meet me in st. louis

Steve and I celebrated one year together in St. Louis! We went there to see a Minnesota Vikings game (they're Steve's favorite NFL team), but there are plenty of other fun things to do in St. Louis, so we had a very packed trip. On Saturday night we got into town and went straight to this awesome pizza place called Dewey's for dinner. It was very tasty!

bundle of joy {baby nephew}

This past weekend, Steve and I went to bed Friday night expecting to get up at 7 in the morning to pack and set out for our anniversary weekend in St. Louis. Our new nephew had other plans. My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, was admitted to the hospital late Friday night, and had progressed pretty far in labor when we awoke Saturday morning. Steve and I packed, dropped Nike off at my parents' house, and headed to the hospital with lunch for my brother Matt and my parents.

one wonderful year

As of yesterday, Steve and I have now been married a year, I can't believe it! In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday that we were dating and engaged, but then again I can hardly remember what life was like without Steve by my side. It has truly been a blessing to see him grow deeper in his relationship with the Lord as he leads me faithfully in Christ! I love getting to serve him through so that he can focus on things he needs to get done like homework and sermon preparation. Steve is so easy to love. He never gets mad at me, even when I have a breakdown about not wanting to clean up any more dog poop. He's always looking for ways to serve me and make me happy, even though we all know I don't deserve it. 

joy in the face of grief

Earlier this week, I went over to my granddaddy's house with my mom and aunt to decorate for Christmas. My grandmother Shirley died last May, and we knew that granddaddy Don wouldn't decorate his house by himself. In some ways I could see how you might think that decorating would just make things worse. That seeing those decorations that had been put out by my grandmother's hands for countless years would only make it hurt more. But I think it was really the opposite. We needed those decorations. Not just because I know my grandmother would have wanted to know that her house looked good for Christmas (though she certainly would), but because they remind us that no matter how much it hurts, the pain never outweighs the joy. 

my cookie recipe

This post is for everyone who ever asked me about my cookie recipe. I got this recipe from the mom of one of my friends, Joyce Lasse. It's basically a variation of the recipe on the back of a bag of Hershey's baking chips. Here's what you'll need:

my first christmas tree

Decorating the tree has always been one of my favorite activities. When I was younger, it was my sister's job to fluff and light the tree, but Katie was good about letting me help her. She taught me important things like how to hide the wires in the branches and to only plug three strands in a row before plugging back into the extension cord (we learned that nine light strings in a row will blow a fuse). We would drag it out of the attic a day or two after Thanksgiving, set it up, and spend hours fluffing and lighting. My sister and I take the lights very seriously. While my parents would have been fine with using five strands of lights, my sister and I would put fifteen - and the number grew by the year!

Snickerdoodle muffins

Earlier this week I baked some snickerdoodle muffins (I used this recipe). They turned out really good, and Steve and I have been enjoying them all week. 

a very kieklak thanksgiving

Every year, Steve's family (immediate and extended on both parents' sides totaling almost thirty people) goes down to Greer's Ferry lake where they rent cabins for the thanksgiving week. Last year, I was able to go down there for a few days after thanksgiving, but this year Steve and I were there from Tuesday till Sunday.

In preparation, Steve and I spent several hours on Monday night baking about 170 cookies for the week. They were so popular that they were almost all eaten by Thursday, so I guess I need to post my recipe on here soon!

Hello all!

I've decided that it's time to start up a blog! I love to catch up on the lives of friends and family members in far off places by reading their blogs, so I thought that starting one of our own might be fun. I apologize in advance for my ramblings, but I'll try to keep things interesting and include lots of pictures of our dog and our adorable nephews. In case you don't already know, here's a little back story on the Kieklaks!

Steve and I  at a friend's wedding when we were dating