Year One: The inaugural post!

This past October, my husband Chris and I celebrated our first anniversary. How time flies! With this huge marriage milestone under our belt, I decided that now was the perfect time to start the blog that has been sitting on the back burner for months now.

As my dear friends and family know, I rarely go or do anything without my camera in tow, and with the recent addition to our family of a beautiful, new Canon SLR, I now feel better equipped to share with you, our dear friends, what is going on in our family.

Before catching you up to speed on our life here in Norfolk, however, I want to take you on a quick stroll down memory lane, and share a little visual recap of our life over the past year since we became engaged.

Chris and I are so thankful for the many ways God has blessed us throughout this past year, and are grateful to each of our dear friends and family for their loving support, encouragement, and love as we made such an important transition in our lives.

Enjoy!

(Photo by Crystal George Studios)

Taken moments after Chris proposed and I said a (huge!) "yes!" Rebec Vineyards - Amherst, VA (May 29, 2009)

A week following our engagement, we had the joy of being a part of my brother Joel's wedding in Maryland to his lovely bride, Joy.  (June, 2009)

One of our many, beautiful engagement photos taken at USNA in MD by Stone Blue Productions. (June, 2009)

In September, we were thrilled to welcome our first nephew into the world!  Little Ian Thomas Guelzo, son of my eldest brother, Jeremiah, and my beautiful sister-in-law, Mauresa. (September, 2009)

Prior to the wedding, Chris (and some dear friends and family) joined me in participating in my third annual run in the "Virginia Ten Miler" in Lynchburg. (September, 2009)

Our wonderful, beautiful, amazing wedding day! Photo taken by Adam Barnes Photography (October 24, 2009)

Honeymooners! Chris took me to Rome, Italy to celebrate our honeymoon. We took the opportunity to rent a car and drove up to Tuscany to visit a wine vineyard. Incredible trip, incredible husband! :) (October, 2009)

Our first home together! The lovely, historic neighborhood of Ghent -- Norfolk,Virginia. I enjoyed putting my unused green thumb to use on our lovely little balcony. (November, 2009)

One of our first "married couple" trips was up to visit my lovely mother-in-law and family in MD where we took part in her surprise 50th birthday. (November, 2009)

 Our first Thanksgiving, joined by our new pomapoo pup, Bear. Lynchburg, VA. (November, 2009)

Our first Christmas. (December, 2009)

Enjoying the first snow (and matching outfits, apparently!) of the season. (January, 2010).

Our first Valentines Day together! (Forgive the poor quality photo - shan't happen again with the new camera!) (February, 2010)

While the rest of the state enjoyed snow, this is what we enjoyed: flooding! Welcome to Norfolk. (March, 2010)

Taking my new bike for a spin during the spring. Bear (and his little friend) asked to go along! (March, 2010)

Late spring we had the pleasure of having my former roommate and maid of honor,  and dear friend (now her significant other!) visit us for a few days in Norfolk. Among other activities, we took them to an area of VA Beach called "Pungo" for strawberry picking. (May, 2010)

Once again our extended family was blessed with new life. Excited to visit Lynchburg and greet our new baby cousin, Joshua, the second son of my Uncle Paul and Aunt Julie. (May, 2010)

 

In early June, we had the honor of being a part of our dear friends' wedding out in California.  As expected, the wedding was beautiful, as so was the weather! (June, 2010)

While in California for our friends' wedding, we took time to visit the West Coast McLean's out near San Francisco. This photo was taken during a winery tour we went on together. So beautiful, and such special memories together. (June, 2010)

While in California, all of my new brothers took me go-kart racing.  Not to hurt their pride, but I came in SECOND in our races. ;-)

Celebrating Chris's 27th birthday surrounded by friends and family. (June, 2010)

Celebrating part one of MY 27th birthday with new friends in Norfolk at the Botanical Gardens. (July, 2010)

Part II of my 27th birthday celebration with my long-time best girlfriend, Lydia -- our birthdays are four days apart -- and several other dear friends and family members.  Salem, VA. (July, 2010)

This was taken on his first day of graduate school at Old Dominion University. He's working on his degree in engineering management. (What can I say? I'm a proud wife, and my husband is a really good sport.) (August, 2010)

In late August, we took a trip up to visit my mother-in-law and family in MD,  and together we all enjoyed participating in Glen Beck's 8/28 Rally in DC.  Forget what you may have heard on TV, we were blown away by how touching and non-political this event was. (August, 2010)

What a blast our big family beach vacation was this year! Eight families in one big house = non-stop fun and laughter. Looking forward to next year's trip! (September, 2010)

Soaking up the sun here at Virginia Beach. How I miss the warm weather! (September, 2010)

Enjoying a fun visit from our adorable cousins, Joseph and Joseph (and their parents, too!)

For our first anniversary, Chris took me on a trip to beautiful Asheville, NC -- home to the Biltmore Estate. We had a lovely few days of sightseeing, eating, and eating some more.  It was the perfect getaway! 

Visitors galore this fall! Next it was my brother, Jeremiah, sister-in-law, Mauresa, baby nephew, Ian, and our dear friends Henry and Julie Way. (October, 2010)

At the Christmas tree farm Thanksgiving weekend. Love supporting our local farms and enjoying the scent of fresh pine in our home! (November, 2010)

It's incredible to look back and remember all that has taken place over the last year. And this is only the beginning. There are many exciting changes coming for our McLean family. Changes I look forward to sharing with you soon. Stay tuned. For now though, dear friends, this is all she wrote.