A little over a year ago David and I made a trip to visit Michigan and Texas so we could introduce the other to what would soon become the other half of their family. There was no way for us to get around and meet everybody though, so we thought we’d put up a bit of info about ourselves so that the other side of the family might have an idea of who their relative is getting hitched to.

So if you’re a curious member of David’s family and have no clue who I am, here’s a glimpse of my life. :}

Full name: Amber Raye Cunningham
Birthday: January 1st, 1988. David likes to joke that I’m a year younger than him, but don’t let him fool you—his birthday is just eight days before mine.
Major in college: Christian Education
Favorite flavor of ice cream: mmmm, cookie dough!
Likes: Reading, being artsy, rollercoasters, playing soccer, being with friends and family, and puppies
Dislikes: Mushrooms, people that stand too close when they talk to you; making phone calls to people I don’t know

Miscellaneous:
- I’m a military kid like David, so I don’t quite know where to call home. However, my family was stationed at Mountain Home, Idaho for several years and somehow it’s just stuck with us, so if I had to choose I would consider Idaho where I’m from.
-I accepted Christ when I was eleven years old and was baptized that same year
-When I was sixteen I began to take my faith more seriously, and as my walk with Him grew deeper and more steady I found Him guiding me toward a life in youth ministry
-Due to this call I made plans to attend college and study to pursue this goal, which is where I am now
-I think children are cute but at the moment I’m entertaining the idea of getting a puppy once David and I are out of debt. I’ve already got a few name ideas!

Ah, Idaho.  For many of our guests, they have probably given little thought to this northwestern state, but now they’re off to a wedding there.  If you’re curious to know more about this place and what you can find there, this post is for you.

Those of you who are traveling to be with us will probably fly (though we do have a wonderful group of college buddies who are carpooling to get there, they aren’t the majority).  You’ll arrive at the Boise airport, which is a very nice place and easy to get around.  After picking up your luggage (which we are already praying will not be lost), you will be free to tour Idaho’s state capital if you like, but most likely you’ll want to head to your hotel in Mountain Home.  It’s a pretty easy drive.  Here are the directions from the Boise Airport to the Hampton Inn of Mountain Home, where many of our guests have made reservations.

Depending on how long you are staying, it might be nice to know some other things to see and do in the area, either before or after the day of the wedding.  Mountain Home is not a city by any means, but this town does have some things to do in it, despite what the teenagers say.  There is a nice little movie theater, several wonderful parks, and some enjoyable restaurants.  My family and I recommend stopping by Smoky Mountain Pizza and Pasta if you’re looking for something besides fast food to eat.  You can find out more information on Mountain Home and some surrounding attractions by visiting their website: http://www.mountain-home.us/.  Everybody has a website these days, it’s amazing!

If you’re really itching to do some things that can’t be found in little Mountain Home, feel free to head on up and visit Boise.  Of the many cities I’ve visited, Boise is honestly one of my favorites.  It has the Greenbelt, which is a beautifully maintained pathway along the Boise River that can be used for walking or cycling.  There is an art museum which is worth taking a look at, as well as a very charming zoo.  If you’re looking for something exciting and engaging, check out Idaho IceWorld, a huge ice-skating facility.  For the shopper among you, Boise has a very nice place: Boise Town Square Mall.  As for food, Boise has a bit more selection than Mountain Home, which I suppose is understandable.  If you have the time and a bit of money to spare, my favorite place to eat in Boise is the PF Chang’s China Bistro, located in downtown.  It’s an amazingly nice Chinese restaurant with heavenly food.

When the big day rolls around, the ceremony will be held at Mountain Home Church of the Nazarene.  Here are the directions from the Hampton Inn to the church.

If anyone has any questions about places to see and things to do during their stay, feel free to send me an e-mail.

Here is a list of things that David and I already have, for those of you who wish to send us gifts.  We are still in shock about a number of these items, as most were donated to us by our new church family and we were delightfully surprised.  Thanks a ton to everybody who has already helped us out so far; we feel very blessed!  I will attempt to keep this list as updated as possible to help anyone who would like to give us something.

Thank you everyone!

(5/29)

Kitchen

-Microwave

-Towels

-Wash cloths

-Various sized pots

-Various pans

-Cookie sheets

-Hot pads

-Silverware

-Cooking spoons and things

-Ice trays (a ton of them, thanks again Beth!)

Living Room

-couch (Thank you to the Lovell’s for that generous gift!  You’ve gone above and beyond for us!)

-tv stand

-tv

-coffee/end tables

-two lamps

-two living chairs

Bathrooms

-towels

-toilet brushes (David and I were proud we remembered to get them so we could clean the toilets when David first moved in so… it goes up on the website!)

Bedroom

-Bed

-Pillows galore

-Two blankets

Office

-Desk (again, thanks a ton to the Lovell’s for the desk, it is amazing!)

-Tall bookcase

-Medium height bookcase

-A lot of books (we really like books by the way, if you’re dying to get us something and don’t know what… a book would be cool!)

Alright, well I think that will do it for the list, and I hope it helps you guys out.  If you have any questions just shoot me an e-mail (amberskye08@gmail.com) and I’ll do all I can to help you out.

Again, a million thanks to everyone who has helped us so far.  David and I can’t express our appreciation enough.  God is sure taking care of us, and it’s something to see, and even more to be a part of it.

Alright, it feels rather odd to be writing about people sending us gifts and whatnot for our wedding, but I’ll try and move past it.  I just always felt as though David and I were supposed to register places and provide our address but still pretend like it’s a huge surprise when people give us things.

But, you folks need info about it and that’s what I’m here to supply, so here we go!

We are not registered anywhere.  This is for several reasons.  One is that we had no idea what address to put down to have gifts sent to for a long time.  Another reason is because when we did inherit an address it came along with a very caring church family who is still generously donating things to David and me.  Most things we would put on a wedding registry have already been supplied, as David and I were only going to put up the necessities anyway.

However, we do have an address now, and if you would like to send us something feel free.  I’m a little cautious about posting it over the internet, so if you do not have it send me an e-mail (amberskye08@gmail.com) and I’ll respond promptly.  Also, it is the return address that was given on your invitation.  If you wish to send a gift, please check this post for a list of things we already have.

We also accept money.  Is there any polite way to say that?

Please note, David and I are very appreciative of everyone who even congratulates us, please feel no obligation to give us anything.  We’re honored that you’re a part of our lives and we love that we’re able to share this exciting celebration with you, even if it’s only through this website.  We plan to send out individual thank you letters for each gift we receive.  If you send money we plan on taking a picture of what we bought with it and sending that to you as well, as another way of saying thank you.

I’ve had several people ask me what to wear to the wedding, and my response to everyone has been the same: wear what you would wear to church.  Our wedding is certainly going to be special, but it’s not going to be extremely fancy and formal.  While we have some dashing green ties for the groomsmen, and the bridesmaids will be all decked out in lovely tea-length gowns, feel free to show up in a collared shirt and no tie, or dress pants and a nice shirt for you ladies.

Bottom line, we want our guests to be comfortable and enjoy the day.  So, showing up in jeans and a t-shirt is probably a little too casual, don’t feel like you have to sit there in a suit and tie. :}

Alright, so David and I sat down and cranked out about one hundred wedding invitations yesterday.  I have a blister forming on my thumb from all the envelopes I addressed, and I’m pretty sure David still has traces of Elmer’s glue on his hands.  We piled all the completed invitations in a shoebox, which David took to the post office today and shipped off.

Hallelujah!  They’re gone!

But… we put this website address on the back of each of them.  So… that means I actually need to crack down and get some information up now.

So, to start things off, I thought I’d give some background on David and I for the friends and family out there that don’t know much about us as a couple other than we hooked up, got engaged, and we’re tying the knot at the end of next month.

The name of this blog was chosen because it’s true: we did, in fact, meet in France.  It was way back in November of 2005 (The 10th, to be exact, though I’m nice and don’t expect David to remember the exact date).  David and I were on a bus that was taking us to a youth retreat held in France.  I had just moved to Germany a few months prior and was enjoying the busride because it gave me a chance to spend more time with my new youth group.  David was not a part of my church youth group, which… I was unaware of.  He just showed up and was talking to a cluster of eight grade boys like he was one of their friends.

I assumed immediately that David as an eight grader that one of the guys in my youth group had invited along.  And yes, David still teases me about this from time to time.

We didn’t talk until we were on the bus, and when we did we hit it off from the start.  After the retreat we swapped e-mail addresses and kept chatting over IM and eventually talked on the phone.  He asked me out three separate times, and I finally said yes on January 16th.  His persistence is always going to be appreciated on my part!

Both of us were seniors and we got to see each other a couple Saturdays a month.  After graduation we saw each other more in the summer, and our relationship was going quite well.  Of course… we both had plans to attend college, plans that had been in place before either of us knew the other existed.  David (with quite the nudge from God, but that’s another story) ended up switching colleges late in July, but we were still set to attend different schools.  We had a choice to make: either break up, or try to make a long distance relationship work.

It was a hard decision.  When I moved to Germany I had tried the whole long distance thing, and it hadn’t worked out at all.  But… David and I had had such a great summer, and after a lot of prayer and consideration, we talked it through and decided we’d go for it.  So in August he set off to Missouri and I got on a plane for Idaho.

The long distance was hard, and that fall held a lot of rough waters for our relationship.  But, each time we made it through, talked it out, and ended up growing.  By November we were talking about seeing each other again in Germany for Christmas break.  Little did I know that David was also making plans to see my dad over the break.

On December 23rd, 2006, David called me up and asked me if I could spend the afternoon with him.  He had been sick as a dog for over a week, and was actually calling me on his way home from another hospital visit.  I prepared myself to spend the afternoon watching movies and having David drool on my shoulder as he slept through it all.  However, when I arrived he was looking better than he had in several days.  (I found out later that he had been pretty drugged up in order to achieve this energetic state.)  Before I even got in the door he asked if I wanted to drive up to the castle near his house.  From time to time we would drive up there and walk around.  It meant a lot to both of us, particularly because it was the site of our first date and our first kiss.

David proposed at the castle, and this time I didn’t make him ask me three times.  It was a wonderful day and since then we’ve been slowly working on plans for our wedding, but more importantly for our marriage.  We went back to our separate schools after the break, and the long distance wasn’t as hard as it had been in the fall.  After a lot of prayer I transfered from my school in Idaho to HLG in Missouri, where David and I both attended last year.  We plan to continue college together until we graduate, and we’ll see where God leads us after that.