This picture would have been so much better if the waitress hadn't made it blurry :(

 Compliments of the chef....and I actually only ate one small bite of it which is shocking since I love dessert!

In front of the Christmas tree at Old Hickory

FIRST ANNIVERSARY

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary on December 4th with a nice, cozy dinner at home since it was a Sunday night and Nathan had a lot of big school projects due over the next few days.    We postponed going out to celebrate until Friday night and decided to go back to Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan.    This was the place where we went on our last date night before the wedding and the Gaylord is where most of our wedding guests stayed....so it holds special meaning for us.    Plus, we LOVE all of the Christmas decorations there!    We had both been looking forward to the dinner all week but of course, this morning, I started having some stomach issues that have been off and on all week for me.    In order to even go to dinner, I literally had to take an anxiety pill, two Immodium, an antispasmodic pill, and a nausea pill.    Ridiculous, isn't it?    I know that unless you have IBS yourself, you can't ever really understand how absolutely horrible it is but trust me when I tell you, it sucks.    I didn't even get to enjoy a nice steak....I had to order scallops.   They were delicious but still, I love steak.   :(   We had a great time despite the events of the day and I'm so thankful for an understanding and patient husband.

Nathan and I have had such a blessed marriage over the past year and we feel it is only going to get better.    Yes, we have had to deal with some health issues on my end and despite pain, inconvenience, and nausea, it could be a LOT worse.    I really try very hard to be thankful each day that I don't have it as bad as I could....I mean, there are people dealing with cancer, with very ill loved ones, with Alzheimer's, with MS, etc so I really have a lot to be thankful for.    I would just love to be able to live a more normal life especially for Nathan's sake....I hate that we can't be spontaneous on account of my stomach issues.   I hate that we have had to cancel plans with friends because I don't feel well.   I hate that he has to eat at home a lot because I can't always go out to dinner.   But not one time has he ever complained.   He is just amazing and I really do thank God for him.    I try to tell Nathan often that I am so lucky to have him but I know that he will never be able to truly know the feeling I have.    Despite some of the bad things that have happened over the year, we have had a really great 2011!   We bought our first house together that we absolutely love and we can't wait to grow into this house as a family someday.   It's pretty cool to think about.   We bought our first car together and even though this wasn't in the plan, to see how happy he has been with his new truck makes it so worth it.   We have a lot of exciting things to look forward to and we hope that 2012 will bring us even more happiness!    Thank you to everyone who has loved us and supported us through our first year of marriage....here's to many more!