Blog surfing and my wedding dress.

Since DH is away I find that I have a lot of time on my hands (well at least until fall semseter starts up) and one way I fill that time void is by blog surfing. While blog surfing may not be the BEST use of my time I do find it to be beneficial to me. I surf for new and exciting scrapbooking/altering techniques. I surf for new recipes to try out while there is no one home to make funny faces at my culinary attempts. I surf for tips on photography. However, there are times when I just surf. One blog to another. Reading about lives from all over the world. Some very different than mine, and some not so different. I find fun things and things to learn and grow from, inspiring reads, and heartwrenching tales. So today, in honor of my blog surfing I'm going to share three of my finds from today. Two of them are truly heart tearing, gut wrentching, and hope inspiring blogs. And the other one, well to be honest, I'm sharing it because what girl doesn't like a peak into another's life; especially on their wedding day?



First up: Kelly's Korner. I found this site quite by accident- as usual and I found that every week she does a post about sharing your life. This week's topic is 'Show Us Your Wedding Dress'. How fun is that? Everyone wants to share pictures from their day and I'm no exception. So without further ado, my dress:


I loved (and still do) my dress. It was the perfect dress for me. We got married November 8, 2008 in Gatlinburg, Tn. It was perfect and more than I could have ever dreamed of. As for my dress; because I had moved from California to Mississippi none of my family was around to help me shop. My mom and grandma were back home and my best friend lived in Wyoming at the time so I went shopping by myself; and it was the best thing I could have done. I knew what my budget was (under $600) and knew where I was getting my dress from (Davids Bridal) so I did research online and got one of their catalogs. I poured over it for about a month before even going in to try on dresses and circled the ones I liked. Then when I walked in for my appointment and the sales lady asked what I was looking for, I simply flipped open the book and showed her the six dresses I had marked. She brought out the ones I had marked and this one was the very first dress I tried on.
I tried on the rest I had marked but none compared to this one for me. I felt beautiful in it.

I cant wiat for next week, I believe it's on sharing your wedding flowers! :)




Moving forward onto the other blogs I wanted to share with you today.

This next one I read for quite a while and just sobbed and sobbed. Its the blog of Heather Spohr; The Spohrs Are Multiplying. She and her husband Mike lost their daughter Maddie just this past April without any warning at all. I wish there were words that I could say or something I could do to ease some of their pain that I can feel through her writing, but I am at a loss. I was and am deeply moved and touched by their story and the continuing struggle in dealing with their loss; but even more moved by their bravery to share some of what they are going through.


And last but not least, this is another blog that I just couldnt stop reading. This one made me cry too, but it also put me in awe of the author's strength and spirit. The Nie Nie Dialogues is the blog of Stephanie Nielson. What was once a blog about her everyday life has turned into much more than that, I think. Last August Stephanie and her husband were in a near fatal plane crash. Both had and still have a long road of recovery and this is their story. Again, I couldnt imagine. I know (from her writing) Stephanie is a beautiful and strong woman. No matter how differently she may look since her accident, her beauty shines through. I can only hope that if I should ever have to endure such tragedy that I will be able to move forward with half the grace that she has.



So I realize that these last two blogs are pretty heavy and will, in all honesty, probably make you cry. Pretty heavy stuff to follow a wedding dress post. But I suppose thats the beauty, isnt it? All three sites are simply about life. That maybe be a broad generalization but I think it works. While there is much happiness there is also the saddness, but also much strength and perserverance. I thank each author for letting me gain a peak into your lives and the lives of others so that I may learn from you. Thank you.