First comes love, then comes marriage (but in between is engagement)

Some gratitude for all the little things that keep me keeping on:

1. Mr. Caleb himself - because no one should have to undergo wedding planning without the person they are going to marry by their side. 
2. My parents, who have been working their tails off. 
3. A cozy bed to sleep in, in the basement - seriously. Why would anyone make their bedroom upstairs when it could be in a cozy, dark, cold basement? 
4. Routines.
1. Tongue scraping and warm water in the morning (sounds weird, but I love it)
2. Lovely smelling lavender any time of day because it's the all-purpose essential oil: Stress? Need a pick-me-up? Can't sleep? Can't wake up? Dry skin? Bug bite? Pimple? Sore muscles? Lavender is the answer. 
3. Monday night yoga with Caleb
4. Church, talking with friends about normal, everyday life
5. Tutoring my favorite kiddos
6. Chocolate snack time. Yes, this is a (daily) routine
5. Listening to my iPod at work. It's an iPod mini, remember those? It has a click wheel and only turns on a backlight when you manually select that option. The music keeps open a space in my soul. Current faves: Taize, Aradhna, Trevor Hall, Nahko Bear. And some occasional top forty to keep me bouncing on my exercise ball. (Also I am grateful for my exercise ball)
6. WORK! I am so grateful that nothing new and crazy is happening in my work-life. I actually feel relieved to go there sometimes because it means I don't have to worry about if I should be wedding planning. 
7. FRIENDS! Caleb and I have had a lot of help from our peeps. 
8. I am happy I have switched from lotion to oil because it feels so luxurious to put on my hands. And right now, little luxuries are very much treasured. Also, it has less creepy ingredients. 
9. Baths. 

I think Caleb summarized what this time has been like for us, "Normally under this much stress I wouldn't be able to sleep. But I'm so exhausted that I have no problem sleeping."

We are so close.