Happy New Year's Eve! Let the Journey continue!!

What am I gonna be doin goin into 2010?? Chillin at the parentals house with the fiancee..playing pool...watching the bowl games..and just relaxin...and im lovin it..haha. Reese and I are such old folk. When discussing what we wanted to do to bring in the new year we discussed goin out, goin to friends' houses, and then almost simultaneously we looked at each other and said "let's just chill" hahahaha...we're such losers. But the good thing is we BOTH are so we got each other to hang with so it works!!!

As for a New Years resolution? I dont really have one...its a good idea and all but if u know there's something that needs to change in ur life or that u need to weed out, improve on, build into, etc than why wait for the new year? Start THE DAY you realize it! Another day is never guaranteed and ya gotta make the most of the NOW so i try and make my changes and tweek wat needs to be tweeked with every moment im given. Now dont get me wrong i do plenty of these moments: "Man I know i need to work on my patience...buuuuuuuut im really irritated and this just isnt even rt" and i start playin the excuse game and then say ill work on my patience next time. It happens ok? Dont judge me. lol. And for the record God has worked on me and my patience level quite a bit...but im still a work in progress...still gettin molded to become wat my creator intended me to be...

Things that I HOPE TO DO in 2010 tho is to continue to grow in relationship w God, plan reese and my wedding with my mama, possibly GET MARRIED (but its lookin more like early 2011...we want a classy yet SUPER FUN winter wedding), take the time to really enjoy the wedding plannin process, and possibly get involved in the music ministry at our church, Crossroads. Something else I plan on continuing to do is digging into my faith and searching for where God wants me to be in my faith journey. I was raised catholic, but ive been goin to an "inter-faith" church for the past 3 years and i LOVE IT and have GROWN SO MUCH because of it, but i OFTEN have different members of my immediate/extended family encouraging me to "come back" to catholicism bc of this, that, and the other and they r so genuine in their concern and sometimes it makes me rethink things...like maybe there's something about catholicism ive missed and need to re-look at...i dunno...to me its just a bunch of religion...and i pray about it constantly and i feel at peace with my decision about crossroads and my growth in my faith and relationship with God...until somebody brings up the "come back to catholicism" talk...Now, i have NOTHING against the catholic church...if that works for u and ur growth in ur faith and relationship w God then RIGHT ON...but i just dont havnt experienced that in the catholic faith...and i dont see the need to claim a sect of christianity...i just want to LOVE GOD GEEEEEEEEZ!! Why am I questioned and why are people concerned about me just bc i dont go to a catholic church?? IM LOVING GOD, GROWING IN HIM, LETTING HIM GROW IN ME, AND ACTIVELY PURSUING HIM DAILY...in accompaniment with attending weekly service, volunteering in my church community, and loving every minute of being a part of such a great community...i just dont get how the religious sect can be SO important??

I still want to have a catholic wedding, tho. The catholic church has played such a large part in reese and my life and we have so much respect for the catholic church...it also would be pleasing to our families since the majority of our families (both sides of mine, the dads side of his) are catholic...and we really are still searching and still looking to deepen our faith...however that may be...catholic...or interfaith...etc. We just love God, want to grow in and with him, and we will do that in watever way He leads us to. I hope that we are supported by our loved ones with watever path we are lead to. And i hope i can find a final peace about it all. I hope we all can find a peace about it all.

Anyhoots! I pray everyone has a safe entry into 2010 and u treat everyday as a chance to make those "new years resolutions" a RIGHT NOW possibility. May God surround you all with His love, peace, and blessings...HE IS GOOD!!! So thankful for 2009 and all he showed me, gave me, taught me, helped me accomplish, and challenged me with. Lookin forward to 2010!! Let the journey continue!!!!!

Soon to be Mrs. Brown :)

HE PROPOSED!!!! The day finally came...I knew it was coming for a while (us getting engaged, that is) but now it finally is a reality and i got the ring to prove it! And it's BEAUTIFUL!! He did a great job...it's absolutely perfect :)

How'd he do it? Well here's the story...

Every year my 317 ladies and I have our annual Jesus Party (He is the reason for the season yall!!), and this year the date was set for Saturday Dec 26, 2009. Apparently, Reese had been planning the party behind the scenes..even tho i thought I was the whole time..silly me...lol. My 317 ladies had known apparently for a quite a while his plans of proposing to me on the day of our jesus party so he would talk with my friends so that THEY would then basically pull my puppet strings to dance the way reese wanted me to dance...so essentially i had a part in planning my proposal as well hahaha. Anyhoots..just for background he essentially planned the DAY, LOCATION, TIME, etc of the Jesus party (which i guess could also be now called the proposal party). Usually we just have the girls at the party but this year we included significant others bc we said we were gonna make it more of a "celebration party" bc so many of us had something to celebrate (graduation, getting out of orientation, a recent move, etc) so there were more people at the party than usual...apparently this was orchestrated as well...i been bamboozled for real...

REWIND to Reese and Jessi's first kiss....picture it. We are at the Kovatch house and about to play a game of pool, best of 3 wins. If he wins, I have to crawl across the table and kiss him on the cheek. If I win, he has to wear a Dwight Freeney jersey for a week. Result--> I lost. So i made my way across the pool table (no damage was done to the leveling of the table..thank ya jesus im light...oh yea and dont yall start thinkin i was crawlin all trifalen and sexy cuz yall KNOW i was goofin off the whole way lol). At the end of the pool table crawl/jig I went to kiss him on the cheek...and that turned into the first kiss. How beautiful right? hahahaha.

FAST-FORWARD to Dec 26, 2009.

Reesaferd: "You been sayin we'd have a re-match in pool...so lets go then"

The beautiful one: "WHY NOW?!? all my friends are here and i dont wanna go downstairs to play a game of pool."

Then, after remembering reesaferd stating that i ask too many questions and ill prolly never allow him to propose to me bc of all the questions i ask, i decided not to ask anymore questions and just go play the game of pool.

Game one. Jessi the fabulous wins. Reesaferd racks the table. Reesaferd wins. Jessi begins to rack the table.

The beautiful one realizing reesaferd wont even roll down the balls in the far corner pocket: "Dang you can't even help me out?"

Reesaferd: "You lost...u rack em"

As I rolled around to the last pocket..I reached down into the pocket for the balls and there it was! The most beautiful brown box I've ever seen. By the time I pulled it out and looked up at him he was on one knee, making my heart melt with his words, and tearin up (it was allergies guys really...allergies...). My answer? Well I sat and deliberated for a while...weighed the pros and cons... oh who am i kiddin i said YES before he could finish all his beautiful words hahahaha...i kinda wish i couldve suppressed my natural reaction to say YES just to harrass him and give him a hard time but i was too excited, the ring was too pretty, and i love him too dag-gone much.

"Everyone upstairs already knows...dont they?" I asked.

"Oh yeah" he replied.

"Well just for the that then let's play another game and make em wait!" hahahaha

After we finished the last game of the 3 (i lost...dont judge me) we headed upstairs and when we opened the door i had my closest friends and my family there with balloons, poppers, cameras, hugs, and shouts for the newly engaged couple!!!

*IT WAS PERFECT*

We both knew that a ring/engagement was in the future bc we've know for essentially our entire 2.5 year relationship that we'd be getting married one day (he still claims he knew from the first day he met me...apparently the first time we met he told his friend, nicole, "I'm gonna marry her one day"...and she actually validates this claim...i still think it was a lightweight, not serious remark but he stands by his claim that he KNEW he'd marry me one day). I'm so happy that this day was SO special, tho...even tho we both knew itd happen at some point he planned everything so perfect so that this day would be special and a memorable milestone in our lives. He's the greatest :)

Now we're just SO GEEKED to get the ball rollin and get married!!! I'd marry him today if there wasn't wedding planning to do!! I just can't wait to enter into a new level with him in marriage...can't wait to be MRS. JESSICA BROWN and the female co-ceo of the Goof Troop family (that's what we are callin out family...the goof troop..t-shirts will be available soon for Goof Troop members and supporters)

Now it's time for WEDDING PLANNING!!!! Not that i havent been lookin into stuff for the past 2 years hahahahha...but now i actually get to PLAN!!! and I actually will GET MARRIED!!! Oh im just so geeked...and SO BLESSED and thankful that God led us to eachother...Can't wait to start the next chapter of our lives as Mr. and Mrs. Brown :)

LET THE WEDDING PLANNING BEGIN!!