Well it has been some time since my last writing and I have truly meant to be on here more but as we all know, things happen. I have now been married for 290 days and am learning more of this life each day. It has its ups and downs, but it is for sure worth all that i have learned through it! God has truly put truth to the words of Erin's bosses words "Marriage is Gods primary people building tool". One of the light hearted things that I am learning in this Advent season is the value of the Advent calendar. It has long been a tradition of Erin and her family to have this calendar and grow the excitement about this wonderful season. I am trying so hard into this tradition and I feel that over the next couple of years that this will grow on me. I have included some pictures of this event as proof. Until next time!

Trying to understand Money and how not to live for it

Over the past few weeks I have really been thinknig and it seems that I exist to make money and pay bills. This is a truth that disheartens me more and more each day and has so impacted me that God himself has stepped in to work through the issue with me.

Sitting in church yesterday, Alex the associate pastor, i was listening to the sermon and at the end Alex initiated a time of reflection. In this time of reflection he read off thoughts and scripture to give us a bit of guided meditation on scripture. It was in this time that I was presented with the though "how do I live in the world and not be of it?".

This question is one that can be quite easy or in some cases hard.

Jesus is the prime example of all Godly living and shows us his life through scriptures. In the scriptures it shows us that for three years of ministry that Jesus didn't work outside of the lectures, healings, and various other miracles he performed. In these efforts he worked sometimes without sleep or food, but he continued.

How can I live like this?

Kerry's pics

Shelley's Pics

Finally pictures :-)

The Best Groom

A very content bride

equals...
The Perfect Day

Formal Pictures

Preparations

Note: not all photos in the albums are by Abigail Smith. We've thrown in other's snapshots too.

Ceremony

Reception

Note: not all photos in the albums are by Abigail Smith. We've thrown in other's snapshots too.

Married Life after 24 days.....

Well what can one really say after only 24 days............

The other day I was asked if I felt any different after getting married, my response, no.
Why is it that my life has not become somehow different? The reason I believe has a lot to do with the person that I married, the way we approached courting, and the way that we viewed marriage.

From the beginning we said that we would not be together for the sake of being together, but it would be to fulfill God's desire for our lives. God, without a doubt, wants now and back then for Erin and I to be together. So what does this mean..... Being married to Erin is the same as not being married to her, living life as God desires.

I finish this note with this: I love my God with all that I am and everyday I hope to express that through every act in my marriage with Erin.

Honeymoon Pictures

Don't worry...nothing too racy ;-)

Wedding!

Oh my goodness! The wedding was perfect! The weather cooperated. We were so excited to see everyone who came. But a little sad there wasn't more time to spend with them. Everything went off without a hitch -Music, cake, pictures, no wardrobe malfunctions :-) Perfect perfect perfect. Pictures will be RIGHT here. For you! Just as soon as I get them :-)

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Vendors

We know several other couples who will be married soon so we've decided to list our vendors in case anyone needs a recommendation. Everyone was great and, I think, reasonable. I've added a couple places we used for supplies too.

Invitations & Napkins:
Art Trends Inc, Oklahoma City
(405) 236-1862

Cake:
Mishelle Handy in Edmond
www.MishelleHandyCakes.com
www.CakePlease.com

Photography:

Abigail Smith Photography

www.AbigailSmithPhotography.com

Coffee bar catering:

Cafe Evoke

www.CafeEvoke.com

Flowers:

Beautiful Bouquets Flower Shop

www.bbflowershop.com

Favors and Decorations:

Stickers:
Zazzle.com

Ribbon, candles, tulle:
Hobby Lobby

Julia is coming!!

Waaaaaay back when I lived in Russia, I told Julia that if I ever get married, I want her to be a bridesmaid in my wedding. Some of you may remember me telling you about a friend in Russia who'd dreamed of coming to my wedding before I told anyone that I'd even met Joshua even as a friend or passing comment. Her dream is even more significant because it can be hard for Russians to get a Visa to visit the US. So, if Julia were ever to come to visit it would have to be not just for my wedding, but to be in it.

Well, we got the news just recently that she GOT HER VISA! So, she'll be spending about 2 weeks in the States and she'll be one of my three precious bridesmaids.

Wedding Shower!

First let me declare a BIG THANK YOU!!! To the Super SHELLEY - for organizing everything; to the Awesome ELESHIA, for helping everywhere needed, and to the Irreplaceable KIM. Thanks also to everyone who brought something yummy to the shower. You all are so wonderful and such a sweet blessing to us. It was all delicious!

I know lots of folks too pictures. Shelley got me hers first, so send me more and I'll add them. Check back for more pics!

Hotel info

Embassy Suites: Will Rodgers Airport
1815 South Meridian

To reserve via phone:(405) 682-6000
Mention the "Chambers Wedding Party" for the group rate.

To reserve via the web: Embassy Suites site
Group/Convention code: CWP

Be sure to book BEFORE FEBRUARY 22
After February 22, they may book the rooms for other people or the group rate may not be available.

About the hotel
The hotel is about 4 miles from Will Rogers Airport but 17 miles from the wedding site. See directions. There is some crazy conference that has all the rooms anywhere near the wedding site, but at least it's near the airport :-)

Most of the rooms are suites with a king size bed and a sleeper sofa in the living room. They have refrigerators and microwaves, high-speed internet, free breakfast, and free snacks in the evening. They have an indoor pool and we may be able to get a meeting room so that you all can visit on Saturday night while Joshua and I head off to the honeymoon ;-) More on that later...the meeting room, not the honeymoon. :-p

Take a peek at the hotel yourself: Embassy Suites OKC

Directions to the Wedding

So basically, I LOVE google maps. You can loock at the house where we're going to have the wedding as if you were standing right there and you can see the little clearing behind it where we're going to do the reception. It is A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

So here is the place:

View Larger Map

Here are directions
From the hotel: (see info about the hotel)
From Norman:
From Oklahoma City (downtown):
From Tulsa:
and from Dallas:

Surely one of those will be close to you, if not, plug in your address and google will whip up a map just for you :-)

PARKINGParking will be limited. We suggest carpooling if possible. Parking will be parallel along Noma Road, Lois Lane (to the west only), and Coburn Road. If the ground is dry, park with two tires in the grass, two on the asphalt. If wet, park with all four tires on asphalt.

View Larger Map

THE MOST AMAZING BESTESS FRIEND EVER

Kim. What can be said about her... from the very beginning of Erin and I Kim was there. It had been less than two weeks that I had known Erin and Kim came to Hastings to meet her and give her the quiz to end all quiz's. This was the question and answer time that brought Kim to the 85% that this would be the girl I marry. Kim said she hadn't finished her quiz, even now it is unfinished, she was confident about the relationship to be. Kim has been a constant supporter of us from giving words of wisdom to whatever else she could help with. She is my great protector, has been my great proposal coordinator, engagement photographer, and anything else you can imagine.Thanks Kim for all you do and we hope we can pass on the love you have blessed us with!

Reflection of my Spiritual Welfare

Joshua, an apostle of Christ Jesus,

To my friends and family in the world where we are Alien. May God bless and keep you safe as he has done for me throughout my life.

I write this letter for the sole purpose of evaluating where I am in my pursuit of faith in Christ and to allow all in to see. This letter is composed from the wonderful place in which I met my future bride at as well as many other friends, Hastings.

Looking at my spiritual welfare through mine own eyes I have been discouraged in the past because the worst critic I have is me, but this idea came to me through the urging of the spirit and in that light I will look and trust his eyes. It has occurred to me in the past year of my life that the life I lead lines up with that of Christ's expectations less than I would like. An example of this happened just today when out of frustration I was not slow to anger with a person close to me and in turn was not acting through the love of Christ Jesus. I ask myself about this incident and others like it to find the root of my walk because they are frequent. The conclusion I have reached is that I am not spending enough time with the Father to maintain an adequate relationship with him. After coming to this conclusion, the next step was to set aside time to spend with just him and time to spend with a group of guys to discuss God and the matters that are important to him.

I am often annoyed, frustrated, angered, weary, and quick to speak. These things not being of Christ brought me to the thought that my walk is not right. Listening to those around me though has brought about other things I can be; thoughtful, caring, patient, compassionate. Of recent, God has made it a point to encourage me with the insight of others to show me that it is not that I am not of him as my thoughts would imply, but that I am just off course a bit. I have not been in his Word or prayed or spent time in fellowship with other believers as much as I would have liked to. I let the fact that all of my friends have lives and my church that I attend get me down to think that meeting was not possible. For this I am asking forgiveness of God and others by whom this letter is read.

For accountability purpose, I am attending a group on Wednesday at 6:30 am at church and plan to have lunch or coffee with at least one friend a week. Also, I plan to read and/or meditate on scripture that I have read recently on a daily basis.

To finish this note, I have one positive thing that I thought of just now. I love to serve those around me in any way that God has given me the opportunity to. This is something that even in my stupidity Christ has continued to use me as a vessel through which He might impact the world.

Registries

After lots of hard work and thinking, we've finally got the registries sorted out. No doubt we'll still add and subtract a few things as we go "hey, one of those would be nice!" but for the most part we're done!

So, we're registered at:

• Target and
• Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Some other ideas are

• Hastings gift cards (where we met and Joshua proposed. We still hang out there a lot.)


• Some of your favorite coffee beans


• A homemade but frozen dinner for us on the honeymoon (in a mountain cabin)


• A pull-down attic ladder (Target and BBB don't sell them :-/ but Home Depot does.)


• Star Wars IV, V, and VI and Star Wars I, II, and III on DVD (all we have are VHS, yes, we know we're old school)


• Season 8 of Red Dwarf


• Something meaningful from you!

Finally, gifts are a blessing but not a requirement. The best blessing is your love and friendship toward us. So please don't feel at all required. Most of all, we're looking forward to sharing with you this wonderful moment as we begin our lives together.