So . . . another update . . . life keeps coming!

So, I suppose I'm about due for my once a year update on the blog.  It seems crazy that time has passed so quickly since August and then since the wedding in October.

So, we got married on October 9, 2010.  It was the last beautiful day of the year here in Michigan - sunny and 70s.  I started the day with getting up and ready . . . and my dad insisting that I eat some eggs and feeding me while I finished my nails.  Then we made the trip over to the temple and at 11 AM Pete and I were sealed in the temple.  After seeing many friends and family be sealed, it was amazing to again realize, and have it hit me a little more this time, how simple are the promises we make to God and to each other, and how magnificent are the blessings that are promised.  Especially looking back on it after only about 5 months, it is amazing how those promises can seal and make stronger the trust and love that is already there.  I mean, if Pete is willing to put up with my stubbornness for eternity, that's saying something :)

After changing and coming out of the temple, we took pictures with family and friends on the temple grounds. Then family went to my parents for a BBQ and Pete and I went to a couple places nearby to take more pictures.  We went to a park in downtown Birmingham, and it was amazing how everyone just got excited with us walking by in wedding dress and tux, and everyone wanted to say congrats.  After trying to do some "GQ" poses (and I failed miserably in one where I was supposed to twirl like a princess - I couldn't do it without cracking up), we stopped at my parents' to grab some food and then headed over to the reception.

The reception was great - lots of friends and family.  And I want to say thanks to everyone who came - I can think of no better way to celebrate than having people I care about around me to have fun (and Pete will even admit he had fun, although he may deny it if you ask him).

Here are some photos that I like (some of 700+ we got) - we had a great photographer!

We left on Monday for a honeymoon in Chicago and at the lake house in Whitehall.  Everything was just great . . . although you never want to come back to work.  And it's been the same since then.  I am so grateful I just get to come home and be there with Pete every day.  Even though we still may both be going crazy at work, just knowing that he is there and will help in any way he can (even if it's giving me good advice which I stubbornly ignore) means so much.

Let's see, since then it's been a continuation of life . . . I got promoted at work and am doing things that I love, even if it is a little crazy.  More importantly, though, is the promotion that is coming . . . . when Pete and I went to visit his family for Christmas I started feeling sick on the flight out there.  Soon after we got back, we confirmed that I was pregnant!  So, I'm now about 3.5 months along, with a due date of Sep 4, 2011.  While I can't say that I've been thrilled every day with nausea all day every day and fatigue unlike anything I've ever experienced . . . it is so exciting that we will get to do even greater things together, and to see the blessing of family come when at one point I wasn't sure what life held in store for me.  The Lord has always blessed me and always taught me.  There have been times that I wasn't sure I could do what He was asking, and every one of those moments brought a strength from Him and His Spirit.  Now, I know that the Lord has been preparing me all my life to be able to give all I am and have become to Pete and our future family.  Of course, sometimes my stubbornness and independence will probably get in the way - but I couldn't ask for anything more than what the Lord has given me.  He truly is a loving Father who knows our hearts and knows our needs . . . whether we feel in trial or in abundance.

So, I am just looking fat now (in the worst shape I have ever been in in my life), and we wanted to show the progress to my sister on a mission in Portugal, so here's a picture for y'all, too.