Sunday, December 29, 2013

The French Christmas


This was a very different Christmas for me. As I am a newly married woman, I got to celebrate my first married Christmas & start holiday traditions with my husband! I am so excited about all of the traditions we started. We put our tree & decorations up right after Halloween, not to bypass Thanksgiving, but just because we love Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve with Joe's family, opening gifts & playing games all night. And Joe and I got each other ornaments that we opened on Christmas Eve to build up our own personal ornament collection (I got the most amazing Jango Fett ornament & Joe got an Arkansas Razorback ornament)! We bought a fake tree this year because that's what was easiest, but I think next year we're going to cut down our own tree and just have two trees! Because you can never have too many.  
Christmas morning we woke up super early & drank hot chocolate, listened to Christmas music, opened gifts & Skyped with my family. My mom, dad, brother & sister live 9 hours away and this was my first Christmas not spent with them so it was nice to get to see them over Skype! We then had our friends, Faith, Aaron & Maddie Marsh over for a Christmas lunch. It was so fun because it was my first Christmas that I got to cook for everyone! I made barbecue chicken topped with cheese, bacon, & chives, mashed potato topped green bean casserole, mac & cheese, rolls, & corn on the cob with mayonnaise, lime juice & creole seasoning. It was delish! The rest of the night, Joe and I spent relaxing (he was sick all of Christmas day but was such a trooper) and we ate cookies, drank milk, and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. All in all, it was the perfect first married Christmas. 
Oh and did I mention Joe got me a Schwinn bicycle? He wins. He wins best present buyer ever! 

Friday, December 20, 2013

The Wedding Day, Pt. 3


When I say that our wedding day was the best day ever, I mean.. it was the BEST DAY EVER. All of the stress that I had felt from planning the actual wedding seemed to vanish. We were surrounded by our best friends & our family. What more could we have asked for? Sure, it was a very hot day! And half my makeup probably sweated off before I even saw Joe (not really because Danielle Green is amazing). But none of it  mattered. Because it was the day that we had been waiting for, the day that we would finally become one. And that is all that mattered. 

We wanted our day to be simple & filled with the most love possible, because that's us. We're fairly simple people wanting to show love to others & wanting people to see our love. And I hope that we did that then & hope we do that for the rest of our lives!

So here's a little lovey dovey stuff for your day. My wedding vows to the love of my life:

 I take you to be my best friend, the sunshine in my life, my everything
I promise to love you unconditionally without any limits
To keep God as the center of our relationship, now & forever 
I promise to life you up with a joyful spirit
 To be patient & kind to you & to never let go of your hand
I promise to give you nothing less than my best
 To be the warmth in your heart on the coldest of days
To bring you good, not harm
To think less about what I want & all of what you want
I will strive to be the woman God has called me to be, clothed in strength & dignity
And to cherish our memories in my heart & also on Instagram (a little joke b/c we met on Instagram)
I will forever be there to laugh with you & cry with you
To grow old with you but stay young with you
To be your greatest fan & support your wildest dreams
To always play Super Smash Bros & to sometimes let you win (another joke b/c he always kicks my butt)
I will forever be your dance partner & your life long Waffle House date
The Zelda to your Link & the Princess Leia to your Han Solo (because we're nerds)
I never knew it was possible to love someone as much as I love you (& this is when the most ridiculous water works began.. I had almost made it through my vows without "ugly crying")
I am so thankful that God made you for ME
And I will love you for the rest of my life, with all of my heart and nothing less




Sunday, December 8, 2013

The Wedding Day, Pt. 2


Thankful to have had our closest friends and family at our wedding. Thankful to have been married by our mentor and sweet friend. Thankful to have had a photographer & videographer who captured every perfect moment. Thankful that God continuously blesses our marriage. And thankful to be married to my best friend in the world. 

Always, thankful.




(all photos by Stephanie Parsley)