A Very Married Christmas

Our first tree : ) we collect ornaments on all of our trips so it was really fun looking back at all the ones we purchased and so special having those on the tree!

So excited we had a countdown! Being a newlywed makes the holidays so exciting : )

Loved having our fireplace to decorate this year and looking forward to having our new logs so we can sit by the fire next year : )

We continued our annual tradition of looking at Christmas lights! 

Christmas on the Kaelin side!

Some fun cousins!

Loved our view from the couch at night! Christmas lights make a house so cozy : )

Wrapping presents & watching Christmas movies is one of my favorite holiday activities and it was so fun doing that in our home this year!

We decided to make a gingerbread house. We had finally gotten all the walls put together and had to walk out of the room and we came back to find this!

So Jared turned it into a snack : )

And we just went right out and bought a pre-built one to decorate! 

Love this man so much!

Christmas with Jared's family!

Reading by the Christmas tree is one of my favorite things! My husband was a doll and put some books in my stocking which made me one happy girl : )

Car all packed up & headed to my Dad's side!

Loved their real tree!

Love, love, love. 

New brothers :) I love both of these men so much! 

So excited for our first married Christmas!

So much fun opening presents and stockings!

Christmas with the whole Mann side!

Beautiful ladies!

Love these two! 

The boys couldn't wait to get into their presents!

They look so much alike.  Like father, like son!

Grandad and his offspring!

My favorite thing about Christmas this year was having my husband there with me! 

Cousins!

Did I mention we're a crazy clan?! So glad we could all be together! Christmas Eve is such a special holiday in our family and I know we all cherish spending it together. 

My brother's girlfriend Lauren - love her!

Christmas Day cooking in the kitchen with my Granny! 

Celebrating Christmas on my mom's side! (Jared was working Christmas Day - we missed him!)

Aren't they adorable?!

After this celebration, I headed to the fire station for Christmas dinner with Jared. It was so nice to get to spend some time with him on our first Christmas Day! Please always say a special thank you to emergency personnel around the holidays because they are still working and continue keeping all of us safe : ) so proud & thankful for my husband and all of his coworkers!

Also, I hope that everyone took some time to remember the real reason for the season. It is such a time of hope to remember the birth of Jesus and be reminded of the hope of eternal life through him. Feeling Christ in your life is a blessing and I wish that for all of you! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

New Years

Jared was working on New Years Eve this year so I tagged along with my Dad & Darlene to the Goldie's Reunion show as their third wheel!  We had been before and the show this year did not disappoint! Lots of laughs & good music!

Yummy Moonlite breakfast after the show : ) nothing like breakfast at midnight! 

Very fun night with these two!

Married Life Update

Tomorrow Jared and I will have been married two months and it's gone by so fast! We've been really busy settling into our home and with life in general. 

First meal at our new home!

First married date night : ) Olive Garden & a movie is always a good idea!

The drive to McLean Co. In the fall is one of my favorite things. So beautiful!

Love relaxing in our home!

First OHS Football game as a married couple : )

We celebrated my birthday with an amazing dinner at CKB and then the Eric Church concert. This concert was AMAZING and such a fun way to spend my birthday with my husband!

Love having our own kitchen and baking for my husband : )

We traveled to the OHS state game!

Celebrated my dad's birthday!

Gingerbread house we made after lunch!

We celebrated Dylan's college graduation!

Dad's homemade strawberry ice cream! Yum : )

Love my husband so much!

Christmas on the Kaelin side

Two of my favorite girls! They're all grown up : /

Perfect Sunday night watching football with my husband : )

Celebrating Darlene's birthday!

Jared and I made a gingerbread house! More to come on our new Christmas traditions in another blog : )

Before a fun night out with great friends!

We are having so much fun getting settled into married life and especially enjoying our first married holiday season : ) 

26

Last year I set 25 goals for my year of being 25 and as I just recently turned 26, I decided it was a perfect time to review those goals and see how I did!

25 Things to Accomplish During My Year of Being 25

1. Finish my MBA
I completed my MBA in December and can't believe it's been almost a year since I finished it!

2.  Pray more, worry less.
I have definitely made an effort to take everything to God in prayer more this year and it has made an unbelievable difference on my stress level.  There are still times I try to handle everything myself but I am trying to break this habit :)

3. Take time to enjoy the little things.
When I made this goal I had no idea I would be getting married this year!  So many little moments to soak in and I loved every minute of it :)
4. Practice the power of no.
I still have not perfected this art but I have slowed down on my activities and taken time to really focus on my marriage and family.
5. Give back.
I did not accomplish as much on this goal as I wanted due to my unbelievably busy schedule this year.  I'm making this a goal for this year.
6. Eat clean.
I have been better about trying to eat healthier but I have a feeling this will always be a yearly goal I need to strive for.
7. Travel to another foreign country.
Jared and I traveled to the Dominican for our honeymoon so I can mark this off the list!  
8. Sleep.
HA!  I have slept more since we returned from our honeymoon than I probably did the rest of the year combined ; ).  I am making this a goal for next year too because wedding planning and house preparation definitely trumped sleep this past year!
9. Read for pure enjoyment.
This is something I want to spend more time on in the coming year.  I love to read and want to take more time to do it.
10. Spend more time outdoors.
Once again, if I wasn't working on my job, wedding or house I was probably asleep so this will have to be a 26 goal too : )
11. Exercise more.
I did exercise more this year but will continue to try and increase the time spent on this.
12.  Be creative.
Planning the wedding and decorating our house has definitely allowed me to use my creative energy this year!
13. Give up soft drinks.
Caffeine is what kept me going some days this past year.  I will definitely try to reduce my intake going forward.
14.  Simplify.
Sharing closet space with Jared has definitely inspired me to simplify my closet. We both love having a clean and organized house which makes life so much easier!
15. Watch a sunrise and sunset.
I've caught part of each but still want to take the time to sit down and watch both in full.
16. Be more timely.
Ehh.  Good intentions right?!  
17. Read the Bible.
Although I feel that I have the closest relationship with God I have ever had, I need to spend more time studying his word.
18.  Do more random acts of kindness.
I will continue to pursue this in the coming year.
19.  Learn something new.
I feel that I have learned so many new things this year.  Planning a wedding and buying and preparing a house have brought us so many lessons!
20. Keep blogging.
I haven't been able to blog as much during the past year as I wanted to but am trying to get back into a schedule with it.
21. Develop a vision.
I feel that I have a clear vision for life right now and am loving it!
22.  Decide on my next educational pursuit.
Right now I'm still enjoying being finished with my Masters but am still open to potentially going back for another degree.
23. Be happy.
25 has been the year of happy.  I'm Mrs. Peacock :)
24. Make the best decisions for me.
So many big decisions took place this year and I feel like I have stayed true to what I know are the best decisions for my life.  
25.Enjoy the year.
I have definitely enjoyed this eventful year! I started a new job, got engaged, bought a house, Jared and I were married, we went on our honeymoon and moved into our new home!  It has been such a wonderful year and I can only hope that 26 continues to be as wonderful.  Being married is so wonderful and I am so thankful that I get to start my 26th year with my husband by my side :)

We're Married!!!!

We're married! It's so hard to believe that all the excitement, stress, hard work, tears, smiles, happy times and countdown to the wedding are over! However, I can now say that every minute of stress or lost minute of sleep over the past six months was totally worth it. We had the most amazing wedding day and I feel so unbelievably blessed & full of happiness : )

Instead of posting one insanely long post about everything wedding related, I've decided to break it down so that I can truly share our wedding experience and what I learned along the way. Not to mention our amazing wedding vendors deserve a lot of recognition! 

It's so hard to believe we've been married over a month! Time is flying by already but being married is the most amazing feeling. I couldn't ask for a better time of year to be newlyweds either! It's so fun having the holiday season right after our wedding & getting to decorate and really enjoy our home.