seventy-seven days and counting...

In seventy-seven days, the lovebirds will be married. Everyone is so excited for our winter island getaway! There will be approximately fifty of our closest friends and family attending the wedding of Shelby and Mike. Of course, we have friends and family who cannot go that we wish could go but we know they will be sending well wishes to Shelby and Mike on their special day.

Have I told the story of Mike and Shelby and how they met? If I'm repeating myself, just chalk it up to my memory... or lack thereof.

Shelby and her friend, Kelly, had gone out to dinner one evening and were having a drink after dinner when Mike walked in. Alone. The story goes that he spotted Shelby and Kelly and asked to join them. Well, at the time, I thought "what kind of guy does that!?" Now I know. Mike Adams. And I mean that in the most sincere way. After getting to know Mike, it is SO like him to do something like that. Well, he sat and chatted with the girls and, at the time, Shelby thought Mike was interested in Kelly but as Shelby was leaving, Mike asked her to stay and talk more.

My mother instincts were "OH NO! YOU DIDN'T STAY AND TALK TO A COMPLETE STRANGER, DID YOU?!" She did. They talked and talked and Shelby found that Mike had been visiting friends in Chicago, was originally from Michigan and lived in Bellingham, Washington! He was leaving for Washington the next day and said he'd call her.

Well, long story short, he called her and called her and called her and she called him and called him and called him. One thing led to another and soon he was saying maybe he'd move to Chicago by Fall (this was November)... the NEXT Fall... he moved to Chicago in February. That's when we knew he was serious.

Mike is such a gentleman. From very early on, Mike and Shelby knew there was something there between them. Mike's mom told me that some of their relatives didn't believe Shelby and Mike had just met - "they act like they've been together forever." And even though they were 30 years old and knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, Mike would not propose until they'd dated for a year because he didn't want us to think he was rushing into things. And then they had to wait ANOTHER year to get married so we really knew he wasn't rushing into anything! And when Mike wanted to propose to Shelby, he didn't just ask Dave, he asked all of us, for Shelby's hand in marriage.

Mike is probably one of the biggest teasers I've ever met. He cares about how others feel to a fault and he's pretty opinionated. He loves our Shelby and takes good care of her and that's all that matters to us me.

We can't wait for our island wedding! Amber will stand up with Shelby, and Maddie and Maci will be flower girls along with Mike's niece, Lily. Those three will steal the show, I'm sure.

Luckily, Shelby and Mike will have a chance to spend a few days alone before everyone descends upon Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. But once everyone gets there, it's going to be one of the biggest celebrations Punta Cana has ever seen!

I believe in destiny.

♥