Our Wedding

Happy New Year!

Hope your 2015 is off to a great start - ours is!

I really can't wait to tell you all about life in KC!  But...we should probably start at the beginning...  So, as promised, I'd like to share a bit about my our wedding.  (Yes, I intentionally left that "mistake" there. One thing I'm getting used to in married life is using new pronouns:

I = We

Mine = Ours

Me = Us

Be watching for those from here on out...since this blog is now about my life that includes my husband, so therefore, it's about OUR life!   Here ends the grammar exposition.)

I'd love to share every detail and every picture and every memory from our "Big Day," but I'll save all that for the visits we get to have in person (wink, wink...the guest room is open...ahem, cough, wink)!  For now, I'll share some highlights from my perspective (and maybe get my hubby to chime in, too!).

Highlights from wedding weekend:

• lovely bachelorette party/sleepover hosted by my amazing personal attendant - complete with fuzzy socks, hot chocolate, and cozy blankets on a super cute Christmas-light-strung deck!
• seriously perfect weather (74 and sunny...at the end of October...in Nebraska...!!!)
• morning of pampering with some of my very favorite ladies
• the music - especially the a cappella verse of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" featuring the beautiful voices of our wedding party and guests
• dancing! - our DJ, Craig Estudillo, did a great job of making everyone feel at home on and off the dance floor.
• my dad's speech - I can't really articulate what his words (and singing) meant to me...but it was very heartfelt and meant a lot. 
• the people - family and friends traveled from near and far to help us celebrate...we couldn't have asked for more! 

AND, of course:

• marrying the amazing man God so graciously picked out to be MY husband!

Bryant's highlights:

• getting to spend time with old and new family
• spending time with "the guys" the night before the wedding (Kensy, here - They were at the coop! ☺ )
• the wonderful ceremony my then-fiancée worked so hard to set up so she could become my wife
• the music - especially the a cappella verse of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" featuring the beautiful voices of our wedding party and guests (Kensy, again - He said, "You can copy that one." ☺ )
• getting to marry Kensy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (He asked for that many !'s ☺)

I know nothing and no one on this earth is perfect, but our wedding day sure seemed to come as close as it gets!

A special thanks to all who helped make it so meaningful, smooth, and wonderful!  Would especially like to thank:

• Harris Academy of the Arts - These musicians happen to be friends and former coworkers of mine...or maybe it's the other way around... ☺ Anyway, they're ultra-talented and nice and experienced and we are STILL getting compliments on their lovely playing.
• My mother-in-law (owner of GreatStitch) who not only traveled hours to be there and helped to make sure everyone was happy and healthy, but who also made this beautiful ring bearer's pillow:

The doily came from one of Bryant's grandmothers, the charms and pendants came from my two grandmothers, and his other grandmother did some hand-stitching to finish the pillow...AND his mom embroidered the back for us.  What a special piece of our day and keepsake for years to come!

• Le Cupcake - I spent some time with the owner of this lovely shop during my student teaching (before she opened the store).  We teachers always got to be her guinea pigs for all the test recipes and she even made cupcakes for my last day!  What they put together for our wedding day was so beautiful...and delicious! 
  

  

  So many yummy flavors!

  

  "The Princess Bride" themed groom's cake!

  
  
  
  
• Allison Garrett Photography - Allison is my godparents' daughter and was the flower girl in my parents' wedding...and happens to be a professional photographer!  She captured our day beautifully (check out the link to our pics - password is "berggren")!  AND I had the privilege of being a musician in HER wedding a couple weeks ago!  ☺  Here's a little taste of her work:
  
  

I could go on and on about this day.  It was truly a dream come true...and for so many reasons.  Thank you for letting me share a bit about it.  ☺  WE are so thankful for all of it...and for all of you.

Wedded blissfully,
Kensy (& Bryant)

Favorites of the day:

maple-glazed salmon and Brussels sprouts

board games

coupons

Week of ♥: 2014

Hello, all!

I had hoped to be able to say "Hope you're enjoying the warmer weather," but as I'm writing this, it's snowing outside...and has been for a few hours!  It has kind-of turned to rain-ish precipitation, now, and the ground looks like it's covered by a layer of grits.  Or maybe couscous...possibly popcorn.  Regardless of what food it resembles, it's a very wet snow.  (Cue "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?")

Anyway, I hope this finds you well!  Things are pretty great here.  

I want to share some of the Valentine's Day gifts I received last week, but before doing do, can I just say again how blessed I am by the students I teach and their families?!  Seriously.  Not only do I love what I do, but I love who I get to do it with.  (Yes, I know - that sentence ended with a preposition...) I know that's not the first time I've said it...and it won't be the last.  And no - I'm not just saying it because they seem to shower me with gifts at any given occasion. ☺

My Valentine's Day week started with a cute heart Valentine and sucker from one of my new 4-yr.-old students, as well as this coffee bean/rose petal/foam sticker/heart decoration from another student.  Those coffee beans sure do smell good!

Tuesday started with a bag of chocolates from the family I nanny for, as well as this sweet gift and card from a piano student:

Outside
(It's worth noting that this thoughtful 6-yr.-old strongly hinted that this kind of candy was his favorite and he'd cleared it with his mom to maybe have one during our lesson...haha.  I took the hint.  ☺)

Inside
(Though I initially thought he'd drawn a picture of a minion from Despicable Me for me, it turns out that's a picture of me.  I guess I wear my glasses more often than not on his lesson days.  Not sure what to say about the hair...or lack thereof.)

The next day, an equally thoughtful boy student walked in with his arms very full, exclaimed, "Happy Valentine's Day!" and presented me with some beautiful Gerbera daisies and a candy bouquet!  I thanked him again at his lesson yesterday, and told him the flowers are still alive and well.  His response, "Yessss!" with a fist clench.  ☺

This gift was unrelated to Valentine's day, but I'm including it here, anyway, because I received it in the same week.
One of my adult students took a trip to Cabo, Mexico a few weeks ago, and she brought this precious hand-painted Nativity set back for me!  She said she saw it and immediately thought, "I think Kensy would like to have that."  She was right.  ☺

On Thursday, I walked in to find a box from FTD on my piano bench.  Inside were a dozen roses...complete with a vase!

The note said they were sent a day early, so I wouldn't have to take them along on my road trip to visit the sender the next day. ☺

Lisa and I exchanged Valentine's gifts that night.  You may remember the fact that we gave each other gifts in the same little mailboxes last year...?  Well, this year, we both unintentionally gave each other striped socks (among other things).

Mine are the fuzzy ones...she sure knows the way to my heart!  ☺

THEN, on Friday, I walked in my room at the studio to find a half dozen cupcakes from my favorite cupcake shop, Le Cupcake!

These came from the same sweet, thoughtful sender as the flowers...and I took them along when I went to see him that evening.  ♥ What a yummy Valentine's day dessert!

I also received a couple Valentine's Day pictures/letters from a couple families.  They sent those out instead of Christmas cards/letters.  Great idea, huh?

In other news...

I was somewhat recently introduced to a pretty awesome company called GreatStitch and got to help them prepare for a party idea that was more recently featured on a national blog.  (I painted the table legs! ☺)  Check it (and them) out!

http://www.karaspartyideas.com/2014/02/vintage-airplane-birthday-party-cashew-brittle-recipe.html

That's the scoop, for now!  Enjoy what's left of the week and the weekend to come!

Gratefully,

Kensy

Favorites of the day:

the power of prayer (keep them coming!)

smoothies

technology