My Sweet Husband...

Today marks Alex's 26th birthday.  The last twenty-five years have been good to him and have molded him into an incredible man.  I'm unbelievably blessed to have him as my husband.  We met when he was twenty years old and I can't even believe the person he's grown to become.  I look forward to seeing so many more memorable birthdays with him and what his life has in store for him.  I know you're going to do great things, babe!

Here's to another incredible year!! I love you, Alexander Joseph!

Some Moments of December

December was a very busy month for us. We spent the first half of it in Aurora and the last half in Fulton/Thomson on christmas break.

I Thought I'd share some photos of what we were up to the whole month.

Every year since I've known Alex, we've went to pick out their family christmas tree. This year we had to do it without Alex's brother, Elliott since he was away at basic training,
but I think we ended up with a pretty great tree!

My parents had my in-laws, Matt's in-laws, and all of us over for a christmas party in the middle of December. We had great food, great company, and played skit skat all night.

We also took our third annual Temple christmas trip to downtown chicago. We did some christmas shopping on State Street and Michigan Avenue. Usually we stay at the Embassy Suites in Lombard and come back much later on at night but this year we decided to try something different. We tried the Embassy Suites on State Street for our first time, and it was SO great! It was extremely convenient since it's so close to where we shop and where we eat supper. We also ate at our favorite place in the whole world every time we head downtown, Grand Lux Cafe. It's such a beautiful restaurant and has world class food. This year's trip did not disappoint, and will be something I remember forever.

Alex and I with my sister and her husband

checking in at the Embassy Suites.

After a HUGE meal at Grand Lux.

I tried the caramel chicken for my first time, and it was sooo good!
Alex got the burger, as usual.

Outside of The North Face store on Michigan Avenue

with my mom, sister, and dad.

None of these trips would be possible

if it wasn't for my incredible parents.

Hopefully next December will be just as
memorable and enjoyable as this one was!

So Long Sweet 2009...

2009 will always be remembered as one of my favorite years. Here's a quick look through our 2009.

**January**

--Started off 2009 knowing I'd only be a single Katie Temple for four more months.

--Celebrated my mom's birthday with her.

--Alex and I both celebrated our birthdays. I turned 24 and Alex 25 years old. We're exactly one year and three days apart.

--I finished up my first semester of teaching.

--Alex took the leap and started his first semester back at college in three years. He decided to major in mechanical engineering, and he realized it was going to be a really long semester full of calculus, physics, and chemisty.

--I was VERY proud of him for going back to school.

--I had two of my many wedding showers at my aunt's house and at the church I grew up in.

**February**

--Alex finished one more year of inactive duty for the Iowa National Guard, only one more to go!

--We bought our plane tickets and reserved our honeymoon in the Bahamas!!

--Winter set in full force, and we spent the majority of the time watching t.v., studying, and grading.

--Wedding planning continued; two months until the big day!

**March**

--Had my last wedding dress fitting and fell in love all over again with my dress.

--Alex had midterms and did really well on them.

--I was offered a great job opportunity at BHS to teach AP Junior English the next year!

--I had my third wedding shower thrown by my mother-in-law's family and got our dyson vaccuum; I was very excited!

--I had my 4th and 5th wedding showers thrown by my dad's family and my father-in-law's family.

--We bought both of our wedding bands.

--We hired a judge to perform our wedding, which was quite controversial.

**April**

--My two very best friends in the whole world flew in from California and Oregon for our wedding!

--Had a week and a half off of work to enjoy all of our wedding festivities.

--On the 3rd, we became Mr. and Mrs. Alexander French, and it was the best day of my life.

--We took our first vacation together for our honeymoon to the Bahamas! It was the first time out of the country for the both of us.

--We snorkeled in the most clear blue water ever, and Alex ran into an enormous shark!! (not even kidding)
--Alex bought his dream truck, a 1995 Ford Diesel Powerstroke and was very very excited about it.

--I met my cousin's new baby, little Kloe, and she is the cutest thing in the world.

--We celebrated Easter out at my Aunt Debbie's.

**May**

--Alex finished his first semester back at college with a 3.75 GPA.
--Alex experienced Dutch Days for his first time ever.

--Found my sister's wedding dress for her September wedding and my bridesmaid's dress.
--Alex decided he was going to turn his truck into a pulling truck and began his dodge cummins rebuild on it.

**June**

--Finished my first year of teaching; was very worn out and ready for summer break.

--Alex started his summer class. Decided he REALLY hates calculus.

--We bought our jetski and spent A TON of time on the river with it!
--My sister FINALLY turned 21, and we went out with friends.

--I learned how to water ski for the 1st time and loved it!
--I went to the AP summer institute so that I could be certified to teach AP classes this coming school year.

--My sister-in-law's boyfriend, Brian, bought a boat, and we spent a lot of time on the river with them and my sister and her fiancee. It was our favorite part of the summer.

**July**

--Spent 4th of July on the river watching the fireworks with my husband's family and my family.

--We went to a Cubs game with Betsy and Matt.

**August**
--I went to a Sox game with my grandpa, dad, and sister.
--Majorly planned for my sister's wedding which was in a month!
--Signed another year lease on our apartment with much painstaking discussion and hesitation.
--Went to the Morrison Fair for my 24th year in a row. We LOVE fairs!
--Our good friends, Justin and Katie got married!
--Went to Freeport to see our good friend, Dustin in the tractor pull.
--Alex finished his summer class and began his fall semester of college.
--I went back to work for my 2nd year teaching at BHS. I finally got my very own room and am now teaching AP 11 English and English 10 Standard. I was extremely nervous about this.
--Alex's little brother, Elliott, left for Army National Guard Basic Training. We were sad to see him go.

**September**
--Went to A LOT of weddings this month. Alex's cousin got married and one of his friends.
--Most importantly, my little sister got married on the 18th!! I was her maid of honor, and Alex was Matt's best man.
--I sang in public for the first time in two years, and it was at my sister's wedding. I almost puked I was so nervous.
--We went to the BHS homecoming with my parents, my sister, and her husband.

**October**
--Alex spent a lot of time out in the shed working on rebuilding his truck.
--I spent a lot of time grading and feeling way in over my head with my AP class.
--Alex and I made one of our biggest decisions and finally decided this would be our last year in North Aurora and my last year teaching at BHS. We decided it was time for us to move back home to the Fulton/Thomson area; we miss our families way too much, and we're ready to settle down there and buy a home. We'll finish out this year in N. Aurora and move home summer of 2010. I will have lived here for five memorable years and Alex for three years with me. We are sad to leave our first place behind but very ready for a  new beginning back home with our family and to find a place we can call our own and start a family with someday.
--Alex and I dressed up for Halloween for our first time since little kids! We went as an 80's couple and had a blast with our very best friends, too.

**November**
--We spent a lot of time over at my sister and her husband's new home hanging out with them and spending time with their newest addition, Rory, their adorable kitten!
--We spent Thanksgiving over at my mom's and met my cousin, Sammy's little baby girl, Amaya Leigh.
--Jane, Mary, and I had to pick out the family christmas tree without Elliott for the first time since he was at basic training.

**December**
--Elliott found out he graduated from basic training and would be moving on to AIT.
--Alex finally put a heater in the shed, so he can work on his truck without freezing his butt off.
--We stayed downtown Chicago for our annual weekend before Christmas with my family. We did a lot of shopping, ate at our favorite restaurant, Grand Lux Cafe, and stayed at Embassy Suites. It was one of my favorite parts about December.
--Alex passed all of his classes, which was his hardest semester yet! He had Physics, Calculus II, and Economics this semester, and I couldn't be more proud of him!
--I got two weeks off from school and we spent the entire time back home in Fulton/Thomson with our family and REALLY had such a great time. All we could talk about was how this time next year we would be in our very own home.
--We spent a great Christmas Eve opening presents over at my parents and christmas morning with Alex's family. My favorite presents were my Ugg boots and a North Face coat. Alex's favorite presents were all of his gauges for his truck.
--Elliott was on leave for 10 days, and we spent a lot of time catching up with him.
--Rang in New Years with my family at Candlelight and then over at my sisters.

I'm sad to see such an incredible year go, but we are so very ready to begin 2010 and excited to see what it has in store for us. We know we'll be back home with family in about five months and that alone is enough to put 2010 in the running for one of our best years!

Starting off Fresh as Mr. & Mrs. French

Welcome to our new and improved blog! If you didn't know, I had an older blog, a 'Temple' blog, that I have recently laid to rest. I'm still a Temple at heart, but I thought I'd give the new 'French' side of me a fair try, too. It only seemed fair : ) So, here we are.

This new blog will follow Alex and my's journey/struggle/adventure through this crazy and much-loved life of ours. Our hope is that our family and friends can check in and see what new experiences and memories lie ahead for the both of us in the years to come. We will try and keep you updated as our new life as the French Family begins. To rewind...

Alex and I met almost six years ago, but we officially began in April of 2009 as husband and wife. For the past nine months, we've been extremely busy with school, both teaching it and learning it. I teach at a large, 3700 students large, high school in the Chicago suburbs as an English teacher. Alex is back in college for mechanical engineering, after three and a half years working his tail off driving a semi truck for both concrete and agricultural businesses in the Chicagoland area and helping support me during some of my college years. I couldn't be more proud of him for going back to school and doing so well at it, too! He should have less than two years left at this point! When we're not busy teaching and studying, we spend time with out cats, eating out, and back home every weekend where our family lives. We're both homebodies who love our family dearly and are lucky enough to have both of our families within ten miles of each other for our full entertainment and enjoyment : )

We hope that our friends and family will find it easier to see what it is that we do (when we're not back at home with them on weekends), and keep in touch with us when we're all a little homesick for each other. Enjoy!