I am in Puerto Rico!

I landed on the Island of Enchantment on Monday, December 14th around 4pm. I think its funny that when the pilot announces that they will begin descent to Puerto Rico, you still cannot see the island. So for a few minutes you are wondering if you may be landing in the ocean. But soon enough you will start seeing the beautiful coast of Puerto Rico. I can recognize the beaches, the road I've traveled, my school, my home, the mall... everything. And I smile with a warmth in my heart that it's impossible to describe with words, a sentiment that I can recognize only when I'm up in the air and see the island in all its splendor for the first time in months. And it has been eight months now since my last visit. I have never been away from home for so long.

I am happy to report that the weather is lovely and warm. So for those of you that are coming from the cold weathers of the north... you are going to be so happy here. You will find it odd that for Puerto Ricans the weather right now is cold. I actually went running in the park this morning and another woman was running with long sleeves and gloves. It was 83 degrees and sunny.

First item on my agenda this morning was to visit the Church. If I have been stressed at any point during the planning process it has been when I'm dealing with the Church. It has been a struggle to communicate between my Church in PR - where the nun that is helping us cannot speak English, and my Church in St. Louis - where the people that are helping me cannot speak Spanish. One Church tells me one thing, the other tells me something else. Thankfully everything seems to be running smoothly and all our papers are in order. Kudos to my dad. His main job during this process has been to be my contact with the Church in PR and he has been so diligent and loving throughout the whole process. Gracias, papi.

After a stop at the dry cleaners to have Ryan's suit pressed we went to lunch at El Fogon del Rey. This is the restaurant that is catering the rehearsal dinner. I had churrasco with white rice and beans (pictured) and a side of mofongo de yuca. I was the happiest person on earth. The rehearsal dinner is going to be delicious.

We also paid a visit to the florist to settle everything. We did not get to see a final arrangement of the table but I'm fine with that. I'm confident everything is going to look very pretty.

Tonight I met with my mom, Marisabel, Lydia, and Lorena and we went through all the details of the Ceremony and the Rehearsal. I also finished the seating arrangement. It was a long day. A lot was accomplished... And there is still so much left to do!

11 days and 4 hours left... but who is counting! :)