1 year ago on this day....

WE GOT MARRIED! :)

I am so lucky to be married to my best friend and such a wonderful man.  We have been through so much in this 1 year alone, good and bad, and I don't know what we'd do without each other to lean on.  He can always make me laugh, and pushes me through the tough situations.  Though it's only been 1 year of marriage, we've been together for 8 years, and each year just keeps getting better than the rest.  Here's to many, many more! ♥  

wedding pictures!

Our first anniversary is coming up in a couple weeks [June 26], and we got a call from our photographer last week to come in and pick up our CD of the negatives.  Like many other wedding photographers, he releases the copywright to us for our 1st anniversary, so we were excited to hear that we were able to get them a few weeks early.  We also figured we'd better go in and order some prints-- it has been a year, after all!  Good thing we can use being in Finland as the excuse for that one.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures captured by our photographer [Pierre] on our big day:

adoreable pic of J with our
nephew/ring bearer

what a handsome looking bunch!

still so in love with my dress!

they were so excited to get their flowers! ♥

another creative shot in the basement of the church

our adoreable nieces/flower girls

exiting the church into a sea-full of bubbles :)

meeting J at the altar ♥

getting some lovin' from my new hubby
while surrounded by all of our loved ones
doesn't get much better than this! ♥

my beautiful best friends/
bridesmaids

the 'jumping' pictures are one of Pierre's specialties

we finally got some air by take #4... :)

a beautiful day for pictures by the lake

the bike Pierre 'borrowed'
from the liquor store
random moments = lovely pictures

me and my fellow hockey-playing bridesmaids

can't beat this one ♥

J and his groomsmen

beer truck picture... another result of
Pierre's spontaneous creativity!

most delicious raspberry cake ever! ♥



our cute little centerpieces turned into this....



should have known this would happen with a
bunch of hockey players! haha



dancing with my sweet nieces/flower girls

personalized hockey puck favors
[J's ring & my engagement ring]

first dance ♥

 Looking back through all of our pictures has made me fall in love with them all over again.  Our photographer, Pierre, and his assistant Sarah, did an amazingly wonderful job that exceeded all of our expectations.  I'd highly recommend his work to anyone looking for a highly talented photographer... check out his website or facebook page no need to be in the area, I do believe he is willing to travel :)

10 things i am most thankful for in 2010

Sure, Thanksgiving was a month ago.  But all of the holiday season is a time to think about what we are thankful for and also to reflect on everything that happened over the past year.  With that, I decided to make a list of my:

Top 10 Things I am Most Thankful for in 2010

(tie) 1) Family and Friends.  No brainer.  Sorry if I'm boring you by putting them at the top of every list I make, but how could I not?  We're blessed with such wonderful people in our lives, and they deserve every bit of recognition that I can give them.  You help make both of us the people that we are.

(tie) 1) My husband.  I couldn't ask for a better person to spend the rest of my life with.  This has been a huge year for us, and I know it's only going to get even better.  You're always there for me when I'm having a tough day and can always put a smile on my face. 

3) Our Dream Wedding.  It is, and probably will forever be, the best (and most fun) day of our lives.  We had 160 of our nearest and dearest all in the same room to celebrate us.  What more could you ask for?  Everything worked out flawlessly (ok, I'm sure there were a little bumps throughout the day... but obviously they weren't a big deal since I don't even remember them 6 months later!)  Everyone had such a blast and it turned out just the way we were hoping it to.  I'm even more thankful to our parents, because if it wasn't for them, it would have never happened.

4) Hockey.  Sure, it's a love-hate relationship, but there's no denying that it has brought great things to our lives.  First, it provides an income for us.  And how many other people get to move to Europe in their twenties?  There are definitely perks that come with the life.  On top of it all, my husband gets to wake up every morning knowing that he's going to a job that he loves.  Doesn't get much better than that.  As a friend of mine quotes on her facebook profile "Find a job that you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."

5) Other Hockey Wives.  Whether it's ones I know personally or not, these ladies make me feel a lot less alone in this crazy little world that we live in.  From advice to sharing stories, support to making new friends, I don't know what I'd do without them!  So few people understand our lives, so it's important to be able to connect with one another and have people to talk to who "get it".

6) Skype.  I hadn't really used Skype much until this year.  Now, I don't know what I'd do without it!!  Being able to talk to and SEE family and friends across the world is amazing.  I can't imagine what it would be like living over here without it (and it wasn't that long ago that people had to!)

7) Money.  But not in the sense that you're thinking of.  I am thankful that we have a steady income to support ourselves and pay the bills.  It seems like a simple thing, but so many people don't even have that.  The security that it provides makes day to day life a lot easier (which, I know, is where the irony comes in, since many say that money only complicates things)

8) Maddie.  She probably knows me better than anyone else, even my hubby.  She hears all my secrets and  see how I act when nobody is watching.  She nurses me when I'm sick, sleeps on my feet when they're cold, and listens to me when I need someone to talk to.  No one else gets so excited every time I walk in the door and makes me feel as important as she does.

9) Finland.  I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to live in this beautiful country.  I learn something new about it every day, and it has been a wonderful place to live.  Almost every person I have come into contact with has been welcoming and helpful.  The team has been wonderful to us, and I have only good things to say about our stay here so far!

10) Learning so many new things about myself.  Okay, that's kind of broad.  But I think I have grown a lot as a person in the past year especially, and I'm really proud of that.  Every challange that I face (and overcome) makes me aware of what a strong person I am.  I think I have always been ahead of my years in maturity, but I think I have surpassed even that in this past year.  I have learned a lot of new things about the world, cultures, people, myself, and life in general.  I'm pretty content with who I am right now :)

Also:  I added a "my story" page at the top.  For those of you interested in reading, you can also find it here.

♥

4 days until Christmas!

♥