Rock On!

This is by far one of my favorite pictures in a long time. My brother Tom took this with his camera on the weekend Erin and I got engaged - two days before to be exact. It was a long awaited "Sibling's Night" plus our cousin Shelley, her husband Matt, and my sister-in-law Tiff's dad, Dale. We were up past 3AM and I can't remember the last time I had so much fun. This was our "Rock Out!" pose. For those of you that don't know my siblings yet, wait until the wedding reception. They know how to get a party started ;-) However, you put Joe Quinlan, Erin's Uncle, in a room and magical things start to happen. What can I say ... he's Irish and loves the ChiSox and Notre Dame. Anyways, enjoy the picture and "Rock On!" ~Joe

Wedding Plans?

Just a quick update. Sorry, no new pictures. Erin has been in Florida the last week visiting her Grandmother Alice, with her mom. We are hoping for August 8, 2009, but everything is tentative at this point. As soon as she gets back we will be on the hunt for a church. We have one in mind, but need to find some others. I will also be talking to our Scottish pastor to see if he would officiate our ceremony. When he speaks you can tell he loves the Lord and genuinely cares for all he ministers to. Personally, Erin and I dig the Scottish accent ... "irrrrrevocably." But, for all of you that remember the late Alan Wilson, nothing tops the "Wee Geordie's" accent. Erin made a big purchase but, I'll let her tell you about that when she gets back ;-) Hope to post more info and pictures soon. ~Joe

Engagement Photos

Striking a pose on the bridge... I had no clue what was about to happen
Me, trying to look pretty. Joe, concentrating on getting the shot. Still had no clue...

OK, at this point, I think I knew :) Isn't it a pretty ring? It's even more gorgeous up close!

When we got back to the cottage, many of Joe's extended family members were there. They were quite pleasantly surprised to hear we were engaged. Joe's nieces were so cute when they found out I would be their new aunt; I was so tickled. And, after each taking a limb and tossing Joe, fully-clothed, into the lake, each of Joe's brother's came to give me a sopping wet hug. The weekend was such a blessing to me. I will never forget how clueless I was, how shocked I was upon seeing the ring, how Joe took my breath away with how he spoke to me and how he proposed, and how I happy I am to be invited so warmly into the Harmon Family!

The happy couple

I would like to thank the Harmons and the Johnsons and our friends for making our weekend such an exciting time. I believe Joe and I are able to have this love for each other because we are loved by incredible people and an incredibly loving God. We are so truly blessed by Him!

Baseball Birthday

Cheers! Watching the Schaumburg Flyers

The Blue Man Group


Janny, my sister Katie, and her friend Nikki wonder when the rain will stop


I can't wait!!!! And not to worry, although the date is on the hoodie, it is not chiseled in stone.

Sisters, Brides, Friends

Our only three minutes of baseball before the storm

Earlier in the week, at Wrigley Field. It was the perfect day for a Cubby win!

Derrek Lee, my favorite player. Stopped a ball later on with his bare hands. He rocks!


Yesterday was my birthday, and although I had a very nice day, it still can't match my engagement day. This week has been both exciting and exhausting, with teaching summer school in the mornings, to hanging out with my brother Kevin and his wife Sonya, to dreaming about every aspect of my upcoming wedding (yes, I admit it, that's pretty much all I can think about right now!), I have had a pretty great week! Joe has been with us for most of the week, which has also been great because sometimes it gets hard to see each other during the work week even in the summer, but this week was really fun. We all hung out Monday, Wednesday Kevin, Sonya, and I witnessed the Cubs beating the Reds, last night was Jimmy Buffett night at the Flyer's Stadium in Schaumburg (of course we were rained out), but we were able to go home, laugh it up, and just be together. I couldn't ask for better, more loving people to be a part of my family, and I couldn't have dreamt for a better, more loving fiance. ~Erin

Happy Birthday Erin!

Andrea's Wedding, Erin's friend, last year.

It's Erin's 26th Birthday today! I Praise the LORD for bringing her into this world. Still getting used to calling her my fiancée, but it's wonderful to say. Looking forward to having her be my wife. Anyways, we will be celebrating with her family tonight at the Schaumburg Flyers Baseball Game. My kind of girl ... chooses sporting events for a good time. Good thing I got two tickets to Notre Dame's home opener against San Diego State.

Engagement Pictures Part I

The Ring - Picture doesn't do it justice

The Bride and Groom

Love

The Younger Three - Mary, Peter and Me

Tarp Ball! - Introduced by Joe Quinlan, Erin's Uncle, then to the Harmons. The nieces and nephwes loved it!

The most beautiful woman in the world ... and me

We'll post more pictures of the location of the engagement and more weekend pictures. The kids loved the tarp ball game. Erin, Mom, Dad, Dave and Peter were a big help in making the game fun for the kids. Most of these pictures were taken after I was thrown in the lake by my brothers, and Erin hugged by all my "water-soaked" brothers after they had thrown me in. Neither Erin and I minded getting wet ... we were on Cloud 9 and still are :-) Thanks to our sister Susie for the pictures! ~Joe

Engaged!!!

Yes, Joe proposed on July 5th, the day after Independence Day. We had just finished having lunch at Red's on the River in Rockford, Michigan (which, if you'r ever in the area, you should definitely go!), and we were walking along the river on this path, where the sun was sort of breaking in through the trees - it was just gorgeous. The path dead ended and we turned around, and he stopped me right under this large tree branch arch thing ("the Magical Arch" as I named it,) and he asked me if I ever took off my Claddagh ring, which I wore on my right middle finger. I took it off to show him that it indeed was removable, and while I was doing that he casually mentioned that he needed a breath mint. I was thinking, a breath mint?! Your breath doesn't even stink! Do you even carry breath mints? And as I'm thinking these thoughts out loud, Joe gets down on one knee, and already has the absolutely beautiful engagement ring in his hand. I burst into tears when he told me he loved me and wanted to take care of me, be my spiritual leader, and then asked me to be his wife! Of course, I said yes!

We are very excited, as are our families, and we can't wait to start planning our wedding (and our life)! We are so grateful and blessed! There will be pictures soon, so stay tuned!

We're Engaged!!!

Erin and I are engaged! I will let Erin share the details, and pictures will follow within the next couple days. We had a great time with the entire Harmon Family, and were overwhelmed by the love and excitement from the family. Not to mention the excitement of the Johnson's back in Chicago. We couldn't get back fast enough for Erin to show the ring to her family. But, not even the bad traffic on the way home from Grand Rapids could burst our bubble ... I think I'm out of the dog house for at least a few weeks ;-) ~Joe

PS I think this was the first time I actually enjoyed getting thrown in the lake, by my brothers, with all my clothes on.

Grand Rapids for the 4th of July!

Tomorrow we leave for Grand Rapids, MI! We will be spending our long weekend with all the Harmons on Bostwick Lake. It will be the first time that all of us have been together since Erin and I started dating. Bond fires, some cold ones, fireworks, fun in the sun and maybe even a diamond ring??? We'll see what happens ... no promises. I'm sure we'll have pictures to post later. ~Joe

Kevin and Sonya's Wedding

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Blog Created!

This blog has been created so that all family and friends can follow the beginning of our lives together. Pictures and updates on our journey through engagement and wedding plans will follow. This is the first post. Erin has no idea that I have created this page. She doesn't even know that I am picking up her "ring" on July 3rd. Erin will start posting once we are engaged. The idea for this blog was inspired by my sister, Susie, and Sonya Johnson, my soon to be sister-in-law. Susie has a blog documenting the journey of bringing her beautiful Guatemalan daughter home, while Sonya created one for her June 13, 2008 Wedding to Kevin, Erin's Brother. Congrats to Kevin and Sonya Johnson! I am looking forward to seeing the ring, but I'm still not sure when I will ask. I know it will be before summer's end. Who knows ... could be sooner rather than later ;-) ~Joe