invitations - ta da! ...

here's the invitation that chris has designed; we decided to use something that's most significant to us - the yin yang. =) if you look closely, you'll see that.




if you can't see what's written, here is the wording :

together

natalie jane wong
and
christopher william van wagoner

invite you to share their joy
as they celebrate their wedding,
with a

"tying the knot,
getting hitched,
growing old together",
ceremony and luncheon,

on saturday, the twenty-fifth of july
two thousand and nine
at eleven o'clock.

fish house, stanley park
vancouver, british columbia
canada

it is going to be printed on a hard piece and a translucent piece of paper, and pin it together w/ a brad. yay! *clap clap clap*

mon anniversaire ...

nat's point of view :

well, another year young, another day to look forward to. =)

last minutes wednesday, i decided to take the day off from work. therefore, i met up w/ my best friend - helen, go downtown and just catch up. i didn't plan on doing much this year, as every year i had something planned and spent it w/ my friends. this year i just want to have a nice quiet one w/ ppl that's most important in my life.

11th of march, marked chris and i's 1 yr engagement. personally, i wished chris was here and surprise me w/ an ice cream cone, but as i spoke to him the morning of, very much sounds like he was in utah, that didn't happen. =\
so the day went on, went downtown, had cheesecake and tea w/ helen. then went home, had dinner, sat and watched CSI w/ a bag of chips in my pj.
best. ever. highly recommended! =)


right now, i'm just trying to get the last decision made and things ready for the wedding. we have approximately 60 ppl attending, it's going to be in stanley park, we have purchased our wedding bands, and i've 1st part of my dress. =D
i couldn't have done it w/o shelley, my big sister (not blood related). she's the most wonderful person that a friend can ask for. =) (*cough* chris - invitation!!!)

there are still allot of knick-knacks that needed to be done, but i think i'll worry about it later. =P

10 things about yourself ...

i usually don't do this kind of chain survey thingy, but it has been going around, and i think i can bear w/ 10. =)

list 10 honest and INTERESTING things about yourself.

nat's point of view :

1. i don't eat duck, rabbit nor lamb. as my best friend and i made a promise we don't chew or cook the cute animals that we love.

2. i was born in hong kong, moved to vancouver when i was 12, and will be moving to salt lake city at age 24. =P (every 12 years, i move. j/k)

3. i'm trilingual in cantonese, mandarin and english; both written and read.

4. i am a certified volleyball referee in canada; regional, level 3 at the moment, and 2 more levels to get my international.

5. i was a scout from gr. 10 to gr. 11, no, not girls guide, it's a co-ed scout group; i learned to do knots and start a fire out of sticks, i was a venture.

6. i'm obsessed w/ bunny, lionhead breed bunny to be exact.

7. i'm known as the girl w/ driving-tourettes; i've some certain driving personal bugbear, just make damn sure you make your turn signal when you cut me off.

8. i prefer stick shift when it comes to car.

9. i love bread. you just have no idea. i LOVE bread.

10. i've been doing bikram hot yoga for 3 yrs, as my daily routine, and will get my certification eventually. =)

i can proudly say, WE OFFICIALLY HAVE A VENUE FOR OUR WEDDING! <3

Chris' point of view :

1. Before my mission I came in contact with an Agent for some of the Utah Jazz players. He had seen some of my basketball skills and wanted me to come workout/play with Deshawn Stevenson and a few others so that he could see how I played against stiffer competition. Unfortunately, I was reporting to the MTC 2 weeks later and was too busy to call him back and set something up. (I guess I essentially turned down a life of luxury as an NBA star for a mission) :)

2. I also love bread, even more so than Natalie. After my mission my friend Cameron and I had a bread feast where we balled up an entire loaf of bread into the shape of a turkey, filled it with stuffing and...well, we feasted.

3. I have been engaged once before. When I was 4, I rode my bike over to Chelsea Holly's house and popped the question. I don't know where I got that kind of courage.

4. While in New York I was shot at. I could hear the projectiles whizzing past my ear.

5. When I was a younger, I vowed to not get married until I was 30. This was probably due to the failed engagement at age 4 (See #3). It looks like I have broken that vow and will beat that age by four years.

6. Second to Natalie, video games are one of my greatest passions. The first game I ever conquered on my own was Street Fighter II for Super Nintendo(1991); the most recent game I have conquered is Street Fighter 4(2009) - some things just never change. :)

7. I won the geography bee in 5th grade.

8. I have never had a cavity in my permanent teeth. (knock on wood)

9. I had been to 15 different states but never out of the U.S. before I met Natalie.

10. I love authentic New York Pizza and buffalo wings. I think I ate my weight in them while I lived in NY.

miami revisited ...

Chris' point of view:

I had an interesting thought this morning on true love and universality. The thought was a result of a seemingly insignificant event that occurred while Natalie and I were in Miami this past January: We had returned to Natalie's mom's house for the evening following a long day of shopping and sun. While dinner was being made, Natalie and I took the opportunity to relax and watch a movie. The movie was Forbidden Kingdom, a kung fu action film staring Jet Li and Jackie Chan. I had watched and moderately enjoyed the English version just days early, and was now watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles. In thinking about the event, it is interesting because while the audio had changed, the subject matter, the feeling, the music, had all remained the same.

Over the past year, Natalie and I have had wonderful opportunities to travel. Most recently, during our trip to Miami, we were able to spend time with her Mom and brother, enjoying food, warm weather, and most importantly, company. We were even privileged enough to join her family on a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas.

Throughout the trip, I was over stimulated with my incredible surroundings. We had great Spanish food, we enjoyed delicious sushi, and we had amazing steaks prepared by Natalie's wonderful cook of a mother. We watched movies, we watched the New Year roll in, and sadly, we watched another great trip end, a return home.

Our surroundings change from trip to trip; even the language audio track is different depending on where we are. Nevertheless, the subject matter, the feeling, and the music that is our lives together, is always the same. It has been so much fun to have Natalie in my life. Our love is universal, timeless, and will be no matter the change in our surroundings.

nat's point of view :

sry, have been busy w/ wedding planning and all sorts of errands collided one after another.

our trip to visit mom before the new year was significance, not only we were going back the 2nd time, but for mom to know chris a little better, after chris has proposed.

i very much dislike the flights in b/w, either i cannot get enough sleep or my neck dread the painful plane seat. i'm only a little better if i travel w/ chris, as i can use his shoulder for support.

not sure if you guys have already notice, but our height's difference is sometimes an attention grabber. chris is 6 foot 3, and i'm 5 foot 3; he's exactly a foot taller. when i called my brother after i've landed in ft. lauderdale, there's no way that i can find him w/ the amount of ppl traffic in the airport. luckily he mentioned, "chris has already arrived, i'm w/ him". mathematically, i adjusted my search to my personal landmark. =D

this trip was more about relaxing and catching up w/ past holiday and planning for the up coming year. w/o a doubt, we always have delicious food involve ... dim sum, banana rolls, spanish food, hot pot, all you can eat, mom's special steak etc.

there are only 5 more months until our wedding, and chris is making a trip next month to organise the venue and invitation. when it comes to planning and organising, i get OCD on EVERYTHING little things. i'm so graceful that chris has not called off the wedding due to the amount of my unreasonable rant daily. ... ha ha.

talkin' to the songbird yesterday
flew me to a place not far away
he's a little pilot in my mind
singin' songs of love to pass the time

he's not anyone
he's not anyone
he's not anyone

a man can never dream these kind of things
especially when he came and spread his wings
whisper in my ear the things i'd like
then he flew away into the night
gonna write a song so he can see
give him all the love he gives to me
talk of better days that have yet to come
never felt this love from anyone

day in White ...

Chris' Point of View:

People are always looking for perfect days. And as is the case, these individuals have grown accustomed to the average or pretty good variety having given up on looking for the $100 bill lying on the penny ridden streets. To my own amazement, I had one of these events, and rather than post about Natalie's entire Salt Lake trip (which was fantastic), I thought I would chronicle this one, perfect, day.

I woke up early that Saturday and knelt before God. Its something that I don't do often enough, but I thought it important considering the culmination of miracles that was before me. It was an event that I never thought would arrive, it was an event that stood at lofty and seemingly unobtainable heights, and epically joined the ranks of the greatest happenings in recent memory. This event of course was Natalie's baptism.

I never had the opportunity to baptize someone. I know the reason was that I couldn't baptize just anyone, but that it had to be someone special. Luckily, Natalie had been prepared for the exclusive opportunity eons ago. =)

I remember as the moment arrived and Natalie grasped my arm, that I was looking at my future staring back at me. -As Natalie looked at me with trusting eyes, I knew that this was much more than a baptism, but the beginning of an eternal commitment. Standing there drenched in water, Natalie had never looked more beautiful. For me, her soaked hair and shivering body represented the first step in our never ending life together, and it was breathtaking.

Following the baptism, we relaxed and spent time with my family; my hand firmly clutching Natalie's. That night we went to a restaurant in downtown Salt Lake. The interior was perfectly ambient as I looked across the table at my beautiful bride to be.

That night I went to sleep with a smile on my face. I had stumbled across a day so rare, that it would be one that I would not soon forget.

nat's point of view :

to lead a better life i need my love to be here ...

here, making each day of the year
changing my life with a wave of his hand
nobody can deny that there's something there

there, running my hands through his hair
both of us thinking how good it can be
someone is speaking but he doesn't know she's there

i want him everywhere and if he's beside me
i know i need never care
but to love him is to need him everywhere
knowing that love is to share

each one believing that love never dies
watching his eyes and hoping i'm always there

to be there and everywhere
here, there and everywhere

the bearers of all good things arrived, my meaningful wk in slc was very gratifying!

it is always rewarding to see chris' face after some flight mileage, notwithstanding the dreading layover somewhere and you can't really do/go anywhere. =P ... if i've granted a super power, i'd love the freedom to be able to fly or teleport; by all means just give me a flying broomstick, as i absolutely HATE being away from chris, either or of that wonderful gifts would be a delight. =)

now, where should i begin? as the 6 days were sardine-packed w/ both excitement and some disappointment. the night of my arrival, we went out to dinner w/ the nortons, at a very trend vegan restaurant. it's always nice to catch up w/ friends that haven't been in touch or moved to another location, of course the bundle of joy that newly added to their family was greatly the night's topic.

so, what happen when you put nat, an outlet mall, chris and some marvellous sunshine together? =) chris took me to the park city outlet mall, it was a beautiful day, we went from store to store for a good 3 hours. honestly, shopping is a sport! walking, browsing, thinking and lifting, you can ask chris about that. =D
in that evening, we had a double date w/ emily & jon at this indian restaurant. yes food, the other 'hobby' that chris and i share. we're adventurous that way, love to try new restaurants and diners.

FREAKY FRIDAY. the much-anticipated event - halloween. chris and i have been brainstorming what should we dress up as for a good 2 wks, since the wk i come falls on the last day of october. =) ... ultimately we had agreed to dress as up : chungli and ryu from street fighters. i was super excited when we put in our orders for the costumes online; how under the circumstances only chris's costume arrived on time and mine didn't. so, on halloween w/o a costume i was a bit upset, but there's nothing we could do. carry on to our plans, chris took me to a local play, w/ the event of the day in mind - scary poppins! it was a fun filled family play where the nanny was not as 'enchanting' as mary poppins. =)

finally, saturday arrived. i've asked myself a few times, if i'm ready for this big step in my life, of course being engaged is another huge stepping stone; hence, being baptise is not just something you just do. in my family, religious belief plays a certain part; however i never really understand why we do this or do that. it didn't have much of a meaning to me as i followed. ... fairly, after i met chris and listen to his belief of how important the church and the gospels are to him, i saw that confidence in faith and in truth he understands. it pushes me toward how i want to pursue this happiness, this joy, this contentment.
indeed Father watches over all of his child, one after another situation i was being put to think this is not a coincident: entered into chris' life and learned about the gospels, reunited w/ a long lost childhood friend - whom was my missionary, discovered another childhood friend was a member after all these years. ... blimey, the final part of this experience is not only something suitable but also valuable. a missionary from vancouver honoured my interview. =) to make perfect circle, christopher my one and only, is performing the baptism for me. words cannot explain my gratitude of how flawless how i am back to Father's arms by the person that i want to spend eternality w/.

after a superb dinner, the courses we had were amazing and my felicitous company made me believe that i'm the luckiest girl in the world. it is just not any other day. =)





- i can't wait until i'm old & wrinkley w/ laugh lines ... then everyone will know how happy you made me.