{Thanksgiving 2013} forever thankful

Every year since we got married, I've dedicated my Thanksgiving post to my husband.  & this year shall be no different!  My husband is my family, my world, my love & my best friend.  I am so thankful for everything he is, everything he does & everything he will be.

It's always such a treat to look through our wedding photos to pick one for this post.  The fun task reminds me of where everything started, how far we've come & what lies ahead of us.  Maybe it hasn't always been the easiest journey but it's our story & it's a story of love & hope.  Because I don't think I could possibly say it any better & the words still ring true two years later, here is a rerun of my thankful 2011 post:    

Thankful.  Very, very thankful.

My husband RZ is at the tippy top of my gratitude list this Thanksgiving.  I dedicate this post to him.  

I am thankful to call you my husband.  I am thankful for the beautiful moment we clasped hands, looked into each other's eyes & pledged our vows in front of our nearest & dearest during our marriage ceremony.  I am thankful for the fun, rockstar party that followed.  I am thankful for our sunny, dreamy Hawaiian honeymoon.  I am thankful for the incredible, lovely newlywed times that came after our wedding & honeymoon.  & for the times that were not so happy or easy, I am thankful we weathered the storms together.  I am thankful for our sweet home we share with our sweet pup.  I am thankful that I look forward to the moment you walk through the door every night.  I am thankful for every big & small moment that we make special.  I am thankful for this amazing life that is ours. 

More than words. 

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From Koru Wedding to you & yours: Happy Thanksgiving!

Photography: Timothy Glenn Photographers

{Guest Posting} Hope Over Heartache

Last week while I was in Key West for a destination wedding, something pretty big happened.  My guest post, Hope Over Heartache, was published in Still Standing Magazine.  I am beyond honored.  Almost one year ago, Still Standing encouraged women like me to share their stories.  I somehow found the courage to write & share my story of life after miscarriage.  From my first story & my following stories, I received tremendous support from family, friends, acquaintances, readers & strangers.  It was simply amazing.  Now that exact story appears on Still Standing Magazine & if it brings just one reader a little peace & comfort, then I have given something back.

In related news, National Infertility Awareness Week is taking place right now.  Its mission is to help change the conversation about infertility, bring infertility support groups to every community and increase access to all family building options.  If you or someone you know suffers from infertility, I encourage you to share National Infertility Awareness Week & Still Standing Magazine with them.  & give them a BIG hug!

If you would like to read my story of life after a miscarriage, please visit Hope Over Heartache in Still Standing Magazine.  Thank you so much from the very bottom of my heart!

Image: Still Standing Magazine

{puppy love} five

Beagle Bailey is celebrating his fifth birthday today!

This guy, my little tri-color buddy.  He is as sweet & as mischievous & as lazy as the day is long.  While we do a lot for Bailey - you know, provide him with all the food, safety, comfort & love a beagle could ever need - he gives us much, much more in return.  He fills our home with love & happiness; he is our baby family.  He makes us smile & laugh.  Every. single. day.

On Bailey's behalf, I would like to remind you to adopt cats & dogs from your local shelter or from a rescue group.  Our Bailey was found wandering a country road in Arkansas & he was dirty, cut & infected.  Despite this, he was still so sweet & trusting when a kind-hearted couple stopped to help him.  God knows where he would be without them & All About Labs, the rescue group who facilitated his adoption.  Sadly, some animals don't get saved.  These animals deserve a second chance just like Bailey!

Happy Birthday, Bailey!  xoxo

{Still Standing} Tears in the City

Last February, my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 10 weeks.  Since then, I've been on this wild ride of finding the grace & courage to heal & try again, most of which has been documented in my monthly Still Standing posts.  Still Standing Magazine, an online magazine dedicated to embracing life after loss & infertility, hosts The Journey on the first Tuesday of each month & urges woman like me to share where they are in their journey toward motherhood.  I talked about how I felt each month after my miscarriage with 11 Months & 12 Months never being written or published because sometimes my heart just can't handle it.  Now that my miscarriage was over a year ago, I plan to keep up my monthly Still Standing posts, just with more of a free form style.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my husband & I tumbled out of a yellow cab onto the streets of Manhattan for our first infertility appointment.  The familiar city enveloped us quickly with its honking horns, street food smells & rush, rush, rush of people.  We walked a block or two looking for the doctor's office when I spotted them.  Everything else fell away, all I could see or hear was them.

The woman was sobbing & leaning against a wall.  The man was standing near her, whispering to her & holding her hand.  We were standing outside a hospital, she could have been crying for any number of reasons.  Perhaps a loved one received a bleak diagnosis or a loved one passed away.  But no, my heart heard & understood the sad, helpless cries of someone just like me.  Someone who wants to be a mom so badly, yet just seems to face month after month of disappointment & desperation.  My heart went out to her.

The moment came & went in mere seconds as my husband pulled me along to the doctor's office which he had finally located across the street.  Through the glass doors, up the stainless steel elevator & into the hushed world of infertility.  The waiting room was filled with woman of all shapes, sizes & colors.  Ordinary women you could easily pass on the street & never know their struggles to have a child.  Just like me.  Infertility is an invisible, yet very powerful, monster.  

Our first infertility appointment was long & thorough.  I suppose we are counted among the lucky ones.  Large ovarian cysts were found & surgery was scheduled for the cyst removal.  Costly, draining infertility treatments have been avoided.  After the surgery & proper recovery time, we were given the good, happy news that we should be able to conceive naturally.  Hope, albeit a very cautious hope, has come back into our lives; she is welcomed with open arms & hearts.

As we left that first appointment with hope gingerly blossoming in our battered hearts, I saw the crying woman & the quiet man sitting in the waiting room.  They were both silent, her eyes red & puffy, his eyes blank & distant.  I was right, my heart had recognized her cries.  

Now that we are thisclose to our dream of a rainbow baby, I think of the couple often.  I wonder if they still burst into tears on city streets or if they have their happy ending.  I pray & wish for the latter.  Wherever they may be in their journey, may comfort & hope be theirs.           

second.

Two years ago on January 15, 2011, we got married!

I was head over heels in love with my husband the day I married him.  If you told me on my wedding day that I would say what I am about to say, I wouldn't have thought it would be possible.  But it is.  It's possible & real & true & beautiful.  I love him now more than ever!

Happy Second Anniversary to my amazing husband!  This is only the beginning!! xo

Photography: Timothy Glenn Photographers

{Holidays 2012} Home for the Holidays

Welcome to our home for the holidays!  Today, we're going to take a little tour of our home sweet home, dressed up holiday-style.  We don't have a strict theme or color scheme so our home will never win any holiday decorating contests.  But it is decorated with a lot of heart & we love it!

 A fresh wreath adorns our front door & fills our entrance with the holiday smell of evergreens:

When our first two Christmas cards arrived in early December, I absentmindedly placed them on the mirror in our front entrance until I could find a better spot.  I decided I really liked the look & made a small display of the good tidings & cheer sent to us by family & friends:

On our dining room table, we have our modern Christmas tree decorated with a few of our favorite Christmas ornaments:

The dining room shelves contain many Christmas decorations but my very favorite is our glitter platter that dances in the light of our hurricane candle:

The small white chest that holds our wedding shadowbox gets a holiday upgrade with Christmas ornaments, Christmas cottage & green candles:

We don't have a chimney so hung by the white chest with care are our traditional red & white stockings with a bit of snowflake bling:

The top of our armoire is cleared off to make way for my snowy Christmas village:

 

And then we have our Christmas tree, decorated with a mixture of my ornaments, my husband's ornaments & our ornaments given to us at my bridal shower.  So pretty, so special:

Thank you for joining me for a short & sweet tour of our home for the holidays!

{Still Standing} 10 Months

Later this week, December 6 will mark 10 months since my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.

On the first Tuesday of each month, I link up with The Journey at Still Standing Magazine to discuss where I am on my journey towards motherhood after a devastating miscarriage last February.  No, this monthly post has nothing to do with my true passion, weddings.  But life does continue after the beautiful wedding & it's not always all sunshine & rainbows.  I have gotten through this tough time largely due to the support received, & hopefully given, from Still Standing encouraging me to share my journey.  Here I am at Month 10.

Life has been happening to keep my mind off the miscarriage & its aftermath, things like hurricanes, holidays & ovarian cysts.  Yes, ovarian cysts.  Let me back up for a moment.

After much discussion & research, my husband & I chose a new doctor who specializes in reproductive medicine.  A doctor who can help us figure out why I haven't gotten pregnant again, help me get pregnant & help me stay pregnant until the birth of our healthy rainbow baby.  That's our hope anyway.  I wasn't surprised that many others have the same hopes &, therefore, I had to wait over a month for my first appointment on the day before Thanksgiving.

While others were prepping their turkeys & dusting off their fine china, I had my first appointment which was long & thorough.  The ovarian cysts were discovered during a routine ultrasound.  I have one large & one medium cyst in my right ovary & one large cyst in my left ovary.  Their discovery explains a lot of symptoms I've experienced & blamed on other things.  These unwelcome guests must go; their eviction (surgery) is scheduled for early 2013.

We should have more answers & a better idea of what comes next after the surgery.  For this, I am thankful.  At last!  I feel confident & hopeful that we will be ready for whatever it may be.  Bring it on.  

Thus far, my journey towards motherhood has taken me down, up & all around.  Hope & grief ride the roller coaster with me, although I keep wishing grief's safety belt will break & send him crashing.  Each twist & turn brings something new, usually largely unexpected.  At this stage, I can only hold on tight & hope for the very best!

{Holidays 2012} still thankful

2012 has been a difficult year as my husband & I have struggled to expand our baby family.  Now that Thanksgiving is near & I'm taking stock of the blessings in my life, I look back on the tough times with gratitude & hope.  I am so very grateful for family, old friends, new friends, blog friends & even complete strangers who reached out to give me support & prayers.  It means the world to me!

Most of all, I am thankful for my husband.  RZ is as heartbroken as me, yet he somehow manages to walk beside me, keep me strong & make me believe our dreams will come true.  Because I don't think I could possibly say it any better & the words ring true one year later, here is a rerun of my thankful 2011 post:  

Thankful.  Very, very thankful.

My husband RZ is at the tippy top of my gratitude list this Thanksgiving.  I dedicate this post to him.  

I am thankful to call you my husband.  I am thankful for the beautiful moment we clasped hands, looked into each other's eyes & pledged our vows in front of our nearest & dearest during our marriage ceremony.  I am thankful for the fun, rockstar party that followed.  I am thankful for our sunny, dreamy Hawaiian honeymoon.  I am thankful for the incredible, lovely newlywed times that came after our wedding & honeymoon.  & for the times that were not so happy or easy, I am thankful we weathered the storms together.  I am thankful for our sweet home we share with our sweet pup.  I am thankful that I look forward to the moment you walk through the door every night.  I am thankful for every big & small moment that we make special.  I am thankful for this amazing life that is ours. 

More than words. 

* * * * * * * * * *

Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!

Photography: Timothy Glenn Photographers

 

{Mrs. Monday} Holidays 2012

With Thanksgiving just days away & Christmas right around the corner, I have the holidays on my mind.  It's not all blissful thoughts of love, family & laughter with a nice amount of holiday cookies & cupcakes mixed in.  No, before we can get to the celebration of the holidays, we must face the nitty-gritty logistics of where we are celebrating the holidays. 

Every couple we know has a different approach.  Some host the holidays.  Some spend Thanksgiving with her family, Christmas with his family.  Some split each holiday between her family & his family.  Some spend the holidays with their friends.  There a million different scenarios & the magic trick is finding the one that works best for your baby family.

After years of experimenting, we may have found the perfect solution for us!  RZ & I are following the same formula as last year: Thanksgiving with his family, Christmas Eve with his family & Christmas with my family.  In reality, we consider both our family- I say my family & his family just to for explanation purposes.  This holiday formula worked last year with us spending quality time with all of our loved ones while keeping the travel & stress to a minimum.  Now once we have kids, I'm not so sure the current plan will work anymore but we will cross that bridge when we must.  We will enjoy it while we can!

How do you navigate the holidays? 

Photography: Bring to Light Photography via

{Still Standing} 8 Months

October 6 will mark eight months since my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.

On the first Tuesday of each month, I link up with The Journey at Still Standing Magazine to discuss where I am on my journey towards motherhood after a devastating miscarriage in February.  No, this monthly post has absolutely nothing to do with my true passion, weddings.  But life does continue after the beautiful wedding & it's not always a 24/7 fairy tale.  I have gotten through this tough time largely due to the support received, & hopefully given, from Still Standing encouraging me to share my journey.  Here I am at Month 8.   

I won't sugarcoat it: September was really, really hard.  

I would say it has been the worst month since the miscarriage but I know I can only imagine saying that because time has dulled the intense pain & sadness of those first few days, weeks after the miscarriage.  Days when the only reason I got out of bed, got dressed & got out the front door is because my sweet Bailey needs his walks.  Anything else I managed to accomplish was an out & out victory.  Thank God those awful days are far behind me.

& perhaps that it what made September so difficult. 

What gave me hope in the first dark days was the inevitable fact that things had to get easier & better as time marched on.  Save a setback or two, my theory proved to be very true.  Life mercifully went on & the pain thankfully lessened.  Hope grew bigger & brighter.  So I was terribly unprepared for the sadness & gloom of September.  I thought I had come so far, leaps & bounds forward,  only to find myself falling far, far back.  It sucked.

Nothing really made me feel better.  I could find temporary comfort in my husband's smile or our dog's latest antics or other happy moments but the deep, dark sadness always returned.  Hope seemed far, far away.  Tears came fast & easy.  I began to wonder & worry about my happiness, not to mention my sanity.  

Then came an ordinary walk down the street with Bailey.  A walk we take every day, passing the same church, the very same sign.  I'd read the words quite a few times before.  For the first time, I noticed, really noticed, these simple, powerful words*:    

"Patience is trusting in God's timing."  I let those words settle in my mind & heart as the walk continued.  September was supposed to be the month we welcomed our first child into the world.  I'm sad & angry & upset that our dream resulted in a miscarriage.  But it's time to let go of my plans & accept that there is a greater plan in the works.  I have to believe that God has a plan for our family & I have to put my faith in that plan.  Patience.

Patience has brought me back to my much-needed companions on this crazy journey: hope & strength & comfort & faith. 

Whatever your troubles may be, whatever your beliefs may be, I hope "patience is trusting in God's timing" brings you peace & comfort!  

* This is not a religious post in any way, shape or form. Please replace God with Fate, Life, Glinda the Good Witch or whatever you may believe.

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Other brave women are discussing the very same thing on their blogs today & linking with The Journey at Still Standing Magazine.  Please show a little support & love for the others sharing where they stand in their grief journey or motherhood journey: 

(Blog Hop will be inserted here when it goes live- oops! We didn't get a code this month for the hop!) 

{Still Standing} 7 Months

On the first Tuesday of each month, I link up with The Journey at Still Standing Magazine to discuss where I am on my journey towards motherhood after a devastating miscarriage in February.  I hesitated to post today because I didn't want September's posts to start on anything less than a positive note.  But here I am because I committed to sharing my story & it was the best decision I made.  It started a discussion that helped heal me & maybe helped heal others.  There is no stopping now.  

Last weekend marked two major things: the unofficial end of summer & the due date of our baby.  We had the choice to celebrate the life we have or mourn the life we thought we would have before my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.  In the end, we chose a celebration.

The weekend was filled with a few of our very favorite things.  My husband, our sweet pup & I headed to the beach.  Our days included beautiful sunshine, lovely beaches, belly laughs, delicious food, good drinks & even better company.  In the midst of our celebration, our baby's due date passed on a day of sun mixed with clouds.  It added just a bit of sadness to our weekend, like the rain the sunshine needs to make a glorious rainbow.  Our rainbow is bright & vivid & strong; it's a true representation of our life.  

Farewell, Summer & Welcome, Autumn.  May you bring a huge blessing of a rainbow baby into our life!   

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Other brave women are discussing the very same thing on their blogs today & linking with The Journey at Still Standing Magazine.  Please show a little support & love for the others sharing where they stand in their grief journey or motherhood journey: 

{Still Standing} 6 Months

Yesterday, August 6, marked six months since my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 10 weeks.

In some alternate reality where all my dreams come true, my husband & I would be one month away from welcoming our first child into the world.

Instead, we are here. 

Here we are battered & broken yet we are resilient & hopeful.  Here we know exactly when our dream died but we have no idea when & if our dream will begin again.  Here we are completely lost & we can't ask for directions but we believe this is the only way.  Here there is a lot of darkness yet the light, sometimes bright & sometimes dim, always shines.  Here can be very lonely but we are always together.  Here we haven't stayed long yet it seems like forever.  Here is our new home, our new reality.

We never wanted to be here.  We wouldn't wish here on our worst enemies (if we had any!).  Still, we can't complain about here because compared to much of the ugliness in this crazy world, here is practically paradise with non-stop sunshine & free-flowing tropical drinks.

I will always be hoping & wishing & praying that we find our way from here to there: having our rainbow baby.  May there be just around the corner from here!    

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On the first Tuesday of each month, I link up with The Journey at Still Standing Magazine to discuss where I am on my journey towards motherhood after a devastating miscarriage in February.  Other brave women are discussing the very same thing on their blogs today.  Please show a little support & love for the others sharing where they stand in their grief journey or motherhood journey: 

Still Standing {5 Months}

On the first Tuesday of each month, I link up with The Journey at Still Standing Magazine to discuss where I am on my journey towards motherhood after a devastating miscarriage in February.

Yesterday was my birthday, a day of celebration.  There were smiles & candles & frosting & wishes!  & I celebrate, for there is much to be thankful for in my beautiful, imperfect life.  I have hope & love in my heart.  I have big dreams that maybe, just maybe, our dreams of expanding our family will come true this year.  It's possible, anything is possible!

I can only guess as to how close or how far I am from having a baby & becoming a mom.

Until my birthday wish to have a baby comes true, I continue to wait.  It seems like I have been waiting forever & I have no idea how much longer I will have to wait.  I can't help but feel the chorus of "The Waiting" by Tom Petty is my theme song on my journey:

"The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part"

Waiting.  Still waiting.

Show a little support & love for the others sharing where they stand in their grief journey or motherhood journey:

Still Standing {4 Months}

Tomorrow, June 6, marks exactly four months since my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 10 weeks.

I am linking up with The Journey at Still Standing Magazine, an online magazine dedicated to embracing life after loss & infertility.  On the first Tuesday of each month, women like me are encouraged to share where they are in their journey of grief or where they are in their journey towards motherhood.  As I have been struggling with how or when to tell my story here, this gave me the perfect opening to start the discussion.

On February 6, my miscarriage is the devastating end to our hopes & dreams of expanding our family.

Four months later . . .

I wake up & I count my blessings.  I may not be six months pregnant but I am blessed.  My husband is strong & true.  Our pup is silly & sweet.  Our home is warm & comforting.  Our family & friends are the best.  As if all this weren't enough, I have my health, my happiness, my hope.

I'm out of bed & ready to start my day.  Small victories.

I head outside to take Bailey on his first walk.  We live in a small, pedestrian-friendly city full of young families.  On the average walk, we pass no less than 10 moms pushing their babies in strollers.  I say "God Bless" to myself at the sight of each & every one to stave off the sadness.  It works.  

So far, so good.  Three cheers for me.

I slowly approach our condo building as Bailey's walk comes to an end.  I may go inside, ride the elevator & make it to our condo without seeing another soul.  Or I may run into a neighbor Mom with her cute baby & be subjected to cooing over the baby's latest & greatest.  Oh, please, please spare me chatting with our next-door neighbor who is due one week before our baby would have been born.  My chances are 50/50.

Breathe.  The day is going so well!  God bless.         

I settle at my computer for a day's work once I'm safely home.  I am so thankful for my job as a wedding planner & wedding blogger.  There is little talk of babies in the wedding world.  There are no co-workers to chat about their babies.  I get happily lost in love & flowers & lace.

Keep that momentum going.  Go, go, go!

I take a small break before lunch to peek at my favorite blogs.  Another blogger is expecting?  God bless.  Another blogger is recapping her baby bump photos?  God bless.  I check People magazine online for my latest dose of Hollywood gossip.  Another celebrity is pregnant?  God bless.  Another celebrity has chosen a funky name for their baby?  God bless.

By lunch, my heart is exhausted.

& so it goes.  The reminders of what could have been are everywhere, no matter where I go or where I look.  Every moment of every day is a conscious decision to choose hope over heartache.  It's gotten easier, almost effortless.  Still, it remains a real effort from the moment I open my eyes to face the day until I close my eyes to dream of better days.

Because, in my heart of hearts, I believe there will be better days.  I pray & I wish & I hope that my husband & I will have our rainbow baby.  I read somewhere that it's all about the right soul at the right time.  Please let our right soul & our right time come soon.  Very, very soon.

Here are others sharing where they stand in their grief journey or motherhood journey:

   

{Mrs. Monday} Home

Today marks the debut of Mrs. Monday, a little series dedicated to my thoughts & observations on my marriage.  I plan to post Mrs. Monday about twice a month, bring back Koru Kate Finds (remember?) one Monday a month & take a break one Monday a month.  Sound like a good plan?  Good, I thought you might like it.  Let's get this Mrs. Monday party started!  

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a twist on "Home Is Where The Heart Is" that said instead "Home Is Where Your Husband Is."  You could replace husband with wife, partner, family or whatever pleases you.  I thought it was cute then I promptly forgot about it.  

Until my husband left on a business trip to India for three weeks.

I knew I would miss my husband greatly but I grossly underestimated how much I would miss him.  We're not an attached-at-the-hip couple.  We have our own interests & our own friends so we're often in two different directions.  Still, with very few exceptions, we eat dinner & walk our dog together every night.  It's our time to connect, to share the joys & frustrations of our days.  I didn't realize how much I looked forward to this every day.  Suddenly, life was not the same when he wasn't walking through the front door each night.

Trust me, I was grateful to be home with all its comforts & familiarity whereas he was navigating a foreign country alone.  I had Beagle Bailey to keep me company, I had all my belongings at my fingertips & I could sleep in my comfy bed each night.  Family & friends were just a phone call away.  Nothing was the same though.  An emptiness permeated every moment & every moment seemed to last forever.  

When my husband finally came back, it clicked.  Home is where my husband is right by my side! 

Photo by & Sign Available at YertleandMyrtle's shop on Etsy

            

Blue.

It has been awhile, my lovely Koru family & friends.

Since we last met, life was pretty great.  Like a warm, bright sunshiney yellow.  My Mom was visiting from California & we were sharing some fun times.  My February 4 wedding was a smashing success.  I was high on life.

Then life dealt me a very devastating blow, one that affects not only me but my husband & our baby family.  I will share this terrible blow soon because I think it's important to talk about.  But I'm not ready yet.  My body, mind & heart need time to recover.  I'm very, very blue & I have no desire to paint myself another color just yet.  

Hold tight, I will be back soon.   

Photo via

Thankful.

Him, I am so thankful for him

Photo by the great Timothy Glenn Photographers

Thankful.  Very, very thankful.

My husband RZ is at the tippy top of my gratitude list this Thanksgiving.  I dedicate this post to him.  

I am thankful to call you my husband.  I am thankful for the beautiful moment we clasped hands, looked into each other's eyes & pledged our vows in front of our nearest & dearest during our marriage ceremony.  I am thankful for the fun, rockstar party that followed.  I am thankful for our sunny, dreamy Hawaiian honeymoon.  I am thankful for the incredible, lovely newlywed times that came after our wedding & honeymoon.  & for the times that were not so happy or easy, I am thankful we weathered the storms together.  I am thankful for our sweet home we share with our sweet pup.  I am thankful that I look forward to the moment you walk through the door every night.  I am thankful for every big & small moment that we make special.  I am thankful for this amazing life that is ours. 

More than words. 

Dear Koru Family & Friends, I wish you the most Happy Thanksgiving!  

Family Vintage Wedding

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary!

40 years.  40 years!

Last weekend, RZ's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.  This lovely photo shows the day of their positive new beginning.  The day they started their baby family that would bring them two amazing sons, two fabulous daughters-in-law (if I do say so myself) & one adorable, fun granddaughter.  Just one pretty wedding day, ordinary & extraordinary.  

I have only been around for the last five years of their journey but I have witnessed something that is precious & beautiful.  They lead their family with a strength & love that is nothing shy of fierce.  

We hope to follow in their big, loving footsteps.  Of course, our story & our path will be our own.  But like them, we'd like the love & strength to be the common thread in the story of our life together.     

We are three months shy of our first anniversary & they are an inspiration to us!

Fall Lovin'

One crisp, cool October Sunday each year, you can find me & my husband celebrating the Fall season at Wightman's Farm.  This tradition dates back to my childhood, now it's our tradition too.  The farm is a seasonal delight of products like pumpkins & apples & of activities like pumpkin slings & apple picking.  RZ & I are in it for the farm's fresh & delicious apple cider & donuts, not to mention the miles & miles of plump pumpkins.

 
We loaded up on two cups of hot apple cider, two gallons of apple cider & two dozen donuts before I began my search for the perfect pumpkins.  Sometimes it takes awhile but with the threat of rain, I was amazingly quick this year.  That's me in the purple skirt in absolute Fall glory with my cup of hot apple cider & our bags of homemade donuts as I pick the two most perfect pumpkins:

RZ convinces me to pose for a photo among the corn stalks & while I can bear to be separated from my new pumpkins, there is no way I'm letting go of my hot cider & yummy donuts:

My hubs says Hello & Happy Fall:

He had his eye on this Jets pumpkin & I insisted we decorate our own.  Then I was left wondering who has the incredibly fun job of painting these pumpkins?  Where do I sign up?

Much like Fall, traditions are comforting.  Once upon a time, I shared this tradition with my birth family, now it's a delight to create & enjoy this tradition with my baby family (remember: this does not mean we are having a baby!). & our yearly trip to the farm never disappoints.  We celebrate not only the gorgeous season but the delight of making yet another sweet memory in beautiful life we have together.  Till next year, Wightman's Farm!

What are your favorite Fall traditions?

♥ 6 Months: A Reflection ♥

Oh So Happy: Our Wedding Day
Photo taken by Friend

Six months ago today, RZ & I got married. A big grin spreads across my face & my heart fills with joy at the sweet thought of our happy, beautiful wedding day.

Six months is mere baby steps in the lifetime of a marriage. Still, I believe in celebrating the big & small so this day is worthy of celebration. Six months of being husband & wife, of creating our baby family (**), of becoming an official team. And I've loved every moment!

Pure Joy: Our Wedding Day
Photo Taken by Friend

Everyone & their neighbor ask me if our relationship feels different now that we are married. Tough question. No & YES. Day to day, in the regular routine of our lives, I don't feel like much has changed except perhaps that Mrs. applies to me. We go to work, we spoil our dog, we eat, drink & be merry. Still, there is something there that says everything has changed. Something that is hard to put my finger on, let alone describe. I suppose it's a subtle undercurrent to our relationship, always there, always flowing. Always reminding us of our vows, our promises, our forever. It makes us stronger & makes us better.

To RZ, my best friend, my love, my husband:
Cheers to many, many more!

** Disclaimer:
Baby Family is one of my favorite terms adopted from A Practical Wedding.
It doesn't mean we are having a baby!