First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage....

Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!

While I haven’t posted in three months it isn’t for lack of excitement around here. Rather, the need to keep secrets can be blamed for my lack of blogging. You see these three months have been full of new developments. Apparently I have grown a second heart, a second pair of lungs, and another liver. Of course that has taken a little bit of work, but I figure the end result is worth the work!

On Aug. 4th Jay and I discovered that we were beginning a new journey, a journey toward parenthood. A journey I have been longing to start for years! We know that this journey will change our lives completely (in fact in many ways it already has). This baby is so terribly wanted and loved already, I can’t imagine what feelings I will experience on or around April 10th!

We are dreaming, planning and anticipating the arrival of our little one, yet realize we have a six month journey still ahead of us. Until then we will to enjoy the journey!

Two Years Ago

"In the presence of God and before our family and friends I Sarah choose you, Jay, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love. I promise to share with you in times of joy and in times of trouble; to talk and to listen; to honor and appreciate you; to provide for an support you in trust and in love. You are my best friend and I will love and respect you always"


These were our vows that we said to each other two year ago. I am pretty good at the talking part, maybe not so good at the listening!

It has been a full, and busy two years, with plenty of ups and downs, but never once do I regret marrying Jay. He really is a pretty great guy !!

We spent our anniversary weekend enjoying some time together camping at Otter Falls in the Whiteshell. Quality time together is always a nice reminder of why we got married in the first place! I love weekends away!

Two Whole Days!

May Long weekend usually comes with many plans, but as far as I was concerned I was going to start me second job (a whole other post), clean my house, and catch up on some marking. Jay was going to join the guys for Friday night of the guys camping trip and then come home.
On Saturday morning Jay called and said that there were a ton of empty sites at Hecla and wondered if I wanted to go camping. Of course I had to pack up myself but it sounded like a great plan. When we got married we got given a great tent, we love it, but more importantly than keeping us dry (which it did during a windy and rainy storm on Saturday night) it gives us some quality time together. There are no distractions (TV, computers, house cleaning...), and although I did bring a little work reading to do I ignored the rest of it!
It rained a little when I arrived but it ended and we cooked and ate supper without getting wet. After we went to sleep the wind and rain picked up, Thunder and lightning began and God showed his power for some time. Except for an open window that allowed a few drops of water into our tent we remained dry and warm. Sunday was amazing and sunny and warm, we walked by the lake, I napped (napping is good) and ate a ton of campfire cooked food. So worth a messy house and extra marking this week!
By Monday afternoon we were home and unpacking, and of course trying to get rid of that campfire smell. So now back to the grind of working two jobs, Jay reffing, me marking... Thankfully two whole days gave us a chance to re-fuel, more camping trips are needed!!

When Time Races!

WOW!! As Jay reminded me this weekend, it has been over a month since my last update. A busy month!
I have taken up curling and for the last four weeks have been curling twice a week. Once in the ladies league, and once in lessons. Both with Jay. On Mondays and Wednesdays I haven't been home before nine, Jay and I usually go out for dinner or bring dinner and eat at the curling rink, going home just doesn't work. Although I am absolutely not good at curling, for the most part I am enjoying it.
We have made some trips to Winnipeg recently to get the Christmas shopping done. In fact, we celebrated Christmas with my immediate family just last weekend as we will be split up this year. Mom made turkey for dinner, we opened presents and played two LOUD games of Cranium (each gender winning one). Of course I always wonder if we disturb the neighbours, we Hayward's aren't known for our quietness!
With the last week of school upon us the practicing seems as though it has overtaken my life as my students prepare for the Christmas concert on Friday night. I always get a little nervous about how my students will do, and so my stress level is a little high, and patience a little low, this time of year is probably not my best.
Of course I keep looking forward to the Christmas concert being over, because that brings us to Christmas break! This year that means a night in MacGregor with Jay's family and then a night in the city before we fly south for 10 days! :) A real, warm, no pressure vacation! Every ounce of my being is craving warmth and time with my husband that is not scheduled and mapped out on a calendar! For ten blissful days we will shop, golf, read,hike, sleep, and relax with no schedule, no meetings, no 10+ hour work days, and no real demands on our time. Maybe that is selfish but my mind, body, soul and relationships need this time! I am very much looking forward to it! Dad will pick us up at the airport on Tuesday afternoon and I hope not to need a winter jacket until mom picks us up on New Years Eve! BRING ON THE WARMTH!!

A Quick Update!

This is my last Friday with no obligations for 10 long months. I had planned to go into work I today but have decided that I won't and instead will work from home and relax a little before the craziness ensues! As far as school goes things have changed in the last week or so. Originally I was teaching 30 kids in grades 4-6, but that was CRAZY!! So instead I am teaching 17 kids in grades 5 and 6, which seems much more manageable. I love those grades so the whole thing has me very excited. I have spent many hours in my new classroom this week and am feeling close to organized. I will work many more hours next week and feel good about having kids in front of me by the end of the week.

Jay is at work today, the first Friday he has worked since I finished school in June. We have enjoyed many Fridays together this summer and I have been thankful for the extra time we have been able to spend together. This will all end abruptly next week when I go back to work full time, and his fall schedule starts back up. We will keep focused on Christmas time, and the nine days of warmth and shopping we have planned!

A Year Ago Today...

I married a great man!



I re-read my blog posts about the wedding the other day it is hard to believe it was a year ago. A day really can change the rest of your life! I loved that day, I loved wearing the dress, I loved seeing family and friends... but over the last year I have loved that that day allowed me to be married to a great guy.



He does so many little things to try to make my life easier. I have come home on many occasions to a cooked dinner, a clean house, a planned date... I was so worried that I would be responsible for so much around the house, I am grateful that he helps out and contributes.



As with anything in life this year has brought some great things and some not so great things. I am blessed to be married to a man who will stand by me in those not so great times! One of the most important things I have realized through the not so great times is that I can count on Jay to be there for me. I guess when it comes down to it that is one of the most important part of any marriage.



The last year has been a year of growth and adjusting but I am so happy that I have been able to grow and adjust with Jay. I am blessed to be married to Jay and can’t wait to spend many more years loving him.

A Phone Call Brings A Sister!

On Wednesday morning around 11am my father called me at school. I returned his call and discovered that my little brother was going to get married in Mesa, Arizona, this weekend! Ashley and Joel were planning a wedding for a year from now, but things were getting out-of-control and they were not planning the wedding they really wanted to have. So a quick change in plans resulted in a fairytale!

The biggest problem in all of this was the lack of passports for Jay and I. My parents, her parents, and the bride and groom were already in Mesa for their vacation. Jay and I just needed to get there. With a lot of help from great friends (Sheri, Lorna, Stephanie, and Mark) we got our passports in just over 24 hours! I didn't even know it was possible! Dad booked our flights, and we arrived here at 3:00pm on Saturday afternoon! Of course it was a little crazy on Wednesday because I couldn't get in touch with Jay (who had a surprise meeting). Dad booked our tickets without Jay even knowing about it! It all worked out, and we made it!

I quickly got ready for the wedding (I found a little brown dress in Sears on Wednesday night) and we were off to the wedding location. I could not believe the location of this event! WOW! It was a castle! AMAZINGLY beautiful. Pictures won't do it justice but here are some anyways:

The Reception

The cemony

They planned the entire thing in three days! The dress, the flowers, the rings, the entire thing! They wouldn't have had a more perfect wedding if they planned it in 3 years!

Here they are getting married! I was upgraded to Maid-of-Honor becasue Mel couldn't be here, my dad was the best man. There were 12 guests there to honor this wonderful marriage Ashley's parents, my parents, Jay and I, Ashely's sister and three kids, and my aunt and uncle)!

The food was AMAZING! I don't think have ever had a meal as good as this dinner!

Stonebridge Manor did an amazing job of pulling it all together. They even had a cake for the reception!

I have always wanted a sister! I never imagined I would get such a great one! Isn't she beautiful!

So after the tears (I didn't think I could be there at first), the excitment, and the whirlwind, it was a great wedding! I was so glad to be there and be a part of my brothers wonderful day!

The people at the condo complex that my parents live in put on a reception at the pool when we got back.

We are still in Mesa. Today we are enjoying wearing shorts and doing some shopping! It is nice to finally see the condo my parents bought last year. When they talk about it I now know why they like it here so much! My aunt and uncle have a condo in the same complex and have let us sleep in their spare room (Joel and Ash are in my parents spare room tonight). We head home tomorrow; I like being warm so I wish we were staying a little longer!

Welcome 2009, Goodbye To One of The Best Years Of My LIfe!

With 2009 now begun it might be fun to think about the year that has just past, what a year it was! My friends Dayna and Alyssa did month by month recaps on their blogs, I very much enjoyed reading them; however many of the months in 2008 would include wedding planning, wedding planning and more wedding planning (with very little other news)! While it was exciting then I just can’t write a whole month-by-month post about it! So here is my year recap, with a little different format:

It was certainly a big year in my life! The highlight, of course, was the wedding! After months of planning the day went by so quickly! All of a sudden it was over and we were married! I don’t know if you can get much more life changing than that!

Of course there were other events and milestones this year, it was a whole 12 months after all! Jay moved into what would be “our” house, and I spent less time at my apartment, and more time across the road. Of course one of my sacriest moments happened in the house when I was there alone. I will never forget the bird visiting! I slowly moved my stuff over (things I didn’t need/want at home), the big move didn’t come until the end of June, when I threw all of my stuff into the kitchen and left for my parent’s house. Of course I enjoyed setting up my house after we were married, what fun!

I spent the second week of our marriage at BCBC. It was under sad circumstances that I went, but I love camp and love what camp is about, at least it was something I could do. It was a ton of fun with some great kids!

This summer the cottage sold, so we had no weekends out there. As much as I didn’t want it to go I had so little time for it this year that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. My parents bought the condo in Mesa, one of these years we might even get to go down there.

In November my little brother asked Ashley to be his wife. My parents might have thought the wedding planning (and spending) was over, but not for long. We get to look forward to their wedding in 2010!
Now Christmas has come and gone and I look forward to another (maybe a little less life-changing year). At this time last year I knew some of the things that would happen in my life in 2008, 2009 is a big blur. The blur make life a little exciting, God has a big open door to do great things!

Christmas Traditions

Christmas mornings are some of my favorite childhood memories. When we were little Joel and I would be so excited about Chritmas morning, we certianly woke our parents up and crazy hours to open presents and to see if Santa ate the cookies we left him. My parents would join us at the tree as early as we could make them get up, in all reality they would get up fairly early, we were good at pestering. It was usually just the four of us because the rest of our extend family lived provinces away. We would open our stocking and then dad would make eggs benedict, then we could open the rest of our presents. All day we would play and enjoy some family time. The turkey had to cook all day and the smells would waft through the house.

I loved those traditions and in many ways they continue even today. Okay thing are a little different these days. It is now dad who is the first up. In fact, as I slept on the couch last year I was woken up really early as dad made coffee (this year I get the luxury of a bed, being married has it's perks). The four of us have now become 6, which is even better than 4! Dad still makes breakfast, and we still enjoy some morning family time. At the same times things have changed, we are closer to extend family, and now I have added more family to the need to see list.

All this being said I am currently struggling with how Jay and I start and keep our own family traditions. You see I loved those traditions so much that I want them for our children (when we have them, many years from now). Actullaly, I kind of want them for myself even now. This Christmas is seems we are on "go mode". We are already in the city, we came in Sunday night to take our parents (both sets) out to Celebrations. Tomorrow is the Putnam gathering, then on Christmas day we go to Jay's family gathering, and then on Boxing day the Hayward gathering. After that we will head to McGregor and spend some time with the Boaz's before heading back home. I like to see all the family and enjoy some good visits, but will this crazyness make good memories? I want to wake up on Christmas day in our own bed and spend some time together as a family (even if that means just Jay and I).

Maybe this is a common stuggle for the newly married!

Christmas is Coming the Goose is Getting Fat!!

Okay, maybe it is still a little early for some, but I want CHRISTMAS!! I love this season, the decorations, the music, the atmosphere, the friends, the family... it is by far my favorite time of year (I have even got two Christmas cards already!)! It helps that we celebrate the most wonderful event in all of history!

The very first year I bought a tree and decorated it Jay and I had just started dating, he came up and helped me put it up, and I want that to continue as a tradition (although I think he doesn't really care). Jay would like to set the tree up as late as possible (Maybe even Dec. 24), I want it up now! We compromise and set it up sometime after the first of December.

This year we actually had to set a date (which sounds bad becasue we now live together) becasue life is a little crazy right now. Jay was in the city last night and curls tonight, I am in the city Thursday night. Next week is so much worse! Jay is gone Monday and Tuesday nights, and I think has a meeting another night and I am gone Friday and Saturday for a girls shopping trip :) ! I guess we will set the tree up on the third (I hope!). Christmas music, candles, and baking (which is the best part in Jay's mind), here we come!

So when do you set up your tree? I have a poll on the side bar, answer away!!

I love being married! Although we have only had one “normal” weekend since we have been married it has been a fairly easy adjustment. I guess the real test will come when I am really back to work. The only problem with being married is having to share a bed. Jay and I sleep better when I am at camp! I hog covers, toss and turn, and apparently kick! Ahhh one day we will figure it out! Until then we will just be tired!

Fall is upon us, and with that comes me back at work. I always feel like September is my "New Year". I have been in my classroom all week and have gotten myself almost organized. I look forward to next week when I have students in the desks. Even more exciting will be having new students. Last year I didn’t get a new grade so it was mostly the same students, which was great, but I am happy to have some new faces this year. Change is good.

With September comes herbal tea in the evenings, crisp leaves under my feet on my walk to school, bearable temperatures, and routine. BRING IT ON!! I usually say spring is my favorite season, but really it is autumn, I LOVE IT!

Well back to work…