SnowTree

October Fun

Our family came to visit in October! We LOVED having our Nona, Auntie Cindy, and Jamie visit. We went to the pumpkin patch one day and went to the Melting Pot one nite for dinner. YUMMY! I also had fun getting the spare bedrooms ready.





We brought in my 29th birthday at the Asian Gourmet. . . yummy SUSHI:)


Fall came FAST, and is almost already gone, as we have had some cold temperatures and snow flurries. This is our back yard view. We will be having Thanksgiving at our house this year! It is SO exciting to be in our own home for the holidays! Josh is making the turkey. He did an awesome job with it last Christmas.

Home at last . . .

YEAH!!!!!!!! June 26, 2007 We signed the papers and began moving into our new house. We love it- the cats love it (notice Dixie cat in one of the windows)- Life is GOOD :) I've already gotten sucked into the decorating mode and making it cozy. Josh has to remind me we have more important things (like a garage door opener & ceiling fans) to worry about than curtains. We will begin planning a house warming/BBQ get together soon! For those across the miles, we can't wait to have you come visit. We have plenty of room for you.

We're hitched :)

We DID IT! April 28th, 44 friends and family met us in Vegas to celebrate our union. We arrived on Thursday and hit the ground running: rental car, marriage license, tux shop. . . .whew. It all came together quite smooth. We highly recommend the Vegas wedding plan. You can't go wrong. It was pretty stress-free. We got to hang out with friends and family throughout the weekend, which was a lot of fun.

Check out the wedding on www.chapelintheclouds.com until May 27th. Thank you to all who came, and to those who sent their love.

We are in contract!!!

We found the house!!! It is 2501 square feet 3 beds, 2.5 baths, and a loft upstairs. The property isn't very big but it backs up to a city park, which gives us the illusion of having land without the maintenance. Our realtor got the builder to throw in new stainless steel appliances which include a flat top stove, microwave, dishwasher, and side by side refrigerator with an ice maker, as well as a big chunk of the closing costs. As you can see its not finished, but it will be done mid-June.

Here is one view of the front of the house, you can see the park behind it.

Another view of the front.

Here is the garage, you can see it has the 3 foot extension on the side, and really high ceilings.

A view from the back door out to the park, not a bad view...

One view of the master bedroom looking towards the loft from the bathroom entrance.

Scroll down to see the layout.

Easter Sunday

We had a great Easter in Ohio, starting off by attending New Albany First Church of the Nazarene or "Nafcon". This is a church I used to attend prior to moving out to Cali. So, it was cool to be back there again. Marelle, Carey's sister, sings on the praise and worship team, which was exciting. As soon as Madison saw her on stage she yelled, "Hi, Aunt Mo!" really loud. It was very sweet. Then, after realizing how low she was, she whispered with her hand on her mouth, "be quiet" and she whispered to Josh too, "be quiet, Josh." She & Luke were dressed so adorable. Of course, I am very biased. The kids got to open their Easter baskets, which was fun & we hid plastic eggs for Madi to find. She had a blast! Her favorite basket item was a stamper set. You will see she got some stamping time in her hi-chair. For the record, you did not want to be in our house when Daddy had to take the stamps an ink pad away. It wasn't pretty, she cried- big time :(

After church, we had an AWESOME meal. Marelle and Josh (Shaner) made a pot roast & Josh and I was in charge of providing the dessert. Let me brag for a moment. . .I tried this recipe on "All Recipe's.com" for Carmel Macchiato Cheesecake, and it was so delicious!!!!! I've never made cheesecake before, so I had to buy a spring-form pan and everything. I'd never even heard of a spring-form pan. Anyway, check it out. . .it was superb :)

FYI: I'm hoping to do better about keeping our blog updated, especially for those across the miles!!!

House Hunting

The house hunting process has been quite an experience for us. We have an amazing Realtor, which makes all the difference. Now, that we've ruled out bi-levels, split-levels, cookie-cutter suburbia, condos, and so on, we are much closer to our first home!!!!!

This is the house we currently are stoked about. It's in Johnstown, OH (19miles from my job and 17 from Josh's). It sits on a little over 4 acres, with it's own campsite area. It has 3 bedrooms 2 baths, and a huge finished basement that has a walk-out to the back yard. We like how open it is indoor and out! An amazing part of this house is the large deck on the back, complete with a fountain (or space for a future hot tub!) and lots of serene, privacy. The back faces west, so it's sure to have amazing picturesque sunsets. That's the update for now! We will see you in 22 days for the big WEDDING :)

Love & Hugs,
Josh & Amy