Winter Wonderland

Joseph and I are really ready to see some snow and cold weather. It's hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it's 80 degrees outside! We've been listening to Christmas music and decorating and even drinking hot cocoa although it's too warm for that. We've been to Christmas parties galore and I've shopped and bought presents like crazy and still it feels like July to me! I told my mom how much I miss the snow and she sent me these. Thanks Mom!

1 Year Anniversary

100 Things I love about Joseph

Just Kidding! I could name 100 things but I won't do that to those of you who might actually take the time to read this post! Instead, I'll just list my Top 10 favorites. Here goes:

1. He loves God and strives to put him first above all else.

2. He's hard-working and ambitious.

3. His attitude is almost always positive!

4. He treats me like a queen. (And thanks to Micah and Katie, he even calls me Queen Bandy sometimes)

5. Everyday he is excited about something new. He's a big dreamer.

6. He really, truly loves my family. He did from the very first.

7. He is confident and humble at the same time.

8. He's very complimentary. He tells me how he feels about me every single day and loves for me to feel good about myself.

9. When you meet him at first you see a good 'ol boy, but hang around him for very long and you see a quick thinker and sharp business man. I think that's what makes him a good salesman. People trust and like him right away. (Every once in a while he sounds like Mater from the movie Cars:)).

10. He's HOT!

When I look over this list I think about the time in college when Brooks and I made a wish list for the man of my dreams. I found that list not that long ago and it's really close to this one! What a blessing it is to have exactly the man I have wanted for so long.

We signed the papers on our condo on Friday so for our anniversary we got to stay there! We had planned to go to New Orleans but when we found out about closing we chose to do that instead. We had a REALLY nice dinner on Saturday at Ruth's Chris Steak House and felt really spoiled. We also went shopping together and bought ourselves a few nice presents for the condo. It was absolutely perfect for our first anniversary! We're just lovin' life :).

My Big Teddy Bear

This is right after he proposed to me!

1. Who is your man? Joseph Daniel Jaye (Otherwise known as Joe, Joey, JJ, Joe Joe, Joephies, studmuffin, and my personal favorite, Cutie Patootie.)
2. How long have you been together? One year and seven months (next Saturday)

3. How long dated? About 7 months, which still sounds incredibly short to me but I have to say that a year and 7 months later, the timing still seems perfect. God has really blessed me!
4. How old is your man? 27

5. Who eats more? Joseph, but not because I CAN’T match him, just because I CHOOSE not too!

6. Who said "I love you" first? He did, at my house in Iowa.

7. Who is taller? Joseph by about 4 inches.

8. Who sings better? Well, we both love to sing but neither of us is breathtaking. I might be just a little bit better.

9. Who is smarter? I think we balance each other out. There are so many things that he can do and understand better than me, but then there are some things I know more about.

10. Whose temper is worse? I get angry easier but if he ever gets angry, watch out!

11. Who does the laundry? Mostly me, he will sometimes put a load on but then he just pulls it out of the dryer and puts it somewhere in my way rather than folding it up so I would prefer to just do it myself.

12. Who takes out the garbage? Joseph
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Joseph

14. Who pays the bills? We split ‘em but I’m about to take over completely because after a year of marriage we’ve finally figured out a way to combine everything easily.

15. Who is better with the computer? We’re about equal on that one, I do the Mac thing, he does the PC thing.

16. Who mows the lawn? We don’t have a lawn yet but he will when we get one.

17. Who cooks dinner? I usually do. He will every once in awhile and it’s really cute because he’s really proud of his creations when he cooks.

18. Who drives when you are together? Joseph.

19. Who pays when you go out? Joseph usually, although I’m not really sure why since it all comes from the same place.

20. Who is most stubborn? That would be me.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? And that would be Joseph, he can be so humble.

23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me at the airport before he left Iowa to go back to Alabama.

24. Who asked who out? He asked me out in a way.

25. Who proposed? Joseph, at Green Castle Park while the sun was setting. (See picture above)

26. Who is more sensitive? Me by far, although every once in a while he surprises me.

27. Who has more friends? About the same, we both have some really deep, long-lasting friends that we’ve know forever. As far as fun, new friends, we sadly don’t have that luxury as we work every free minute we have!

28. Who has more siblings? Me.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? Joseph (or so I make him think)

30. Who’s my favorite person in the world? Joseph Daniel Jaye

Thanks for the tag Steph. You know I love to talk about my man. Next week is our one year anniversary. I'm sure I'll be posting a mushy blog about Joseph again then. I just can't help it. I made a really good choice :)! I would tag someone else but my only friends that do the blog thing have already been tagged! I'll tag Brooks and Liz again because neither of them have done it yet. Get to it girls!

Iowa, You Make Me Smile

My oldest sister April

Katie Grace and Micah Kearns

My Mom and Dad at Pray Over Iowa

The weekend before last was my trip home to Iowa. It was wonderful! I got to see everyone in my family except for my brother, John Hurston, who lives in San Francisco now. I also happened to be there on the same weekend as Pray Over Iowa which is like a big, statewide prayer meeting. I saw a lot of people who I’ve known forever. And I got to hear my daddy-o preach not once but twice! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and reminded me why Fall is my favorite time of year up there. I felt so refreshed after being there, and the only thing that could have made it better would be if Joseph could have gone too! I sure do have a precious family :).

Roll Tide!

Well, it's official. I've been converted to an Alabama fan, right down to the Houndstooth hat! I didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter because my in-laws might have kicked me out of the family if I didn't cheer for the Crimson Tide :). Joseph and I went to Wings this weekend with some friends and watched the first game of the season. It was really fun! The place was packed with fans and everytime something happened everyone in the restaraunt stood up and screamed. One of the elders at our church played on the '69 Alabama championship team for Bear Bryant so you can't get away from discussions about football, even at church! And when Alabama wins on Saturdays, all the men wear their Alabama ties on Sunday! On one hand, some people take football a little too seriously around here but on the other hand, it's really hard not to get caught up in the excitement. It's like high school football in Texas all over again!

Yea!!!!

Thanks to my very thoughtful Father-in-Law, Danny, and his Delta Points, I get to fly home in September to see my family!!! I haven't been there since Christmas but I did get to see my parents in May. Still, five months is too long! Mr. Danny knew that I have been missing my parents and so he booked me a flight. He's so good about making you feel appreciated. I'm not sure this family business would work well with just anybody, but Joseph's dad does a great job of making sure we are taken care of. He continuously shows appreciation for the work we are putting in. It definitely makes the effort worth while. I could not have been blessed with better in-laws!

Angels

I tell you what, God had to be surrounding my dad with angels on Saturday. After a few days in the hospital they were able to see that his heart and his brain were in good condition. They sent him home where he discovered that his bicycle was stored in the garage where he doesn't usually put it. When he took a closer look he saw that the back wheel was bent at a 45 degree angle and his helmet was cracked in pieces. He decided to check the clothes he wore on Saturday and discovered that there was a rip, blood, and tire tracks on the back of his shirt! He doesn't remember anything but it looks as if he rode his bike about a block away to get fresh cantaloupe and had some kind of crash on the way back. It also looks like somebody must of brought him home and put his bike in the garage for him because otherwise he would have had to carry the bike (because of it's condition) and the cantaloupe home. He hasn't been eating sugar for awhile and he had a couple of brownies that morning so they think his blood sugar might have plummeted, which would explain why he might have crashed. All that to say, God has really blessed my dad. There was a very flat spot on his helmet where it appeared that his head hit the ground. Without that helmet he would have been gone! It also explains why he has been so sore. THANK GOD FOR MY DAD!