We Wish You a Merry Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve with DJ's family, went to midnight mass that night, and then went to my parent's house for Christmas day.  We also celebrated Christmas with the Klowaks at Aunt Nina's house the day after Christmas.  Since Christmas and New Year's fell during the week this year, we both had a lot of extra time off from work.  We took a trip out to Candy Cane Lane in West Allis and enjoyed a nice night out to eat and walking around downtown Milwaukee looking at Christmas lights.  New Year's Eve was pretty quiet for us this year!

Getting Ready

November was busy with work and school and getting ready for Baby Smith to arrive!  We spent a weekend getting the nursery and crib set up.  I've also started making some baby blankets and cross stitched projects.

Hannah is getting excited as well :)

Honeymoon and Trolls

This month DJ and I took a mini honeymoon/pre-baby vacation to Dodgeville, WI.  We stayed at the Don Q Inn where DJ and his family went a lot when they were little.  We had a great time walking around the town, going to local restaurants, and spending some much needed quality time together.  We also took a day to go to House on the Rock - a very unique place!

Baby Smith enjoyed the trip as well :)

Last weekend we went to the apple orchard and spent the rest of the day making everything we could think of with apples - apple bread, apple muffins, apple crisp, and carmel apples.  On Sunday we took a quick day trip to Mount Horeb with DJ's parents to see all of the trolls.

It's a Girl!

Here Comes the Bride

The day is finally here!  We had a wonderful wedding on August 16, 2015 with the ceremony St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Waukesha and celebrating afterwards at my parent's house in Germantown. Thank you to everyone who was able to share our special day with us!

Pictures can be viewed by clicking on the "Wedding Album" on the right-hand side of the screen or by clicking here.  These are some of our favorites:

Baby Smith

We are very excited to officially announce that Baby Smith will be arriving in early February!

Summer is Here

We are busy getting the final details together of our wedding in August - less than two months away! As the weather is finally beginning to warm up, we have been getting in lots of disc golfing and bike rides in between work and grad school.  At the end of June, we also celebrated Matt's graduation from high school in Germantown.

Shower Time

At the beginning of the month we had a shower at Aunt Nina's house for my cousin Katie who will be getting married this July - it's going to be a busy summer!  We also got to meet my cousin Christy's son Henry who was born in March.  The next day we went out for brunch to celebrate my engagement with the Klowaks.

Here is DJ and I with the results of our awesome wedding shower craft project that we put together at the restaurant!

At the end of the month, I had my wedding shower in Waukesha at the Elks Lodge.  It was great to celebrate with family and friends and we want to thank everyone for all of the wonderful gifts - good thing Lilly was there to help us open everything!  That night, the girls and I went to Hamburger Mary's for dinner and then went out to a few bars in Milwaukee and Waukesha.

America's Little Switzerland

At the beginning of the month, we took a day trip to New Glarus to pick out DJ's wedding present sword at Albion Swords.  It should be ready to pick up in a couple of months.  We had a great time walking around New Glarus and looking at all of the old Swiss buildings.  On the way home, we also stopped at the New Glarus Brewery.

We Found a Dress!

The date has been set for our wedding: August 16, 2014.  We are busy planning and dealing with all the craziness that comes along with trying to get a wedding together...especially since it is less than six months away!  We have decided to get married at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Waukesha - the same church that DJ's parents got married at.  The reception will be at my parents house in Germantown.

Here we are celebrating our engagement:

And...

I found a wedding dress!  I went shopping with my mom and Carla (DJ's mom) along with our bridesmaids Jessica, Amber, and Sam.  Afterwards, we celebrated at Olive Garden.

We also found a dress for Lilly, our next door neighbor and flower girl!

The Beginning

Hello, and welcome to our blog!  Here we will be posting updates and pictures as we begin our life together.  I started blogging a few years ago with my book blog and crafting blog and figured it was time to start a blog about our family as well.  I've been pretty busy lately and have taken a break from crafting, but my book review blog is usually pretty up to date.  Click on the links on the left if you're interested!

February has been a very busy month for us!  On Valentine's Day (also our official two year anniversary), DJ surprised me by proposing at Holy Hill with a bible verse.  This has always been a favorite day trip of our in the fall.  I was a bit suspicious when DJ insisted that we go in the middle of winter and it was the perfect place!  We are planning for an August wedding.

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the lord."

- Proverbs 18:22

DJ and I meet in 2006 while going to school at UW-Whitewater.  After being friends for many years, we eventually started dating and the rest is history.  Here are some pictures from the last few years:

Freshman Year 2006

May 2012

October 2012

January 2013

Summer 2013

Christmas 2013

Thanks for reading!

DJ & Trisha