ya and am so proud of you!

congrats to michelle.

chelle and i have been friends since 6th grade. we went to elementary school together. we ran track together for 6 years. we hung out together. we were best buds in high school. there was no separating us. we came to college together.

she and aaron married almost five years ago. they have been great and i love them both. they started trying for a baby a little while ago and last thursday, michelle came to my house unannounced.

she walked in the door and we talked for a few minutes. then, she pulled a picture frame out of her purse. the picture frame held a sonogram print out. i was so excited. we hugged and cried and cried and hugged.

i am so happy for her.

to michelle:
i am blessed to know you, as your child will be to have you as mommy. i am so happy for you and aaron. you are going to be a great mother and i can't wait to meet that little baby. enjoy the next few months and get plenty of rest. from what ive heard, there isn't going to be much come october! i love you and i am so proud for you!

kitchen chaos and a really hot blanket.

i have come to know a few things about my house in the past two weeks since arriving home from the honeymoon.

my kitchen is in absolute chaos, and...the comforter i picked for our bed, while the perfect style, is too incredibly hot!!

my kitchen is ridiculous. we got so much wonderful kitchen stuff for our showers and wedding, that we have no where to put it. there are boxes of things sitting around on the floor. for a while, michael and i had both of our old sets of pots and pans, and finally decided yesterday that we would buy a new set and get rid of all the old. that cleared a little bit of room, but michael is sort of a freak about not scratching the new pans...wow. so i have to be very careful about how i load the pots and pans into the cabinets.

i am sort of (most definitely) a freak about organization. i cannot stand the fact that there are boxes of things sitting around on the floor with no where to go! i cannot stand the fact that i have not put out the old mixing bowls to make room for the new ones. i cannot stand the fact that the refrigerator has been packed full for the past two weeks and i cannot even see what is in there. there is not even room to put in a dasani bottle of water, for goodness sakes. i cannot stand the fact that there is no counter space because it has been taken over by things that do not fit in the cabinets. whoa! it's crazy in there, let me tell you! i will be changing that this week.

kitchen...get ready. you're about to be organized!

now on to the worst. we have not been sleeping well. it's an adjustment sleeping in the same bed, even though it's huge and we both have plenty of room. i am a light sleeper and everytime michael even moves, i wake up. everytime he sighs because he is hot, or groans because the dog won't stop making noises, i wake up. it has been pretty hot, but i usually sleep the entire night just because i am good at falling asleep and staying asleep...normally.

last night, was hilarious. it lasted all night. the tossing, the turning, the continuous sighing. and with each one, i woke up, turned over and looked at the clock, and tried to go back to sleep. finally about 4 am, i ask, "babe?...what is it?"

"IT'S JUST SO HOT IN HERE!! I MEAN, AREN'T YOU HOT? IS IT THIS COMFORTER? IS IT TOO HOT FOR YOU?...WELL, IS IT?"

"uh, yeah..." i say as he storms out of the bedroom door. he walks back in, "babe! close your eyes!" he turns on the bedroom light and rips the down comforter off of our bed. he replaces it with our previous, regular comforter. he tugs and pulls and straightens for a couple of minutes, walking around the bed several times. the light goes off...

cool air swiftly flows under the sheets as his side is lifted and he climbs back in bed. it's still for a few seconds and then he loudly signs in relief.

"yes! this is great! i feel like the gravity has been turned off!!!"

i start cracking up and we have a real laugh session in the middle of the night...only two hours before my alarm goes off!

i must say, we both slept exceptionally well after that. good job babe! you made the last two hours of sleep really great!

score:
michael - 1
down comforter - 0

passing too quickly.

have you ever noticed that the hours from 5:30-10:00 pm pass in the blink of an eye?

i can spend a million years between the hours of 6:30 am and 4:00 pm in my first grade classroom. but as soon as i get home, time flies by.

i sit down on the chair, lean back on a pillow, turn on the food network, and all of a sudden it's time for dinner. even if i spend the entire afternoon/evening cleaning my house or doing laundry, it seems like it's only been a few minutes since i got home from work.

then, i end up staying up too late because i'm not ready to go to bed. now, i didn't say i wasn't tired, i just said i wasn't ready to go to bed. my day is over so soon and then it's time to wake up and do it all over again.

i want to be at home, right now, in my bed. it's cloudy outside and it's been raining. everyone knows the best napping weather is when it's raining. nothing beats it. so now...i have a problem: i need to finish the laundry and cleaning the house before michael comes home in the morning; but it's raining...

hmm....time is passing too quickly.

a couple more...

me with my friend and bridesmaid kari!

me getting ready before the wedding with my bridesmaids.

pictures!

the reception hall! isn't it beautiful? the small round table is where michael and i sat (for about two seconds). the long rectangular tables were for the bridal party and their dates.

me kissing the cutest ring bearer. this is jenny's son, mason. he is my favorite boy in the

whole world!

mason hugging my oh-so-handsome husband!


a matron of honor and my best friend, jenny...and me.

funny thing...

i have discovered a funny thing...

i am sad the wedding is over.

after all of the entries about how tired i was and how ready i was for the wedding to be over...now i'm sad. it's weird that at the beginning you have a great time planning, then you get really tired and a little stressed. the stress really starts to weigh on you and you are just so ready for the pressure to be gone. the wedding day comes, and is over in the blink of an eye and you don't remember anything.

i have already asked people for any picutres i could look at so i could try to remember what the ceremony was like or what happened. ;) hopefully i can look at jenny's pictures today!

i was with my mom at the church last night and we were putting up a few last items that were left out and i was just sad to be putting them away to be used for another occasion, not my wedding.

i am extremely happy to be married and have my mind back a little but i do hope seeing pictures will help me relive our wonderful day.

mrs. kotze

that's me!

i am now officially mrs. michael daniel jules kotze.

our wedding was absolutely gorgeous. sarah's mom, susan, offered generously to do the flowers for my wedding. they were so perfect. she did an amazing job, with sarah's aunt, andrea, as her sidekick. they made everything so wonderful. it was exactly what i had envisioned. the funny thing about that is that i could not even explain what i wanted. susan just used the flowers i helped pick out and made the arrangements amazing. as soon as i get pictures, i will post them and you will understand the beauty of this occassion.

i was a little nervous earlier in the day on saturday, but as soon as we were at the church and my bridesmaids were getting ready in their beautiful dresses, i started to calm. they were beautiful. the dresses, the shoes, their hair and makeup-my ladies were amazing. i felt so good looking at them that i probably could have faced anything. i appreciate them so much. all of these girls worked so hard and planned beautiful showers and did so much. i love them all and i will never forget the role they played in this special day.

my mother played the role of the perfect mother of the bride. she was so elegantly beautiful and calm. i dont think anything could have shaken her on saturday night. she was the pristine example of collected serenity. she designed the most amazing wedding for her only daughter. i can't wait to show you pictures of the way our bridal party stood on the stage. the bridesmaids and groomsmen stood as couples scattered on the stage and we all faced the crowd with my dad on the floor. it was unique and wonderful.

my daddy recorded this message for us that played right before he gave me away. i cried and cannot wait to listen to it again. he cried during the ceremony (he was our pastor as well) but not as much as i figured he would. he looked incredibly handsome and added a wonderfuly personal touch to the ceremony. there were many compliments on his part from people who attended the wedding. my brothers also played a great role. landon opened the ceremony and i was so proud of him. he gets better and more confident every time we hear him. lennon and matthew served us communion and prayed over us. matthew cried the whole time and couldn't look at me. i cried as well. i was so honored to have them all participate.

my husband. my husband was so handsome. as soon as i looked in his eyes, i felt so loved. i am so excited to spend the rest of my life with him. all i really remember is looking at him. i love the tux he wore. with the ivory shirt and chamagne colored tie and vest. just so handsome.

the whole day was a wonderful time and i am so happy that michael's family, and my family, and all of our friends were there to share the day with us.

i am so blessed to be mrs. kotze.

my new sister is coming!

i don't know when this will really soak in, but i am getting a whole new family!

michael's sisters, claire and danielle, live in new zealand and his brother and sister-in-law, christopher and samira, live in seattle. the good news is...they are all coming for the wedding!

i am super excited! claire is coming today! her plane lands in sa at 9:30 pm. i feel like i have been waiting forever for that plane to land. i know she is quiet and pretty shy, but i feel certain as soon as we spend a little time together we will be great friends! and one day soon, we will be able to travel across the world to visit them in their beautiful home. here is a picture of claire and her boyfriend bevan. isn't she beautiful?! i know she will be even more beautiful when i meet here in a little over 12 hours. the weird thing is, she has been on her way here for about 10 hours already. it's a 22 hour plane ride. i'm sure she is going to be super tired when she gets here.



danielle, frank, christopher and samira all arrive on thursday night. they will be staying until tuesday morning, so we have decided to postpone our honeymoon by two days so we can spend more time with them. it is completely worth it. there is nothing better than spending time with family, especially when they have come around the world to show their love.

thank you kotze and howard family for all of your support. i love you already!

bedroom done...

i was planning on taking before and after pictures but i forgot to take the before, before the paint started going on the wall.

i was sad, but...oh well.

the room looks great. mom and dad helped me finish painting on thursday night. we got the furniture and accessories moved in on friday before michael got there.

he loved it!!

i slept there on saturday night because a couple of the out-of-town friends needed somewhere to stay, so michael let us have the house! it slept wonderfully!!

i'll get you a picture tomorrow!

i'm feeling good about marking things off of "the list".

fun for me; fun for michael.

saturday was my lingerie shower. it was a blast! all of my best friends were there and along with some ladies from my church that always make things a lot of fun!


my friends did a beautiful job of setting up and creating a fun and festive, sunny room to hold my shower. plus-they made a ton of great food. it was a dessert shower and it was yummy!

look at all of the yummy food! i told you they did a good job!

here are all of my beautiful friends (from left to right): my sister Sarah, Crystal, Jenny, me!, Amy, Michelle and Malissa.


malissa and sarah both drove all the way from Dallas to attend the shower. i was so excited!


this is a beautiful nightie sarah bought for me! i showed michael just to see what he would say. he said, "thank you sarah!" so cute!

this was from amy and as you can tell, it was small. it was my most embarassing item-but hey...very fun!

my beautiful niece resting during the party. she is such a good girl! and don't worry, she didnt see anything!

the shower was so fun and i know michael will have fun with what i got too!

**BACHELORETTE PARTY**

the bachelorette party afterwards was equally as fun. i'm the kinda girl that just likes to sit, hang out and talk with friends. that is exactly what my party was. i think there were some games planned, but we were all chatting too much to play them.

we had the party at henry's diner and they made me wear this really cute hat (although i only lasted a couple of minutes). fun!

the whole day was really wonderful and helped me relieve a ton of stress! thanks gals! you made my day!

you feelin' okay?

i find it funny that as i am walking down the hall, 9 days before my wedding, mind you, everyone who looks at me, does kind of a double take and asks if i am okay.

uh...yea.

who doesn't know that that does not make people feel very good. also, everyone i pass, looks at me with a little smile and nodds their head saying, "nine days, just nine more days."

i am so tired now that i can hardly mutter a response to that.

i am a person who must have more than 5 hours of sleep to function. i just must. and when someone like me has about 5 hours of sleep for the whole week, it's bound to be a disaster. okay, that will a tad bit of an exaggeration, but still, it feels that way.

i got the whole program thing figured out yesterday, which also means that the final details of the ceremony are in order (except of course, the decor). the bedroom is half painted and my wonderful daddy has volunteered to help me finish it. however, the house is far from clean and no matter how i try and pump myself up for lesson plans, my body just slinks lower in my chair.

don't worry, i know these are gloomy posts, but soon, very soon i will write something fun and uplifting, like:

tomorrow my sister and niece are coming to town and that makes me feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. then saturday is my lingerie shower and bachelorette PARTY!!!

yahoo!!! it's going to be such a blast spending time with my friends!

too bad i'll be asleep by 9:15...