Happy New Year & Thank You!

Thank You For An Amazing Year!

Wow, it has been three months since the wedding, and we are just now updating the blog!  So much has happened in the past three months that have kept us busy, but my goal for the new year is to keep up my blogging!

We first want to thank all of our family and friends for an amazing wedding weekend.  It was just as fabulous as we had hoped and we loved every minute of it, from family arriving in town on the Wednesday before the wedding to the BBQs, the salon visits, the rehearsal, the dinner, the wedding day, to brunch on Sunday…all of it.  We experienced some of the happiest days of our lives, and the love we felt from all of you was incredibly special to us.

How can you follow one of the best weekends of your life???  Well, you take a two week honeymoon that was nothing short of amazing!  We cherish the time we spent together, the memories and new friends we made and the chance to celebrate our newly married status.

We came back from the honeymoon and took some time to settle in as newlyweds, after a very busy year, it was nice to spend some quiet time at home with our pets and each other.  But of course that was short lived, because life can get in the way…we bought a new truck for Doug, went to Chicago for Thanksgiving to celebrate with our Ludwig family, had our beloved dog face some serious health issues, and celebrated our first Christmas together as husband and wife.

I will add more pictures soon from the wedding and honeymoon, the holidays, and of course some really cute pictures of Griffey the Golden and Ali Cat!

We hope you all have a very happy new year, and we cant wait to see what 2011 brings for us.

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Busy March, Six Months to Go!

March was a busy and exciting month for us.  We had a great time at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Doug’s mom and niece Julie came to visit, we welcomed a new nephew into this world, and we celebrated Doug’s 35th birthday!  And, despite both of us getting the flu and sick for a week, there is only six months to the wedding, so we are excited about that!

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade was COLD and a bit rainy, but we still had a great time.  Check out the pictures, we ended the day at  Jive & Wail, where our niece and nephews danced on stage…yep, babies in a bar!  (At least it was a kid-friendly event!)

Doug’s mom and niece came into town and we had a great weekend, and visited the wedding dress shop to try on wedding and bridesmaid dresses, then lunch with the girls.  And, the very next week, we welcomed our new nephew, Cooper Richard Powers, into the world on March 23. …check out the photos.  He is an adorable baby and we are happy to add a 6th to our nieces and nephews count.

We ended the month with Doug’s 35th birthday by spending the weekend in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.  We visited a Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.southernhotelbb.com/ ) , antique shops, quaint restaurants and the Cave Vineyard ( http://www.cavevineyard.com/ ), which is a winery in a cave. Very cool!  We then the spent the last few days of March playing the Wii…Doug’s birthday present, so we are finally not the last people on earth to own the Wii.

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Engagement Pics

In October, we went to a local park during the peak of the leaves changing, and our sister-in-law, Erica Powers, took our engagement photos.  We have had a gorgeous fall, with several days of beautiful weather…(despite two weeks of straight rain).  The pictures turned out great.  As we were viewing them for the first time, I started to cry…and, Doug (looking all concerned) asked me what was wrong…I told him I was crying because we look so happy in the photos and Erica really captured that.  He said, “well we are that happy.”  And, that is why I love him!  :)

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The Proposal

We were engaged on September 6, 2009.  It was Labor Day weekend and Doug had planned a “date day” for Sunday.  He said he wanted to do some St. Louis touristy stuff, since he really had not had a chance to explore the city.  He mentioned going to the St. Louis Arch…I was a bit “not too crazy” about going since I dont like confined spaces…but said I would go since it was important for him.

Well…we got down to the Riverfront and were walking around and stopped under the Arch…Doug asked me if I thought it was the center spot..I said I think so…and he says…well, then this is the spot, and before I understood what he was saying…he was down on one knee holding a ring and said “Jaime…Will you marry me?”.  I was surprised and happy and of course said YES!

We both were a bit emotional (happy tears and laughing), and since it was a holiday weekend, many people were at the Arch grounds and started taking our picture…as it was happening.  And, if you know Doug well, it is a bit unlike him to do something like this in front of a large crowd.  But, it was just perfect…and even more perfect for the reason he choose the St. Louis Arch.

Coming home from a work trip a few months before, he said he was crossing the river from IL and seen the Arch in the distance and had an epifany…he said the feeling of “being home” came over him.  He felt then that St. Louis was now his home and moving here was the right choice and this is where he belongs, because he met and fell in love with me.  So sweet! More happy tears!

It was a very special moment and special day…we then celebrated with cocktails and creme brulee at Morgan Street Brewery, then headed to Main Street St. Charles for dinner at Little Hills Winery.  Then came home and toasted with wine by the fireplace.

He proposes at the Arch.

He proposes at the Arch.

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How We Met

We met on a blind date, set up by our families through a church group they belonged to…we joke that it was a triple whammy…blind date, our families, through church…we were both thinking “sure, like this is going to work out”.  Well, apparently our families, and God knew best, because here we are a year later planning a wedding.

Our first date was on May 31, 2008, we went to Shamois McDaniels for dinner, where I ordered a Blue Moon…and I will never forget the look on Doug’s face.  I think I impressed him, he was thinking I was going to order some frozen girlie drink.  We then headed to a church picnic at a neighboring parish, Immaculate Conception at Dardenne…irionic enough, Doug was the ring bearer at his cousin Ken’s wedding at that same church many years ago.  We always say that our meeting was blessed by God from the start.  After the church picnic, we ended the night at Blue Sky, a local bar and grill.

We went out on a few more dates…then that turned into weekly dates, then more and more we were spending time together.  It was such an easy and natural progression, and just seemed right.  I think it was several months into dating that we both started thinking….this is the one.

We thank God every day for His knowing the plan for us, even before we did.  When my mom sent me an email at work one day, explaining that her friend Linda had someone she wanted me to meet, I had no idea the significance of that email.  Linda, Doug’s cousin (even though you are not officially his cousin, you will always be family to us) listened to God’s calling and forever we will be grateful.

One of the things that stands out from our first date, was when Doug arrived at my place…Griffey, my golden retriever, greeted him at the door…excited someone new was there.  Doug said…what a good looking dog.  Little did we know that it would be his dog too one day.  He also said…this would be a good hunting dog.  I laughed and was thinking…this lazy dog is no hunting dog!  Needless to say, Doug loves Griffey and has never attempted to take him hunting!

We feel very blessed to have found each other.  Never underestimate the power of prayer, God’s calling and plans, and never ignore emails from your mother when she sends you a boy’s phone number! 

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