i got sunshine on a cloudy day

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.  

~John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery, 1994

I wanted to take a moment to thank the Lord for my wonderful Daddy.  Thank you for sending me a wonderful father and friend.  He has given me everything...and more.  Thank you for giving me such a wonderful dance partner...

Fellow adventurer and organizer...

Funny man and punching bag...

True example of love in marriage and support for one's children and wife...

Thank you especially for giving me a father who had the strength to give me away to another man's care.  Another man whom he loves and accepts with an open heart.

Thank you Lord for my Dad.  He is the best and greatest earthly Father I could have ever asked for.  Happy Father's Day!

honey you are the rock upon which I stand

I love being married.  It's so great to find that one special person 

you want to annoy for the rest of your life.  

~Rita Rudner

Let me start out this blog with an update on our WILD little pup.

He has now discovered freedom and is finding his independance.  Last vet visit he had gained 3 pounds.  He has lots of energy and loves long walks.  He is just about potty trained and has learned the "sit" command.  He likes to hang out on the porch and keep an eye on the neighborhood.

And chew on sticks, of course.

The hot weather has been tiring him out and he has finally discovered the perks of the cool concrete floor.

He likes to help me cook.  While I was making this yummy lasagna he was sitting on the kitchen rug watching me.  It's fun to have a kitchen buddy.

He thinks he's more human than dog and tends to sleep on pillows.

He gets more food now and he really chows down during mealtimes.  He's getting so big!

Since we were celebrating our anniversary on Sunday and were going to be out of the house I decided to make our homemade meal on Friday evening.  We used our China and our crystal for the first time.  We had steak, fried seasoned potatoes, croissants, and green peppers.  It was delicious and thanks to Eric & Ashleigh the wine we drank with dinner was called "Monogamy Cabernet."

Aaron appreciated that I cooked the steak in the style of my great Grandma Schneider.  Cooking it in a pan on the stove makes it tastes delicious!

Saturday afternoon we took Brutus over to visit his Grammy & Papa.  He sure loves riding in the car!

He rides in the back seat like a big boy now.  He is very observant, but not very aware of the fact that turns make him fall over.

My Mom & Dad gave us a set of knives and a salad spinner (which I was in desperate need of).  Thank you for the gifts and the beautiful card!  Brutus knew something was fishy Sunday morning when Mommy & Daddy started packing for their night away.  He wouldn't leave our side.

He even had quite the adventure with Daddy while we were watching our wedding video the morning of our anniversary and crawled completely under our bed to get his favorite ball.  It was pretty silly!

The traditional First Anniversary gift happens to be paper and my very creative and sneaky husband commissioned an artist/clothing designer to sketch my wedding dress.  Isn't it amazing? I am so excited to get it framed, then I can see it whenever I want!

Thanks to my Mom's freezing skills and her thoughtful responsibility for the top of our cake on our wedding night we ate the traditional bites of our original cake that morning as well.  It was very special to have that saved and also surprisingly delicious.

My thoughtful husband had even brought home flowers for me on Friday evening after work!  Beautiful roses in celebration of our wedding and the 3 year anniversary of our first date; on which he also brought me roses.

This picture was taken right before we were getting ready to leave for our overnight at Ameristar.  I know it's blurry, but this is a rare shot of me and Brutus as I am usually the one taking the pictures.

Aaron reserved a gorgeous room for us at Ameristar in St. Charles for the night and we checked in early and went down to enjoy the pool/hot tub.  He had thought of booking the same hotel for our wedding night, but I am glad he decided not to because we were both so exhausted that evening we would not have been able to enjoy the room or the amazing view.

I couldn't help, but snap a few photos, the room was SO fabulous.

I told Aaron when we arrived that I wouldn't have been upset if we stayed a few days more and he reminded me that there was a vital room missing...the kitchen!  And, this is not a put down in any fashion, I love to cook and he loves to eat my cooking so I agreed.

It was a beautiful view of St. Charles, one neither of us had had the opportunity to appreciate before.

I had to snap a shot of the date while we were in the elevator on the way back from the pool.

After the pool we got ready for our anniversary dinner!  I had made reservations at a restaurant on Main Street St. Charles called "The Vine."  They were very understanding as I requested a bottle of champagne be brought to the table, brought the champagne flutes we used at the wedding reception, and had then fix up a special dessert for us at the end of our meal.  This was all done, might I add, secretly.  My hubby had no idea.  When they brought out our champagne and the flutes he admitted, "It's a good thing we watched the wedding video this morning, because I never would have recognized those glasses."  That's men for ya!

Aaron showing a little attitude before our appetizers arrived.  He was hungry!

So happy to be out to dinner with my man.  It was really exciting to celebrate our anniversary for the first time at a special restaurant.  We even got to brag about our pup!

Aaron got the Duck Wellington, which was delicious, and finished every bite.

I went with the Pasta Puttanesca as the cheese plate and Lobster Bisque that were our appetizer and soup course filled me up.  The pasta was still very delicious.

They did a fantastic job with the dessert.  Aaron didn't know about this little surprise either and it was wonderful to have it brought out without him knowing.  We never order dessert either so the flourless cake was a special treat!

After dinner, we returned to the hotel and went to gamble in the casino.  We had a great first hour, we played video poker (Aaron made the decisions, I pressed the buttons), learned how to play craps, and even doubled some of our money betting black at the roulette table.  As expected, we ended up losing some of our money, well, most of it, but it was an enjoyable evening.  If anyone would like to explain slot machines to me, please feel free.  Those things make no sense.  We had some drinks and a midnight snack and then, in true fashion, fell right to sleep once we returned to our room.  Now that we have the pup our bedtime tends to be between 9:30-10 so staying up until 12:30 was tough.  I had a wonderful time celebrating with my husband and our mini-vacation was the perfect amount of spoiling.  After all, I feel spoiled every day just being married to such a wonderful, thoughtful husband.

I have to say, even though we were having a wonderful time, both of us missed our little boy.  We were very excited to come home the next day to see how he had survived his first night without us.  He adored his dogsitter and was happy to see us.  We took him out for a round of frisbee, his new and favorite toy, and he pounded, chewed, and caught it to his little heart's content.

This is hilarious!  He hates when it turns over and he can't pick it up.

Waiting for Daddy to throw it.

Success!

For the rest of the week I am officially a daytime babysitter and Brutus gets to have some fun making new friends with Sean and Brynn.  We are having a great time and he loves having to new "puppies" around to play with.  Father's Day is coming up and I am excited for family dinner at my parents to celebrate the day.  Sunshine is a little sparse this week, as we are experiencing typical Midwest summer weather so I can't wait for the weekend.  I hope to get in some pool time with my hubby!

Flashback to 6.12.10

Love is a symbol of eternity.  It wipes out all sense of time, 

destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.  

~Author Unknown

I am happy to say that Mr. Weir and I have been married for a year now and are more in love than we ever thought possible.  Yes, it sounds cheesy, but we truly are blessed to have each other.  As I reflect on what the past year has done for our marriage, our family, and myself I cannot help recalling all the fun and festivities of our Big Day.  I was lucky enough to spend the morning (yes, because my wedding was at 1PM, I was up at 6:00AM to begin getting prepared for the day) relaxing and getting all dolled up at Mes Bon Amis.  Cherie Treadway has been cutting, highlighting, and really taking care of my hair since age four and so who could I ask, but her to make me look perfect for my special day.

The photographer had not arrived when I was getting my hair done so my Mom snapped this shot.  At this point, I was not nervous at all and was in full relaxation mode.  Thanks to Cherie, we had mimosas and my Momma brought breakfast.

Cassie, my beautiful sister and maid of honour, was second to get her hair done.

It was wonderful to hang out with my closest friends, especially Julie, my college roommate.  She came all the way up from Mississippi to be one of my bridesmaids and I could not have survived the morning without her humor and love.

I felt like a princess getting my makeup done.  Thankfully, Cherie's sister is a makeup artist and owns her own spa.  She came up to the salon and treated myself and my Mom to some beautiful makeup.

At this point I was getting a little nervous.  Kristen, our photographer, kept telling me to smile and I didn't notice the nerves until I realized I had not smiled in a single picture while I was getting my makeup done.  We were running short on time and I wanted to look perfect.  The girls left to go to Grandmama's (which is where we were all dressing) and my Mom and I followed once we finished up.  We were RUSHING.  My Mom felt frazzled and was concerned that she wouldn't get to be part of helping me get dressed.

Kristen went ahead with the girls and took some beautiful shots of my dress and accessories while I was finishing up.  My dress was hung in my Mom's old bedroom from when she was growing up.  It was sentimental to see it there knowing years ago my young Mom was dreaming of her own wedding to my Dad little less than 30 years previous.

My "something blue"...

My "something borrowed"...

We ended up moving my dressing downstairs as the temperature (and nerves) was rising upstairs.

It was so much fun getting dressed with my bridesmaids, my beautiful Grandmama, Aunt Tracy, and my Mom there to help.

My Mom had her special moment when she zipped me up.  At this point I have to say I was at stress level MAX.  My dress fit perfectly and when my corset was hooked and my dress zipped I felt like I couldn't breathe.  I was breathing heavy, I was light-headed, I was freaking out.  Not to mention I rode to the church barely able to balance myself with my 20 pound dress surrounding me.  This was that moment that Kimmy told me she had.  It was worse than any stage-fright I had ever experienced.  I was not "getting cold feet", in fact I couldn't wait to walk down the aisle, it was just a strange wedding day moment.

We still had a few moments to pose for pictures in Grandmama's living room.

And, one of my favorites from the day, walking out Grandmama's door.  The last time, I might add, as a single gal.

Goin' to the chapel...or the church I grew up in:)

My wonderful husband-to-be sent back a hand-written note.  This note was not only one of the most romantic I ever received, but included my wedding gift; which was a special package on the honeymoon which included a private dinner on the beach.  I was thrilled and sentimental.

From his wife-to-be, Aaron received a scrapbook I made out of odds and ends from the past two years we had dated.  He told me that evening that he did not look all the way through the book because he felt like he may get emotional and he was, after all, with the guys:)

Thanks to my mom I had beautiful handmade programs for the ceremony, which was about to start.  Father Rich came back to check on how we girls were holding up and we said a prayer for the day.  I was very nervous, but having my Daddy's arm there to grasp calmed me a little.

Walking down the aisle towards Aaron was one of the happiest moments of my life.  Having my Daddy there and having him beaming and proud of me made it so special.  The moment I saw Aaron standing at the end of the aisle my nerves disappeared.  He looked so handsome and knowing that I was walking towards the man who would soon be my husband was a moment I had been waiting for.

I was so happy to have a full Catholic ceremony.  Aaron and I spent a good portion of our planning time choosing music, reading, writing intentions, and personalizing the ceremony.  After all, you only get married once so we wanted to be involved in every aspect of the planning.  Everything went so perfectly and we were so glad to involve many of our close family members in the ceremony.

The Vows.

Standing on the altar next to my husband (yes, in the Catholic ceremony you are actually married in the middle of the ceremony) and my little sister was very special.

Kristen did an amazing job getting detail shots during the ceremony.

Before Mass ended we stood facing each other and shared The Bride And Groom Hand's Prayer with each other.  

Presenting Mr & Mrs. Weir!  Our First Kiss as Husband and Wife.

Smiles all around while we were walking out.

After greeting our guests the pictures started.  It was about to pour down rain, good luck on your wedding day, so Kristen rushed us outside to take as many pictures as we could.  We were worried that was all we would get in, but it did end up holding up in time for us to take some special pictures later.

This is one of Aaron's favorite photos of the day.

Our photographer's favorite photo.  Check out the trees in the background.  The wind was really blowing!

Isn't my hubby handsome?

We enjoyed having this time alone after the ceremony.  Even though we were getting photos taken it was nice to spend some time reveling in our newly-married bliss.

We love our adorable flower girls and ring bearer.  They did an awesome job posing for pictures.

I am pretty sure my Mom & Dad and Grandmama & Opa have a very similar photo from their Wedding Days.

Celebrating with the wedding party:)

Academy of the Sacred Heart was generous enough to allow us to use their beautiful grounds for our outdoor wedding photos.  Definitely sentimental for myself and my Mom as we are both graduates from the school.

There were a few showers during the pictures.  Penny didn't mind.  She was happy to be part of the day.

My beautiful bouquet.

The ladies of the bridal party.  Each one has played a special part in my life and I was so happy they could all be a part of the day.

Aaron and the boys.  I love how he and his brother Ben are sharing a moment in this photo.  Also loving the sun shot.

Thank you Kristen for making me feel like a beautiful bride.

I love this picture.

Although Aaron insists his hair looks silly in this photo, I love it.  He is a looker.

The Academy ground just added to the beauty of many of our pictures.

Love this shot of my veil blowing in the wind.

The Rings.

Pink shoes.  Cassie and I ended up wearing the same shoes as she insisted she did not want to add any inches to her height.  I was happy to be matching sissies for the day.

This is definitely one I want to frame.  We were finishing up the outside photos and it was starting to rain.  I love the umbrella and the raindrops in this shot.

Thank you to The Columns staff and Doug Risch for a beautiful reception.

And Tracy and Stuart for arranging all the flowers of the tables and throughout the room.  Daises are my favorite!

Aaron's Groom's Cake.  He loves the St. Louis Cardinals!

Elaine did a beautiful job with the cake.  It was exactly how I envisioned it.  And delicious.

Pink and yellow jelly beans favors.  These were very popular with the younger guests.

We had so much fun riding around in the party bus.  I was glad we were able to share the ride with the whole bridal party.  I wouldn't have had it any other way.  Lots of room for dancing too!

Walking into the reception as Mister and Misses.

Everyone was clinking their glasses.  Lots of kisses.

Cutting the cake.  

My wonderful husband did not shove cake in my face (thank you honey), but we cut the piece WAY too big and had a lot of cake to put in one another's mouth.

The toasts were incredible.  Ben, the Best Man, gave an intellectual and humorous congratulations, Cassie, my beautiful Maid of Honor, gave an adorable and personal toast to our future, and my Dad was not at a loss for words either.  He quoted some memorable Bible verses from the ceremony and gave Aaron some advice on living with me.  We had lots of laughs and some happy tears.

Dancing with my new husband.  Jordan, our niece, loved the whole event.  She called it the "Royal Wedding."

Our first dance song was one Aaron had sung to me many times, one of the first on my 21st birthday.  He surprised me during our dance by singing along.  It was very romantic.

My Daddy and I shared in our traditional Father-Daughter Dance song, "My Girl."  It was a really fun part of the night.

The bouquet toss!  Cassie caught it!

My husband took his time getting the garter.

And really launched it!  His brother Caleb caught it and then was confused as to what to do with it.

We spent the rest of the evening celebrating!  Everyone was up dancing.  The little ones enjoyed the music and the dance lights.  We started the evening with some old favorites and even Opa & Grandmama complimented the song choices.  I love the old classics!

There was no lack of boogie songs and our wedding video even includes the dance circle one of the groomsmen started.  It was a blast!

So here's to the endless memories we made June 12th, 2010.  We are so grateful to everyone who was involved and we will never forget how perfect our Wedding Day was.

Mr. & Mrs. Weir

To many more years of health, happiness, and adventure!