Cheers to 2 Years!

      

Yesterday, March 24th, marked 2 years of Thomas and I being together. I decided, since it was a special day, to do dinner a little differently with an indoor picnic of his favorite meal....Chicken Enchiladas! And to cleanse the pallet, we had some fresh fruit salad! ;) I also gathered up some pictures of our courtship and placed them out on the picnic blanket for display.

So, it was 2 years ago on a Saturday, my husband and I went out on our first date...and when I say first date, I mean our very first ever...with anyone! Our first date couldn't have been better and it was like something out of one of my favorite chick flick movies. ;) Ice skating, strolling in a park with pleasant conversation, a wonderful dinner at a quaint Italian restaurant and a hockey game to end the perfect day. After that day, there was no doubt I wanted more and each time we got together, Thomas became more and more of a best friend. 

Yesterday brought back a flood of fond memories of meeting Thomas at his college to go walk down Main Street in Nashua. I was brought back to The Peddler's Daughter (an Irish restaurant we favorited) and the park where we used to stroll around in. I was brought back to the first time he held my hand, the events at Thomas More College and all the light hearted and in depth conversations we had which really helped me grow as a person. 

He did so much to prove his love for me; sweet gestures, endearing words, chivalrous, being so self-giving and caring...the list goes on! But the strongest way he proved it was by bringing me closer to God and striving to love Him in the best way that I could. That's how I knew he was the one for me. I learned and continue to learn so much from my husband. Each day I am so excited to learn more about him and from him. Yesterday reminded me even more how greatly blessed I am and how undeserving I am of this man in my life. I was reminded of all the wonderful times we had together in NH and all the many more wonderful times we will have in the future. I have done nothing to deserve such happiness with him...in fact, I have done things to NOT deserve it...but still, God knows I need him in my life. He knows that Thomas is the soulmate that will help me get to Heaven. Without this essential and necessary person that God has decided to be with me, I can't imagine how much harder it would be to become a saint. I love him more each day and still feel like we're on our honeymoon. What a blessing in our first year of marriage! May each day continue to remind me of how important his role is in my life and how blessed I am and may I strive each day to be the best wife I can be for my husband and for the Honor and Glory of God!

Here's to 2 wonderful years Thomas and please God, many many more!

21 Weeks!

21 weeks and counting! :)

Size of Baby: As long as a carrot...10 1/2 inches long!

Cravings: Apples

It's starting to feel like Spring! Yesterday we had 70 degree weather...incentive to pull out my sandals and a new maternity dress Thomas got me. :) 

We had beautiful weather for a road trip to Hays, KS, a 3hr drive out west. This weekend is the Kansas state Special Olympics which is being sponsored by the KOC (Knights of Columbus). Thomas wanted to be there for it so we ended going and spending the night. It was so cute watching special needs players and the big smiles and waves they displayed. I'm so happy they have such a big event for them.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

BOY OR GIRL??

Thomas and I are thrilled to announce that we are having a baby GIRL! Emma Rose Schutzman...Emma after St. Emma of Gurk https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=272 and Rose after Our Lady. Thomas and I were having quite the trouble picking out boys names, so we're happy to have the girl name settled. ;) Of course being from a family of all girls, I have to admit, I am a bit relieved to be starting out with a girl since my knowledge of baby boys is not very good. ;) Please God eventually though! Our ultrasound proved a very active baby who loves to move around A LOT. My midwife was literally chasing Emma around with the doppler trying to catch her heart beat. Now that I have a name and a gender, it's incredible how much more I'm attached to this child. 

We are so excited! Time seems to be ticking away and it amazes me how fast March FLEW by! Easter will be here before you know it as well as two other nieces! My sister-in-law Mary Felice is due to have her baby any day now! Please keep her in your prayers. She and her husband are quite anxious and excited to meet their little Isabel Sophie. My goddaughter, Marie Godelieve, will be making her grand entrance mid-April! My sister-in-law Maddie and her husband are busily preparing for their first daughter. Maybe it'll be an Easter baby! ;) It's been so exciting having all my married sister-in-laws expecting children as well as myself. Nothing like everyone being on the same page and bringing a total of 4 new grandchildren into the world in one year! It'll be fun having children all around the same age. Like my husband says, the Schutzman grandchildren will be exponential! Lol!

As the weeks continue and summer quickly approaches, I get more and more excited about my precious Emma. I think about pushing her around in the stroller, counting her little fingers and toes, admiring her innocence, beginning to teach her the fundamental lessons of life and most importantly, raising her to become a SAINT! What a huge responsibility and privilege that God has given us parents. This is by far the biggest responsibility I will ever have and my life will never be the same. What a privilege! God has chosen me to parent a child and prepare their soul for Heaven. It is an overwhelming thought, but I know Our Lady will always be there to guide me as long as I let her. I thank God that He has given us such a wonderful and virtuous model for us to follow and go to for help. How can I, as a mother, fear this responsibility when all I need to do is follow her holy footsteps. As long as I do this, I can't go wrong!

May Our Lady protect our family and lead us all to Heaven.

Halfway There!

Yippee! I'm halfway through my pregnancy! Wow, I can't believe it's been 5 months since we found out that we're having a baby. This child has gone from being the size of a poppy seed to the size of a banana, and my stomach sure has grown with it!

I feel 100% better! No more nausea, I have more energy and all around feel great! I can finally make dinner again. Thank God I made a months worth of crockpot meals that I could freeze during my first trimester. I figured before I got sick and unable to stand food, I should make dinner ahead of time. Thanks to MoneySavingMom blog, I made almost 20 meals in just 2 hours! It lasted us forever and we ended up saving money on it too, which is always a bonus. The recipes were super fast, easy and involved little ingredients. It was helpful to know that Thomas didn't have to scrounge for food when coming home for dinner!

I have to admit though, as nice as it was to have pre-made dinners, it is nice to cook again! Now I can walk into a grocery store without holding my nose from strong smells. I also have cravings up the wazoo... (esp. for chewy gummy candies and apples) and I feel much more energized and motivated to do things. I even mustered up enough motivation and FINALLY started my honeymoon scrapbook! I have really become a fan of scrapbooking and decided it's my hobby. :) It keeps me busy when I don't have a whole lot of cleaning to do around the house. It's so much fun looking through the pictures and remembering all the things of our trip. I'm trying to take advantage of the extra time I have now to do these things. ;) It would be so nice for our children to have them to look at when they get older and also to help refresh my memory as I get older. ;)

In other news, I LOVE having my new car, a Chevy Impala! I can go out and run errands whenever I need to instead of waiting for the weekends for Thomas to drive me. It drives so smoothly and is very comfortable and roomy! Perfect for when the baby comes with the stroller, groceries etc. We got a wonderful deal on it and think it'll be with us for a few years now. :) 

So, the next big thing is the ultrasound! Thomas and I are SUPER excited to find out the gender of our first child on March 14th! We already have the names picked out and are so ready to know what it is. 

Boy or Girl???

Stay tuned......