august 31st, 2011.

today we have been married one year. we are so happy and we sure do love each other. here is a little bit of our evening:

sisters in the summer.

i have two gorgeous little sisters. they actually got me to play a few games this summer. it is kind of a miracle. love em, sure do.

the greatest happiness.

"God has brought us together as families to bring to pass His eternal purposes. We are part of this plan in this marriage relationship. let us love and respect and honor one another. We can do it, and we will be the better for it."  

gordon b hinckley 

i guess i am just thinking about this a lot lately. our one year anniversary is this week, i still cannot believe it.

photo by britanie myers.

our first year. part two.

it was a white winter. but not as bad as the last one. we were riding the bus in this photo.

this store is the closest thing i had to wal-mart. toom was a short walk away from our home so we went here most evenings just to look around or to get some wonderful german chocolate.

there is reindeer meat at the ikea. reindeer cold cuts!

the R10- the main train we took. loved it when it was not late. it was late a lot. 

rathaus.

this guy is from the planten und blomen park where we were engaged.

the alster. look at the frozen pieces! this was a really pretty day. spring was on the way.

one of our favorite things to do was feeding these birds. we had a special spot in the sun every time.

we went to see a church that was burned in the war, along with most of hamburg, but part of the church is still there. it was beautiful at night, they keep lights on it 24/7.

we attended an unforgettable fireside by tomas kofod and got to meet him.

this cemetery is a very special place to us and we had one last visit before i flew back to kentucky.

this is my favorite band. you can see that post here: pbandj

we made the most of our last bit of germany. See posts: here, here, and here.

oh, and i got my wisdom teeth out. it hurt but it had to be done.

then we were apart for a long time. over one month. but i got to see lots of my sister and her kids.

and eventually we were together again and had a little reunion in cincinnati: see here.

i turned 23 !, finally had my name changed,  loved the new harry potter, enjoyed a visit from aunt dina, had a little wedding reception.

and we moved to louisville, see this: here.

so you see, things have been much better the last six months. we are together. we live 20 minutes from the temple. we have an amazing apartment on the way and really, everything is figured out, except that little career i would like to begin in funeral service. but i hope that soon you will see a wonderful blog post about that..if a miracle happens..but really, serious blessings are being felt by us both. and i have had a great year learning, growing and being in love with jonas.

bearno's.

i really miss italian food from germany, especially pizza which is also my most beloved food. but we do love this pizza. you should try it!

oh hello blurry version of my face.

our first home.

i loved our first place, landlady mardfeldt and all. we were really lucky to have a fully furnished apartment and no lease, since we had no idea when we would be moving to the states. i wish i could have added a bit more of my style but we really had to keep the amount of stuff we had at a minimum. we were truly lucky though. and i do not know why all the rugs, not my thing.

 

i guess i forgot to take a photo of this room without those duvet covers(Germans sleep with separate comforters. It may be the way to go..). but it did look better without them..and that chair...and those vases..

our first year. part one.

in honor of our upcoming anniversary, i want to add some highlights from the past 12 months. i will start with the first six and then post the second six. so, here it is...

our life together began in a city outide of copenhagen, denmark. we had a very difficult time getting married in germany so we took the matter to another country. we were very blessed to have found a way to bypass all of the complications(not that it still was not a frustrating way to do things). this was august 31st, 2010.

the next day we drove to frankfurt, germany and were sealed together forever. i believe in marriage but i would rather not do it again. it is stressful, awkward and..um.. mainly awkward. photos by anika wittenbecher.

we went on a little canoe trip with the young single adults. in europe, they do not kick you out when you get married. pretty cool. and if you cannot see, this day was full of rain and cold. but this is not out of the ordinary around northern germany. september 2010.

gorgeous country. but you can see that, of course.

when i missed cats, jonas took me to see them.

saturday morning breakfast. our little tradition.

we frequented the library in the city and they had these giant people in front.

 little markets are one of the reasons i love europe. this was october.

st. michaelis kirche. november.special little day trip.

my FAVORITE trees. these were a regular part of our strolls through the city.

 view from our apartment. 

christmas s-bahn with jonas and anika!

schmalzkuchen(a favorite of jonas). it is so much like a funnel cake but easier to eat.

right before christmas i had to go to frankfurt all alone for jonas and his visa. it was very difficult. i had a ride but the car broke down so i had to hitchhike the rest of the way. i did make a friend at an u-bahn station and she went around to the christmas markets with me, so that was good. but i cried at the consulate-i am just so so glad that is over. 

on christmas eve we celebrated with jonas's family but on christmas day we had a little christmas tree and a mexican food dinner. then we saw a movie at the streits-our favorite movie theater,mainly because it is in english. and here are a couple more photos from christmas time:

 almonds. favorite treat that could be purchased at the christmas market.

christmas night we said goodbye to the markets and this little shop that was full of gorgeous ornaments that just wanted you to take them home. 

we took a day trip to a little city next to hamburg, called ahrensburg. the former three photos are from that day. 

 for new year's eve we spent the evening with some friends and raclette.

another favorite snack. 

jonas's little brother was in an amazing and hilarious set of skits. it was an interesting evening!

i will never forget thinking that this lady was two different people and when jonas finally made me realize that this is one woman. but also, i loved this mall.

our first six months were full of cold weather. we had a very particular landlady. i was very disheartened and depressed. but i had my wonderful husband and eventually things were much better. and really, now life seems even more beautiful after all of that. and i am so grateful for jonas, my journal, the gospel and little reminders like this: mormon messages:hope.