Another year is here...

Happy New Year everyone! 

May you all be blessed with a very happy and healthy 2009! 

Love to you all! 

Love, Stephanie and Jeremy 

From snow to the beach....

I flew back to FL this afternoon and will be packing up this week to move back to KC! Jeremy will be flying in on New Years Eve as we are having a big New Years bash at my brother and Joshua's and then will be heading back to the Midwest on Friday with Maverick and Graham. When I left KC this morning it had been snowing and was in the 20's and when I arrived in FL, the temps were in the 80's! So, needless to say, I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the beach to enjoy one last time of watching Maverick play ball in the ocean. Even though he has been struggling more the past couple of weeks, he came to life when we arrived on the beach. He would not stop going after the tennis ball and it was so awesome to watch him enjoy playing ball and running around again. 

Our First Christmas!

Jeremy and I were so blessed to have a wonderful Christmas with our family. Unfortunately, we could not see everyone over the holiday, but we were thankful to see a lot of our friends and family over Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my in-laws and then my mom and stepdad came down to my in-laws house to spend the afternoon with us as well. We had a very nice visit with everyone and were thrilled to all be together. As you can see, Nate sure enjoyed his 2nd Christmas! He definitely got into unwrapping his gifts and wanted to try everything out as soon as it was unwrapped. However, he was not very interested in sitting on Santa's lap when Santa stopped by the house! So, Aunt Stephanie had to show him that sitting on Santa's lap was not scary!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We wish you all a wonderful and special day!

Love, Jeremy and Stephanie

Straight from the North Pole...

...Santa's little reindeer!

May the true meaning of the season be celebrated 

as we give thanks for the birth of Jesus. 

We wish everyone a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Love, Jeremy, Stephanie, Maverick and Graham (the reindeer)

My feelings exactly....

Jeremy found this image and it is perfectly suited to the Midwest winter weather! Oh, how exciting it is going to be to live among snow again! (I am totally being sarcastic...)

66 degrees difference

I haven't blogged in a week so I thought I would jump on and say a little something here! As most of you know I came back to FL for a couple of weeks after the wedding so I could start packing and finish up some things with work. The good thing is that I am in 78 degree weather while my poor hubby is in 12 degree weather, but that is the only pro with being states apart right now! We are missing each other like crazy and he is still living in boxes in our new place because he said that he is not sure where anything is supposed to go! haha! I will be heading back to KS next week however and am looking forward to being there for Christmas. I hope all of you are having a wonderful, stress-free holiday season and I wish everyone warm and happy hearts no matter where you are living! :)

Kids say the darndest things.....

So, the cutest thing happened today at the Y. I was getting ready to teach my kids class and one of my favorite kiddos (he is 4 years old) marched right up to me with the most serious and sweetest look and said.....

"I thought I was going to marry you!"

His mom looked at me and said, "I just told him the news that you had gotten married and he was so upset!"

An end to a fabulous and fun day!

The boxer shorts are a little bit of an inside joke! The boys received all of those from my in-laws and the girls and I received THONGS! Yes, as most of you had seen, we DID have a pair of thongs on our Target registry and it WAS on purpose! Totally an inside joke (and too long to try and explain!), and obviously one that will never be lived down! 

Dance with me!

The bottom picture is me dancing with my brother, but the other three pictures are Jeremy giving me quite the lap dance! He was going in for the garter but put on quite the show to get it! It was pretty funny! 

More reception pictures!

Top picture: Jeremy and my grandpa being silly during the Dollar Dance!

Second picture: Mr. and Mrs. Dulin!

Third picture: Making it official with Stefan as we sign our marriage certificate!

Last picture: Joshua and my long-time friend and bridesmaid, Faith. Unfortunately, Joshua was not in a lot of the wedding pictures because he was BEHIND the camera! He was a wonderful photographer!

Cutting of the cake

Yes, those are salt and pepper shakers on the top of our wedding cake! (You have to see the movie Fireproof to appreciate the symbolism!) Our cake matched the colors of our wedding with the brown and red and Jeremy had a KC Royals grooms cake which turned out really awesome as well. He was very sweet and no one ended up with a cake mask afterwards!

Picture-taking poses

Jeremy and I had THE MOST AMAZING wedding party EVER! We had so much fun and were thankful to those who were there to stand up with us. That is my brother in the middle of the first picture making a silly face and again standing with my friend, Faith, in the second picture! Isn't he so handsome in that brown tux?!

The KIDS of the wedding!

My 'nephew', Hudson was our Bible Bearer and wore a KC Royals jersey, Bella (one of Jeremy's friends little girl) was our flower girl, and Nate, our nephew, was our ring bearer. He is with us in the last picture sporting a Cardinals jersey! Thankfully they all went down the aisle okay, but only Bella stood at the front with us! She was a star and we are sure that she is practicing to be a professional flower girl! 

THE HAIR....

The day started out early as we had to be at the salon at 7:00 a.m! Due to our wedding starting at 11:00, we had to get moving early! The girls and I had a lot of fun getting our hair done. Evan, Courtney's husband, made a bagel run for us and we watched as SNOW started falling! Gotta love the Midwest weather, it had been in the 50's and bright and sunny just a day or two before the big day but the snow started that Saturday morning and did NOT stop all day! It kept coming down and it was so pretty! 

Rehearsal Night

Everyone joined together on Friday night for our rehearsal dinner at the Majestic Comedy Club! We had about 25 family and friends come together for a very fun night of comedy, laughs, and good food! The pictures are as follows:

Top picture: This was the headliner comic Mark Cordes. He is from Arizona (YEAH!!!) and was absolutely FABULOUS! He made us laugh so hard and Jeremy and I even got called out during the show! It was a very funny and memorable show!

Second picture: Yes, I am double-fisting the drinks there! Haha! Joshua had ordered my infamous favorite Cosmo drink and I had no idea that Jeremy had ordered me one in the bar as well! So, I could not let good drinks go to waste! I actually do not drink a lot, but they were sure tasty!

Third picture: Yep, that is my MOTHER! Before the show started she decided to jump on stage and give us a little show herself! We were rolling in our seats....and she hadn't even had any drinks!!

Last picture: This is me and my friend, Stefan. We met when we both lived out in AZ. He is a pastor for LifeChurch.tv. We became inseparable friends out there and have maintained our friendship since we both moved away (he is now in OK). He came to KC to officiate the wedding and it was so good to see him and for him to meet Jeremy! 

All in all, our rehearsal dinner was a blast!

Kick off to the wedding!

Jeremy and I spent the night at my mom's on Thanksgiving and worked hard all evening organizing everything for the wedding. Scott (thankfully) tried on his tux and found out that his pants were high waters! We got a big laugh out of it but mom had to let the hem out so they would fit him okay for Saturday! We got up bright and early on Friday morning and headed into KC! 

one picture out of 700!

Here is just a glimpse of our day! Joshua took over 700 photographs this past weekend and we are so excited to see them all! I will definitely add more to the blog once we get them!

A Wonderful Wedding Weekend!

I wish I had pictures to share, but I will soon! We had such an amazing weekend, God truly blessed us with a beautiful day! However, they say that it is good luck if it rains on your wedding, but what does it mean if it SNOWS on your wedding?! haha! Gotta love the Midwest weather, it was in the 50's and sunny just a day or two before the wedding and then it snowed all day on Saturday! It was gorgeous though, it just made the day extra special. My friend, and former pastor, Stefan did an awesome job officiating and we were blessed with a very personal and fun ceremony and reception. We could not have asked for a better day. Thank you to all of you who were able to attend, it was wonderful to have you there to celebrate with us! Stay tuned for pictures!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Have a blessed day!

Love, Stephanie and Jeremy

Let the FUN begin!

As I am writing this I am sitting in the Jacksonville airport waiting to head to KC for the BIG weekend! It is hard to believe that it is already Thanksgiving and that means that our wedding is just DAYS away! Jeremy and I wish all of you a blessed Thanksgiving among friends, family and food! Gobble 'til you wobble (although I have to fit into a dress so hopefully I am not wobbling too much!) Love to you all!

Quite a weekend!

Even though Jeremy and I are apart this weekend, by this time next weekend we will be Mr. and Mrs.! Him and I have had quite the weekend the past couple of days with events. I had Whitsgiving and attended my 1st Jaguars game, and he had his bachelor party last night! (All I know is that he is alive and had a good time! I am still waiting on some pictures! haha!) For those of you who will not be able to attend our wedding we will be sure to post pictures on our blog! Stay tuned, we have 6 days and counting!

High School Reunion

My friend, and bridesmaid, Faith, was so kind to mail me my camera back after I had left it in STL last weekend (that is why I am just posting this picture)! She threw me a bridal shower while I was in town and it was wonderful to see some long-time friends! Pictured above (left to right) is Natalie, Cheryl, me, and Faith. We all met many, many years ago in high school and I am so grateful to still be friends with them to this day. I have definitely been blessed with amazing friendships and I am so thankful! 

2 more weeks!!!

That's right, you read that right! We now have TWO more weeks until the big day! For those of you who will be celebrating with us...we look forward to seeing you soon! For those who cannot be there that day, you will be thought of and missed! Happy November to all and if I don't get a chance to blog before the wedding (I have a few things on my plate right now) then I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! Be grateful for everything and everyone in your life!

BIG NEWS....

NO, I am NOT pregnant...let's just get that out right now! That has been the typical response when we have mentioned to people that "we have big news!" So, no, that is not the news that we are talking about. This past weekend Jeremy and I officially decided that I will be moving back to KC after the first of the year! The more we talked about it, the more we realized that it was realistically and financially better for me to move to KC. The plan HAS been for Jeremy to move down to FL but due to the shaky economy we have re-thought our earlier decision of having him quit his job and move down south. My job is more flexible and thankfully I can run my business anywhere and teach aerobics elsewhere. It is not a secret though...this is very bittersweet news for me, but one that I do feel is the best. I am going to miss my brother and Joshua terribly and all of the wonderful friends I have made in FL, but it will also be good to be back in KC with my husband and to be back near old friends and family in the Midwest. Unfortunately, I will be moving at the worst time of the year, but hopefully God will bless us with good traveling and moving weather! So, please think and pray for us during this time of transitions as we have a lot of changes going on with the wedding, holidays, and now the preparation of moving. We know that God's hand is on this situation though and for that we are incredibly blessed! Thank you all for your love and support!

Oh, and I will have to attach new pictures at a later time due to the fact that I left my camera in STL by accident over the weekend! Oops!

Bridal Shower Bliss

Today is officially NOVEMBER! The wedding is exactly FOUR weeks from today! Jeremy and I are very excited! This weekend the Whitsbury Court gang threw me a bridal shower and it was so much fun! Thank you to all who were there, everything was fabulous!

Update...

We are down to FIVE more weeks until the big day! Woohoo! 

Oh, and, just to update, Maverick is doing great! He has been responding really well to the medications and has been acting much more like himself. God is so good! 

How many more days?!

Well, to be exact...we have 41 days until the wedding! That is just under 6 weeks! Woohoo! Plans are coming along and Jeremy and I are both busy getting things together and prepared for the big day. Thankfully Maverick is doing so much better which has eased my mind quite a bit and has made it easier to focus on some of the last weeks wedding preparations. We are very excited! 

My sweet boy...

Well, this weekend was bittersweet to say the least. It was so wonderful to have Jeremy in town and to spend time together. Unexpectedly, our weekend ended up being one with many emotions. Saturday we were on a high and had so much fun in the 1st Annual Banzuke, Sunday we saw the movie Fireproof and I was an emotional mess afterwards, we then got the exciting news that our friends had their baby on Monday morning, and then low and behold, Monday afternoon we were given some very bad news. 

While Jeremy was in town, we took Maverick into the vet because for the past few months he has been extremely lethargic and has had problems walking on his right leg. I have been very worried about him but unfortunately, last month when I had scheduled a vet appointment, my jeep broke down and I had to spend some unexpected money to get that fixed so I had to delay getting him in. Finally we got him in but I was not ready to hear what the vet had to say. 

It turns out that Maverick has a massive tumor that has grown on his scapula. If he were to receive an operation, he would end up having his right front leg and scapula amputated and would have to undergo chemo and radiation. However, the vet said if we were to go that route, we would just be prolonging the inevitable. So, we just opted for pain management with medication and are hoping for the best. We have absolutely no idea how much longer Maverick will be with us and due to this fact, I have been a wreck. THANK GOD Jeremy was here in town with me because I could not have received that news alone. 

With that being said, as hard as this has been, isn't it amazing how God works things out? I was so upset several weeks ago when my jeep broke down but if it hadn't I would have taken Mave into the vet by myself and would have had to hear the news without Jeremy next to me. It is also amazing to me at the timing of this difficult situation. Maverick came into my life at a very hard time for me and has been right next to me ever since. Now, here it is, right before my wedding and it is possible that he will be taken away from me. I have been through A LOT but I can honestly say that this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. Maverick has always been a momma's boy and is my baby. He has been with me through so much and I have been sooo blessed to have him in my life the past 6 1/2 years. I am not sure what the future holds, but however long I have left with him, I hope to make the most of it. Unfortunately, Jeremy had to head back to KC very early this morning but Maverick and I took some 'Mommy and Mave' time and went to the beach for awhile. 

This picture was taken this morning and will always be priceless to me. 

What a surprise!

On the way to my aerobics class (yes, I was dragging Jeremy to one of my classes), we received some exciting news! To our surprise, Mya Grace Dimmick arrived this morning (Mon, 9-29-08)! Here is why this new arrival was so surprising...she was not due for another MONTH! However, she was obviously ready to come into this world and she is just perfect. Jessica was our judge in the Unbeatable Banzuke Competition on Saturday since she could not participate in any of the events. We had all just been talking about the fact that in just one month we would have a new member in our Cul-de-sac Club, and now she is here already! Jeremy joked that she wanted to make an appearance since he was in town and we all humored him! heehee! She is just so precious! Congratulations to the proud new parents!

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

Jeremy and I went to go see the movie FIREPROOF with Kirk Cameron on Sunday and all I can say is it is a MUST-SEE!! It is a Christian-based movie from the creators of FACING THE GIANTS and wow, it speaks volumes. It is very well done and there are many levels to this incredible film. Everyone should go see this movie, we highly recommend it! (And, if anything...Kirk is still as cute as he was in the 80's!) Oh, and if you do go see it, it would be wise to take tissues with you...

Engagement pictures

Jeremy and I had fun posing for pictures on Sunday afternoon for Josh. We had a fun engagement photo session and even had some time to get pictures with the boys!