playing catch-up.

as was my fear, once school started in early september, i completely forgot about blogging. for your viewing pleasure, i've created a compilation of photographs and summaries to catch you up on our last six months. enjoy!

september:

september included my ten-year high school reunion. homecoming was part of our reunion weekend, and my baby sister, sydney, was a queen candidate. love my sisters!

... shane's not so bad either.  ;)

october:

the highlight of my october was sending bethany a birthday box of goodies. she created a play-by-play so we could see how much fun she had opening the box all the way in japan.

november:

the entire month of november played out like a metaphorical drum roll in shane's head. his favorite holiday, thanksgiving, found us spending lots of time with family. we decorated the trees at dad's house, and i made an anti-turkey dinner of a hensley favorite: mashed potatoes and chicken noodles. don't worry, there was plenty of turkey over the course of the holiday weekend.

in mid-november, on my mom's birthday, we decorated our first christmas tree. i love how it turned out!

december:

in early december we sent out our first christmas card, created by my talented husband (with some serious credit given to amandajanejones -- her amazing work was our obvious inspiration). 

photo credit: simple splendor photography

january:

we spent new year's in london, england! we were able to meet up with beth and dylan on their european vacation and get bed bugs all in a week's time. oh, london...

february:

february isn't over yet, but we've already celebrated valentine's day and shane's birthday! it's a good month.

it's a good life.

we've been featured.

a few of our engagement pictures were recently selected and featured on a great wedding blog called middle of the map weddings. so cool!

how sweet are the kind words written about us? i must admit, i teared up a bit. i must also admit that the balloon photos are some of my least favorites from the entire session, BUT we didn't get to pick which ones were featured, AND apparently someone somewhere loved them.

i adore the first two shots. the colors are so vivid and kim newman captured us so well.  simple splendor photography, you rock!

remembering our wedding.

i remember the colors and the bitter wind.

i remember the venue we worked so hard on, the ceiling that was a beautiful glimpse into what once was.

i remember our first kiss as man and wife, a confetti kiss that we'll never forget.

i remember the dancing, the music, the smiles.

i remember our getaway: the cheering, the clapping, the relief.

i remember our wedding day -- my very favorite day with my very favorite man. i look through the thousands of pictures from that day and try my hardest to thank God for each blessing. i say "try" because there are simply too many blessings to ponder at once. honestly, it's blessing overload. my mom, who passed away twelve days later, was there, at our wedding. my best friend forever, who spends more time overseas than in the states, was by my side, along with my two beautiful sisters. and, most importantly, i left married to the man of my dreams. God is good.

all photos by Simple Splendor Photography.  we thank them kindly.