Julia

My Story

by Julia | Jun 1, 2012 | About Me

Wow, every night that i snuggle in beside my hubby, i think, am i really married to this guy?! and i’m still so in love with him? and i grin and get all warm fuzzies n give him a tight squeeze just to make sure he is actually there beside me, and also because i want to take advantage of every day we have together. life is short and i don’t want to live with or create regrets. everyday is a gift and it’s been one of our greatest keys in our happy marriage-opening every moment as a beautiful treasure. {honesty & patience are 2 more very important keys!}

Looking back, I smile.

As a young girl I so desperately wanted to get married and depend on my husband to take care of me…I dreamed and prayed for him many a night, even before I knew his name. As I matured into a young lady and in my relationship with God, i really felt Him calling me into ‘something’ – and as it turns out it was something[s]! At this point i was like, no….this whole marriage thing can just wait, i’ve got some things to do and so i think i need to learn how to pave my way a bit…and i always depended on everyone else to get me thru life as my sister just older than me is very capable! maybe start dating at 22 n get married at 23..{i’m not specific at planning am i? just thought it’d be perfect!} [wow] From age 15 to 19 I worked at home with my Mom and we had a daycare in our home, taking care of anywhere from 2 to 11 kids. At age 19 old I went to TN to teach 3rd & 4th grade. absolutely loooved it and wanted to teach again, but the door just seemed to be closed and God led me to go work for my brother that year, rest of 2009, [they had twin babies n i also homeschooled my niece in grade 1]. now it’s 2010 and i’m 21! {meaning: i’m responsible for all my own money-not a big whoop-dee-deal to me!} in January & February i did a 8 wk mission trip to Ukraine, came home for a month and moved to El Salvador for a schoolterm at a deaf school where I served as the dorm mom for the lil girls that attended the school, plus did all the washing and cleaning for the house where all of us staff lived. that year had such a huuuuuge impact on my life, there is NOway i can even begin to describe what all i learned and experienced there. to name a few: living with people as family that are not your family. the language of deaf people. the cultural barrier that is there whether one wants it or not & how to handle it-GO all the way their way as MUCH as you can! Jesus as my true Father, relying on Him instead of people. how the US needs ‘missionaries’ just as badly as any other country. and probably the most important-putting my future ENTIRELY in His Hands and LeTTiNG Go.

Coming back to the US at the end of that year, 2010, I didn’t know where I belonged. i hadn’t really been committed to any church (i resisted being where I was before I left, but during that year in ES i could look back and see God really was directing me for the bigger picture, each place and experience being a stepping stone, and came to a beautiful peace that I was to go back to MO as a ‘holding place’ until God shows me the next step.) My sister got married in the next month. and so it was January 2011. i finally buckled down & bought a car and got a job at a bulk food store, actually really enjoyed the work. but was getting restless……. so..i get a phone call to come teach school in Colorado a few months later, tough one but after much praying i decided to go and was getting all excited about it! dontch’ya know, a couple weeks later….the man i fell in love with way back in 2008 called and asked me out on a date!! I was so excited and of course said YES. we went out on our first official date June 17th, 2011. you can read *our story here*. we got married on May 19th, 2012, and thus begins ‘our life together on this blog’ 🙂 ***blows kisses to all***

Our Wedding Day [part IV ceremony/reception]

by Julia | May 22, 2012 | me & my jewel

We were blessed with a beautiful {hot} day and had our ceremony outdoors. And then {for the sake of my mother’s sanity} we had our reception in the community building-it served quite nicely. I just wanted to include a few of the highlights to give you an idea what took place 🙂 Photo credits go to Gingerich Photography.

we had fun being ‘stuffed’ in here while we waited for the guests to arrive..

meanwhile the bridal party was exiting the motorhome and FINALLY ‘almost ready’ to walk down the aisle 😉 there is ‘something’ about this picture that spells __________? a special time of dedication prayer with our parents..I wanted to do something to symbolize our marriage…but not the ordinary like candles, sand, rings, etc….. so i started searching, and when I came across God’s Knot I just knew this was it! So absolutely perfect for us and how we view our marriage and want to build upon it! we are One!

Now for the reception highlights… [thanks to my friend Judith for snapping this photo, i don’t have any of the building..]

delicious food…amazing help that prepared it…they sang a few requested songs for us..the lively buncheveryone:) some details around our table and the family… the cake! thanks to a friend Freda Yutzy. a few of us all smiles 🙂the crazy-fun we had….. probably my most favorite ‘toast’ was from my miniature groom & his friends {which i also babysat at some point}signing the marriage license..good-byes……..i could hardly believe the day was already over!

Our Wedding Day [part III bridal party]

by Julia | May 21, 2012 | me & my jewel

This is our bridal party. If I may be partial i think we had the best and most fun bridal party ever..they did an awesome job of just being relaxed, going with the flow, laughing and just have a wonderful time together, we have many special memories with each one of them personally and to see them all come together and blend in making us all one big happy family-or so it seemed! I still laugh at some of the jokes and great moments we had while taking pictures and then when we were eating dinner.. 🙂 Plus our photographer, Brad did an AWESOME job of making us feel relaxed and capturing the moments! So without further ado, our lovely peeps: 2012-07-10 Brad's Wedding Photos the guys… the girls… our miniature bride and groom…Amy. She’s Dan’s niece. such a sweet lil cutie-pie! Reece. he’s my baby…..i started babysitting him when he was just a wee baby and he’s always had a bit of my heart! my lil man. Angela & Alayna. my twin nieces and our shy lil flowergirls..

Leah. my matron of honor and my dear sister. When it comes to sisters I really could not ask for a better friend and confident. You have always been there to listen to me (minus the few evenings you drifted off to sleep while I was jabbering), to cheer me on and to show me the way. I always hated when our age let you do something without me because I wanted to do it right along with you, for 1 month we were only 1 number different in age 🙂 I always appreciated you way of handling situations in a level way. Being able to honest in sharing with you is one of the best gifts I was given growing up. Thank-you! xoxo Sara. my bridesmaid and a very dear friend. When I think of you I always smile, you have blessed my life with your sweet spirit and caring ways-everyone should have an angelic friend like you. You have touched my life in so many ways, always being there and keeping in touch-over the wedding was no different, you pitched in and helped in so many ways and were truly a stress-saver! I wish you the absolute best as you continue showering your sweet love upon everyone you meet. loveya. Joyce. my bridesmaid and my brother’s sister plus my friend. 🙂 We proly connected alot because of all of our siblings being friends and i wanted her brother. don’tchya know, at our wedding my brother and her started a budding romance, and were married 5 months later! You have always stood out to me as a very sincere, diligent lady, i appreciate how you stand up for what you believe no matter what others think. You are amazing and i’m blessed to be your double sis. Judith. my bridesmaid and best friend. Girl, we have been through so much together, God put you into my life when i really needed a true Good friend, you were that and so much more! Thanks for being my partner in crime, encouraging me, praying with me, and even questioning things-which made me dig deeper into who and what we really are. one thing you never ever gave up on even when i did, was that Dan loved me and we were gonna get married one day! yer so sweet and i love you! Sandra. my honorary bridesmaid and absolute soulmate. i could write 10 paragraphs or i could simply end with the previous sentence. to go inbetween there may be a tad difficult 🙂 It took us only a few short weeks to discover we were so….. 😉 yep the same! and we absolutely clicked! You blessed my life in a very powerful way, showing a true example of giving it ALL up to God and encouraging me every step of the way. i loved the way we could hash things out and always be there for each other and pick up the other one when needed. And for all the crazy laughs and dreaming we did together-you are simply the BEST girlfriend ever! and i’ll end with our signature *kiss kiss kiss. Lori. my maid of honor and lil sister. You wow me, all of a sudden you grew up into this amazing lady. you are truly an inspiration! I treasure the friendship that we have, it seemed like you were always so far behind-6 years- but suddenly you are dating and gonna get married and we will be housewives together-I am looking forward to what all that will do to our relationship. always keep up the vision and passion to do what is right. loveyou so much!

Owen, brothers and best man.Charlie-brothers 🙂Dale. gonna be brothers 🙂 Tony. what do call guys that are best friends? Caleb. they have had to become friends beings their wives are soulmates and plus they got married 2 weeks apart. i think they get along very well! 🙂Dana. cousins. plus Dana is marrying ‘my sister Lori’Caleb & Sandra, Dana & Lori were considered our honorary Bridal PartyCalebs. ah we just had to take this picture because 2 weeks ago we were in El Salvador and you guys were the bride&groom and we were in your bridal party. we love you so much and are glad you could come!Dana & Lori. cant wait till your wedding 😉Owen & Leah, both of our siblings and they are married and expecting their first lil girl! We were honored to have you as our Best Man and Matron of Honor.dear kaye. you were such a wonderful help and an awesome personal attendant! You did an absolutely amaazing job of making sure everything went well for me and in taking flawless care of the bridal party!! Thank you soomuch!!!!! plus you are a pretty sweet friend too 😉 loveya. and a few other dear shots I just had to take…..my dear, dear oldest sister Carolyn. you were a wonderful wedding coordinator!!! seriously, we are so alike it’s scary sometimes. maybe thats why i love you so much, we just ‘get each other’. keep on shining and come visit me often! hugs!the next 2 are kids that I babysat, truly they are like family to me…so. so. precious. and i love their mommies just exactly like the kids-my life has been so blessed by you’all!

Our Wedding Day [part II family]

by Julia | May 20, 2012 | me & my jewel

The Miller [bride] Family

The Hostetler [groom] Family

Now here are some different family shots from the bride’s family: …with bride’s 8 siblings……Bride with her 4 brothers… …my mother & her 5 daughters… …mom&dad and their 9 children, i ges that means they accept Dan into the family:)

…with my 11 nieces & nephews (minus 1 who was still well hidden inside Leah at the time:)…with my parents… …my Mom&Dad …me&mom <3 {she is the world’s best mother and I am so blessed to be her daughter&friend!

…us with both of our parents..

…us with ALL of our nieces n nephews combined:) maybe someday we’ll have a family that big;) hey! He comes from a family of 13! hehe 🙂

different shots with the groom’s family.. …with his brothers, i realy don’t know WHY I was in this picture?!……groom & his 5 brothers..this is one of the most priceless pictures E.v.e.r. …with his 7 sisters… …us with all of his 12 siblings…can you imagine the fun&fights growing up in this household?! …with his family {immediate+step siblings only} this was only 5 months after Pop had died… we missed you… …with his niece & nephew… …Dan’s mother… …ugh, i love this picture! mother&son…

again, all the credits go to: Gingerich Photography.

Our Wedding Day [Part I “us”]

by Julia | May 19, 2012 | me & my jewel

So even though it looks like I posted this long post with our pictures ON our Wedding Day…I obviously did not!! 🙂 But here’s where it all begins, on May 19th, 2012, our very own Beautiful Wedding Day….and this is where our sweet life together begins, and in wanting a blog to document ‘our life together’ ….I thought what would be more perfect than to make my first blogging post on that special day, as a concrete start.

All photo credits go to Gingerich Photography.

{where it all became history}

the handsome groom…waiting on the bride to arrive… suspense was really getting to him n he says these were his most unliked pictures of the whole day 🙂 poor dear 😉 i think he’s just blowing it away with all his handsomeness going on!

I never liked the idea of everyone seeing the Bride in her attire before the wedding starts..neither did I like the idea of waiting alll morning to see my husband-to-be until I was walking down the aisle, but I wanted it to be a special moment of ‘seeing the dress and each other’….and when I first came across the idea of doing a first look, captured with photos, I KNEW that was what I wanted to do on my wedding day, and Dan was all for it too, so we found the perfect spot for it a few weeks before the wedding… and here’s a peek into a lil of the emotion, excitement, adoration, preciousness and love that was going on for Our First Look. We may have shed a few tears..

And the Bride.. 🙂

and portraits of “us”! 😉 our pure joy simply could not be contained………..

this next picture is our favorite ‘perfect one’..

a special time of prayer for us before the rest of the pictures and the busy day begins…

I just had to include this one…it perfectly captures how well my dear took care of me, carrying my water and flowers, and also what fun we were having!