Its officially official...

I'm now officially Anna Celeste Wilson!!!! I received my social security card in the mail the other day and it proudly says, "Anna Celeste Wilson".

Portland...

One of my most favorite things about our apartment is the view from our back patio at night. We live right across the highway from The Clackamas Towncenter. At night you can see all the lights of the stores and its just beautiful. And some evenings you can see an amazing sunset. It was difficult to take a picture of the lights but I tried.


Also, this past Sunday we woke up to snow flurries outside! The ground was covered all in white and it was so beautiful. I have never lived somewhere that the snow actually sticks on the ground. It does not snow often in Portland so this was quite the treat. However, by four o'clock in the afternoon it had all melted.

Multnomah Falls

Last Saturday we made a trip to Multnomah Falls. The drive only took about thirty minutes but it was super windy. There is a picture of the Columbia River and it looked like the ocean with white caps. But the wind did make the sky very clear and we could see Mt. Hood so good on our way there. I can't believe we live this close to all these beautiful sights. Andrew and I kept saying that God's creation is something we could not fathom. We finally made it to the falls and of course it was gorgeous but it was so cold! We took a picnic lunch that we planned on eating at some tables by the falls but with the high winds and the freezing temperatures, we ended up eating it in our car. The trip was short but it was fun to get out a bit. We hope to make many more little, free trips like this one.

The Apartment...the beginning!

Andrew carrying me across the threshold

We are living in a beautiful apartment complex called “Townhomes with a View”. They are not all townhomes and I am not sure if there is really a view, but it is a great place and perfect for us.
We unloaded all the boxes so that mom and I could start organizing the kitchen while boys handled the heavy stuff.

Organizing the kitchen

The living room from the entry way

After we unloaded our cars and the trailer it was off to dinner and then to Target to get a few
essentials for the night like pillows and ice cream!!

Look at all the pillows!!

As we were unloading we noticed that the trailer was leaking a bit and got our mattresses wet. So the first night we made a bed on the floor. Not quite how one would like to spend you first night in your new apartment but what are you going to do? We were just glad we had a roof over our heads.
The next day it was off to IKEA to get some bookshelves and look for a new couch. This was Andrew's first experience to IKEA and he was very excited. I still can't believe we are only minutes from an IKEA...I know you are all jealous!
For our first visit we purchased a bookshelf and some rugs. We have made many more visits since then to buy a couch and a dresser. So we now have a couch, which we thought made into a bed but it does not, but you could still sleep on it. It works for us for now and is not too big so it fits into an apartment very nicely. Andrew has been busy putting things together or building them as he likes to say! Thank goodness for his "Tool-time Party" he has been able to use all his fun tools. I did not know I was marrying such a handy man. He has built three bookshelves, a couch, a computer desk, and a dresser. Of course he got a little help from his wife and his good friend Shawn. We are pretty much done with putting things together.

His first project

Finished product...Good Job Drew!

We are still trying to organize everything and find the perfect place for it all. I have starting putting a few pictures on the walls and will continue to do so next week. It makes the apartment look more like ours when you start adding pictures to the walls. We love where we live. It is very central to the places we need to go. We are still learning where everything is but that's half the fun. We are so blessed to have such a nice place and beautiful things to put in it. God is so good and faithful! All glory to Him!!

Packing and the Move!

We have finally arrived in Portland, Oregon! Sorry that I have not been able to update the blog lately but we have been pretty busy since my last entry. Since then, we spent a week in Fresno tying up loose ends before we left for Portland. We were hoping to spend time with our families and friends but it seemed that every day we had something to do. Its one thing to move cities but it’s another thing to get married and move. I had to get my name changed on the important documents and then we had to close out banks, open wedding gifts, return wedding gifts, and don’t forget pack everything we own to move. It was a busy week in Fresno after we got home from our honeymoon. We wished we had more time to see people. We look back now and wish we had one more week to spend time with everyone.
On Friday January 2nd, my dad picked up a 6’x10’ U-Haul trailer and the packing started. Saturday morning we were up early and with the help of my parents we got the entire trailer packed with almost everything we needed to take. We even packed the back of my dad’s truck and we packed my car to the brim. After getting everything in my car we realized that we forgot to pack my T.V. but we had no more room whatsoever. We were so packed in my car that you could not see out the back and I had a box at my feet and I held a duffel bag on my lap! It was good times!! Andrew and I left Sunday after church and my parents decided to leave earlier since they were pulling a trailer. We decided to make it a two-part trip and drove to Medford, Oregon the first day. Andrew and I got to Medford around 9:00pm and my parents got there just about an hour before us. The next morning Andrew and I left a little earlier so that we could get to Salem, Oregon and spend some time with Andrew’s family. My parents got to Salem and we headed towards Clackamas and our new home!

Packing up all my stuff in the U-Hual

Andrew and my dad packing the U-Haul

My car completely full!

The Honeymoon!

Here just a few pictures from our honeymoon. We had a great time! Hawaii was awesome. Neither one of us had been before so it was fun exploring it together. We really just wanted to rest and catch our breath. We both had been working so hard with school and wedding stuff up to the day of the wedding. We didn't do a whole lot on the trip (which was hard for me because I like to go and go) but it was very refreshing to just go at a slow pace. We knew that as soon as we got back to the mainland, we would be going one hundred miles an hour again. Andrew promised me we will go back so I was okay with not doing a whole bunch. However, every day we tried to do one tourist thing. We visited the Pearl Harbor, drove around the entire island, went snorkeling and attended a luau. But of course every honeymoon would not be complete without some little mishaps...we almost missed our plane for Hawaii, Andrew got a sinus infection, I had an allergic reaction to my tanning oil (my body isn't used to trying to get tan in December!), and our last night there we spend 13 hours without power. That's right...no power! The entire island was without power on our last night there. It was quite disappointing because it was right in the middle of our luau that the power went out and it messed up our plans to go pairasailing the next day. But despite all the mishaps we had a wonderful time! We loved just spending time together. It had been quite a while since we actually saw each other for more than three days. We love being married! We have to remind ourselves every now and then that we are in fact married! It's amazing...I would highly recommend it to anyone!!

Here's some pictures...

The Wedding Day!!

The day finally arrived!! December 20th was finally here. We never thought this day would come but it did and we were so ready to get married. The day was beautiful. God blessed us with sunshine and thus we decided to have the ceremony outside. There was a slight breeze and so it was still a bit chilly. And once the sun went down it got really cold. My poor bridesmaids were wearing summer dresses (what were we thinking??). During the ceremony they put on jackets to keep them from freezing. But once we got into the ceremony it was nice a toasty. It was a perfect day. Our only incident (and there are always incidences at wedding) was that we could not find the programs and guest book. But alas they showed up and people were able to sign the book. But we figured if that was the only problem, then we had a pretty good day. We had so much fun during the ceremony and the reception. We felt so blessed by all that were there to share our special day with us. We hope and pray that they were as blessed as we were. God is so amazing and we are so grateful for all the He has done for us. We loved every minute of our wedding day and can't believe that its over. The whole day was a blur and we so quickly. I put together a slideshow of pictures from the day. I just want to thank a few people. First of all, our parents, they are amazing!! They helped so much with all the planning and everything. We are grateful to have two great examples of wonderful marriages. Second, my sister Amy DeGraw for being my maidtron of honor and taking great care of me and also for making everything look so beautiful. She did all the flowers and the decorating...she is so talented. I love you Amy and will forever be grateful for all your help. Third, Miriam Ellison, she decorated our cake and did a wonderful job for her first time. Thanks Mir!! And finally, my aunt Paula and uncle John for allowing us to have our wedding at Wolf Lakes in December. It was awesome and we are so appreciative for all that you did for us. And THANK YOU to all who came and endured the cold. You will never know how much it meant to us to have you there. So we are officially Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Wilson (I can prove it...we have our marriage license). We could not have asked for a more perfect wedding. Hope you enjoy the photos!!