The new household item

*drum roll*

My amazing husband bought us a new couch! *grins excitedly* When we first got married a friend of ours gave us her little couch cause she was moving. So we had a cute little loveseat for these past 4 months. But that little thing had seen a lot in it's day and it was loosing stuffing. It served us well until we saved up some money to purchase this brand new baby! :D *whispers* It's actually a futon but we don't have the heart to tell it since it thinks it's a couch. *stops whispering* ;)

Isn't it pretty? And isn't my man such a sweety? *smiles* Thank you, honey!!!! I love you!! *blows a kiss*

Well that's it from me right now. I know you're thinking, "Wow! Her first-ever really really short post! *laughs* I've got things to do, places to go, and people to see. So... TTFN! :)

~Melinda

My amazingly gorgeous man *love*

Last Saturday Justin and I had nothing to do so we decided to go for a walk around our neighborhood together. It's the first time the weather has been nice enough to walk around outside, at least while Justin is home. It was such a fabulous feeling to hold his hand while walking and talking all about our life together.

Brown shoes and jeans/denim skirt. We didn't even plan on matching.

Walking down the road in the neighborhood.

We stopped by the Tremont Park and got a couple pictures together. Here we are... I don't even know how to describe the faces we're making. *laughs*

*love*

Okay... so you cannot go to the park and not use the swings. *innocent smile* Here Justin and I were having competitions to jump the highest and farthest. I can't post my pictures cause *cough* well.... yeah. *grin* But here he is doing something that sorta looks like the spider-man pose.

You cannot live with this gorgeous face and not make him get a photo-shoot at least once a week. *nods* So here are some pictures of my absolutely-stunningly-handsomely-GORGEOUS husband whom I love very much.

This one is my personal favorite cause that's a real smile he's got. He was laughing saying that he hates getting his picture taken and that he's not photogenic. HA! I know better. ;D

Is that a hint of mischief I see?

I love the far-away look he has in his eyes.

If I were to say it quite simply and in a nutshell I would say: I love him and cannot live without him. *nods*

And that's it for now! I don't care what we do, I enjoy every second of spending time with the love of my life.

Until next time!
~Melinda

Valentines Day 2012

With it being our first-ever Valentines Day together you'd think the pressure would be on to make it super special. But think again! We had a very relaxed evening once Justin got home. With that said though, my husband certainly made sure it was a lovely day for us both.

He bought me some Fannie May chocolate! I don't think I've ever had these delicious little pieces of goodness. But now I am addicted... they are just that good.

He also handmade this picture frame and "letter holder". He says he still needs to stain them and sand them a little more. But I think they look great already, I cannot wait to see once he's all the way done. :) In the "letter holder" he had a beautifully written love-letter for me. I read it with tears in my eyes... *happy sigh* Such a sweet guy!

While Justin was at work he had no idea that I had all these decorations for the house. Once he was out the door I started to busily decorate.

You can never have enough hearts around the house on Valentines Day. *nods*

I love streamers! They are so simple to put up and yet they make the place look so different and festive.

The table!

What the kitchen looked like once I was done.

The card I gave to my Man.

I had a whole day to plan out a "treasure hunt" for him once he got home. Here he is reading one of the many clues I made for the game. :) It was so fun to watch him try to figure out the riddles I had on each clue.

This was his prize in the end. I made tons of these little sugar cookies with homemade pink icing. He said they tasted good so *shrugs* I guess it was a hit.

Dinner consisted of Rib-eye steaks, mashed potatos, a salad, and cookies with Fannie May chocolate for dessert.

What would Valentines Day be without a candlelit dinner?

Thus ends your peek into our first-ever Valentines Day together. I am very much looking forward to next years! Justin is certainly a very romantic guy and God blessed me richly when He gave Justin to me forever and always. *love*

Oh and yesterday, aside from spending a lovely day out with my sister-in-laws, Justin and I celebrated our 4 month anniversary. I cannot believe it's already been 4 months since I marries this man! But on the other hand it feels like we've been married sooo much longer than that. *smiles* We grow more and more in love with each other every day. I cannot wait to see what we look like in 4 more months, or years! :D

I hope everyone has had a lovely week and I'll be back later with more from the New Young Ryken Family.

Adios!
~Melinda

Happy New Year! A month late....

Yep, life has been busy. Or at least that's the best excuse for not finding the time to write on here. *adjusts halo* So where to start? Hm... Christmas with our new family was absolutely wonderful. We were able to spend all of Christmas Eve with our Ryken/Fennema side of the family. It was such a lovely time opening presents, eating Chinese food, and celebrating together. I will say it was very nice to get "couple" gifts with Justin this year. I see it as us becoming a family even more when we get a gift that is for the both of us. We also were blessed to get some stuff just for each of us though too. Which is good because Settlers of Catan wasn't on my Christmas list. ;)
Christmas morning we woke up bright and early just so Justin and I could do a few smaller gifts with each other. It was really a wonderful time. *smiles* Then we headed to church to worship the Lord as it was His day. After the fabulous service we headed over to our Sanford side of the family to spend Christmas day with them. Again, we had a lovely time exchanging gifts and celebrating together. Not to mention all the good food that Mom and the girls prepared for everyone. It was a relaxed PJ's type day which is always the best. :) Once the days festivities were over we headed home to open a few more gifts that were just for each other. It was the best Christmas Season I have ever had and I am very much looking forward to this years. :)

Here we are on Christmas day.

Since December we have had a pretty busy schedule with our first New Years party together, going to a wedding, going out on dates, ice skating, me going up to Chicago with my Mom and sisters (Ryken side) for a ladies retreat sorta thing, (which was absolutely a wonderful time and deserves a blog post of it's own) and going places as just the two of us. Now that it is February life has slowed down a little bit. But we still have almost every weekend full with something to do even though it's only the 2nd! I couldn't be happier though. :)

The weather has been crazy this year! It's been in the upper 50's almost all week and it's February! Now don't get me wrong, I am LOVING this weather. It's just sort of odd. But none the less, I have been taking every possibility to go outside and enjoy the warm weather. It has truly been delightful! The only thing I'm missing when I take long walks around the neighborhood, is my husband. But I see it as time to just talk with the Lord about whatever pops into my head. And that is what makes it wonderful. :)

This was taken yesterday. Ahhhh sunshine. *happiness*

Another picture of the beautiful sunshine. This was taken yesterday as well from our front yard.

And that's about it as far as our life goes. 2011 has been the best year for Justin and I so we cannot wait to see what this new year of 2012 has in store for us. All I know is that whatever it is, I feel like I can take on anything with Justin holding my hand. *love*

Here's us wishing you a fabulous New Year! May God bless you and keep you!

Until next time,
Adios!