With a heavy heart...

Cancer sucks. I can't stress or express this enough. No other word brings about so many emotions. When I hear it I battle with feelings of anger, rage, discouragement, disbelief, and of all things, hope. Most of the time I battle with the first four feelings. But in the end, I've learned that it also brings the only thing that can get me through hearing this word. HOPE.

Yesterday was a pretty rough day. At around 10:30 last night I received a text message that left me in tears and with feelings of anger and disbelief. My friend Karen, who has been an inspiration to me from the first day I met her, went home to the Lord yesterday afternoon. For the last several years Karen has battled breast cancer and for the past two years, a very serious and agressive type of breast cancer. Regardless of all her challenges, she always had a smile on her face that was contagious. She was such an inspiration and a strong woman.

I still haven't figured out why the strongest and Godliest women develop this horrible disease. Breast cancer affects one in every eight women. No woman (or anyone else for that matter) should have to hear those three words, "You have cancer." I can only pray that I'll never have to hear those three words.

Regardless of all the horrible things that cancer brings about, it still brings me HOPE. I hope that I will see the day when there is a cure for cancer. And I WILL see that day and I'll be part of the cure. This is the whole reason I'm walking 60 miles in September. To find a cure for breast cancer.

Karen, your smile and strength will always be ingrained in our hearts!

About Me



-I'm a total dog lover. Our Boston Terrier Angel is the joy of my life. However, I secretly love hearing our kitty Lilly purr while she sleeps on me. She's growing on me.

-My hair is curly. And I mean really curly! Some days I hate it, but most days I love it.

- I'm obsessed with the color pink and am super excited that my wedding color is pink.

- I have one tattoo. My magnolia puts a smile on my face every time I look at my side.

- Right now I'm in a pretty exciting phase of my life. Wedding. New Husband. New House. Bright Future :)

- One day I will be free and it's because I earned it! I can't wait to be my own boss!

- I'm a proud firefighter's wife (well almost). Pagers going off and fire engine sirens don't phase me anymore.

- I don't eat melons. No watermelon, cantaloupe, or honeydew for me.

- I'm a perfectionist. And slightly OCD. End of story.

- I'm a addicted to chocolate. But what woman isn't.

- As a child, I was addicted to spinach. No joke. I ate it by the cans!

- I'm in love with my engagement ring and and my Tiffany's diamond and sapphire wedding band. But I'm even more in love with my future husband.

- I'm a sucker for pedicures and pink nail polish. They're a must.

- My mom is one of the strongest women I know and I'm beyond blessed to have her as my Mom.

- I'm walking 60 miles in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day walk two weeks after my wedding! Craziness!

- I was my high school valedictorian. Yes, I was a total nerd.

- Tennis was my life in high school. It's sad that I haven't picked up my racquet in over a year. I want to get out and hit the court so bad!

- Between the ages of 8 and 13 I had braces twice, Mom gave a me a "girl" bowl cut, I had glasses and my closest friends were boys. Let's just say I was anything but accept by my peers, especially the girls.

- Cancer sucks. Period. And I'm bound and determined to help find a cure. That's why I Relay.

- One day, I'm going to write a memoir.

- I love my business team. OTOV is my second family.

- Tyler and I have 3 kayaks. Two blue and one green. I'm still waiting on my pink kayak.

- I love to cook and bake. But, I'm notorious for leaving the stove and oven on after I'm done.

- I stink at Grammar. I'm really surprised I pulled of a B+ in Grammar, Style, and Editing. I feel sorry for my future students when it comes to grammar.

- I love Bridgewater College. I'm still in shock that I'm graduating next May. But I'm so ready!

-At age 16 I had a gum graph and was the youngest patient my periodontist had ever had. My gums hate me.

-I drive a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica. Some call it the Mommy van. But actually, it's an SUV. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Even though it's a gas guzzler, I can fit 7 people in it. Totally worth it.

-There aren't any children in the forecast soon. Tyler and I are going to wait to have little Burgoyne's for quite a while. Plus, when we have children, I want to be free! So I have to get my freedom first!

- I'm blessed by so many wonderful people in my life.

The Second Love of my Life

Well, I hate to break it to Tyler, but I'm letting the world know about the second love of my life. Don't worry though, Tyler's known about this other person for quite a while (4 years to be exact). I think he's had plenty of time to get over it :) Haha!

Ok, time to get serious now. The second love of my life and my better (female) half is my best friend, Megan Alexander. Megan and I have quite an interesting history and such an amazing friendship. Here's how it all began...

Nearly four years ago, Megan and I met at Massanutten Regional Governor's School (a.k.a Gov School). For the first half of the year, I sat across from this smart and beautiful girl and never branched out of my comfort zone/corner table to go over and say hi to her. Then, our paths crossed one day in our English class when we were partnered up to peer edit each other's papers. I had written my paper about tennis, which sparked our first common interest. Like myself, Megan also played tennis for her high school. It was friendship at first sight. Later that school year, Megan and I had the opportunity to go on the Senior Bay Trip (even though we were juniors). That trip was the ultimate bonding experience! We learned how to cook together, break off fish heads, and even participated in the Marsh Olympics (where Megan was declared the Marsh Queen and I never made it to the finish line!). After that trip we were attached at the hip and the rest is history :)

Yes, we fell asleep on a moving boat!

Real women snap fish in two :) 

Less than two weeks after Megan left for her freshman year at George Mason University, Tyler popped the question, and Megan got the honor of being the first to know about our engagement and at that moment I asked her to be my Maid of Honor.

This precious girl I call my best friend is an absolute joy in my life. We laugh together. We cry together. We raid Victoria's Secret together(way too much)! And we confide in each other with everything! I'm so blessed to have her in my life and have her stand beside me on my wedding day.

During my bridal shower a few weeks ago, my aunt passed around a little magnolia notebook for everyone to write little bits of advice for me. Here's what Megan wrote.

Kels,

I am so glad we met that day at Gov school. I couldn't imagine a sweeter more caring best friend. If there is anyone in this world that deserves every Tiffany ring and Coach bag it's you. Better yet, you deserve all the happiness in your married life. I look forward to your wedding day. Today has been so much fun and only makes me excited for 9-10-11. You will be beautiful! I love you and you will always be my best friend, partner in crime, and of course my Vickie's buddy (Victoria's Secret)! I look forward to many more memories with you!

XOXO- Your Maid of Honor

This is why I love this girl :)

Reality is starting to sink in... but in a good way :)

After attending a friend's wedding yesterday, this whole getting married thing has begun to sink in. As I saw and witnessed the joining of this wonderful couple (Jon & Crystal) the water works started... and didn't stop! I held on to every moment of their ceremony. I made sure to pay attention to every detail because in 83 days, I'll be doing the same thing! 

One of my favorite parts of weddings is when the bride is escorted down the aisle by her father. Not only do I love seeing the beautiful bride in her stunning white wedding dress, but more importantly, I look at the reaction of the groom. Jon's reaction to Crystal was exactly what I was waiting to see. He was grinning from ear to ear and you could see him trying to hold back the tears as he watched his beautiful bride to be walk down the aisle. Watching his reaction brought on my tears and even more came down as I watched Crystal crying tears of joy as she walked down the aisle. She was absolutely stunning and glowing! This moment brought on so many feelings that hadn't hit me before. It finally hit me that I'm getting married and that in less than three months I'll be walking down the aisle crying tears of joy! Ohmygoodness! I wasn't prepared for these emotions at all!

After seeing Jon's reaction to Crystal, I'm completely fine with our guests looking at Tyler before they do me. The reaction on his face will be priceless and be nothing but raw emotion! I've even asked the photographer to concentrate on his reaction as I come down the aisle. The way I see it is that I'll be walking down the aisle for probably half a minute, his first reaction only lasts a few seconds and then a smile will be stuck on his face the rest of the time :)

Next came the vows. I was touched by both of their vows to one another and was taking mental notes of what to include in my own vows. Getting Tyler to write his vows has been like pulling teeth, but I've realized that this is pretty normal. Crystal admitted to me that she didn't write her vows until a few day before the wedding! Maybe it's the perfectionist in me that pushed myself to have them done over six months before the wedding! However, I'm sure I'll be changing them the last few moments before our wedding. I'm actually adding to them as I write this.

And last but not least, being pronounced as husband and wife for the very first time. The only way I can describe this feeling (or what I think this would be like) is with this picture of Crystal. I'm pretty certain that I will have the same look on my face (beaming from ear to ear)! She was actually evening bouncing up and down as the past was pronouncing them :) Oh how I adore this bride!

Ahh how I love weddings!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Jon & Crystal Yoder!

The Joy of Getting Engaged

Well as of Wednesday night, there is a new member to the Burgoyne family. Wes asked the most important question of his life to Jill and she said YES! As I listen to their proposal story and see her engagement ring sparkle on her left ring finger, I can't help but think back to that moment almost two years ago when Tyler asked me the same life changing question.

Our engagement day seemed just like yesterday. We had talked for months about getting engaged and I had even picked out my engagement ring. However, over the summer Tyler decided to buy a new brand new Nissan truck and my hopes of getting engaged on our 4 year anniversary (September 10) went out the window. Tyler then convinced me that he didn't have enough money to buy my ring. I accepted this fact and was patient because I knew it would happen very soon.

 I'm sure Tyler didn't plan it, but he proposed on September 09, 2009 (09.09.09). I'm absolutely adore unique dates like this one and especially our wedding date (09.10.11). Tyler is also fond of them because he can easily remember the date ;)

So, September 9th came and Tyler and I planned to celebrate our anniversary that evening since he had to work the following day. I compromised with my co-worker Laura and had her work late for me so I could get off early. Little did she know that when she agreed to work for me that she was only speeding up our engagement time ;) When I arrived to Tyler's house we started by exchanging gifts. Tyler opened his gift of two pairs of EMT pants and then snuck off to his truck to retrieve my gift. He them walked in with a shoe box covered in shiny green wrapping paper. I snickered as he handed the box to me and told him that he shouldn't have. (He told me he wasn't getting me a gift so he could save up for my ring).

Before opening the box I shook it and shook it and shook it. Not a sound. The first thought that came to my mind was, "Tyler got me an empty box!" I then jokingly told him, "This is what I've always wanted! An empty box!" He grinned and told me to open it and see what was inside. As I ripped the shiny green paper and opened the box my mouth dropped. I was wrong. There was something very significant in that box. In the middle of he box was a smaller ring box taped to the bottom. Inside the smaller ring box was the diamond and sapphire engagement ring I had been eyeballing at work for the last two months. Tyler then got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. The first words that came out of my mouth were, "NO you didn't!" No joke. And I didn't just say it once, or twice, or three times, but five times! As I kept repeating these three words I could see Tyler getting anxious/nervous as he said, "Is that a yes?"

Of course that's a YES!
I've waited for four years for this proposal and beautiful ring and I am not about to say no! That night Tyler made me the happiest girl in the world and for the next few months I was walking on cloud nine (and to this day I still am!) There's no other feeling in the world compared to that of getting engaged to the person you love and want to spend the rest of your life with. At that moment my life became stable and I knew where I was going to be over the course of the next few years.

I was (and still am) bound and determined to master the art of being engaged, going to school full time, and working a couple jobs. Along the way I'd learn how to plan my dream wedding (with a lot of help), build a happy home, and work on becoming the wife that Tyler deserves and WILL have. I wouldn't trade being engaged while in college for anything and even though some think we're too young, it's working for us and our lives have been truly blessed. We have over five years under our belts and have many more ahead of us. It's so cool to think that exactly six years about Tyler has me to be his girlfriend, we'll say "I Do" and become husband and wife. (Happy Sigh), am blessed or what!

As I go think back to our engagement, it was perfect. It was intimate and personal and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Sure there's plenty of other romantic ways to propose, but Tyler's proposal was romantic in his own way. He told me exactly how he felt and didn't feel the pressure of being watched. And as for me, I didn't feel bad about telling him no five times (haha)! I was genuinely surprised and excited and those feelings outweighed other emotions that would have brought on the tears. In my defence, I'm saving all my tears of joy for the wedding :)

100 Days To Go!

With only 100 days to go until the big day, the wedding stress is starting to pile on. After slacking most of my Spring semester with wedding planning, I'm now in full wedding mode and getting as much done as I possibly can. It's exciting to see everything start to come together and I am definitely getting anxious and excited :)

Tensions have been pretty high with all of the new adjustments we're going through and everything that will come in the next few months. We've run into some unsettled feelings from people who think we're too young and need to wait to get married. Well, sorry to burst their bubble, but this wedding will go on and we are getting married in 100 days!

It's very discouraging and irritating to hear all the comments we've heard recently. All we want is for people to be happy for us. That's all we're asking. What's really sad is that some aren't happy with our decision when they should feel blessed to see us get married. My Papa would have loved to seen his little girl get married. I just wish everyone could be as happy as he would have been.

As we get closer and closer to the wedding I'm constantly thinking about Papa. I'm not sure if it's because I got my tattoo touched up this week, but he's been in my thoughts frequently. Every time I look to my left side I can't help but smile and think that he'll always be by my side. It really saddens and frustrates me that he won't be able to walk me down the aisle on my special day. I keep thinking about our wedding day and what it would be like with him there. I can picture it perfectly.

After putting on my dress and getting all dolled up, I'd walk down to greet Papa and my Dad. He would smile and say "Look at my little Gabby" (which was my childhood nickname). We'd embrace and then get ready to walk down the aisle. Just the three of us. At the end of the aisle I'd receive a peck on the cheek from each of them and then be led to Tyler's side.

After the ceremony, we'd take pictures until our cheeks hurt and no smile would be as big as his. This would be the day he had been waiting for for years. His first granddaughter getting married to her prince charming who just so happened to have many of his qualities. At the reception he would wait patiently until it was our turn to take the dance floor. We'd then take the dance floor and all eyes would be on us.

The time would come for the newly pronounced couple to leave and he'd be in the crowd smiling and waving as the car drives away. What a perfect day for such a proud man who just gave away his granddaughter.

Even though I know this can only happen in my dreams it still gives me a calming and reassuring feeling. Just because he can't be there in person doesn't mean he can't be there in spirit. If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that he will be right by my side on my wedding day.