our 1 year anniversary was perfect.

It was a great one year...man, I love marriage! I promise I'm not that controlling of a person, but in this picture I do look like I'm telling Scott how to hold his "one." Anyways, that was actually on our one year anniversary. We had too many other things going on that day, so we celebrated a few days later. Back in February I bought a deal for a one night stay at the winery in Aviston, IL. It was awesome! A perfect one night getaway. They had small, individual cabins to stay in. Basically it was one big room. It had a huge jacuzzi in the middle of the room with a fireplace (yes we used it even though it was 90 degrees out). We ate dinner there first. It was super num. We got all-you-can-eat crab legs. At first we were kind of annoyed because we were both soooo hungry and it takes forever to crack it and get a good sized piece of crab. By the end of our first batch of crab, we were pros at cracking it perfectly to pull out a huge chunk of crab. We were too full to get more:( Dern! We totally didn't take advantage of the all-you-can-eat crab legs. Oh well. It also came with delicious green beans and mashed potatoes. We ate while overlooking a beautiful lake. That night we watched our wedding DVD my brother made us and both cried AGAIN! Yep, we cried when we watched it after our wedding and still a year later. Scott was really cute and buried his face in my arm because he didn't want me to know he was crying. I was happy he was crying happy tears, probably because he is so in lub with me! I mean, he better not have been crying sad tears...kidding, I know he wasn't. We both relived that amazing day of our lives and felt so blessed to be married to one another. Well, the next day we hung out ALL day in St. Louis. It was ree fun. We ate at our favorite restaurant, Olive Garden (thanks to Trina and Alan Schneider's anniversary gift card), we went to the zoo, Scott watched me get my hair did (what a patient man), we ate dinner in the loop and of course got ice cream, and we hung out with Zach and Marsha Friedrich...who just had gotten married a week ago:) It was a perfect celebration. I love that man, Scott Schneider.

the first time we hung out.

Today I was looking at some old pictures of Scotty and I. Our one year anniversary is on Sunday!! Oh my goodness, can you believe that!?!? Life just flies by when you are with your bestest friend EVA! I came across a picture from my junior year of college, his sophomore year of college. I was rooming with two of my amazing friends, Leann and Cindi. Supposedly, Scott started crushing on me his freshman year. I mean, what can I say? Joke. Well Cindi had hung out with a few people while Scott was around and mentioned one night while we were trying to fall asleep in our bunk beds, "you know who I think is really cute and that you would go well with?"
Oh great, here it goes again, another suggested guy for me to date. "Who?" I asked, completely uninterested.
"Scott Schneider."
"Hmmm...he's cute. Yeah, maybe."
Well, he somewhat began pursuing me, so one night I asked him to come to a Death Medicine concert (a friend's band) in St. Louis. I wasn't sure if he would come since he was a tad shy and probably felt uncomfortable going to a concert wtih 3 crazy "punk rock" girls he didn't really know. Well, he said yes. Adda boy Scotty! That was the first time we "hung out." I thought he was a lot of fun and we were super silly and weird with each other from day one. And now it's almost been one year of marriage!! Thank you Cindi and Leann, thank you Kate, Cristi and Jordan, thank you bunk bed talks, thank you Death Medicine concert, thank you Scott for crushing on me and pursuing me, thank you everyone else who affirmed us, thank you Jesus for THE perfect husband! There was one major thing that bugged me...call me shallow, but I hated his haircut. I thought it looked like a mushroom top...at least that was the first think that came to my mind. So our first official date, the summer going into my senior year, I told him he would look so good with a buzz! I'm a terrible person. He knows now I manipulated him, but he didn't divorce me. Whew. Man, he's one good looking man! How lucky I am.

Our first picture together proves how awkward we were...well, we still are. His hair wasn't as "mushroomy" in this pic. I have a Tinkerbell shirt on, crimped hair, a huge poof, and look ridiculous. He just looks young and cute. 3 1/2 years ago. Wuv him.

newphew E's first haircut.

E and Chrissy came in town last month, one more time before their baby girl, Lydia Grace, is born in September. One of the highlights of that weekend was when I got to spend some time with them at mom's shop, Salon Basia, giving E his very first haircut. He did awesome, especially after mom gave him a brush to distract him with!

He looks so handsome with his new haircut! Man, I miss that boy.

oh, how i long for our sweet carl...

Lord willing, Scott and I will be moving sometime in May or June. Do we know where yet? nope!! I know this may be weird, but one of the things I would say we are both most excited about moving is to be able to finally get a puppy! We have decided we probably are going to get a golden. His name is Carl. We talk about him like we already have him. We are weird, I know. I can't wait to take him on walks, to snuggle with him, to play with him in the yard, to be mad at him when he chews my shoe up, to discipline him when he pees or poops on the carpet and to love him!! I'm waaaaayyyy more excited about that right now than having a baby....I'm not ready for that yet. No thank you...maybe in a few years. Golden Retriever's are great puppies and they grow up to be awesome and beautiful dogs. My mom has a golden named Patrick, and he is definitely one of my best friends. He's the coolest dog ever! I hope Carl will be able to live up to Patrick's standard. It won't be hard for Carl to be smarter than Patrick, because Pat is pretty dumb, but he still is amazing. Carl, mommy and daddy are coming for you soon!!!

our first Christmas as newlyweds.

This year we had our first Christmas morning with just the two of us. We don't know if we will be able to do this again depending on future circumstances, but we surely cherished the moment this year.

Scott made a fire on our t.v.

 

Then we headed to the Schneider's house for the afternoon to spend Christmas with them.  We each opened our gifts one by one. I liked that tradition because you got to see what everyone got and gift opening lasted longer. Everyone loved what they got. Afterward, Trina and Al sent all the kids downstairs, covered the staircase with a blanket, and told us to not come upstairs. After awhile, we were called back upstairs and Al surprised Scott, Jered and C.J. with amazing antique fans from 1923 and 1924 that he bought and completely refurbished. Al is truly gifted.  It was definitely one of our favorite gifts. It will go with our antique look of our house we hope to pursue someday:)

Our last stop on Christmas was the Hayward household. All of my siblings were in town (I have 8 brothers and 1 sister), so my dad really wanted to get a family picture just in case this wouldn't happen again in a while. I don't have that, but when I get it, I'll post it. It was so great spending quality time with my siblings. I love my family so much. We were also entertained by my sweet nephew, Elijah.  He liked the wrapping paper better than his gift.

Jesse got 2 snuggies for Christmas!

Finally, the day after Christmas, we went to church and then went to my mom's to have our Christmas with her. Everyone rips theirs open at once, so it takes about 10 minutes and that's it. It's over. Patrick, our dog, sits in the middle of everyone with wrapping paper all over him. Elijah was entertained by a singing/dancing dog Jesse got him for Christmas. Good times at mom's house.

Jesse got us gift cards to Starbucks. What a sweetheart.

That evening, we went back to dads and spent time with our extended family. My cousin, Mandy, came up from Mississippi! I rarely get to see her, so it was a treat.

Whew! Long post. I just now took a breath. I hope you had a lovely Christmas a well. 

Love,

Janie

my favorite Christmas ever...as i recall.

This year Christmas was different.  I've never had a Christmas before being a married woman! It was a huge change, but a great change. I've been longing for this Christmas for a few years now. I've always loved Christmas, being with family and getting to see everyone. As I got older, I longed to begin my own traditions. Coming from a divorced family, holidays can be a little stressful. We would go to three different places on Christmas day so we could spend it with everyone. I was thankful to see everyone, but it made for an extremely long day.

I knew this Christmas would be different this year now that I have my own family...Scott Schneider:) We talked about how we were going to do things for months ahead of time, but never quite figured it out fully until the day of. Plans still changed the day of, but it ended up being perfect. This year, being our first Christmas as newlyweds, was still a bit chaotic. We haven't quite figured out the right plan for years to come....so once again, I still went to three different places. Christmas Eve, we hung out with Scott's brother, Jered and my sis-in-law, Jordan. We made a yummy meal and watched the best Christmas movie, Christmas Vacation. Christmas morning, my hunny and I woke up and had our own little Christmas together, just the two of us!  It was absolutely perfect! Then we went to Scott's parents and had Christmas with them. Finally, we had Christmas evening with the Hayward's.  All of my siblings were in town, which rarely happens. We took a family picture, ate a delicious dinner, and opened presents from one another. My sister, Emily, and I have a tradition of seeing a movie together Christmas night. We kept it this year, except Scotty came with:)  The day after, we went to church and then had Christmas with my mom. That night, we went back to my dad's and he had extended family over.

Though it was still a very busy Christmas, the quality time I spent with my wonderful husband and my family made for the best Christmas I've ever had. As we've all gotten older, we appreciate the time with each other more than ever. I savored every moment. I am so thankful for our families God has truly blessed us with. I'm also extremely thankful I can spend Christmas with my husband for the rest of my life.

I haven't uploaded the numerous pictures I have taken this break, but when I do, I will put them up for sure:)  Lots to come!!

Scott is turning 23!

his freshman year of college

graduating college: hilarious picture

and now an amazing husband

 Tomorrow, my handsome husband is turning the big 2-3. It's his Jordan birthday (Michael Jordan's #)....big deal.  I am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with such an amazing husband. I'm thankful he has blessed Scott with 23 years of a beautiful life.

Today I have been trying to plan his birthday (pictures to come).  I want to make it so special for him. Its his first birthday we get to celebrate together being married. So fun. It seems my plans for his birthdays in the past always fail:( Last year I had this great idea to go to Old St. Charles and eat dinner at this great restaurant and then ice skate outdoors. Well it was beyond freezing outside, and I didn't make reservations (dumb me). We ended up walking up and down the street for a long time looking for a restaurant to eat that wasn't a 2 hour wait. We finally found a cute little cafe that wasn't busy at all. It was fine, but not the greatest place I could've taken him. After we ate, we were both still cold and lost the desire to ice skate. Fail. I hope my plans this year work out. I'll keep you posted.

— hon·ey·moon·er noun

I would like to be a honeymooner for life. My definition of honeymooner: one who goes on a trip with their spouse at least once a year for the rest of their lives. The correct definition of a honeymooner: a trip or vacation taken by a newly married couple. So technically we have to be newlyweds. We will fit into this correct category for a few years, but that's no fun.  Going on a honeymoon after you get married is so great, but for some people, that may be the only trip they take with one another for an extensive amount of time. Ideally, to go on a large, expensive trip more than once a year or maybe even once every few years isn't likely (unless you are blessed with a little extra mula to spare).  It's funny, because a lot of people will tell Scott and I that right now is the best time to travel. "You are young and you don't have kids yet, so go travel!" Yeah, that would be great if we could afford it. That is more practical years down the road, after the kids have their kids and we are retired. I do look forward to that someday, but that's a long way away.  So for now, we are going to try and save some money when possible and take some sort of trip at least once a year. I'm not talking about a trip that will cost thousands of dollars. I'm talking about any type of fun, creative trip that will allow us to get away and enjoy each others company without the mundane routine of everyday life interfering for a short time.  Maybe that trip will end up being Branson, MO at one point. I'm ok with that. Maybe that will be a weekend getaway at a bed and breakfast. Of course I would like to go to Europe someday, but for now, small trips will be perfect.

I was looking at pictures from when Scott and I went to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for our honeymoon this summer.  One or our favorite adventures included driving ATV's through the jungle, caving, and zip lining into a beautiful sinkhole.  It was by far our favorite part of the honeymoon.

I felt claustrophobic. 

yes, we went on that zip line together.

Honeymooner for life baby!

our first Christmas tree!

Yesterday, Scott and I went to the tree farm in Greenville and picked out our first, real Christmas tree!  It was a lot of fun.  We didn't realize how expensive they would be, but we found the perfect tree for us that was reasonable:)

We thought about how awesome it would be to get this fat buddy, but realized it was about as big as our apartment.

We baked cookies, drank hot coco, watched Christmas Vacation, and decorated our tree's lovely branches.  It met all my expectations of putting up our first Christmas tree together:) The first year of marriage is so much fun! I just bought the star for the top today, so the tree in these pictures doesn't have a tree topper yet.

We decided every year until we begin having kids, we will buy each other an ornament for each other. Scott began that tradition two years ago with an "Our First Christmas" ornament.  I actually laughed a little when he gave it to me because I thought that was what you get for your first Christmas being married.  It's on our tree now! He says he knew he was going to  marry me, so he wanted to give it early...haha...whatever.  I look forward to having kids someday and beginning fun traditions with them.  Merry Christmas is in 26 days!!!