“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Our First Christmas

What a great Christmas 2010 has been! We are so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful families to spend this holiday with. This Christmas marks Wes and I's first Christmas together and it was a great start to what will be many more Christmas celebrations to come. We didn't even mind the "joint" married gifts!

I am going to try to keep the pictures at a minimum because I probably have over 100 pictures between the DeWitte Christmas and Jackson Christmas. So I will try to hit the high points as best as I can. :)

Wes got word from the Post Office that he was going to have to work Christmas morning delivering packages. So in order to work around his schedule, we had the DeWitte Christmas the night of Christmas Eve. We also got to have a big breakfast Christmas morning at the DeWitte's once Wes had gotten off work. Yum!! Then it was time to hit the road for the Jackson Christmas. Luckily, since Christmas fell on a Saturday this year, we were able to stay the night in Lawton, which was nice to have a little extra time spent with my family.

Wes and I are still having a hard time figuring out how to be with both families over the holidays but I think it worked out great this year. We hope to buy a new home soon that will be big enough to have both families to our house for the holidays. But until then, we will make things work the best we can.

Any newlyweds out there run into this situation with their families who don't live in the same city? I would love to hear how other newlyweds spend the holidays with both families. Ideas and comments welcome!!

Here are some of the DeWitte Christmas highlights!



DeWitte Christmas Tree!



Tacky Christmas sweater party? Terry and Dave thought so!



Wes and I enjoying some dinner by the fire



Yes, this is the reason I have SO many pictures this Christmas. Can't start a new blog without a new camera too right? Wes' Christmas gift to me. Thanks honey!



It was a game year for the DeWitte men in the family. But these headphones are a blessing to me; I don't have to listen to the games anymore! Yay!! Oh and of course Wes liked them too! :)Good gift Mom and Dad!



Wes and I have converted his dad to an OSU fan. No better fan to be though right?



Love these Good Grips containers. Bobbye needed some too!



Can't leave the dog out of Christmas. Barkley got a new frisbee and loved it!



Finally, a Chi straightener! Thanks brother-in-law!



A visit to his parents would never be the same without the boys doing what they love; music!



He's single ladies! :) And an awesome guitar player!



And this twin is officially off the market. :) I love having a musician for a husband; wouldn't have it any other way.



Wes and Dave (yes, they are twins!)



The DeWitte Family



The Newlyweds!


And now the Jackson Christmas....


All the OSU fans got a homemade OSU ornament. Go Pokes!



Everyone needs a gumdrop tree!



And at the Jackson's, it was a picture Christmas. These are "mini" books; collaged with pictures from the wedding. Everyone loved them!



Mae Ma and Pa Pa



My wonderful parents!



My Mom and I



The Jackson Family



In front of my parent's Christmas tree



Jackson Christmas Tree



It pays to have a father-in-law who owns a music store. Wes is stocked up on drum sticks for a while. :)



Wes and I showing off our new hoodies and our coffee!Refill please! Ha



Paula Dean cookware for my mom. Good stuff!!



Dad and I. Can you tell we are related? I love you Dad!



"Our First Christmas" ornament from my parents and sister. Gorgeous!



"Our First Christmas"


Needless to say, we had such a great Christmas and are so blessed. I promise not every post will have THIS many pictures, but I had to be sure and blog this special year for us. A memorable year it has been!




Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve Gift!

Okay, no one probably understand that post title but the Jackson's, Hawkin's, and DeWitte's do!

The story behind Christmas Eve gift and Christmas gift is pretty simple: You have to try to be the first one to say it to everyone before they do. Now before Wes and I met, this was an ongoing tradition in my family. Last Christmas, it was Christmas Eve and Wes just blurted out, "Christmas Eve Gift!". I thought to myself, did he hear of this tradition from my mom and now he is trying to get me when it's MY tradition?! But it turns out, his family does the same thing! Wow...what are the chances? I really thought our family was completely crazy in making up this game but we weren't the only crazy ones!
It was really cool that both of our families have been carrying out the same exact tradition. And now that both families are joined as one, we can continue our tradition with our new families and everyone gets it without thinking the other has completely lost their mind!

So who got who this year for "Christmas Eve Gift"? Thanks to text messaging in the 21st century, my mom got me early this morning. Dang it! Feeling somewhat defeated, I decided to get Wes' mom and twin brother, Dave, through text. YES!!! Then Wes' mom got my mom back. All of this through text. Oh how texting has changed the world. I was able to get my lovely husband the old fashioned way...the phone! He called from work and I immediately answer his call with "Christmas Eve Gift!". So basically I'm three for one so far.We are having Christmas with the DeWitte's tonight once Wes is off work. Maybe I can get some more people then! :)

I decided to post some pictures of our home decorated for Christmas. It's going to be hard to take down the decorations after Christmas, it is all so pretty. It can all stay up at least through mid January right? ;) Enjoy!


































Merry Christmas!!!





Thursday, December 23, 2010

Exactly One Year Ago Today

I didn't want the day to go by without mentioning what happened exactly one year ago today.

Wes and I made the best and most important decision of our lives; to spend the rest of our lives together. Exactly one year ago today, Wes proposed. I was completely caught off gaurd and was SO excited and overjoyed. It was the best feeling knowing I was going to get to spend the rest of my life with such an amazing man. This time of year will always mean a lot to us simply because of this special event.

I will give a detailed post of our engagement story later but here's the short version. That night we had gone to dinner at Charleston's (first date), went ice skating for the first time, and had Starbuck's on the way home.It was when we got back home that Wes got down on one knee, right next to the Christmas tree and proposed.

Well, we had hoped to go ice skating again this year to remember that special night a year ago but mother nature didn't quite cooperate as well as last year. It was very cold tonight and raining. Yuck! So we cooked dinner at home and no ice skating. But we did make it to Starbuck's!



And I went ahead and let Wes open one of his Christmas gifts. It is supposed to be raining and freezing cold again tomorrow so I felt like he would need it at work tomorrow as he braves the elements, delivering mail. Here he is by the Christmas tree with his new, warm jacket vest. Merry Christmas honey!



Even though we didn't get to go ice skating, it was still great to spend time together and remember the night that I said "yes!" to the rest of our lives. One year later, we are married and couldn't be happier.