Christmas in Dubuque

Jason and I had a wonderful Christmas in Dubuque! We arrived on Tuesday night to beat the freezing rain/ice/snow storm that was approaching. I'm glad we did because we had Wednesday to relax together! ...We slept in, went to Salsa's for lunch, a little shopping, then back to my parent's house to frost cookies and make peppermint bark. We celebrated "our" Christmas together and exchanged gifts. Jason gave me the Tiffany's bean necklace, I LOVE it!!! He's so good to me, I am so blessed to have a loving, caring, sweet hubby like him!

Christmas Eve my family celebrated Christmas, Christmas Day we celebrated with the Sigwarth family, and the day after Christmas we celebrated with the Vaske family. It was a busy and fun 3 days! And the weather wasn't as bad as expected, not nearly as bad as Jason's parents had in Sioux City, just across the state with 24+ inches of snow!

Here is a picture of Jason with his new Hawkeye fadora hat he got from Jared & a picture of us at my parent's house on Christmas Eve. Jason reminds me so much of my Grandpa Werner Sigwarth when he wears these fadora hats!
My mom gave us a really neat gift this year. She recorded her voice to the book "The Night Before Christmas" (she purchased at Hallmark). This is so special to me and I'm sure our future children will absolutely love it! Thanks mom!

Our niece Ava loved her new American Girl doll and our nephew Wil loved his new fire truck... both gifts from Grandma Linda & Grandpa Bob. They were so patient, darling, and cute during the gift opening. And they were SOOOO excited about Santa Claus coming that night! They are the perfect age for Santa Claus! ...Ava is 6 and Wil is 4.


The Sigwarth Christmas celebration was as packed and fun as ever! With over 60 people at the Pancratz's house, we still managed to have a dancing party with kitchen utensils as our microphones and do the locomotion around the house! Jason enjoys leading it with his "Grandpa Werner" hat and cane...


It is always so nice to see aunts, uncles, and cousins that we don't often see. My mom made the most awesome mashed potatoes! And of course the smorgasbord of Christmas food was delicious!

The Vaske Christmas celebration was very enjoyable as well. This group isn't quite as big as the Sigwarth group, but just as special :) The appetizers and treats were yummy and it's always so wonderful to see my Grandma Vaske. She is an amazing woman!


We came home on Sunday and I have off work until Jan 4th! Yay! I am catching up with friends and relaxing! Monday, I had lunch with my friends Melissa & Bridget and yesterday I had lunch with my friend Sarah. Tuesday I met Jason for lunch downtown and then got my hair cut and colored... I got 8 inches off! Today is a lazy day, I'm still in my PJs at 11:00am. Jason is off at noon today and I can't wait for him to come home! 3 1/2 day weekend!!!

We would like to wish our family & friends a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

...2009 has been an A M A Z I N G year! We are so excited for what 2010 will bring for us! Tonight we are celebrating NYE with our good friends Nick & Lindsey Funk. We are going out to dinner at Old Chicago, and then going over to their NEW house! They just built a new house and moved in at the beginning of December. We haven't seen it yet so we are super pumped. We will play games and watch all the festivities on TV. Be safe everyone and have fun!


Happy New Year Wish
By Joanna Fuchs

My Happy New Year wish for you
Is for your best year yet,
A year where life is peaceful,
And what you want, you get.

A year in which you cherish
The past year’s memories,
And live your life each new day,
Full of bright expectancies.

I wish for you a holiday
With happiness galore;
And when it’s done, I wish you
Happy New Year, and many more.

Taylor Family Christmas (Sioux City)

Last weekend Rachel and I traveled to Sioux City to celebrate Christmas with my family. Saturday morning my brother Jim and I helped my dad with a new entertainment center for the basement. For lunch Jim and my dad suggested we try a new place in Sioux City called Five Guys (www.fiveguys.com)... very good bacon cheeseburger, but not quite as good as the juicy lucy. Shortly after we got back to my parents house my brother Jeff and his family showed up from Sioux Falls. My aunt Jeana and uncle Steve also arrived to watch us open our presents. We all sat around in a big circle and took turns opening gifts. Some items I received from my family included a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner, Official Cubs Jersey, Straight No Chaser CD, Hawkeye washer toss, a bottle of Margarita Mix, and some other very nice gifts. For any of my family reading this Thank You so much! I couldn't ask for a better family.

One of the highlights of that gift opening experience was that my parents got each of us brothers a Jerry's Pizza shirt, and the daughter-in-laws got a Jerry's Pizza hooded sweatshirt. For those that are not familiar with Jerry's Pizza, it is the best pizza I have had. It is a Sioux City Icon. Along with another shirt I received a Milwaukee Wiener House!! After all the gifts were open some of our family sat down and played a game of Yahtzee, one of my niece Katie's new gifts!


Of course we had to order Jerry's Pizza for supper! My brothers and I in our new shirts went to pick it up.


By the time you knew it, it was Sunday and almost time to come home. However, before we left we had to eat at one of our favorite places to go with my parents.... Green Gables! Green Gables is a favorite of our family. Just the decor is worth seeing. This is an older building, and both outside and inside, one of the owning family members has painted beautiful murals. So it makes it very unique. The food is excellent. They have the BEST Chicken Tenders, crinkle cut french fries, and Hot Fudge Sundaes! Check it out if you are ever in Sioux City.

Sunday when we got back to WDM, we went to the cantata service at Lutheran Church of Hope. It was a great end to our weekend. Today is the 1st day of Winter... and another big storm is approaching. Be safe everyone and Merry Christmas from the Taylors!

The BLiZZaRD of the Century?

Well, Des Moines was in the bullseye of the winter storm that swept a large portion of the country yesterday & today. We ended up getting 16 inches of snow! Today the strong wind gusts are creating dangerous blizzard conditions. ...Some are calling it the worst winter storm in 3 decades and maybe even the BLiZZaRD of the century! It's a Winter Wonderland! :) Jason and are I both home from work today. I am getting some office work done today; Jason is cleaning, shoveling, and relaxing. Later we hope to wrap the Christmas presents, watch a Christmas movie and get some snugglin' time in! I think comfort food and hot chocolate sound perfect! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Minneapolis weekend w/Heidemann's

Jason & I went up to Minneapolis this weekend to spend some time with Katie, Wade, Maddie, and Quinn (and their dog Bailey)! It was nice to spend time with such great friends and their little ones :) Here is a picture of me & Quinn (just 10 weeks old). He's starting to coo and talk a little bit, there is no sweeter sound! :)


Maddie is talking up a storm, she is quite the little chatter box! She is adorable and so fun to be with. She thought Jason was "cute"! They were buddies.










We went to Ikea and had a Juicy Lucy at the 5-8 Club (as seen on the Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food"). It is basically 2 cheeseburger patties with a big hunk of melted cheese in the middle... and it IS juicy! Sooooo yummmy!!









Katie, Wade, Jason and I went out for a very nice dinner... the scallops were the best ever and the martini's were soooo good... apple pie, pomegranate, dreamsicle, mmmmmmm. We enjoy nice dinners out... atmosphere, drinks, appetizers, entrees, dessert... love it! The next day we stopped at the Galleria and did some Christmas shopping... we heart that mall! Crate & Barrel, Tiffany's, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn... lunch at Big Bowl... it was a GREAT weekend! ...GREAT friends, GREAT food, GREAT shopping!

1st Taylor Christmas!

The Taylors are all decorated for Christmas! Jason & I listened to all of our favorite Christmas tunes while prettying up our home for the holidays! ...Mannheim Steamroller, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, Oak Ridge Boys, Beach Boys, Amy Grant, Statler Brothers, Home Alone Soundtrack and MercyMe Christmas... we are getting into the holiday spirit! Our home is smelling soooooo yummy too, go to Bath & Body Works immediately and buy the "Winter" Wallflowers, we heart that fragrance! Every time we walk buy, we get a whiff of Christmas!


We had some visitors stop by while we were in the midst of decorating, Elizabeth & Molly Pancratz stopped on their way from Dubuque to Omaha. So, we took a break and had some garlic/cheese bread and pizza with them :) We love having visitors...so stop by and visit us anytime!!! Merry Christmas from the Taylors!

Remember... Jesus is the Reason for the Season :)


"Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!"

THANKSgiving!

This picture was taken last year on Thanksgiving Day. WOW... A lot can happen in 1 year :) Needless to say, we are thankful for many things this Thanksgiving! Since last Thanksgiving, Jason and I celebrated our first Christmas together, our first Valentine's Day together, got engaged February 28th, planned a wedding, and got married October 16th! Our hearts are filled with thanks for the many blessings God has given us in the last year. We will be spending Thanksgiving at The Taylors in Sioux City this year. We think we will venture out on Black Friday and do a little Christmas shopping too! We would like to wish all of our friends and families a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for you!

Wedding Video "Trailer"

Check out our wedding video "trailer"!

www.mistudios.com/cinematography/demos/rachel2.html

This Kind Of Love...

Wedding Reception Slideshow

Wedding & Honeymoon!

Jason & I said "I Do" on Friday, October 16, 2009
... a beautiful fall day!



Everything was perfect! I am so in love with Jason, he is everything I ever wanted in a husband... and more!



I am looking forward to enjoying life together and everything that is to come! We are blessed!



~~~

After the whirlwind of the wedding weekend we left for our honeymoon to TuRkS & CaIcOs! If you aren't familiar with Turks & Caicos, it is a group of islands located southeast of the Bahamas. We stayed at Beaches Resort & Spa located on the Providenciales Island. The beaches there are absolutely gorgeous and we had a BLAST!







Now we are back in the real world... can we go back? *sigh* :)