Today, Her Prince Has Come!

Growing up, I always dreamed of becoming a Princess. My childhood best friend and I spent hours together pretending to be Royals going to a ball, and I spent more than one Halloween in a fake crown and dress going door to door telling my neighbors,"Trick or Treat! Princess Natalie needs candy!"

This morning, I was up at three a.m. along with two billion other people, and watched as Kate Middleton wed her Prince, and in doing so, became a true Princess!

I drank in every single thing about the ceremony. From Prince William arriving to the abbey in his royal garb, to the absolutely beautiful bride walking in with her father, her incredible gown and train flowing behind her.

I smiled as Prince William whispered, "you look beautiful" to his bride upon her reaching the alter, and my ears drank in the accents as the couple spoke their vows to each other (because you know my love for accents--Especially, British accents).

I took in the glances and smiles they gave each other during the ceremony, and my heart loved the phrases spoken by the archbishop when he said, "Be who God meant you to be, and you can set the world on fire!" Everything in me loved how it was stated that all weddings are Royal because we are all children of the Creator, and I loved how the Creator was deeply woven into the entire service.

The romantic in me loved the way William gently helped his new wife as they kneeled to pray, making sure she was settled before bowing his head, and how he held her hand securely and confidently as they exited the church to throngs of well wishers and helped her in the carriage. Once settled, Kate looked to her husband and appeared to say, "I'm so happy!"

*I* was so happy about an hour later when the new Duke and Duchess appeared on the balcony to wave to the crowd. Upon giving each other the traditional balcony kiss, they seemed to respond to the crowds chants of "Kiss again! Kiss again! Kiss again!" William appeared to be coaxing his wife playfully with a few words as she laughed, and a few seconds later, their lips met again for an unheard of SECOND balcony kiss! The couple laughed at the roaring applause, gave a last wave, joined hands and headed back inside once more.

Yes, I've always dreamed of becoming a princess, and today, my dream, became Kate's reality! I pray for them as they begin this journey together. May they be protected, blessed, and guided by the One who joined them together!

Congratulations, William and Kate!

*Disclaimer: NONE of the images in this entry are mine.*

My "Get Up And Dance" song of the week!

My guy, "Blue Bloods" actor, Donnie Wahlberg is in the white hat! :-)

Less Than A Week

Sunday, March 1st is the March for Babies walk! For those of you that have thought about donating, but haven't yet, now is the time! I'm SO close to my goal and I can reach it with YOUR help!

If you are willing, please GO HERE and make a donation! And spread the word! TOGETHER, we CAN make a difference for babies born too soon!

Kyle and I thank you!

Dance Your Shoes Off

"Hot Call!!"

So, after a few tense months, I was able to share in a previous entry, that my favorite t.v. show, "Flashpoint" would indeed come back for another season this summer (whew!) The only question left was, WHEN? Well, tonight, we got an answer!

Set your DVR's folks! NEW episodes of "Flashpoint" return on Friday, May 6th!!! Yes, about three weeks from now!!!! A LOT sooner than expected!

AND I got thanks from the show's producer's for being the first to officially report the news on their FB page! *Blush* The entertainment reporter in me is thrilled! LOL!

CLICK HERE TO READ THE DETAILS!

Confidence? Where Art Thou?

"Down on your confidence, it's a fight that won't let go. But you've got to realize that you're alright." -Michael W. Smith-

I'm having a crisis of confidence, guys. Could you pray for me?

-My volunteer job is getting harder and harder to continue. An incident happened last week that has me REALLY just wanting to stop doing it. It's sad to feel that way about a place that supposed to be grounded in Christian principals but that you see very little of that lived out. I work on Tuesday's and Thursday's so if you could send up a few extra prayers on those days, that would awesome....Thanks!

-People tell me all the time what an inspiration I am. I feel like lately I've let everybody down by being such a "Negative Nat." I've tried to keep my FB posts and twitter updates as positive as possible, but I saw someone in town the other day who told me, "I see your Facebook posts all the time. Are you a little bummed out lately?" So apparently, I'm not doing a very good job. If you're one of those people, and I've disappointed you, I'm so sorry.

-I feel like I'm annoying everybody lately, but everybody's too nice to tell me so I've kinda chilled on texting or e-mailing people. I don't know WHY I feel like that. It's just a Satan filled lie...Deep down I KNOW this, but there's there's that tiny sliver of doubt that has me wondering if there's any truth to it.

-I've been questioning too who's being real with me and who's just telling me what I want to hear. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I want to be genuinely loved, not merely tolerated.

And now I'm about to post this and all I can think is how many of you will read this and think, "Wow, she's really NOT the positive person I thought she was....."

She'll be back....She's just struggling a bit right now. Hang in there with me! Thanks!

Heartbroken

About an hour ago, I got word that a sweet friend of mine took her own life earlier this afternoon.

It's heartbreaking as her friend to have to digest this. To digest the fact that I had spoken with her just four days ago and everything seemed fine, to digest the fact that behind her amazing smile, there was so much hurt and pain. I don't know how her young children will be able to cope with this devastating loss.

My heart breaks for her family who are left to live with this void in their lives forever, for her two young daughters that lost their Mommy today, and for her friends that would have helped her in a split second, if only we had known how broken she was feeling.

My mind keeps going back to what her family is doing tonight. It's so difficult to even wrap my brain around.

As her friends, we struggle to understand "why?" We battle the questions that don't matter anymore, but that will always keep us wondering. We're all dealing with different emotions tonight, but all of us who knew her share at least one common emotion: We loved her. And tonight, we are heartbroken.

May God surround all of us right now as we try and make sense of what has happened. May His peace envelope her family in the days, weeks, and years ahead. May they know how much she was loved and how incredible she was.

Rest in peace, dear friend! You will be loved and missed forever!

**Take some today to hug a loved one.**