I was going to post about our honeymoon, but I will save that post for later, once we get all of our honeymoon pictures uploaded to the computer.
For today, I decided I would post about or married life.
We haven't been married that long, but everyone asks us, "How is married life?" My answer, "Good, but not that different." I know that seems strange, but we have been together for so long that it isn't anything really 'new' for us.
What is really different, and really nice, is that I am in a different school program at MSU. I decided that I no longer wanted to continue my education as an educator for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. I just graduated with my bachelor's degree as a Deaf educator, but I realized it was not the career for me. I loved the kids and the teaching aspect of it, but really you are more of a therapist than a teacher. It is very therapy based and science-y and I just didn't enjoy it. So, after much discussion and support, I decided to drop out of the master's program for Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing and get an early childhood education teaching certificate. This will allow me to teach from birth to third grade. I am very excited about this change in my schooling career and am very happy about my decision. I truly felt that I was being called to do this, so this is where I am!
I started school last week and am loving it. I have a couple fantastic teachers, and a couple that are okay. I have already learned so much from two of my classes in just two weeks! It is strange going from graduate level courses to a 100 level course- where the teacher says there is no format for our 2 page research paper and that if we do poorly on a test we can retake it.
I am not complaining though. Having less of a school load is letting me focus more on being a wife. I actually had time to organize our kitchen and cook three nights last weeks! That never happened when I was in my other program. One of my professors said that his class was going to be challenging and that he would expect a lot from us, but that he also understood that we have lives outside of school. He said if we didn't have lives outside of school that we were doing life wrong. He said it is important to spend time with friends, family, relaxing, and doing this we enjoyed- not just stressing about and working on school stuff all of the time. I completely agree with him and I think that is one reason why I was not cut out to be a Deaf educator. They are very work/school focused and it seemed that a lot of times that came first in my peer's lives and in my professor's lives. I was not that way. School is VERY important to me, but I do not want it to over take my life.
Something I have learned over the past year is that life is short and you never know when you won't be able to see a loved one again. So, I have made it a focus of mine to make time for friends and family and to make time for fun. This has made me a much happier, positive person.
Well, I kind of went off on a tangent there, but it all made sense and flowed in my mind.
To sum it up, I am loving married life, because I am married to my best friend! I am loving school and I am loving having free time to work more, keep up with household tasks, write this blog, and do things for me.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Our Wedding
So. I am officially Mrs. Chernioglo, or Mrs. C., for short.
Our day was PERFECT! I could not have asked for a better wedding. What made it so incredibly special was that so many of our friends and family helped us out with so many different things.
My best friend and her husband graciously allowed me to use their house for me and all the bridesmaids and flower girls to get ready at. Farren's husband, Dayton, was a champ and made coffee for everyone and was there to help when needed. Paul's sister-in-law, Alina, did my hair and also the flower girl's hair. One of my closest friend's Rachel, did my make-up and her mother did my mom's hair and assisted with the flower girl's hair. My sister made our wedding cake. Alina, also painted us a picture of a willow tree for our guest book. Paul's mother made all of the food. Some of his family made desserts. My mother made one of our family's favorite cookies and my father did some handy-man jobs, building some things for the wedding decorations. My friends, Farren and Rachel, helped me make decorations for the reception. There were innumerable people helping with set up, decorating, clean-up, etc... I just can't possibly name them all!
On our wedding day, not only was I lucky to marry a wonderful man and my best friend, but I am lucky to be joining such a fantastic family. They are generous, kind, welcoming, and loving.
We are so blessed by our families and how fantastic they have been throughout our whole wedding process, especially the day before and day of.
Now, I want to touch on a few of my favorite parts of our wedding.
First, I loved being around my whole family and all my friends. Getting my whole family together happens very rarely, so it was very special. I loved having all my sisters there helping me put on my dress and watching me get ready. My nieces and nephews made the day so much more special too. One of my youngest nephews, Simon, came up to me and asked, "Aunt Bit, do you remember it's your wedding?" (Aunt Bit is a nickname I get that came from Aunt Vic. My sister's oldest daughter could not say Vic so it turned to Bit and stuck.) This question from this sweet little boy made me tear up. I had just had a not so fun encounter with the owner of our venue and I was getting stressed. His comment reminded me what we were really there for, my marriage. I looked at him and said, "Why yes I did! Did you?" He said, "Yup! I love you." Then gave me a big hug. From the speeches, to the pictures, to the jokes, and just spending time with each other, having my family and friends there made our day so much more memorable and special.
Second, I loved being around (and even meeting for the first time) Paul's family. They are so loving and welcoming. They were hugely instrumental in making our day possible and I can't thank them enough for their help. I loved hearing his two brother's speeches and talking with everyone. A few months ago, Paul's niece Anya, came up to me and we were talking. Close to the end of her conversation she looked at me and said, "I can't wait until you are officially my aunt!" then gave me a big hug. I teared up at this comment. It means so much to me that Paul's family has welcomed me with open arms and that they were excited for me to 'officially' be a part of their family. They have always treated me as part of their family and I am so blessed to be married into a family as wonderful as his.
Third, I loved having our first look. I know some people think it is taboo to see each other before the ceremony, but we did not care. We are fairly private people and we wanted to share in our special moment just the two of us (and the photographer.) We got to hug (not kiss... we saved that for the ceremony) and take some of the stress off the day. After seeing Paul, nothing else mattered. I did not care about the decorations, the food, or the drinks, or any of it, because at that point I realized I was about to marry the guy of my dreams and I was so excited.
Fourth (This is going to be a long one...), I loved all of the personal touches to our wedding. My sister made our wedding cake. It was simple, but I love that I can look back on the pictures and remember my sister when I see the cake. It meant so much to me to have her do it. It made it a more special part of our wedding. Paul's sister-in-law did my hair. So looking back, when looking at pictures, I will remember the time we spent bonding while she did hair trials and she was talking me out of my nerves on the morning of the wedding. My parents went above and beyond to help do things for my wedding. My father built a backdrop for us and a picture frame where Paul and I displayed baby pictures and engagement pictures of ourselves. My mother made cookies. These cookies are a Kees family tradition. Typically, they are made at Christmas, but she made them for the wedding too. My mother also made a ring bearer pillow where she used left over fabric from her wedding dress and also made special ribbon for on the flower girl baskets out of the same material. She also made my garter, which I plan to save for my daughter's wedding. Paul's mother and many of his family members made the food for the wedding. It was incredible, as always, and everyone raved about how it was the best wedding food they have ever had. My brother-in-law assisted in the ceremony. He did the reading and the message. This was absolutely incredible. He did such a fantastic job and made everyone in that room cry. He said, "If my daughter grows up to be like you, then I will consider myself a success. And if she marries a man like you, I will consider myself lucky." That will stick with me forever, that the thinks so highly of us. It meant the world to me that he was a part of our ceremony. One of the more sentimental things we did was that we had pictures of our grandparents displayed. All of my grandparents have passed, so they could not be there physically and Paul's grandparents are older and could not make a trip from California for the wedding. But I loved having their pictures there to remind us of where we have come from and that all of them would be there if it would have been possible. Also, we had lit a candle in memory of loved ones who have passed. One of those loved ones was Paul's father. He passed away this past February from a rare brain disease. It was a really hard time for his family, and for us, and knowing he wouldn't be there for our wedding was hard. One other way we honored his father was in the painting of a willow tree for our guest book. I saw the idea a couple years ago on Pinterest to have a fingerprint tree guest book and I just had to do it. After his father passed, it was necessary. His father loved willow trees and had planted them all over their property. So, we had Alina paint a willow tree, symbolizing his father's spiritual presence at our wedding, because he wouldn't be able to put a finger print on the guest book. The painting turned out amazing and it will forever be a treasured item of ours.
All of these people helped personalize our wedding so much more and made is that much more special for us. I would not have had it any other way.
Lastly, I loved getting to marry Paul. He has become my best friend over the past six years and I cannot see me being with anyone else the rest of my life. He is an incredible person. Hardworking, loyal, loving, selfless, caring, handsome, and he puts family first. I know he is going to make an incredible father who leads his family closer to God and takes care of us no matter what. I am so lucky that he loves me and chose me to be his wife.
Our wedding day was perfect and I cannot believe how fast it came and went.
Again, thank you to everyone who helped make our day special and possible.
Here are some pictures from the wedding. The first two are by my wonderful friend, Cassie, whose photography business is Cassandra Marie Photography. The one of the guest book tree is my picture, and it is unfinished. It looks way better fully completed. Then lastly, the picture of us leaving is from my sister-in-law, Lee-Ellen.
Our day was PERFECT! I could not have asked for a better wedding. What made it so incredibly special was that so many of our friends and family helped us out with so many different things.
My best friend and her husband graciously allowed me to use their house for me and all the bridesmaids and flower girls to get ready at. Farren's husband, Dayton, was a champ and made coffee for everyone and was there to help when needed. Paul's sister-in-law, Alina, did my hair and also the flower girl's hair. One of my closest friend's Rachel, did my make-up and her mother did my mom's hair and assisted with the flower girl's hair. My sister made our wedding cake. Alina, also painted us a picture of a willow tree for our guest book. Paul's mother made all of the food. Some of his family made desserts. My mother made one of our family's favorite cookies and my father did some handy-man jobs, building some things for the wedding decorations. My friends, Farren and Rachel, helped me make decorations for the reception. There were innumerable people helping with set up, decorating, clean-up, etc... I just can't possibly name them all!
On our wedding day, not only was I lucky to marry a wonderful man and my best friend, but I am lucky to be joining such a fantastic family. They are generous, kind, welcoming, and loving.
We are so blessed by our families and how fantastic they have been throughout our whole wedding process, especially the day before and day of.
Now, I want to touch on a few of my favorite parts of our wedding.
First, I loved being around my whole family and all my friends. Getting my whole family together happens very rarely, so it was very special. I loved having all my sisters there helping me put on my dress and watching me get ready. My nieces and nephews made the day so much more special too. One of my youngest nephews, Simon, came up to me and asked, "Aunt Bit, do you remember it's your wedding?" (Aunt Bit is a nickname I get that came from Aunt Vic. My sister's oldest daughter could not say Vic so it turned to Bit and stuck.) This question from this sweet little boy made me tear up. I had just had a not so fun encounter with the owner of our venue and I was getting stressed. His comment reminded me what we were really there for, my marriage. I looked at him and said, "Why yes I did! Did you?" He said, "Yup! I love you." Then gave me a big hug. From the speeches, to the pictures, to the jokes, and just spending time with each other, having my family and friends there made our day so much more memorable and special.
Second, I loved being around (and even meeting for the first time) Paul's family. They are so loving and welcoming. They were hugely instrumental in making our day possible and I can't thank them enough for their help. I loved hearing his two brother's speeches and talking with everyone. A few months ago, Paul's niece Anya, came up to me and we were talking. Close to the end of her conversation she looked at me and said, "I can't wait until you are officially my aunt!" then gave me a big hug. I teared up at this comment. It means so much to me that Paul's family has welcomed me with open arms and that they were excited for me to 'officially' be a part of their family. They have always treated me as part of their family and I am so blessed to be married into a family as wonderful as his.
Third, I loved having our first look. I know some people think it is taboo to see each other before the ceremony, but we did not care. We are fairly private people and we wanted to share in our special moment just the two of us (and the photographer.) We got to hug (not kiss... we saved that for the ceremony) and take some of the stress off the day. After seeing Paul, nothing else mattered. I did not care about the decorations, the food, or the drinks, or any of it, because at that point I realized I was about to marry the guy of my dreams and I was so excited.
Fourth (This is going to be a long one...), I loved all of the personal touches to our wedding. My sister made our wedding cake. It was simple, but I love that I can look back on the pictures and remember my sister when I see the cake. It meant so much to me to have her do it. It made it a more special part of our wedding. Paul's sister-in-law did my hair. So looking back, when looking at pictures, I will remember the time we spent bonding while she did hair trials and she was talking me out of my nerves on the morning of the wedding. My parents went above and beyond to help do things for my wedding. My father built a backdrop for us and a picture frame where Paul and I displayed baby pictures and engagement pictures of ourselves. My mother made cookies. These cookies are a Kees family tradition. Typically, they are made at Christmas, but she made them for the wedding too. My mother also made a ring bearer pillow where she used left over fabric from her wedding dress and also made special ribbon for on the flower girl baskets out of the same material. She also made my garter, which I plan to save for my daughter's wedding. Paul's mother and many of his family members made the food for the wedding. It was incredible, as always, and everyone raved about how it was the best wedding food they have ever had. My brother-in-law assisted in the ceremony. He did the reading and the message. This was absolutely incredible. He did such a fantastic job and made everyone in that room cry. He said, "If my daughter grows up to be like you, then I will consider myself a success. And if she marries a man like you, I will consider myself lucky." That will stick with me forever, that the thinks so highly of us. It meant the world to me that he was a part of our ceremony. One of the more sentimental things we did was that we had pictures of our grandparents displayed. All of my grandparents have passed, so they could not be there physically and Paul's grandparents are older and could not make a trip from California for the wedding. But I loved having their pictures there to remind us of where we have come from and that all of them would be there if it would have been possible. Also, we had lit a candle in memory of loved ones who have passed. One of those loved ones was Paul's father. He passed away this past February from a rare brain disease. It was a really hard time for his family, and for us, and knowing he wouldn't be there for our wedding was hard. One other way we honored his father was in the painting of a willow tree for our guest book. I saw the idea a couple years ago on Pinterest to have a fingerprint tree guest book and I just had to do it. After his father passed, it was necessary. His father loved willow trees and had planted them all over their property. So, we had Alina paint a willow tree, symbolizing his father's spiritual presence at our wedding, because he wouldn't be able to put a finger print on the guest book. The painting turned out amazing and it will forever be a treasured item of ours.
All of these people helped personalize our wedding so much more and made is that much more special for us. I would not have had it any other way.
Lastly, I loved getting to marry Paul. He has become my best friend over the past six years and I cannot see me being with anyone else the rest of my life. He is an incredible person. Hardworking, loyal, loving, selfless, caring, handsome, and he puts family first. I know he is going to make an incredible father who leads his family closer to God and takes care of us no matter what. I am so lucky that he loves me and chose me to be his wife.
Our wedding day was perfect and I cannot believe how fast it came and went.
Again, thank you to everyone who helped make our day special and possible.
Here are some pictures from the wedding. The first two are by my wonderful friend, Cassie, whose photography business is Cassandra Marie Photography. The one of the guest book tree is my picture, and it is unfinished. It looks way better fully completed. Then lastly, the picture of us leaving is from my sister-in-law, Lee-Ellen.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
4 More days until we say "I do!"
Four more days?! I cannot believe that we are really at the home stretch!
So, since we are so close to the wedding day, I thought I would share with you the story of our engagement.
Let me begin with the fact that I am not a patient person and I am not too fond of surprises. Therefore, waiting for Paul to propose was pure agony. I kept bugging him and he gave me the hint of "snow."
Well, one night after a huge snow storm we took our dog out to go play in the snow, because, well, she loves it so much. Here we are letting her run around and he turns to me and begins to get down on one knee.
Now, I know what you all are thinking, that he was going to propose. But really, he was just playing a cruel trick on me. I was not a happy camper.
Probably about a month later we had planned a trip to go visit his sister Mila in Pennsylvania and then make a weekend trip to go to New York City. Well, since it was December and our trip was up north, it got cancelled due to bad snow storms. So we changed travel plans and decided to go south to New Orleans. We had been wanting to visit there for a while and we would be able to stop and say hi to my sister, Melanie, and her family on the way down.
We get to New Orleans, check into our hotel (after quite some difficulty finding our hotel and where to park), check in and unpack our bags and head to dinner. We walked to a nearby restaurant that was river front. This is not where he proposed. But this is where I had some nasty jambalaya with half uncooked rice and he had an great alligator po-boy. We walked back to the hotel and we saw that there was a courtyard near our hotel room with a couple benches that overlook the river. (Our hotel room also overlooked the Mississippi River.) We decided to go change and then go back out and sit for a while.
Paul and I have this thing where, when no one has been talking for a while, one of us asks the other, "What are you thinking about?" So, naturally, we are both sitting there, quiet, and I ask him, "What are you thinking about?" He turns to me, gets on one knee, and says, "I'm thinking about asking you to be my wife."
Paul was so romantic. What did I do? Grabbed the ring. Put it on my finger. And started laughing. I was so happy that I just could not stop laughing. After that we went back to the hotel and called our family.
Now, you are thinking. What about that hint he gave about the snow? Well, he told me that his original plan was to propose in New York City in front of the Rockefeller tree, where there would have for sure been snow.
That would have been awesome, but I am so happy with how it all worked out. New Orleans was awesome, especially the food, and I cannot wait to go back there some day.
I also cannot wait to marry the amazing man who proposed to me that weekend.
4 more days until we say "I do!"
Here is a picture from after he proposed.
So, since we are so close to the wedding day, I thought I would share with you the story of our engagement.
Let me begin with the fact that I am not a patient person and I am not too fond of surprises. Therefore, waiting for Paul to propose was pure agony. I kept bugging him and he gave me the hint of "snow."
Well, one night after a huge snow storm we took our dog out to go play in the snow, because, well, she loves it so much. Here we are letting her run around and he turns to me and begins to get down on one knee.
Now, I know what you all are thinking, that he was going to propose. But really, he was just playing a cruel trick on me. I was not a happy camper.
Probably about a month later we had planned a trip to go visit his sister Mila in Pennsylvania and then make a weekend trip to go to New York City. Well, since it was December and our trip was up north, it got cancelled due to bad snow storms. So we changed travel plans and decided to go south to New Orleans. We had been wanting to visit there for a while and we would be able to stop and say hi to my sister, Melanie, and her family on the way down.
We get to New Orleans, check into our hotel (after quite some difficulty finding our hotel and where to park), check in and unpack our bags and head to dinner. We walked to a nearby restaurant that was river front. This is not where he proposed. But this is where I had some nasty jambalaya with half uncooked rice and he had an great alligator po-boy. We walked back to the hotel and we saw that there was a courtyard near our hotel room with a couple benches that overlook the river. (Our hotel room also overlooked the Mississippi River.) We decided to go change and then go back out and sit for a while.
Paul and I have this thing where, when no one has been talking for a while, one of us asks the other, "What are you thinking about?" So, naturally, we are both sitting there, quiet, and I ask him, "What are you thinking about?" He turns to me, gets on one knee, and says, "I'm thinking about asking you to be my wife."
Paul was so romantic. What did I do? Grabbed the ring. Put it on my finger. And started laughing. I was so happy that I just could not stop laughing. After that we went back to the hotel and called our family.
Now, you are thinking. What about that hint he gave about the snow? Well, he told me that his original plan was to propose in New York City in front of the Rockefeller tree, where there would have for sure been snow.
That would have been awesome, but I am so happy with how it all worked out. New Orleans was awesome, especially the food, and I cannot wait to go back there some day.
I also cannot wait to marry the amazing man who proposed to me that weekend.
4 more days until we say "I do!"
Here is a picture from after he proposed.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
7 more days until we say 'I do!"
I want to start off by saying I am new to blogging. My good friend, Rachel, convinced me to start.
As I was deciding whether I should start one or not, I thought to myself, "Is my life interesting enough for people to want to read about?" and "What would I even write?"
After much thought over the matter, I decided to give it a go. I mean, I enjoy writing and I thought it could be fun, putting my thoughts and daily experiences onto a blog.
I think an appropriate first blog post would be talking about the other half to my blog title, "Me & Mr. C." Mr. C is my future husband. We met when we were only 15 years old. I wish I had some cute, romantic story for how we met, but the truth is, we met through Myspace. Yes, Myspace. He added me through a mutual friend and then we started messaging each other. We realized we had a lot in common, such as we were both the youngest in our families, our mothers were both 40 when they had us, and our oldest siblings were both the same age.
We started dating shortly after that and well, here we are. A week before our wedding day. It is crazy to think that we have known each other and have been dating for 6 years. I don't think either of realized back then what that Myspace message of, "Hey do I know you?" would turn into. He has truly become my best friend.
I am so excited to become Mrs. Chernioglo- pronounced "chair-knee-o-glow." This is why I shortened it to just C. I am pretty sure our future children's friends will call us Mr and Mrs. C.
And with that, the countdown begins. 7 more days until we say, "I do!"
A picture from our first year dating. Jr. prom!
As I was deciding whether I should start one or not, I thought to myself, "Is my life interesting enough for people to want to read about?" and "What would I even write?"
After much thought over the matter, I decided to give it a go. I mean, I enjoy writing and I thought it could be fun, putting my thoughts and daily experiences onto a blog.
I think an appropriate first blog post would be talking about the other half to my blog title, "Me & Mr. C." Mr. C is my future husband. We met when we were only 15 years old. I wish I had some cute, romantic story for how we met, but the truth is, we met through Myspace. Yes, Myspace. He added me through a mutual friend and then we started messaging each other. We realized we had a lot in common, such as we were both the youngest in our families, our mothers were both 40 when they had us, and our oldest siblings were both the same age.
We started dating shortly after that and well, here we are. A week before our wedding day. It is crazy to think that we have known each other and have been dating for 6 years. I don't think either of realized back then what that Myspace message of, "Hey do I know you?" would turn into. He has truly become my best friend.
I am so excited to become Mrs. Chernioglo- pronounced "chair-knee-o-glow." This is why I shortened it to just C. I am pretty sure our future children's friends will call us Mr and Mrs. C.
And with that, the countdown begins. 7 more days until we say, "I do!"
A picture from our first year dating. Jr. prom!
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