If I could sum up the last few months of my life in one word it would be...WOW! So much has happened that I am just now able to sit back and catch my breath! Don't get me wrong, I have loved every minute of the chaos (except maybe the school part) but I forgot how nice it feels to just relax.
School ended on a very stressful note but I do not think that I have ever been so relieved to finish a semester in my life. I am sure the coming semester will be tough but the reward of graduation will only make it seem that much easier to make it to the end. I suppose the combination of knowing that I am so close to being finished and having a wedding literally two days after my last finals probably did not help matters this semester but I made it through with 3 A's, an A+ and B+. I was pretty proud of those grades but I could NOT have made it through the stress with those marks if it had not been for a VERY supportive fiance (at the time) and three wonderful friends....Tabitha, Ashley and Collin. Caleb, Tabitha and Ashley took the brunt of my stress but they were there for me every step of the way and did not miss a beat! I am so thankful to have them in my life.
On December 8th, Caleb and I were married. The day turned out absolutely beautiful and was the most perfect day in our lives thus far. We could not be more grateful for the loving family and friends that came together to help make this day so wonderful. I wish that we could put into words how grateful we both are to have such wonderful and amazing people in our lives! There are a few people who we want to thank who worked so hard to make our day so amazing. First, our parents. I do not know where either of us would be without their love and support. They have given us both so much throughout the years that neither of us can even begin to know where to start to repay them. Next, we want to thank Heather Carr and her husband Stepehen for doing an ABSOLUTELY amazing job in making our (Caleb seemed to like whatever I did...haha...its a guy thing I guess) vision for our day become a reality. Heather put so much work into making sure every detail was taken care of. I do not know what I would have done without her. She is going to make an awesome wedding planner. Next, I want to thank all of our wedding party. We love you guys so much and appreciate all you did to be a part of our special day. I especially want to thank Hillary for keeping me sane, grounded and bringing me back to reality when I needed it the most. I do not know what I would do without you! Ok, I feel like I am giving an Oscar speech right about now. Bottom line, we had the most amazing day of our lives on December 8th and it would not have been possible without the help, love and support of all of our family and friends. I will post more later with pictures from the honeymoon in Jamaica.
Caleb and I had a very quiet Christmas. We were so excited to spend our first Christmas as a married couple that it did not matter to us where we were. We went to church with Caleb's Aunt Martha's family. It was a small church with a very Moravian themed service. It was very different from what I am used to but I really enjoyed myself. We followed the church service with cocktails at a friend of theirs house. It was a great evening with a lot of wonderful people. We woke up Christmas morning and opened our stockings. We then discussed having breakfast but were to eager to open presents, so we skipped it (haha, sorry mom, that tradition may or may not be carried on when we have kids...haha). We then packed up the pups and headed to Caleb's parents house for the afternoon and evening. It was a great Christmas although I really missed my parents. Next year, we will be with them whether it be in Florida or up in the cold tundra of Minnesota.
We do not have any plans for New Years yet but I am sure they will come about in the next few days.
I start student teaching on January 16th. I am really excited to be in a classroom everyday. I will be with kindergarteners in Mrs. Peacocks classroom at Pilot Elementary School. This is the school that Caleb and now my cousins, Olivia and Lainey go to. I am so excited to be able to see them on a daily basis! I think this semester will be a challenge but I know I will learn so much. Caleb is keeping busy with work. Each day when he gets home, we do a little more on trying to get this house in order. It is definitely a work in progress but we have so much junk that we need to get rid of before we move to a new place. Hopefully that will happen sometime this summer.
I will leave you with a few pictures from our wedding. There are so many that I will probably just add them to the next several posts. We have not received the professional photographs yet but as soon as we do, I will post the link here. Hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that your New Year is filled with love and happiness!
