:: They're Having a BABY!! ::

Congratulations Niki and Jason!! Josh and I got a call on Saturday, from Josh's older sister Niki. And she had such exciting news... she's pregnant!! Woohoo!! We are just SO excited for them and thrilled to be an Uncle and Auntie again, looks like at the beginning of May, 2009. Jason and Niki are such wonderful people - they love the Lord with all their hearts, they are generous, kind and FUN!! As many have already said, they will make the most wonderful parents :) And let me tell you, this wee one has two VERY excited grandmas!!

I can't wait to have a new baby in the family, there's nothing better than that!! A little one to snuggle and love :) Josh and I are so happy for Jay and Nik and blessed to be there with them as they prepare to welcome their first little one into this world. CONGRATS!!

:: Niki and Jason on their wedding day, May 2007 ::

!! Happy 1st Birthday Colton !!

On Sunday, September 28 we celebrated Colton's FIRST birthday! He is the first child to my younger sister Krista and her husband Jeff - Fourth out of Five nephews for Josh and I! Colton is such a pleasure, such a happy little guy full of giggles and smiles. He just started crawling in his own unique way and is pretty quick now at getting around on his own! He says about 19 words and can get his point across quite clearly :) The party was held at my parents' house and was a "Cowboy" theme. Such fun! We all dressed up with cowboy hats, plaid shirts, bandanas... it was a blast. K&J even got some bales of hay and tons of decorations! The sun shone and we all got to hang out outside while enjoying some burgers, hot dogs, chili and of course - cake and presents!! Colton was blessed with many great gifts and tons of love. We are so lucky to be part of a wonderful family and it's always a ton of fun hanging out with all of them, as well as friends of Colton's.

:: The Birthday Boy!! ::

:: Check out his cute boots :) ::

:: The proud Mommy and Daddy ::

:: Cowgirl Auntie ::

:: Great Grandma and Grandpa Eddy, all dressed up! ::

:: Daddy and son ::

:: Cuddling with a new teddy bear ::

:: First Cake! Made by Auntie Lisa ::

:: Colton was more interested in cuddling the cake than eating it! Cutie ::

:: Sisters! And Corban :) ::

:: Makena's Dedication ::

On Sunday, September 21, Josh and I had the honour of being a part of Makena's Dedication to the Lord. A Christian dedication is basically a time when the parents commit to raising their child in the Lord's way, to teach him/her about Jesus and to love that child the way God calls them to. It's about recognizing that their baby is a gift that God has entrusted them with, and that they are "giving" the baby back to God, relying on Him while they raise him/her.
What an amazing and special time this was! Makena is the result of MANY prayers and God is just so wonderfully faithful. He waited a little longer to send this angel to A&J but she is more than worth the wait! Her name, Makena, means "Abundant" and her middle name is Joy. Abundant Joy!! And she is definitely living up to her name :) This little one is full of smiles and laughter and just simply brings joy to all around her. Makena has many wonderful people in her life who love her so much, it was powerful to see over 40 people on stage praying for her and her Mommy and Daddy. No dry eyes there! A&J, thank you for honouring Josh and I by inviting us along, and know that we are here for you through your journey of parenting this beautiful baby girl! God has blessed you just so much and you are wonderful parents, doing a marvelous job raising your Makena Joy!!

:: Amber and Mike Karwat! ::

On Saturday, September 20th, my dear friend Amber became the wife to the love of her life, Mike. Many of us remember Amber saying "I just love a man in a uniform" for years! And well, God granted her the desire of her heart and brought a firefighter into her life! A firefighter she fell in love with and said "yes" when he proposed last Fall. I was asked to be a Bridesmaid for Amber, along with her sister Shanna and friends Kim and Jessi. Halle was the flower girl along with Kim's daughter Morgan, so us girls had so much fun! The weather didn't shine on us that day but we hear it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day... so we're going with that one :) It was a fun day, the ceremony was in White Rock, we had pictures by the beach (along with some umbrellas!) and the reception was at Grouse Mtn. I wish I had taken pictures of the reception room, it was stunning. Amber and Mike were so happy, their special day was all that they hoped for. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Karwat!

:: Jessi getting Halle ready - cutest little flower girl! ::

:: Josh and I after the Ceremony ::

:: Jessi and I - hair done by the fabulous Shawna :) ::

:: Trying to re-create one of our wedding pictures - and laughing quite hard in the process! ::

:: This picture of our beautiful bride comes with a story ::

We were so hungry during pictures... so the guys called their fellow firefighters and within minutes we had 40 McDonald's cheeseburgers delivered to the limo! A cheeseburger... or 2, or 3, maybe 4... never tasted so good! ;)

:: They brought Starbucks too! ::

:: All us girls in the limo - me, Jessi, Amber, Kim and Shanna ::

:: First dance as Husband and Wife *love* ::

:: So fun to be with great friends!! Josh, me, Troy, Dean and Jessi ::

:: A Year Ago Today ::

Josh and I got engaged!! What a perfect day it was. I can hardly believe a whole year has passed since then! I don't think I've even had a busier year in my life, and looking back... it makes my head spin a bit! :)

For those of you who don't know the story, here goes! Josh and I were nearing our one year dating anniversary and he told me that he wanted to make a plan for the day, to leave it to him. He told me to wear something casual, bring shoes (not sandals) and something a little dressier as well. Easy enough! He picked me up and we headed out, deciding to stop at Starbucks on the way out. His original plan was to go out for a nice breakfast but I took too long getting ready! haha. We decided to exchange gifts in Starbucks before getting on with our day. He opened his - a Guess watch that we had seen and he had been wanting. I went to open mine and Josh told me that it wasn't what I would think it was when I saw it and to not be disappointed. So yup, there was a ring box in the gift bag. Before I opened it Josh told me that he knew I wanted to get engaged but he wanted to make sure he was ready. So this gift represented his promise to one day propose to me, and so I would know he was serious and did want to marry me. All this made sense and I respected what he was saying... although I'm not gonna lie and say I wasn't feeling some disappointment! I opened the box to find a sweet promise ring, made of white gold and 4 small diamonds put together to make one, with three little ones down each side. I asked if it was okay that I wore it on my right hand, as I had never worn a ring on my left, "saving" it for my engagement/wedding ring. He also gave me some bath bombs, body wash, and eyeshadow! To be honest I struggled a little with my feelings at this point. I wanted to be engaged SO BAD and was feeling a little disappointed about it not happening, yet I didn't want to be ungrateful for what Josh did say and give!! Oh dear :)

We carried on our way, heading west on the #1 Highway. All the way past Whistler to Pemberton! Josh had arranged for us to go horseback riding, something I had talked about wanting to do with him. Riding is one of my favourite childhood past times and Josh had never been! Luckily the rest of the group cancelled so it was just Josh, myself and our guide. We headed out, on paths through forests and meadows - it was beautiful! Josh managed to hang in there, but I don't think riding is for him :) We got to this lovely spot about halfway through the ride, to rest a bit. We were on a shore by a river, with breathtaking mountains and the forest. We stayed on horseback, letting the horses drink and taking pictures of the natural beauty all around us. Josh asked our guide to bring his and my horses together and take a picture. *Oh my stomach is fluttering just thinking about the moment!!* Once together (as close as we could be on our horses!) he took something out of his pocket. He told me that when I asked him what he wanted for our year anniversary all he could think of was me - he wanted me, for the rest of his life. Then he showed me the ring and asked me to marry him!!! I couldn't take my eyes off this stunning ring and Josh's sincere eyes. Of course I said yes and practically fell off my horse trying to hug him tight!! Our guide was so cute, taking pictures and trying to keep our horses still - we were too busy being in love for that!! :) The rest of the ride back I was shaking and so happy, asking Josh a thousand questions - when he talked with my Dad, when he bought the ring, how long he'd known he was going to do it, yada yada. I was most shocked to find out that he had bought the ring 6 months earlier!! The one I wanted got discontinued so he got the last one before it was gone, but knew he wouldn't propose for awhile. My sweet, patient man! Oh, and the promise ring? He did that to throw me off!! He wanted the proposal to be a surprise so he thought up that plan - and was quite please with himself :)

We ended our ride and got changed, then went for a fancy dinner in the Blackcomb Village. So fun to dream about our wedding and life together! We drove back to Langley, to Lisa and Wes' place, where my parents were babysitting. I thought of this plan to show them my promise ring and make them think he didn't ask, then surprise them... but once I saw them I couldn't even talk and just stood there, screaming and holding out my left hand! haha. All 4 of them were there and they were all so happy for us. It was great to share our excitement and celebrate together. I couldn't stop smiling and was just SO in love with my FIANCE!! yay!

Josh's parents were visiting AJ and Colleen in Saskatchewan so we called them the next day with the news. They were going to have a new daughter! After that the craziness began... we set the date of January 26 - only 4 months away - and got serious! In those 4 months Josh started working at Sysco, we bought our condo, renovated it, had Christmas, planned the wedding and honeymoon, moved... it was nuts. Seriously nuts. But we didn't want to be "engaged" we wanted to be MARRIED!! :)

Here are some photos of our special day, plus some of the professional "Engagement" photos taken about a month later with our wedding photographer, Chris Elander http://www.chriselanderphoto.com/

:: On our way out for the day ::

:: On the way to Pemberton :::: Engaged! On horseback with our goofy helmets :) ::

:: Beautiful scenery ::

:: yay! So excited ::

:: Professional Engagement Photos ::

Chris and Leanne Guiel

On Saturday, September 6, 2008 Chris Guiel and Leanne Krussel were joined together as husband and wife!! Chris is my brother-in-law Wes' brother. We all went to high school together and have known each other for years. Chris and Leanne have been together for about 8 years now and we were all very happy to celebrate their marriage! Wes was the best man and Ethan and Brandon were the ring bearers. They're becoming pro's! I didn't have a great seat to get pictures of the ceremony, so when I get copies from my Dad I will add some. The boys were both totally posing on the bench during the whole ceremony - priceless!! Leanne looked beautiful in her gown and Chris was a handsome groom - both were super happy! We saw them this past Wednesday and they said that their special day was exactly what they wanted - what more could you ask for! They're heading off on a Caribbean Cruise on the 27th - doesn't that sound nice? :)

The wedding was held at the Macaroni Grill in Vancouver - the ceremony was outside and the reception was inside. In between while the wedding party had pictures, appy's were served and drinks were offered... yay for Bellinis! :) We had this great idea to walk up to Robson and get in some shopping (typical of the Eddy girls, I know!) ... and what a regretful decision that turned out to be! My feet have never been so sore - I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it back! The good news is that I got some cute sunglasses on sale for $6.47 - so there's a bright side :)

Here are a couple pictures of the day - Again, I'll try and post more once I get them!

:: The Guiel's, with Nana and Grandad::

:: My Mom and Dad, posing under the archway ::
:: Corban!! ::

:: We were playing peek-a-boo with the barrels - what fun! ::

:: Brandon making his silly face ::

:: Our table at the Reception ::

:: Josh and I ::

:: Last Weekend of Summer ::

I can't believe that Summer has come and gone... sad in some ways but I gotta say, I love Fall!! I love the crisp air with sunshine, wearing sweaters and boots, and getting back into routines. September is going to be a crazy month - we have 2 weddings (one of which I'm a bridesmaid in), one stagette, and at least 3 family birthdays that I know of, plus I joined volleyball every Monday night! So the month is already shaping up to a busy one and I'm looking forward to every minute! I love being busy and having lots of things on the go. At times I need to say "no" and take time for just me, or for Josh and me, or for our place! I'm learning :)

Josh and I had a great last weekend of summer! Josh is still off on compo, recovering from a back injury, so we were able to go away! I had a day banked at work so we turned the long weekend into a 4 day weekend. It was such a nice break! We started off the weekend by joining Josh's family up in Golden Ears for some camping. It's been a tradition of the Neufeld's to go there this time every year. We might change it up for next year though, because we haven't lucked out with weather for the past few. Grandma and Grandpa Goerzen join in, and whoever can make it comes up, whether for the whole weekend, a night or two, or a few hours. It did rain a lot and it was SO cold! But we had fun reading by the fire (at times under umbrellas!), playing games and eating... a lot of eating :) To make things more interesting, there were some mice who decided that the trailers would be nice and dry... Grandma and Grandpa G caught one little guy and we caught 3! We think there were still more with us though - those ones just got the cheese. Smart little mice! :) On Sunday my parents came up to visit but we were packing up to leave, as the weather wasn't improving and we had used up all the firewood! So we all went back to Josh's parents and had a fire and dinner there. A nice hot shower never felt so good!

The next evening Josh and I got to celebrate our friend Dean's 38th birthday! It was so nice to see old friends and celebrate with Deaners. Dean and I have been friends since 2002, and in 2004 I introduced him to Jessi, my friend from Australia. It was love at first sights and 5 weeks later they were engaged, and since then have had 2 wonderful children - Halle and Sebastian - and have bought their home in Langley. They are such wonderful people and a huge blessing in my life - I love them all to bits !

:: Josh and Grandpa Goerzen in deep conversation by the fire::

:: Josh and I - we wore touques all weekend, attempting to stay warm and dry! ::

:: Our three little friends in their final resting place ::

:: The wonderful cake Jessi made for Dean - her first time using fondant! Good work Jess! ::

:: The happy family of 4 ::

:: Amber, Jessi, Sebastian and me - no better feeling than a baby falling asleep in your arms, especially one as sweet as this little man! ::

:: Today at work, trying to show my new hair-do! It's dark underneath which you can't see in the pic, and blonder everywhere else, plus shorter and more layered. My SIL Hannah did it for me, isn't she awesome?!? ::