i love him.

i dunno if you can tell, but i love this man.
he is wonderful.


... im off to read a new book i bought today...
work the next two days
keep me in your prayers...
about the j-o-b.
I have faith God is going to do something exciting.
He has opened a few doors, and Im praying the last big one will open.
just pray.
if you will.

much love & peace
d

from that... to this...

lets just say the bridal shower... was a blast.
we had 2 dresses donated from an affair to remember...

which turned this shower into quite an affair.
we had a blast.
sara planned an incredible night for me!

lots and lots of food, great friends, fun recipes, and lots of entertaining times!
we had a wonderful night

thank you to ALL who were a part of it.
sent your love, stopped by, or were there for all of the shenanigans.

oh how fun.
back to nc tomorrow... the long drive awaits, but i have a very tired, cute, stressed, sweet, handsome, funny, and exhausted fiancee waiting for me.
then back to work thurs!!

love & peace
d

oh yeah.

sara and i at prom.
im not really a huge fan of this pic.
but ya know. its us.
(:

:)

fun fun fun.
alll day long.

lots of laughter with friends.
excitement for tomorrow.
lots of good family time.
a trip to lagrange walmart.
and a great trip to target
::where i found a fun cute dress::

just lots of fun.
i am looking forward to one more full day here of fun and excitement and good time with friends.

off to read.
and stalk facebook.
love & peace. d

::correction::

its april. not may. sorry. i just want it to be august.
and yes it will probably be a hot summer.
but i hear august its suppose to be the coolest one in history. like in the 70s.
especially around August 15. high: 75. bright blue clear sky.

ok... so i can wish right? and pray realllllllly hard! add that to your prayer list. a cool/sunny aug 15th!

speaking of that. booked the reception today: ou lala (super excited about it), worked on the guest list.... and right now its PERFECT, found some awesome furniture at an antique store (that if i had a huge truck and a lot of money i would buy and take with me to durham) and found a wedding band that i reallllly want. now i have to hunt for an affordable one! luckily i have time to hunt. :)

going to "prom" tonight. actually just SF's senior kappa delta formal. should be loads of fun though. good food. fun music. fun people. im excited.

ok. the end. for now... be back later im sure.

HOT.

since when did it get so darn hot in may?!
its in the 90s!
this is ridiculous!!
ahhHH! cant even breathe!

fun morning at antique stores and such.
busy this afternoon.

i sure am missing mr snider right about now. or really thursday as soon as i left. we will reunite soon though. (:

anyway. back to my nice cold mountain dew....

mmmmm delicious.

home.

its so good to be home.
i miss being here so much.
i love being with my family.
laughing with them. hanging out. taking pictures of little bros at prom.
i love being with my best friend and having her to discuss life with.
i love having her to laugh with and be silly little girls again.
i love being in lagrange. it is my home. ...and always will be.
i love walking around and seeing familiar faces. always seeing familiar faces.
i love knowing where i am and where i am going and knowing exactly how to get there.
i love going into target and knowing exactly how its laid out and where i need what i want.
i just love being here.

yesterday brought a lot of successful wedding goodness: found suits for the men, bought the wedding invites! starting organizing the plans for the weekend of.
today hopefully will bring more: going to the reception place to do stuff and chat with the lady and then going to do a few other wedding things

should be fun. if you live in columbus or lagrange, hopefully ill get to see you while in town!

love & peace

ben

folds that is.
ben folds for free = best show ever

maybe not ever. but its on up there.
so fun. so great. so talented. sounds perfect.

the only downside were the OBNOXIOUS, LOUD, ANNOYING, RIDICULOUSLY drunk undergrads. oh good grief. that part was terrible.

but the music. that part was great.

and katie B when this song came on i thought of you and danced my little heart away for you.
one of my most fondest memories from college was freshman year when ryan, nate, katie, & i drove to NC and listened to a whole lot of ben folds.



anyway. it was fun.

TOMORROW I AM DRIVING HOME TO GEORGIA!!!!!!!
dont worry im going to bed to get a lot of sleep.
then going to pack. clean. pay bills. eat lunch. then hit the road.
my luck ill hit atlanta right at rush hour.
yessssssssssssssss.

ok. peace & love.
see you SOON!


ps. this is the best ben folds song... that might just be heard at some point on aug 15...

day one.

of 3 in a row.
at this rate my feet are going to fall off by wednesday.

went to get new shoes tonight.
ive worn my privo's out.
PRIVO- look it up.
best shoe in the world.
at least for my broken, tendinitis filled, fascia swollen feet.

anyway. i went to the store to get a new pair.
like 8 different styles.
only ONE pair of 9 1/2 (and one pair of 10)
and they were black.
boyish & gross.

darn my enormous feet. grrrr.
oh well. my hunt online begins now.

2 days of work.... then 7 days home in ga!
super excited.... yes indeed.

off to bed. keep me in your prayers. God just might be doing something exciting in my life...
as if my life is not exciting enough!? really. i know. but God is so good & I am so grateful and excited about some possibilities He has thrown my way.

yes im vague. sorry. anyway. in case you forgot: im getting married in FOUR months!
ahhHHHH!!!!!

:engagement pics were awesome. all 600. loads of fun::

off to bed. no really this time i am.

love & peace.

a little more real

everything is starting to feel that way.
ryan and i went and saw our new house last night.
the future snider residence!
and it was so much better than i remember...
partly due to the fact the guy flipped like 75% of the inside!
new paint. new fixtures. new countertops.
(no new appliances though, but as long as they work!)

we have a great fireplace, a wonderful deck, cute little porch.

man. im soooo excited!!! (:

so more things that make it feel so real...
engagement pictures today!
im so excited, ryan (i think) is dreading it.
i mean not too many guys are "pumped" to take a few hours of pictures.
ryans brother's girlfriend (M) is taking our pictures.
you can check out her other stuff here: http://mkoebley.com/

anyway. im so excited. its all becoming so real!
and next weekend ill be home!! wahooo!
to do wedding planning overload & have my first shower (thanks to the BEST maid of honor ever)

gotta get ready for church.

love & peace.

longgggg

but fun day.

worked 10 hours.
went to a Divinity School family/friend Picnic Dinner (since today was as dukiescall it: Ldoc... (at least for the div school anyway) other schools simply think of it as the last day of class... not at duke. its a HUGE day) anyway. after picnic dinner with friends went to a broadway revue that the div school put on. so fabulous. ha-larious. great talent. and loads of fun... sadly i had to leave at intermission because i work tomorrow.

but i did get an exciting thing in the mail today...
THE KEY to the FUTURE SNIDER RESIDENCE!!

wahooOOo! ryan & I will begin the process of moving all of our stuff into one location and getting it set up. and yes it will probably take until August to get it ready for us... so we are going to check out the pad soon! (since ry has not seen it... ahhahaha!!)

i need to sleep. im beat! but man oh man what a gorgeous day it was today! sad ill be working all day tomorrow, but yay for sunday off... then 3 days of work... then 7 days off to go HOME TO GA!!!

oh and more about "LDOC" which is pronounced- L-doc. so. the actual school wide L-doc is wednesday (div is early)- its not even a real day of class. all day long there are parties and festivities. concerts. free food (all 3 meals). drinks. music. its crazy! and the best/coolest/most awesome part... the L-doc night is topped off with a FREE yes FREE concert of Ben Folds Five... one of the most fantastic bands ever. or persons. or whatever. but still. yes. ben folds. free. for anyone & everyone.

oh how i love duke.

anyway off to bed. i have to rest up for the many festivities to come!

love & peace.
d

crazy...

about this guy!

Easter 07

Easter 09!

not too much has changed!

except we are engaged.

4 months from today i walk down the aisle and become Mrs. Snider.

I am so very excited!!!

picture overload.

well if you want to look at around 500 pictures from guatemala you can do just that here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20581162@N08/sets/72157616410306942/

the first 100 is from a guy on our trip.
the last 400 are mine.

if you have some time enjoy.
they are wonderful... at least i think so. (:




this weekend was wonderful.
i love the sniders.
im so very blessed to have an amazing family to join.

tomorrow i begin my workout plan
& begin packing/organizing.

we shall see how it goes...

UP from the grave He rose!

This is my favorite Easter hymn, but only because of a funny childhood memory.
Each year my dad puts this song on the lineup, and I truly believe its because of our little family joke. When litte brother B was a small tyke (at least I think he was small)... one Easter Sunday when we sang this song, each time "up" was stated, it was more of a yell from the guy. UP from the grave He rose! UP UP UP! Precious isn't it. Ever since that Sunday dad plays that song- and we all smile and look over at benny boy... and smirk.

Unfortunetly this Easter, our family row wont be packed all the way full. I am here in Savannah having a Snider Family Easter. We will be heading to church- hunt our easter baskets that get hidden around the house (yes the baskets! and yes we still get one!!) and then have a lovely big family lunch. Ive been blessed to know this family for 4 1/2 years- and Im so very blessed to have an incredible family to join. Im so greatful my "in-laws" are wonderful, sweet, funny, and have made me a part of their family for so long. Plus I'm getting an amazing sister!

So I am a tiny sad- that I wont be able to hear a fantastic sermon from dad, sit crammed in a row with my gigantic brothers and their lady friends, have a macminn family lunch full of TONS of people (my mom is MRS hospitality and sometimes invites lots of people (and sometimes random) for big dinners/lunches) just makes it more fun, lay around and hang out (and prob play wii) and just be together.

BUT the thing i'll probably miss the most- is hearing little ben sing UP from the grave He rose!

Be excited today. He did rise from the grave. UP he rose. UP UP UP!

love & peace
d


let me say this tiny thing. as i was writing this i realized it could have been brother R. my memory is failing me. im like 99% sure it was little ben, but mom correct me if im wrong. either way. there was a loud UP involved. and it was funny.

precious moment

my favorite guatemalan boy was this guy...
ok one of my favorite. i had 2 or 3.
anyway. this guy was beside on up there.
i dont really know what his name was... but it sounded kinda like "deiddre" or something. thats the point.
he was always around- i dont think he went to school all week- he just hung out with us.
so one of my favorite moments was a time i was with him. i was quite frustrated because I felt like I could not do a thing- since i was so weak and sick.
about that time D and I were hanging out when a girl told me i should read him some stories in spanish from the Bible...
she handed me a pile of around 20 books that were children's Bible stories in spanish.

i asked D if he wanted me to read them to him and he was so excited. he gathered his little friends around and for a good 45 minutes i read story after story in spanish to these guys. it was such a wonderful experience.
It was so neat to see how God can use us even if we are sick and miserable. God can take a simple task and turn it into an afternoon treat!
these boys were such a blessing to me.
their smiles. the love they showed me. and the excitement they had to hear Bible stories. It was a fun afternoon and one of my favorite moments of the trip.

::update on the illness- who knows. my stomach has settled down a bit, but im still not eating much and far from 100% keep the belly in your prayers. its all over the place.
in other news... im heading to savannah this weekend for a snider family easter. looking forward to it. hopefully the tummy will hold up.

hope you are all well out there in blog land.
love & peace
d

story numero uno

here is my first guatemalan story... and it happened exactly a week ago.
its a bit graphic. beware... remember.... i am a nurse.

last monday as i was soaking up the rays of the guatemalan sun- i started to feel just a little funny. we had a "lovely" lunch of fish. whole fish. head and eye included.
ask anyone on the team... i "LOVED" it.
i did eat it though... bc we were in a village. these amazing people treated us like royalty and i was going to eat that beast... so i ate most of it. or some.
anyway.
next up was dinner.
at the hotel we sit down for dinner and lucky us.
we have fish for dinner.
again whole fish. head and eye included.
at the hotel we paid for our meals so i did not in the least bit- feel bad passing on my fish to a hungry male teammate (lets just say i did that a lot).
moving on. by bedtime i was feeling a lil sour, but not too bad.
until midnight. terror struck.
to be non-graphic ill just say i was sick.
very sick.
alllllll night long.
so that continued and i laid around the hotel the next day (due to the sickness)
after this i never quite felt 100%
i mean i had NOTHING in me.
it was hot.
and my stomach was a disaster.
after this i pledged not to eat a thing until we were back to Antigua and were cooking our own food.... and by golly i did just that. well i ate rice. lots and lots of rice.
and crackers. and special K bars.

ok. this is dragging sorry.
anyway. i stayed a bit sickly the rest of the time.
my stomach never got better... i thought it was on its way to improvement,
until last night.
after dinner i started feeling funny.
and again. at midnight terror struck.
exactly 7 days after the first time.
i was miserable all night...
after (somehow) working 8 hours today... i made it to a doc apt
where the obvious was put into stone...
i have a nasty guatemalan bug.
hopefully some cipro (big strong antibiotic) a little nausea med, some pepto & powerade will clear up this lil infection quite soon.

oh gosh i hope.
if not i might just be drinking gatorade forever...

so yeah. pray this clears up quickly. i have to work thurs & friday. and by have to i HAVE TO.
hope you enjoyed the first guatemalan story... many more will come.
love & peace.
d

top 10...

here are todays top 10 guatemalan pics...
work tomorrow. hopefully ill remember how to be a nurse... :)
jk.
im off to bed.
love & peace.
d

me & some kiddies
water coming out of the well!

the team & the pacific

glitter=germs

te amo

dirty to clean

dimples

cup & sun... this has a long explanation- but for now... its so beautiful isn't it!

did i mention i love children?

im alive...

& doing great!
home and catching up on laundry and sleep.

i have many stories to tell, and many pictures to share...
once i get my pictures- which is a story in itself.
the last night (at our "last supper") i got out my camera to snap some shots, when it flashed "error" followed by corrupt file. woah woah woah i thought. ive just taken a good 400pictures... are you telling me they are gone?!

i was relived and encouraged by a team member who is a computer genius for exxon- who assured me he can get my pictures if i can't figure it out.

today after playing around i couldn't get it to work. i think what if we just stick my card in one of those machines like in cvs?!! ry and i go and try it out... thank GOODNESS it works, but since there are 1,000 picutres (no really. 1,000) on my card it took way over an hour to get them put on CDs... who they will be ready tomorrow. hopefully.

anyway. the trip was wonderful.
living water is an INCREDIBLE group. amazing organization doing incredible things.
we built a well- and provided clean water in the name of Jesus.
unlike anything ive ever experienced.
plus guatemala is beautiful... as you will see.

anyway this is all for now... these were taken the last day on my "back-up" camera.

thank you all so very much for your love and prayers. really. without you this would not have been possible.

love and peace-
d

my favorite guatemalan 3 year old... Jackie (her parents work for LWI and live at the base camp in Antigua. she was fabulous. upon my entry into the room she woudl say "DANIELA!!!")

the "younguns" of the trip-
the 26 year old soon to be dad, 31 year old dad of 2 kids with one on the way , me the soon to be wife and B the 26 year old (another in country LWI worker) for el salvador

the volcano outside our house. no really. this was my view every day in antigua.
the first night i had a dream there was an earthquake and lava started spewing out.
i was then assured that lava spews out of it all the time.
WHAT?!?!