Homeowners at Last!!

Dwayne and I have been house hunting since January, put offers on 5 houses and we finally got one!! We are soooo excited!!! Throughout the whole process we prayed that God would give us patience with His plan and His timing, and that He would lead us to the house He wanted us to make our home.



When we initially went to look at the house, the owners were there to show us around because they were selling it privately. We loved the house, the owners were really nice and we decided to write an offer on it. The owners had originally planned to look at offers on the Monday at 6pm, but they went out of their way to call our realtor, meet with him, and look at our offer on Monday morning. At around 1:00 that afternoon we found out they had accepted our offer. The amazing thing was that these owners had prayed that God would show them who He wanted to buy this house. They knew when we walked in their door that we were the ones God had brought to them. Praise the Lord!! God's plan is so perfect!



There are so many great things about this house: all the appliances are included, it backs onto a huge school yard/park (which happens to be pretty much the only thing that separates us from Brad & Karla's house), all new paint, laminate and carpet, central air, central vac and the list goes on. We are so excited to move in on April 30. We've already started packing and making plans for where everything is going to go. Here is just one picture of our new home. I will try to post more once we've settled in.

Merry (Belated) Christmas

Just thought I'd give a run-down of our Christmas in pictures.


We spent the weekend before Christmas at my parents' place. It was so fun to all be together, and especially to watch the two newest members of our family experience their first Christmas.

Carter giving us some laughs by letting us goof around and take funny pictures. Priceless!!

Trying to be just like Grandpa.



What's that? I can't quite hear you with these socks on my ears.


Ayla enjoying the Bumbo seat.




Carter trying to open his presents.



Showing off his vest that yours truly lovingly made. I'm so glad it turned out and that it even fits him.



I love this picture of my Mom admiring her grand-daughter, Ayla.




Even the whole extended Wiens clan was able to get together for a Christmas celebration.

My Grandma Wiens with all her great-grandchildren: Abbie, Carter, Caleb, and Ayla




And of course the annual Wiens grandchildren picture. I chose to post the goofy one because it just really makes me laugh.

I think I get the prize for being able to open my mouth the widest, but my sister Karla (above me and to the right) is a close second.


My wonderful family.



It was very exciting for Dwayne and I to celebrate our first Christmas together as a married couple. Here we are, VERY early Christmas morning, after opening all of our wonderful gifts from each other.




After our own little Christmas celebration we headed over to Dwayne's parent's for a very filling Christmas dinner. Dwayne's mom cooked such a huge and delicious meal for everyone.




This is what it looked like AFTER we had eaten. Did anyone even eat anything?




Under the tree was a mound of presents that we worked our way through.



We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, eating more food, and watching the kids play with all their gifts.



The boys: Dwayne and his nephews Jayden, Levi and Mackenzie.






Mackenzie goofing off (as always) with his Uncle Dwayne.

Overall we had a fantastic Christmas and the New Year has been bringing lots of exciting adventures, as well.

With my birthday coming up next month, Dwayne decided to give me an early birthday present - a ticket to see Michael Buble in concert.

I have been listening to jazz music for many, many years and have been enjoying Michael Buble's music since he first came out. I (easily) convinced my sister, Karla, to come with me and the concert was just last night. It was soooooooo FANTASTIC!!! I'm so glad I went and I would go again in a heartbeat. He is so entertaining, funny, and has such an incredible voice. I think I was grinning through the whole concert. Thanks again to my wonderful husband for his very thoughtful gift. I love ya, babe!!

I also got my hair cut yesterday. So far I really like it, but I'm still sporting what my hairstylist did with it. We'll see how well it works once I try and style it by myself.

Dwayne and I have started the exciting, but at times, difficult process of looking for a house. If you're not familiar with the housing market in Saskatoon, I'll let you know that it is really crazy, especially for those of us who are not already in the market. Please pray for us in our search. We're probably going to have to make some really quick decisions once we find something we want.

That's all for now!

Does anyone still read this thing?

For anyone who actually still checks this blog - I'm sorry!! But, aren't you excited to see a new post?! I actually have some very exciting news, so it will be worth your while. My older sister and brother-in-law, Alissa and Joel, just had a baby girl yesterday - their first. She is the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen.


These are the exact same pictures from Joel & Alissa's blog, but it's all I have so far.


Ayla Jae Dueck
October 22, 2007


With Daddy
and
Mommy




I also have a precious nephew, Carter, who deserves some photo time on my blog, as well. I have so much fun with him. I love being an Aunt and I can't wait to start spoiling my new niece.

Another stolen picture from my other sister, Karla's blog.

I realized I haven't taken many pictures of Carter lately and he's changed so much since the last picture I took of him (below).


And I can't forget my amazing, incredible, handsome husband.

I'm a Newlywed!!

My excuse for not updating this blog is that I'm a newlywed. I have better things to do than sit at my computer. You have to remember that I started this blog when I was single and had no life. Pretty much nothing to blog about either. But now that I'm married, have a busier life, more to blog about, I don't have the time to sit at my computer when I get home from work where I just spent 8 hours staring at a computer screen. Anyways, enough of the ranting.

Dwayne and I were married on May 12 and it was the PERFECT day!! It was like a fairytale for me. I'm posting a link where you can see some of our pictures, which turned out fabulously, once the rain, hail, and funnel clouds cleared away!!

WEDDING PICTURES


To view the pictures, your screen must be set at 1024x768 pixels resolution. (If you operate in Windows you can change this in your control panel, click on display, and under the settings tab.) Click on the link above (or go to www.celestialphotography.ca), click on enter site, click on the proofing section, and enter the password "bricks". The pictures may take a bit to load, but they are gorgeous and they won't be available to view online for too much longer.

Here are a few samples of how beautiful our day was. Enjoy!!






In other news, 12 days after our wedding (just 2 days after our honeymoon), my baby sister, Karla, and her husband, Brad, had their beautiful baby boy, Carter Hayden. He was 3 1/2 weeks early, but still weighed in at 8lbs 11oz. I'm so proud of all them and so excited to be an Auntie!


About an hour after he was born.


A very proud and excited Auntie Heather!



This is Carter at about 3 weeks old!



It's so exciting having a nephew to spoil. And at the end of October, my older sister, Alissa, and her husband, Joel, are expecting their first baby. I can't wait!!

Invitations? Check!!

The invitations are finally done!!! On Saturday night, my parents, Dwayne's parents and my sister Karla came over and helped me make our wedding invitations. Dwayne would have loved to be there, but he had to work. We spent about 3 1/2 hours putting together 135 invites, with only one break for donuts, cake, cookies and coffee. Here are a few pictures of our exciting evening.




The moms getting everything just right!!




Karla's busy counting - seeing how much longer she has to stay awake.



All four of us hard at work!

At 11pm we were finally finished. I would love to show you all a picture of the finished product, but I don't want to put all that personal info on the internet. Sorry!!



In case you were wondering, here's what the men did all night - watched hockey!!

More Birthday Festivities

(Make sure you read the post previous to this one as this is a continuation of it.)

This is what I saw when I got to my desk in the morning. What a spread!!
















After work the birthday festivities with a most delicious supper. Dwayne surprised me with a dinner at The Keg - my favorite restaurant. Yummmmmm! Steak!

From Dwayne I got tickets to "The Producers", which is coming to Saskatoon in March.









After our scrumptious meal, we went to a movie of my choosing. I chose "Dreamgirls".










I loved the movie and I thought the music was fantastic.

Overall, it was a fabulous birthday.

Thank you, Dwayne, for making me feel so special!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

Today I'm celebrating 26 years of being on this earth and it is definitely the best year yet - with being in love, planning a wedding with the man of my dreams, and looking forward to the many wonderful years I get to spend with him. God has blessed me abundantly and I'm so thankful for all He has given me!!

By 8:00 this morning there were already so many people that made me feel special on my birthday. At 7:00, while getting ready for work, I get a call from Dwayne to wish me a Happy Birthday. I arrive at work at 7:45 and the top of my desk is filled with food from my co-workers. Healthy treats, too, since they know I'm trying to lose a few pounds for the wedding. They are so thoughtful and caring. I have the best co-workers ever!!! Then at 7:58 a phone call from my parents, singing "Happy Birthday" in harmony. That was really nice!!

That's all so far, but I'll be sure to update on the rest of the festivities and maybe even get a few pictures in there.