Early Christmas :)

Well, Christmas came a little early this year (December 16th to be exact). We have a few reasons for our early celebration :) ...

1.) Katelyn was scheduled to sub that day so we were up and ready to roll at 6:30am ... then we got the call that it was a snow day! What else were we suppose to do that early in the AM?

2.) No one really knows the exact date of Jesus' birth... so who knows! Maybe we were right!

3.) Not only did we have a full day of nothing ahead of us (since Katelyn's job was canceled), but we were also celebrating being married for 5 months ... two celebrations in one day sounded okay to us!

4.) It was spontaneous, which also made it all the more fun! Just like Christmas morning!

5.) Not that we feel we need to justify our December 16th Christmas celebration (okay, maybe we do), but we were not going to have another free day with nothing going on to celebrate before heading home to Wheaton. It was the perfect timing!

Needless to say, we enjoyed celebrating our first early Christmas just the two us. We are looking forward to our trip home to Wheaton for the holidays this coming Wednesday and will update the blog the next chance we get (that might be after the New Year for all you devoted followers!)

We love you & wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

This series of pictures is perfect! Sam anxious to open his gift...

Slowly opening with excitement...

And it's... Mario Kart for our Wii!

Excited about his (our) new game :) .. we've been playing it non stop!

Sam's beautifully wrapped gift to me.

    Wow! The Black & Decker Toaster we got as a wedding gift?
Nope, it was a dress! Clever wrapper!

Gift #2 ... Also clever wrapping!

A new black pea-coat! I love it!!

Christmas morning table is set.

Complete with poached eggs (made by my hubby)

Food, family & fun.

Friday night the Haist's of Wheaton came to visit! They were on their way back from picking Ben up from Tulane University and made our humble abode one of their stops on the way. We love having them! We started their visit by going to the St. Louis Zoo "Wild Lights". It was awesome. We finished off the evening with an amazing Italian dinner in the Hill (there was humming involved).

Saturday we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast made by my beautiful wife and they hit the road back to Wheaton. Thanks for the fun visit!   

The Haist family!

Family picture!

Winter is here!

This morning in church we were reminded of our need for a Savior and how much joy this time of year brings ... that our Savior was born!!!! This season we joyfully anticipate celebrating Jesus' birth, reflecting on the amazing love he has for us, and rejoicing in his resurrection and saving grace!

A little update ... Sam is currently in the home stretch of his first semester at Covenant and is looking forward to finals and BIG papers being done in the next week (prayers are appreciated!). I am still subbing 2-3 times a week and tutoring 3 times a week as well. We are looking forward to heading home for the holidays and spending time with family and friends in just 3 weeks. We can't believe how fast our time in St. Louis has already gone, it feels like we just got here! Not to mention ... we'll be married 5 months this month! :)

Christmas time is here! And we are SO excited to be spending it together this year. Once again we took a trip to Hobby Lobby to stock up on the fun and festive Christmas decor. Then we began the decorating process upon arriving home to St. Louis after a wonderful Thanksgiving break in Wheaton last Sunday. Here are a few pictures of our home for the holidays ...

That's my cute husband putting on the tree topper!

Hanging ornaments on the tree.

The finished product!

Kitchen table centerpiece (ornaments on a mug tree).

Our favorite candle ...Evergreen!!!

Above the sliding doors in the kitchen.

The last five pictures comments are below (blogger is acting funny):
Picture 1 of 5: The front of our apartment. YES, that is THE Christmas pig, thanks to the Dean's!
Picture 2 of 5: Our first Nativity Scene from Mom & Dad Haist!
Picture 3-5: Celebrating St. Nick's Day (one day early) ... Sam has always been
VERY pushy when it comes to opening gifts! St. Nick brought me an egg poacher (which I LOVE!!!)
and St. Nick brought Sam the "Contigo" NON spill thermal coffee mug.
He can tip it upside down and it doesn't spill...amazing! 

Thankful.

 Last week we headed home for Thanksgiving and enjoyed time with both families. Our first Thanksgiving as a married couple was a success! We enjoyed Turkey dinner with the Haist/Sundheimer/Bradley side of the family and dessert with the Dean's, both were fabulous and we stuffed ourselves silly.

Friday morning Katelyn, her sister and her mom enjoyed the early bird shopping deals at 5:30am! During that time, I continued to hit snooze on my alarm clock. It was nice.

Saturday we spent the day visiting with family and headed back to St. Louis Sunday just in time to put our Christmas tree and decorations up (pictures to come in the next blog)!

We are very thankful for our families and the time we got to spend with them last week. Thank you for making our visit so enjoyable. We are also thankful for ... Jesus. friends (new and old). good food. coffee. a wonderful church. jobs. God's provision over our lives. a warm place to call home. and of course... each other :)

Until next time,
Katelyn & Sam 

Katelyn with new cousins, Phoebe, Maddie & Brendan.

Part of the Sundheimer clan feasting on great food!

Sam with buddy (and cousin) Jack.

Saturday we spent the evening decorating the Dean Family Christmas tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Siblings!

Black Friday Shopping!!!!!! Sam was not invited :)

Kelsey's Entertainment Shower

Last weekend Sam and I traveled home to Wheaton so I along with our friends, Allie and Amy could shower my best friend, Kelsey with gifts for her upcoming wedding (New Years Eve)! Kelsey and I have been best friends for 12 years, beginning our friendship at Longfellow Elementary, continuing through middle school/high school together, graduated college together at Olivet this past May and now have the privilege to stand up in each others weddings. It's been quite the journey! I have always admired Kelsey for her love for people, her intelligence, and the godly example she has always been to me. I am so proud of her :) Sam and I are anxiously awaiting their wedding in 40 days! Love you Kels. Thankful for the friend you have been and will always be to me.

Picture of Allie and Amy (our good friends and small group leaders in high school)
with Kels and I at the shower!  

We also enjoyed a yummy dinner with Mom and Dad Haist on Friday night (celebrating Dad's birthday) and Saturday spent the evening celebrating Grandma Dean's 80th Birthday with the Dean's. It was a wonderful weekend home. Blessed by our loving families :)

2nd post of the day: South City Church

Hello all. We decided to give you guys a two for one deal today! As many of you know, Katelyn and I spent a while trying to figure out what denomination (or lack there of) we wanted to join. After spending time among Methodists, Christian & Missionary Alliance folks, Baptists, Acts 29 folks, non-denoms, and Dutch Calvinists (CRC), we had quite a decision to make! Through a lot of studying, book reading, and conversations, we came to conclusion that we wanted to belong to the Presbyterian Church in America (check out beliefs here)!

Upon coming to this decision, we starting hunting for churches as soon as we moved to St. Louis. It only took our second Sunday here to find our home. Here's a story...

One of Katelyn's "criteria" for a church was that it be big enough that people wouldn't notice we were new, if we were out of town, or if we walked in late on any given Sunday. Well, when we visited South City Church (our new church) within 30 seconds of finding our seats Vivian, a wonderful 92 year-old lady, gave us a warm welcome: "I didn't recognize the back of your heads! Are you new?" All to say, we walked out knowing that this is the church for us.

Since then, we have officially become members, joined a community group, and had a blast getting involved. Katelyn is now a nursery coordinator and I've been playing drums every other Sunday. We couldn't feel more at home with our new church family. It is a joy and blessing to be here.

You can check out our website here: http://www.southcitychurch.com

Girls Weekend :)

This weekend my good friends, Katie and Elyse came to visit! We had fun on Friday playing the Wii (Sam's idea) and Saturday we spent the day at the St. Louis Zoo (it's free and fun)! After that, we headed to Pei Wei for dinner where we enjoyed some really good Asian food. Sunday we went to church and enjoyed grilled cheese and tomato soup before they headed back to Wheaton. Sam spent the weekend working, studying, and being a hermit :) Thanks for visiting guys! I miss you already! 

Katie, Me & Elyse before heading to the zoo! 

Happy Reformation Day!

Oh... and Halloween. We hope you all had fun trick or treating (and more importantly, celebrating Luther's nailing of his 95 Theses on the Wittenburg door). We enjoyed passing out (and eating) candy, the classic song "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr., "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon, and most of all, Katelyn's homemade chili with friends on the porch. Overall it was a fun Sunday.

Here is a picture of Katelyn with our favorite little trick or treater. If you can't tell, she's dressed as a lawn gnome.

What a cutie! Both of them.

The Pumpkin Club.

Hello faithful readers!

This past Thursday and Friday I (Sam) was on fall break. In order to celebrate (and procrastinate), we decided to have our friends Danielle and Justin over for some hardcore pumpkin carving. With coffee, apples, caramel dip, cider, and more creativity than Picasso, we got our carve on. Katelyn carved a "friendly" spider (you know, the kind that crawls out and says "how do you do?") and I carved one of my theological heroes: the great reformer John Calvin. We hope you enjoy the pics! Feel free to come see the pumpkins for yourselves! We love visitors!

My cute wife made snacks. 

In the beginning stages of pumpkin carving.

Friends/neighbors Danielle and J-$ (Justin).

Happy Halloween from John Calvin!

Boo!

Our Favorite Season

We think it's finally hit fall in this wonderful weathered city we live in. It's our favorite season of the year and therefore, we made a trip to Katelyn's favorite store (Hobby Lobby) to decorate appropriately for this beautiful time of year. Here are a few pictures of our apartment in fall mode. Enjoy!

Our front door, complete with a new seasonal wreath and mum.

Pumpkin shaped cookie jar (always filled!) & festive napkins.

Katelyn made this fun and festive centerpiece! 

Pumpkin Spice candle surrounded by acorns ... very festive.

Kelsey + Tim + St. Louis = Awesome.

Last weekend, Katelyn's best friend since 1st grade (Kelsey) and her fiance Tim (another great friend) made the trek to the glorious city of St. Louis to visit us! It was a blast. Between great meals, various activities around the city, and Wii wakeboarding, a good time was had by all. We miss them already, and are looking forward to their wedding on New Year's Eve!

Best Friends Forever In Christ (BFFIC)
This was Katelyn & Kelsey's way of signing notes throughout their childhood.
We're bringing back the tradition. 

Wheaton Weekend

This past weekend Sam and I went home to Wheaton for a fun family filled three days! We drove in Friday night and had a wonderful meal with the Haist's! Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures with Mom & Dad Haist this weekend, but know that we love you and enjoyed staying with you. Thank you for being so hospitable!

Saturday morning we woke up to beautiful fall weather and couldn't have been happier to be home. We headed to Jesse's homecoming football game and loved watching him play! He was asked to be the captain/ do the coin toss for the Homecoming game, which was really neat. He is quite the football player, for those of you who haven't been able to catch a game yet this season... we suggest you do so! After the game, we enjoyed a homemade BBQ pork lunch with the Dean's and celebrating Grandpa Nelson's birthday at Gino's East that night. It was great to see everyone, and we are thankful we got to celebrate with you Grandpa! We love you very much!

Sunday we went to Blanchard for church, Egg Harbor (the standard on the Dean side) for brunch and then off to the AT&T store with the Haist's before heading home to St. Louis. It was a weekend packed with family and we loved every minute of it.
We are so blessed. 

Family back together again! We love you!!

Mom & Dad at the game! Dad does an awesome job running those sideline numbers!

Jesse coming off the field!

Jesse is #55 (the cute center)

My bald husband and I at the game! :) 

Chilly fans!

When did little brother get bigger than us?? He is growing up too fast! Krista and I both had an emotional weekend watching him play football :) We are proud of you Jess man (Sam is too). Love you!