After a good 3 days of hard work, Blake has designed a website for us to share :) We have been wanting a place to post updates and include others in all of our wedding plans. The website is easy to remember. It's just:

http://blakeandjuli.com

I think I'm going to start posting my blogs on there for now on. Hope you like it!

Before I came over here, I packed a bag of clothes I hadn't worn in over a year and a couple pairs of shoes I had only worn once. I wasn't sure if I would come across another little girl who could fit them, but worst case scenario I would hand them off to the orphanage director and she would distribute them among the little girls. I had a few dresses and flowery skirts, and among the mix were a pair of metallic gold slippers. Surely, they would make someone's day.

Today I worked with the older kids, which had 2 girls within the class. One of the girls is twelve years old and shows signs of autism. She has a beautiful smile. I looked down at her feet and thought that just maybe she would fit my shoes. I brought the gold ones into the room and handed them over to her. Her face lit up, and I bent down to put them on. I couldn't believe how perfectly they fit her. It was like Cinderella. Ha. She was so cute because she wanted to take one picture after the other of her wearing her gold shoes. The shiny material was definitely something that kept her attention. For the next 10 minutes, she was sitting on the floor, tapping together her feet and saying (in her own language), "my new shoes... my new shoes..."

I wish I had gold slippers to give every single orphan just so I could see another smile like that.

The 30 hour trip was long, but smooth! We found an internet cafe down the street, so I'm sitting here now with a pot of tea and journal. I feel crammed with information and emotions, and not even sure where to start.

Today was our first day in the orphanage, and the children were so precious. I am so incredibly impressed by this orphanage and its directors. What amazing people! I have so much to say, but not really sure where to start. I'm feeling at some sort of a writer's block. So.... I'll write more later :)

Keep us in your prayers.

Blake and I drove down to Savannah earlier this week and had 2 days to find a place for us to live after getting married. And... we found it! I loved it from the first time I saw it :) Blake will move in in August for school, and then I'll move in after we get married. Notice the palm trees... we are 10 minutes from the beach. Crazy.

The reason this is so short-- well, I'm headed out the door right now to East Asia. Just wanted to write something real quick to let you all know. I'll be gone until July 11th, and I'd appreciate your prayers while I'm there! Ok... I'm literally about to run out the door...

Blake and I went shopping today for our apartment, and we made our first big purchase as a couple :)

We found a desk that we both really liked-- good height, long desk top, and sufficient drawer space. Yay! We're building a home!!

Oh! By the way, I think we decided on January 17th for our wedding day!

Blake and I just got back from spending 4 days in Detroit, Michigan, for the National LPA Conference this year. There were about 1,900 people in attendance, so it was a pretty good turn-out considering a large number of people opted out in order to save up for next year's conference in NYC. We had such a great time and were able to get to know some new people this year. When we walked into the hotel, there were about 3 people lined up to congratulate us on our engagement. Ha ha. We both felt so much joy and excitement from a multitude of people in LPA throughout the week. Some girls I didn't even know where grabbing my left hand to look at my ring :)

Originally, we weren't planning on even going, but then Blake was awarded a major scholarship and LPA offered to fly him out there for the conference. He received $5,000.... and I was surprised with a $2,000 scholarship that I didn't even know about until I got there! So that makes $7,000 total, which will be a major help for our first year of marriage!

I also tried out for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Show (an off-broadway), and I felt AWESOME about my audition! We'll see where that leads, but... my goodness... what a help that would be too! Plus, it's something I've always wanted to do. Why not pick up acting for a semester? Blake loved it last year. I think it would be good for me to do it because it would keep me busy, so that Blake can get through his first semester of med school well, and then I'll start up my nursing program in the spring.

The last night was definitely my favorite. They had a live band playing for the dance, and they played lots of popular oldies and classics. I love to dance with Blake. He can spin and dip me like a champ :-)

LPA has such a special place in my heart, as cheesy as that might sound. I always come back feeling so grateful to know all of the people who are a part. I love meeting new people each year, and keeping in touch with the long-term friends. The kids are my favorite. I remember being so excited to meet other little people like me, and I see that same excitement in their own little faces. Blake and I both see LPA as such a blessing. This year we came back talking about the possibility of us joining the National Medical Advisory Board and what opportunities might be there. I just keeping smiling in amazement of God and the way He has perfectly matched us up as a team. I love Blake so much. Ah! And I'm actually going to marry him!!!

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera back at home, but I'll try to get a few from my friends and put them up.