Holidays

Another holiday season is among us and I feel the crunch of the economy more now than ever. The country is a scary place right now and I am taking a moment to appreciate the great things in my life that I have.
1. I have the best husband in the world. I wake up every morning (sometimes when he goes to work WAY too early) feeling blessed that I have him in my life. He treats me like I am the most beautiful woman in the world, something that all women know just doesn't feel so true some days. I know he would do anything for me and I thank my lucky stars every day that I have the chance to share my life with him. How did I get so lucky?

2. I have a WONDERFUL family. I have two of the best parents in the world. I was blessed with an amazing childhood growing up with 2 sisters and a brother (poor guy). They have given the family (or will be in a few weeks) 7 beautiful children, each very happy and healthy.

3. I have a job...something I need to appreciate more than ever right now. It might not be the ideal job for me and the commute might be daunting, but I am lucky to have a job to go to.
4. I have a house that is heated. Although filling the oil tank will seem like we are going broke, we appreciate the fact that we can. I can't imagine struggling to pay for heat, something we try not to take for granted.
5. I have health. Although I have been nothing short of ridiculous with my physical fitness this past year, I am blessed to be healthy. I know many are not and I will make it my goal to support myself more with my health so I can live a long life with the wonderful people around me.
6. I have AMAZING friends. We are both very lucky to have friends that would bend over backwards for each other. Although many of my close friends are not close by, they are always in my heart. I know in times of trouble I could call any of them and they would drop anything to be there for me. We both appreciate the gift of friendship that surrounds us.

As I get caught up in the holiday craziness, I am going to try and remember these wonderful things I have in my life. I know many are much less fortunate than we are and this time of year always reminds me of those that struggle each day. I thank God for my life and everything in it and hope someday to share our lives with a child...or two. NO, whomever reads this line thinking we are expecting, we are not...sorry if anyone got excited by that! Someday soon though, our time will come.

Winter is coming

I can't believe the fall is over already. Halloween has come and gone. We didn't dress up as anything, so no fun pictures to show, but we sure saw a lot of cute kids! Our friends and family have the cutest kids! I realized today that without kids, our blog seems pretty boring. I guess we are waiting for more exciting times in life to blog about. Right now, we are pretty boring people I think. After an exciting year of building a house and planning a wedding, we are enjoying our time together and waiting for the next exciting adventure to come into our lives! I am thinking we need to go on a trip somewhere this year...maybe somewhere warm!

About Keith

I grew up in Saco Maine and graduated from Thornton Academy in 1994. From an early age, sports was always a strong influence in my life. I played football, basketball, and baseball at Thornton. Baseball led me to the University of Maine on a scholarship where I met many amazing people that I still call my great friends. After 4 years at Maine, I started working at JJ Nissan Baking Company, where I have been for the past 11 years. Things that I enjoy today are spending time with friends and family and golfing. I am a very simple person and wish my wife would have written this section for me as I have run out of things to say.

About Megan

I grew up in Farmington ME where I attended Mt. Blue High School. I played soccer, basketball, and attempted to play softball but that was more for something to do as I wasn't very good. I graduated in 1999 and went on to pursue my career goal of becomming a teacher at the University of Maine at Farmington. I played soccer and basketball for UMF and it was here that I learned of my love for health. I majored in Community Health Education but kept my options open by also completing the School Health Education concentration so I could teach/coach one day. After a successful college career and an All American award in soccer, I graduated in 2003. I realized after my final semester in college that teaching was not really what I thought it would be, so I decided to pursue the field of public health more. I hung around town for a semester to earn money and ventured off in the Spring of 2004 to West Chester University in Pennsylvania. I had a full time graduate assistant position that paid my tuition and I lived on campus with 4 inner city Philadelphia undergrad students! That was interesting and a daunting task at times, but I learned a lot about myself and managed to make it. I graduated with a Master's Degree in Public Health in 2005 and came back to Maine to live and work. I taught community health education back at UMF for one year while I lived in Portland on the weekends and spent time with Keith. After UMF, I took a job with the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program, which is part of the Maine Center For Disease Control and Prevention. That brings me to where I am today. I have fulfilled the pre-requisites for nursing school and hope to get accepted into USM's accelerated bachelor of science in nursing degree, which begins this coming May. If I do, I will be done and hopefully will be an RN August 2010. I should also mention that I have 7 beautiful nieces/nephews and one more on the way in December! I have been blessed with so much over the years and can't wait to see what the future holds for our family!

Our Story

One beautiful day in June back in 2005 the Croteau story began. I was out to eat with a good friend and my sister at the Great Lost Bear. My friend asked if her friend Keith could join us. I didn't care, but at the time, had just gotten out of a long relationship and was not interested in thinking about hanging out with guys. After our beers came and we were chatting on the deck, out walks the most stunning human being I have ever laid eyes on...and he was approaching our table! Get out...I thought, this friend Keith was georgous! I couldn't get my eyes off of him. I think I even started stuttering (I know, it sounds like a movie). The next day I forced my friend to give him my number and we hung out for her birthday party at the Comedy Connection. The rest is history. I knew I had met my perfect match. We talked all night and have been inseperable from that day on. I could not have asked for a more perfect person to complete my life.
We got engaged on November 22, 2006 at our apartment in Portland. I came home from work to find jazz music softly playing in the background and a candlelight dinner. This is not anything out of the ordinary though, coming from my love. I didn't suspect a thing and proceeded to eat enough for 3 people, I was starving. He ran into the other room after I had gone back for a 3rd helping and came out only to kneel next to me to propose. He had tears in his eyes and it was one of the best moments of my life. Of course I said yes!
We built a house in Westbrook the following few months and closed on May 25, 2007. It is a little 4 bedroom cape and is everything we wanted in our first house with plenty of room for us in a great neighborhood.
Our wedding was on May 25, 2008 at Sunday River in Bethel. It was a GEORGOUS day with a stunning beautiful blue sky and the temperature ranging in the 70s. I could not have asked for a more perfect day. I wasn't nervous at all, knowing that I would marry my best friend. I was actually EARLY to my own wedding...so we had to drive around to kill time since that is strictly forbidden. After a perfect ceremony, we celebrated in style at the Grand Summit. We danced and drank the night away and I will keep this unforgettable day in my memory forever. Keith was so handsome and continues to inspire me with his love and support.
We honeymooned in the Mayan Rivera in Mexico and had a blast! A tropical storm rolled through the last 3 days, but we managed to drink enough mojitos to turn into a mint leaf. We came home and have begun our life together as husband and wife. No kiddies yet, but sometime in the near future I am sure we will bless this world with a little Croteau!