Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Stop!

This has been a year of snow for sure! I can't remember the last time that I've seen a year this snowy before. I do remember the Blizzard of 1998 where we were out of power for days and we kept warm by sleeping in the basement next to the fireplace. 

This year has been an interesting one for sure with all this snow.  With the wind blowing we definitely had some interesting snow drifts pop up around our house. It really made it hard to get in and out of the house!

The drift had to be downsized a little so that we could get in the house, but the top of the drift was halfway in front of the door! 

This winter it's been hard to get out and do things outside with temperatures being so cold. But I've found that cold temps do not keep my husband from doing what he loves: Ice Fishing. He is out on a lake or a pond just about every weekend trying to catch those fish (or sometimes just a cold!) I've learned too, that if you want to spend time with your hubby you will try new things that he loves, so I went ice fishing with him! I've only been once and out of the 24 fish that we caught, I caught 3 of them....3. I'm a competitive person sometimes and I wasn't happy with my catches of the day, but it was still fun being on the ice and spending time with Ryan.

Having a winter like this makes me really excited about spring and summer. I can't wait to start planting my garden and harvesting the fresh produce....nothing like biting into a freshly picked sun-warmed tomato! YUM! And of course with the return of summer means that we get to welcome our little bundle of joy into the world! We are getting excited and can't wait to start working on the baby's nursery! 

The start of our garden last year, 2013.

As I'm sitting here watching the snow fall again, I can't help but notice the beauty of freshly fallen snow. Its very calm out today and everything has a clean white blanket on it. The trees are beautiful with their snow covered branches.  But it's cold out and I'm tired of snow, so I wouldn't mind if this all melted and we had some 60 or 70 degree weather! Bring on the warm weather! 

County Fair, Summer 2013

First comes LOVE. Then comes MARRIAGE. Then comes BABY???

Happy New Year!!!!! I hope that you all have had a wonderful Christmas and are starting the New Year off right!

Now let's get down to the nitty gritty of this post. You probably think there is some big news that I'm going to drop today if you've just read the title of this post....well, you are absolutely RIGHT!!! 2013 was full of surprises and Ryan and I cannot wait to meet our little surprise that's due July 10! That's right folks, we are going to be parents! 

The last 13 weeks have been a whole new life experience that are just going to keep getting more exciting! We found out we were expecting on Halloween weekend. I was one day late (I'm usually never late) and I just had this feeling that things were different. Going into freak-out mode, I started balling my eyes out and luckily my wonderful husband comforted me and told me everything was going to be just fine. I wish that would have helped me to stop crying....I wasn't crying because I don't want children. I have always known I wanted to be a mother. I was crying more because I had all these thoughts running through my head...am I ready to be a Mom? Can I handle taking care of someone else? Will I be a good Mom? Is my child going to like me? What is the future going to be like now? How big is my belly going to get? SO MANY QUESTIONS!

I finally pulled my self together and went to the drugstore to pick up a pregnancy test....but I chickened out and ended up buying tampons just in case I was wrong....turns out I was wrong buying more tampons! The next day I went and actually bought a pregnancy test along with a bunch of other crap so that I could hide the test in my basket!

When I took that first test I honestly thought I was going to have mini heart attack....talk about the longest 3 minutes of your life! Ryan wasn't home and I thought I could handle this. Well, I did my thing in the bathroom and then waited and looked and waited and LOOKED.....Was that second pink line supposed to be there???? This is when I started to mildly hyperventilate. And it was just moments after I looked at the pregnancy test again that Ryan called me. Let's just say that I cannot lie to save my life and Ryan knew the instant I answered the phone that our lives were going to change for the better. But I didn't believe that test was correct, so like any other sane person I took 3 more tests!

Eventually, after the 4th pregnancy test, I came to the conclusion that this was real. Monday morning I called the doctor's office and set up my appointment. I still laugh about this moment because when the receptionist asked me why I wanted to make an appointment all I had to say was, "Well, I just took four pregnancy tests and they all came back positive. What's that tell you?" I'm glad she had a sense of humor and just laughed with me!

That first doctor appointment was so awesome! It was the first time I was able to see our little surprise. Even though I took four pregnancy tests, I still didn't believe I was pregnant until I saw the ultrasound. The next best moment just happened the other day at my 13 week appointment when I got to hear the heart beat for the first time....such a cool sound!

It's funny to think how much a year can change things. Last year at this time Ryan and I were counting down to our wedding day, July 6, 2013. This year we are counting down the next short 6 months until we get to actually meet our little surprise!

Fun Facts About the Pregnancy:
Morning sickness: Yes! It was all day long and sometimes during the night. It only lasted from about weeks 8-11. But I never puked!
Cravings: Meat and potatoes
Maternity clothes: Not yet! But clothes are starting to get tight and I love using my Belly Band so I don't have to zip or button up my pants and feel uncomfortable all day!
Weird dreams: Been having a few!
Tired: I'm up by 5:30am and in bed by 8pm sometimes!
Felt the baby move: Not yet, but I can't wait!

Where Was Marie This Weekend??? The Pumpkin Patch

My husbands and my weekends have been filled lately with with tons of stuff. It seems like since our wedding we've had something going on every weekend since then! Weddings, a little side trip here and there, family gatherings...who knows where we will be! Well this weekend we actually had some free time! Weird to think that, but we did. 

On Saturday, I took all day to clean out some cobwebs. Literally. After The wedding, I moved in with Ryan. He's rented an old farm house for nearly 3 years. And let's face it, a single guy living in a house alone means not a whole lot cleaning went on. I've cleaned almost every room in the house and my last project was the dreaded basement. 

Ryan told me that if I cleaned the basement, he'd make me something down there to house the potatoes we dug up from the garden this year. So of course I got busy! These potatoes are taking up space in my laundry baskets and I could really use those! Hahaha

Well, as it turns out, Ryan got called into work on Saturday and didn't come home until almost 7:30 at night. But I will say this, that basement is a dang masterpiece! I was very proud of myself for how nice and clean it is. I almost wish I would have taken before and after pictures of just to show it off! But the only thing I have to show is just a few spider bites...I really don't like spiders! So, maybe one day Ryan will get his Honey-Do-List done, at least it's done on my part!

To wrap up our weekend and take advantage of the beautiful fall weather, some friends of ours went with us to the pumpkin patch. Our friends, Scott and Stacey, have a beautiful farm where they sell pumpkins and fall things. We had a blast. As you can see in the pictures to follow we were acting like a bunch of kids! But we had a blast! 

We call this the farmer and his animals!

Everyone needs a little sunshine in their lives!

Sunday was our 3 months since we've been married...we are having a blast!

If you're interested in visiting the pumpkin patch: Walker Farms located in Rensselaer, IN. 

3 months later and still very happily married!

It's been a whirlwind couple of months since the wedding. It seems like every weekend we've had something going on that we needed to be at, but we were also able to take a few "mini- honeymoons" along the way. 

This last weekend I was at my cousins wedding. All my family has been asking about Ryan and my adventures we've been on lately. One of my cousins, Andrea, gave me a great idea for the blog. She said she is always looking for where we have been or what we have been up to. So it looks like the blog may take a turn to "Where's Marie?" Haha

So to get the party started, let's go back about 3 months....wedding day!

Ryan and I were married July 6 in my family's church. Everything went off without a hitch. The torrential downpour of rain stopped right in time for us to walk out of the church to be greeted by a wonderful surprise that Ryan had been working on all week long before the wedding. The following picture says it all!

Ryan is a big John Deere fan and my family is Case IH, therefore the sign that says mixed marriage! Haha! Just some farmer humor! Anyways, the day was absolutely everything I could have dreamed it would be. And we got se pretty amazing photos to show it from our wonderful photographer, TNL Platinum Photography!

The wedding party

Mr. & Mrs. just being ourselves!

Our pictures are something that we will treasure for ever. It's only been three months and I love looking back at them already!

Well, I think this is enough to get started. Next blog will be in a few days and it will tell all about our little "mini-honeymoons!" 

Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna Get Married!

I cannot believe that the wedding is just days away! I mean last time I looked we still had a 100 days to go and I wasn't stressing out too bad....but that was a 100 days ago and I can't say I'm not stressing out now! 

These last couple of weeks have been crazy! I feel like I've been running around like a crazy lady and constantly talking on the phone with someone about something wedding related. But now that we are getting really close to the date I don't have much to worry about...I think! I've had all my meetings with the DJ, Photographer Lady, Hair Stylist Lady, Flowers Lady, Cake Lady, Alterations Lady, Church, and Caterers. 

I've come to the conclusion that I worry way too much about things that probably won't matter in 10 years or even by next year! Part of this could be because of the terrifying wedding nightmares that I've had about being late for everything on the day of the wedding or things just not going the way I had planned. Even though everyone assures that it will go as I planned and if it doesn't that no one is going to notice, I still have this slight panic attack! It's a rough life being a bride...

Although the month of June has been an ultra hectic month, we have still found time for some fun and relaxation with friends and family.

 Ryan and I went mini-golfing one Sunday afternoon. I would like to say that I won, but he actually beat me by 2....

 My sister, Ruth, and sister-in-law, Lexy, have been busy helping me get things ready for the wedding....Thanks for all your help ladies!

 It's been a busy month, but I have found time to freeze some broccoli for the winter months! It's fresh out of my garden that Ryan and I put in together....can't wait for all the other veggies! 

 We've even been able to attend some friend's wedding! It was beautiful and we had a great time! 

And there's always time to visit the piggies! This is little Alberta. She was the only red with black polka dots on her in a litter of little pink piglets....Ryan would not let me keep her :(

Has ALL This Happened Since August????

Oh my Lord!! So much news has happened since I have last posted it is unbelievable! I mean, I'm still kinda shocked by all of it! Well, let's get to the story telling because there is a bit of a fairy tale to tell here, or so I like to think!

Once Upon A Time, back in late July of 2012, a certain sister, Ruth, sent me a random link to a dating site. I thought it was kind of a funny dating site (FarmersOnly.com) and one that I had never really heard of. So me being the curious one made an account and logged on to see what kind of prospects there were out there in the Farmers dating scene. I actually thought nothing would have ever come of it, until later that night. I browsed through the site checking out some of the profiles.

It wasn't until later that evening that I got my first message. I tried to read the message, but of course you had to pay to be a member before you can message or read a message from anyone on the site. I wasn't too sure if I should do it, but after talking it over with my sister-in-law and showing her the picture of how cute the guy was she told me to go for it. BEST $20 EVER SPENT!!!!! hahaha...you'll find out why in a little bit.

Ryan (that's his name) and I talked and texted for a week on the phone after that little message when he asked if I wanted to meet for dinner and drinks. I was very skeptical. Mind you I didn't really know what to think about using an online dating service to meet someone. I had always heard the negative stories of killers and was freaked out by it. Therefore, I did my research! i.e. Facebook stalking! I hadn't told my parents that I was talking to anyone, so the first thing I did was tell my Mom about it and ask her opinion. And of course she did the same thing she has always done in the past 23 years of my life, she gave the infamous line, "Ask your father." She did seem okay with it and Dad was all for it too. (I think they really wanted me to start dating or something!)

Ryan and I met August 3, 2012 for the first time and there were fireworks between us... figuratively and literally speaking. We went to a cute little restaurant in my hometown. We sat outside since it was a beautiful night and fireworks were set off....I mean literally because the building next to us was setting them off the roof. It was such a great first date! I feel bad bragging about it, but it was amazing! He asked if we could meet again the next day and we did....he actually met a good portion of my family, too!

Our first time visiting Purdue together @ Harry's Chocolate Shop

I knew from that day that I had something special with Ryan. It was so easy to be around him and I didn't have to be someone I am not. I mean let's face it, I can be very immature and have outrageously inappropriate comments. And Ryan is the same way and we just meshed so well together.

Fast forward to November 30, 2012: Ryan came over to my house, where I had made dinner for us. He walked in around 6:30 pm and immediately asked if we could go for a walk. It was cold and dark and I was hungry and I didn't understand why he wanted to go for a walk, but I agreed anyways. We walked across the road to my family farm. Ryan wanted to climb the ladder up the grain elevator leg since we had the Christmas star up...there was no way in HELL that I was going to do that. It was cold; it was dark; the ladder elevator leg is like 80 feet in the air. We honestly bickered back and forth about this for nearly 20 minutes. I finally asked him why he was being so dang persistent about going up there and he faces me and says, "You're gonna make me do it like this?" And I said, "Do what?"

Photo Courtesy of TNL Platinum Photography

It was always a dream of mine to find the man that God had intended me to be with. I just never thought that after 4 months I would be engaged to marry him....that's right folks! After I said, "Do what?" Ryan got down on one knee and asked me to marry him....of course I said, "YES!"

The wedding date is set for July 2013....it's under a 100 days away!!!!! I'm super pumped for the day and I get smiley just thinking about the day I get to walk down the isle to my handsome cowboy that I have forever waited and prayed God to find me.

Wedding planning is going great...thought it would have been more stressful, but guess I'm coping pretty well with all the stress. Talk to me a month before the wedding and it might be a different story!

What's New????

Well, I haven't written anything for quite some time. I was talking with my sister Ruth and she got me thinking about writing for my blog again...so here I am!

There has been quite a few life changes since my last posting! I graduated from Purdue in May with my teaching degree, but I have yet to find a teaching job! Finding a job is a lot harder than it looks. I'm going to just keep applying and hope for the best! I also moved back home with my parents. I love my parents to death, but after living on your own for 4 years it's a hard transition! I'm working on it though to make the best of the situation, especially because you can't beat free rent and food!

Graduation Day at Purdue University with my parents and my sisters and their husbands, May 2012.

My dear Grandmother also passed away this May (the day after my graduation actually). Grandma lived with my family for about 6 years. My mom was her primary caretaker and we all loved having Grandma around. It was a hard time watching her take her last breath, but we all know that she is now celebrating in heaven with the good Lord and Grandpa and saving a place for all of us to meet her one day. 

This is one of the last pictures that we have of Grandma with some of her daughters and Grand-daughters taken in March 2012.

My oldest sister, Ruth, is pregnant with twins! Yes, I said TWINS!!! It's such an exciting time to see her belly growing and we all can't wait to meet the two new little ones...I LOVE BABIES!!! I'm almost glad that I don't have a full time job right so that I can help her as much as possible. Her due date is supposed to be October 19, 2012. I say 'supposed to be' because she most likely wont make it until then. She has already been in the hospital with some contraction. Luckily she is back home and is still cooking those babies! Hopefully, she can make it a few more weeks...the longer cooking time the better!

This is my Prego sister Ruth...she is 31 1/2 weeks!

My love life has been something to talk about lately as well...at least my family loves to talk about it. I have met a special boy and he has kinda stolen my heart already! I think he fits right in with the family too! He loves to talk about farming with my Dad and brothers and has that smart-ass attitude that we all have...I find this a necessary in any relationship because my family can get a little sarcastic with one another! I'm sure there will be plenty to write about Ryan later though...oh yeah did I mention that his name is Ryan?? Well, it is. I found this hilarious because we always said that I would bring home a guy who had a similar name to my brother-in-laws. My brother-in-laws are Brian and Brandon...and now we have a Ryan to add to the mix! haha...try and say those three names fast...gets a little confusing! 

Oh well, I think that's enough writing for today...time to think about my next posting!