i feel so much spring within me!

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  

~Robin Williams

Today is March 20th, the First Day of Spring, and my husband could not be happier.  He HATES winter and he gets to go to Phoenix for some extra warm weather this week too.  Spoiled...

Warm weather makes me think about all the things about my life that I love, so I decided to make a list of some of the things I have been thankful for this week!

#1  My Husband

Spring always re-energizes our relationship.  We both love being outside and this warm weather reminds me of last year when March meant our wedding was only 3 months away.  It's crazy to think that we only have 3 more months until our 1 Year Anniversary.  Fr. Don talked about our wedding in his homily this Saturday at Mass, and told me before Mass started that he loved being a part of such a beautiful ceremony.  Mass is always special at Borromeo because it is the church where we got married.

Sometimes I wish I could re-live that day.  It was the best day of my life.

I am so excited to move into a new townhouse/ apartment, get a puppy, and celebrate our anniversary in the coming months.  I love my hubby!

#2  My Family

Family has always been important to me, I am so glad we are living in the same city and state as my family and family-in-law.  I love, love, love being able to see them anytime I want.

I am so glad I no longer call my Mom every day, now I just get to see her and talk to her in person.

And I get to be here for all of Cassie's special events.  Like the school Talent Show, where she made everyone cry with her beautiful voice.  I was so proud.

The eighth grade dance was pretty impressive and a fun experience for Cassie's class.  They are all ready to graduate and move on to the next chapter of their lives.

And I am home everytime Tad comes home.  I am not looking forward to the time I will be separated from him during his military career, so it is important to me to spend lots of time with him now.  This picture is not, coincidentally, one of him at home, but he and Veronica look so beautiful I had to include it.  Not to mention it is right before the Military Ball, during which he got a reward for outstanding performance during training.

#3  My pups

Penny is my love.  She is loyal, loving, and always there for me.  We have spent almost 10 years together and I love her like I do every member of my family.  

She certainly enjoys the warm weather.  Along with her buddy...

Doesn't look like a nine-year-old dog to me...

She and Aaron have quite a time playing together outside.  Looks like someone is jealous...

That's ok Marley, you get love too, even though Aaron spends most his time taunting you.

I love Penny and seeing her recover from a black eye (actually it was more like a bloody eye-ball) and act like a puppy again.

#4  Faith

Faith is truly the foundation of my life.  Without God and his Son, I would not have any of the blessings of this list or the hope and positivity I possess for my future.  God has truly blessed my life and continues to every day.

Everything that has happened to me in my life thus far was part of God's plan.  And what a wonderful plan it has been.

Aaron and I were very involved in choosing every aspect that went into our Wedding Mass.  I am thankful that God was the most important part of our wedding.  Faith in God and in the love my husband has for me is what makes my life truly awe-some.

#6  Cousin Time

This weekend we spent some pretty great cousin time with Tiffany, Kevin, and their beautiful girls Rachel and Ally.

Rachel was one of my flower girls and she had a blast at the wedding.  She collected quite a few bags of our jelly bean favor bags.  We stayed the night at the Tibb House this weekend.  We enjoyed a yummy fish dinner and played lots of games with the girls.  We also got the pleasure of watching a movie with Kevin and Tiff and shared some great stories with each other.  They have done quite a bit of traveling in their day and we hope to have some fun adventures ourself. Europe I hope you are ready because we are planning on visiting you on our next big vacation.

Ally enjoyed the jelly beans at the wedding too, and some dance-time with the Maid of Honor.

I had to put this picture in because it was hilarious that the dress Tiffany wore as the official "backstage" Mom was almost the exact same color as the bridesmaid dresses.  She fit in perfectly.  Kind of ironic considering she was a flower girl almost 29 years to the day in my parents wedding on our Wedding Day.

#7  The soon-to-be addition to our family

Ever since gettin' hitched, Aaron and I have been looking forward to adding a bundle of fluff to our family and we are FINALLY getting a puppy this summer.

I mean seriously, look at that adorable face.  We cannot wait to play outside, take walks with, and show off our new puppy.

We have debated what gender we would like the pup to be and I think we are pretty solid on getting a boy.  I cannot wait to share the news of his arrival into the Weir family in a few months.  Our pup might even get to play in the water like the pup above.

I am so grateful for all the wonderful things in my life, this list is not the be all end all of my list.  I am also thankful for many other things, including my wonderful, supportive friends.  I have not found that truly special friend here in St. Charles yet, but we have only been back in town for a short time and I have been beyond busy with school, work, and building the Weir household.


The next big holiday is Easter and I can't help but put a few cute bunny pictures on my blog for you to enjoy.  So cute.

Chicks are an Easter thing too, and they also make me think of spring and warm weather.  Unfortunately I can't fully enjoy the warm weather all week long, because my hubby will be out of town on a business trip to Phoenix, AZ and I am performing in the Lindenwood Chorus' Spring Concert.  Not to mention we are in the process of buying a new car and looking for our new home.  Have a warm, springy week everyone, I will be a busy gal, but a very thankful one for this beautiful weather!

o come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!

O come let us adore him,

O come let us adore him, 

O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

-John Francis Wade 

Merry Merry Christmas!  I hope everyone had an awe-filled, peaceful Christmas.  I am blessed  with so many gifts, this was the best Christmas ever...until next year.

First comes first, Aaron and I celebrated our 6 month-a-versary with a romantic date to a new sushi restaurant called Yagu Bistro.  

It was very yummy and reminiscent of our favorite Chicago restaurant, Sunda.  It may not have had the Chicago city restaurant decor or as many menu choices, but St. Charles can boast an excellent sushi restaurant in Yagu Bistro.  The sushi above, "Autumn in New York", was my husband's pick and also his favorite.

My favorite was the above sushi, "Angry Dragon."  I feel blessed and especially lucky every day with my husband.  Not only have I legally shared his last name for the past 6 months, we share every moment of our lives together, the ups, the downs, and the excitement.  I love having such a loving, kind, silly, handsome, and understanding partner by my side.

The next day we took our little Penny girl to the vet so they could check on her knee.  She was a perfect patient and when they brought her back from her blood test she had "borrowed" their special puppy patient tennis ball.

Marley was very depressed in Penny's absence (and anytime we eat at the kitchen table as he is banished to his crate so he resists begging) and was excited when she got home.  He was jealous he didn't get to go "bye-bye" too.

He showed his affection for her by stealing her bone later during snack time.  Don't worry she wasn't phased.  


The next day was very exciting for the pups, and the rest of the family, because it was a SNOW DAY!

There was mostly ice, though, and Penny was smart enough to stay inside most of the day, while Marley slipped all over the front yard.

I attended my 23rd Basket Mass at A.S.H. on Friday, the official kickoff (my husband will be amazed I am using a football term) to Christmas week.  

I sat with Grandmama & Opa and we loved the carols, the special Christmas homily, and hearing our sweet Cassie sing in the liturgy choir.  After Mass, I teamed up with Cassie and my mom to deliver baskets to one of the parishes distributing them to the needy.

This Christmas tradition is one I hope never to miss again.  Fun fact:  This would have been my 24th consecutive Basket Mass if I wouldn't have missed last year because I technically attended it in my mom's tummy when I was a teeny tiny baby.

The next day we went to Youth Mass and since Tad was home, he played the drums in the band.  He really is fantastic and had quite the fan club of ten-year-olds after Mass.  I was excited to get to participate in Mass as well as a new member of the parish while lectoring.

After Mass, and a rousing meal at Steak N Shake, I was off to the annual Sherwin Christmas party for some reminiscing and cocktails.

It was a wonderful time chatting with people I haven't seen in what feels like ages, especially as it is our first official Christmas as St. Charles residents, not to mention Mr & Mrs.  As usual, the yearly Muny auditions were discussed and the exciting upcoming season was analyzed.

I even had the pleasure of meeting the Master of Wardrobe.  We had a delightful conversation which included Muny costume fittings and our opinion of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy novels.  How those two topics were mixed into the same conversation neither of us could recall.

Sunday was our traditional Santa Brunch day at the Country Club.  This brunch included Santa himself and a lovely brunch with the Schuetz family.

This Santa brunch was especially wonderful because it was the first my husband has attended.

Blurry picture, but still a pretty cute couple if I do say so myself.

Tad and Dad misbehaved as usual.  I guess their manners don't change no matter where we are.

My mom was excited to spend some quality time with her best friend Patricia as well.  She flew in from London to be with her family for the holidays.


After a very filling brunch we went home to relax.  Well, the boys and Cassie relaxed, my mom and I wrapped what felt like 150 presents for all our family and friends.  Quality time with my momma is always fun, though, and we spent hours laughing and talking about the past and future Christmas festivities.


We then counted down the rest of the week before Christmas Eve: shopping...

Getting the house AND the pups clean for Christmas...

And, in Tad's case, playing video games and sleeping past noon...

My Mister and I had a lovely reunion double date with a couple I made friends with in Chicago at The  Winery of the Little Hills downtown St. Charles over two bottles of wine.

The company and the wine was wonderful.  Honestly, I wish Bre & Joe lived in St. Charles, they are a super fun, amazing couple.

It wouldn't be Christmas without a few beers with your buddies, in Aaron's case, and I tagged along with him for the rest of the evening with two of his close friends.  Not only were the drinks good, so was the entertainment of witnessing one of his friend's pick-up strategies.


AND THEN, FINALLY, it was Christmas Eve!  We cooked and we baked and we made the house just right.  My mom decided to bake a bone-in ham in accordance with my Dad's traditional Christmas Eve meal.  It was one to be proud of!

Cassie even baked one of the Christmas pies!

God did most of the work setting the perfect scene, as he blessed us with a Christmas snow!

We got the White Christmas we were dreaming of!

The Christmas Eve meal was delicious, "The Program" was beautiful (Tad & Aaron read a story about a Christmas wagon and Cassie and I sang "Silent Night"), and Midnight Mass went off without a hitch.  It truly was a magical, blessed, holy night.  Grandmama was sorely missed, due to a nasty cold that landed her in bed for the evening, but we were surrounded by family.  Then, as all children know, it was off to bed to wait for Christmas morning.

And what a Christmas day it was!  Aaron and I had an early morning drive to his sister Becky's house through the snow.

Then we celebrated with his family with Christmas breakfast and presents.  It was wonderful to officially be part of the Weir family Christmas!

When we got home it was time to be majorly spoiled by Santa Daddy and my husband.

The dogs opened their stockings and a few presents first so they could play with their toys and get some Christmas treats.  Penny was so thrilled with her new dolly that she decided to rip it apart.

Tad opened most of his gifts on the sly, but received lots of video games and a Swiss Army wristwatch.

My very romantic father gave my mom pearls, 100 inches to be exact.  She modeled them for the family after joyfully opening them up.

My husband is an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan so I made him a special blanket and bought him an appropriate hoodie to help him cheer on his team.  He loved both so much he immediately put them on.  I am happy to say I have a football lovin' husband.  It's always fun to cheer on OUR KC Chiefs together!

My Daddy got (a.k.a. gave himself) lots of very cool electronics.  Including a fancy HD video camera.  He was in dork heaven all morning!

I was very spoiled and received so many beautiful presents.  My mom gave me cutie luggage tags for my suitcases, my dad got me a beautiful diamond star necklace, and Cassie & Tad gave me some musical and yummy gifts too.  My husband took the cake, however, with my brand new camera (you can probably tell the difference in some of the pictures I uploaded) and a pink shell for my Mac.  And lots of clothes that, I will admit, I actually picked out and tried on pre-Christmas morning.

Cassie had a pretty nice stack of prettily wrapped presents to open herself (my mom and I wrapped her gifts in pretty pink, purple, and green glittery wrapping paper).  She was excited to receive her favorite Disney movies all wrapped up in one box.

The morning was eventful and everyone received so many wonderful gifts.  We all felt grateful for what we received, especially for the family surrounding us as we opened our gifts.  We are a lucky (and very grateful) family.

Let's not forget the real reason for the season, though.  As I sat in the family room surrounded by my parents, siblings, and wonderful husband I could not help, but feel sad for those who do not feel joy during this Christmas season due to loss, illness, or bad memories.  Jesus was born on Christmas Day and gave us his life and love for all time.  This day is meant for the celebration of God's gift of this tiny baby Jesus to all of us.  I hope that those who feel the darkness of loss and sadness during Christmas feel the light of the Christ child shining down on them in a special way.

After a very full morning (which included a 20 minute recovery nap on my part) we drove over the river and through the woods through our winter wonderland to Grandmama's house.

We gathered in the family room over drinks and hor d'oeuvres for "the program."  We read Tiffany's annual thankful list which included lists from each family of what they were thankful for that year.  Mine was, as usual, the longest by far and brought tears not only to myself, but most of the other women in the room.

Evan, with a little help from Grandmama, put baby Jesus in his manger under the tree while we sang "O Come All Ye Faithful."

My husband received a special honor when he was asked by Opa to read about Jesus' birth from the Gospel of Luke.  He is officially one of the "men of the house."  Makes me very proud of my Mister.

K-K snuggled with her grandchildren, including the McElwains who came all the way from Colorado Springs to spend Christmas with us.  We were very blessed to have them with us and to enjoy lots of laughter with their little ones Evan and Caleb.

The Christmas feast was delicious, including the Roast Beast.  I will admit I stuffed myself, having two helpings of everything.  Guess my diet is starting January 1st.  I can't help myself at Christmas time especially with Grandmama's cooking.

Grandmama, K-K, and I even got to have some bubbly with dinner.  Not to mention Aaron and I sat at the "big kid table" in the dining room with the adults.  Kevin and Tiffany assured us that once we have little ones of our own we will soon be demoted to the kid table once again for many, many years.  Don't worry, we will enjoy it for at least a couple more years!

We ended the evening with "A Wonderful Life" and the phrase all the Christmas-obsessed do:  Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Goodnight.

After a day of rest, and LOTS of football, we were off to Peoria, IL to visit Grandma & Gramps.  There was a shocking two feet of snow waiting for us and Aaron, Cassie, Tad, and I spent hours sledding, snowballing, and building igloos.  Grandma and Gramps have, admittedly, never had such an impressive fort in their front yard.

Grandma's cooking was enjoyed by all, including her yummy cherry turnovers and apple pie.  Everyone even played more than a few games of Shanghai Rummy.

I cannot end this post without announcing that my wonderful husband is the Champion of his Fantasy Football league and we will once again be in possession of the large trophy they pass around to the winner of the league.  I am very proud of him and happy I was once again his good luck charm.


I hope you all had a Blessed Christmas and will have an exciting, enjoyable, safe New Years Eve celebration.  Happy 2011 to all!  See you next year!