So Bored

The gym is closed this week. The only things happening are team practices Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and open gyms from 1-3pm Mon-Wed. So tell me again why I'm working today (Monday) from 10am-4pm?

Don't get me wrong, I can definitely use the hours, as finances are tight. But, for some reason I don't think my boss would be jumping with joy knowing he's paying me to sit and sip from my V8 Fusion while blogging and surfing the internet. . .oh, and of course sending home the poor souls who forgot we were closed this week, and answering the occasional phone call, usually asking if we are open.

I keep thinking of all the things I need to get done, like exchanging gifts, picking up a prescription, going grocery shopping so we can eat, and cleaning my house before the in-laws come over today. Yep I'd much rather be doing those things. . .but for now I'll stop whining and just be grateful I'm getting paid to blog! :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Twas the Morning of Christmas. . .

I can't believe we celebrated our THIRD Christmas together! Our Christmas consisted of waking up at 9am (the wonderful things you get to do on Christmas morning before you have children), opening presents together, and spending time with Jeremy's family. My brother and sister-in-law got a new dance party game for their Wii and we spent a lot of Christmas evening getting our groove on! :) My favorite dances were the Russian and African dance! I'm embarrassed to report I'm quite sore today. . .yes I'm pathetic! Overall, it was a great Christmas! I'm horrible at remembering to take pictures but here are a few from Christmas morning.

Don't really know why it looks like our tree is leaning, but this is our tree before we opened all our presents!

Jeremy was obviously super excited to be the stocking model. :)

Me and my stocking. Total side note, but can you tell what side I slept on? Right side of my hair still curly, left side straight!

Jeremy with his favorite present. He's been playing for hours!

My mom got me a snuggie so I can be warm while doing my homework, and Jeremy got me a BSU hat!

This was actually Christmas Eve. One of my co-workers at the gym bought me these footie pj's for Christmas! THEY ARE AWESOME!!! Totally makes me feel like a kid again, not to mention they are super warm. I'm a little excited if you can't tell.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I'll leave you all with a wonderful Christmas song I came across last week! I love it!

Merry Christmas!

A Real Christmas Story

Christmas is only 2 weeks away! This is one of my favorite times of year. . . yet, for some reason I have been less than excited this year. Maybe it's because I got a late start on decorating due to school? Maybe it's because I tried to put up our Christmas tree this morning and ended up with a bloody hand and our tree lying on the floor in 3 separate heaps? Maybe it's because we are on a VERY strict budget, meaning Christmas will be very small? Maybe it's because I haven't been with my family for the past 4 Christmases (is that how you pluralize Christmas?) and secretly I'm feeling enormously homesick? There are probably MANY things I could attribute it to, but what it all comes down to is I need to change my moodiness and enjoy this special season. (yes easier said than done)

There are so many things to love about Christmas!

The beautiful lights and trees! The holiday parties!

Spending time with friends and family!

Singing Christmas carols and going caroling!

Sipping hot chocolate or cider!

Time off from school!

A time of mass service and good-doing!

And of course a time to give thanks for the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Christ!

In trying to humble myself and get into the holiday spirit I started thinking about amazing Christmas stories that have happened in my life. The one I always come back to is the story of my gameboy! (I loved that thing)

I don't recall how old I was, but I do remember just how badly I wanted a gameboy for Christmas. I asked Santa and secretly hoped I had been a good enough girl throughout the year to deserve such a special present. To my surprise and elation on Christmas morning I unwrapped many presents, one of which was my gameboy!!!! I couldn't have been more excited! Of course Santa was real, he had heard my request, and had brought me my gameboy. I knew that my parents struggled financially and that they could have never afforded to buy all the fun things me and my 3 siblings at the time had received! I played that gameboy non-stop for years, and hold many fond memories of my little brother laying on the back of the couch looking over my shoulder trying to watch me play. When I would annoyingly tell him to go away he would sweetly respond, "Boys just have to look." :) It wasn't until I was much older that I learned the true story behind the gameboy Christmas. . .

Desperate to make me happy on Christmas my mom began sewing little dolls that she would be able to sell at a local craft store to make extra money for presents. She made dozens of dolls. (I'm not sure exactly what they looked like because honestly I don't recall her even making them in front of us) She found a craft store that would sell them and began making some extra money. My amazing mother sacrificed a lot of time and energy so that her children, and me especially, could be happy on Christmas! When I start getting sad during the holidays I just have to remember this story and the love of my mother and it puts a smile on my face and gratitude in my heart.
If my mother loves me that much I can't even comprehend the love of my Heavenly Father, who allowed His only begotton Son to suffer and die for me. When I start reflecting on the true reason for the season, the cuts on my hand, the lack of money, the homesickness all become trivial. I'm grateful for a time to reflect on what is really important in life and on my Savior and all the GREAT sacrifices he has made for me!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Still Alive

Some may be wondering if I'm still alive. It has been months since I have last posted anything. . . and I seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth to everyone around me. Well to say the least life got a little crazy working almost full-time, doing a 16 hr/week social work internship, and going to grad school full-time! But as of last Friday (yes it took me 4 days to come out of my psychotic stressed out stage) I FINISHED! I submitted my last paper and feel as free as a bird. . .
. . . at least for the next six weeks until it all starts over again. (try not to think about it, try not to think about it)

So I guess I have a lot of catching up to do. To start off the semester Jeremy and I made our way to the bookstore to buy our dreaded textbooks. $1,200 later. . .

. . . the torture we submit ourselves to, in order to be educated! GEESH!

Also with the start of the semester came the birth of my adorable new niece Zoe Lou Haymond.We instantly fell in love. . .Oh I can't wait for one of my own (big sigh). . . someday. . .

Because she's so adorable we just couldn't stay away! Three months later we went back out to Utah for Zoe's baby blessing. She has gotten so big! And her hair is even bigger!. . . what can I say? She's already a Utah girl! :) My little sister Jessica doesn't normally dress her baby up like a monkey but Zoe was blessed on Halloween day and the day before all my nieces and nephews dressed up for a trunk or treat.Jeremy and I also celebrated our two year anniversary on November 28th! Jeremy took me out to PF Chang's where he proposed about two and a half years ago and we had a wonderful dinner and a relaxing night together. Goodness I just love this man. . .

. . .but since my last post was all about how much I love him I'll spare you and get onto the more exciting details. . .my present!! Jeremy surprised me with these beautiful Citrine (the November birthstone) and diamond earrings to always remind me of the month we got married!

He also got me a pair of soft fuzzy beige gloves because my favorite pair of gloves were rudely stolen from my jacket pocket in the madness of Walmart at midnight on black friday. (need I say more?) I will never go to Walmart on black friday again. . .I was so disturbed I left in tears! Okay change the subject before I relive the traumatic night again.

I also got a new calling in church. (They always seem to come when life is the craziest) I was called as the Young Women's secretary. While I was pretty intimidated at first I absolultely love working with the girls and love even more that I'm given the opportunity to teach about twice a month. It seems for now that I'm just destined to work with teenage girls as I'm now in young women's and I also intern at a high school for pregnant and parenting teenage girls. I definately learn a lot from all the girls I get to work with and they help remind me of the most important things. . .

Other than those awesome events life has been good. Jeremy is finishing up his finals this week and is getting more and more excited everyday to apply to dental school. (we get to apply in June) We are learning more and more the joys of living on a tight budget, but are so grateful to be getting our educations together. There are definitely things I would love to add to our lives but for now all is well. And now I can turn my attention to Christmas! One of my favorite times of year! Speaking of Christmas, I'm off to put together our Christmas tree!

Grateful... Honored!!

Kimberly shouldn't be the only one that gets to have fun on here.

Words cannot express adequately the way I feel about this girl. She is Perfect!! She is my match in every way. I was so nervous to ask her to marry me, but I knew that if I didn't ask her that I would regret it the rest of my life because I knew in my heart that she is the only one for me.

She is the rock in our relationship, not the other way around. There is only one reason why I can do everything that I do and that is Kimberly. She is the love of my life!! Sometimes I am so overwhelmed that I can't hardly stand it, but she keeps me going. She reminds me that I just have to keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise again... Everything will be fine.

James Barrie, a Scottish Poet, wrote "God gave us memories so that we might have June roses in the December of our lives." I would just say that God gives us June roses all throughout our lives. Kimber is my June rose. I'm so glad that I found her.

I'm so in love with Kimber that I have trouble falling asleep at night. Reality has become better than my dreams. And to answer her last statement... I will always feel this way about her. I fall deeper in love with her everyday that we have together. To the world she may be just one person, but to me she is the world.

As the title of our blog states, I only hope that she may grow old with me because I truly believe that the best is yet to come.

So Grateful!

No it's not our anniversary yet, although we will be coming up on two years soon...CRAZY! But, lately I've been thinking a lot about how lucky I am to be married to THIS man. At work this last week I found out that a woman I work very closely with was taking some time off to, well for lack of better words, divorce her husband who without her knowing had been living with his girlfriend for quite some time (he works in another state and comes to visit regularly). Another woman I work with and ADORE was also talking to me a little bit more this last week about her painful marriage and divorce a year ago. As I was listening to these stories it really made me realize how lucky I am. I'm married to my BEST friend! We love and support and respect one another. Things may not always be fudge sundaes in our lives, we definately have our fair share of disagreements, and granted we do get WAY too competitive while playing games together, I would never intentionally hurt him, nor he I.

I heard a really sad statistic/joke last night, I think it was on Jay Leno. He said, "It's now a fact that 50% of marriages will end in divorce." Then came the punch line, "So they are saying it will either be you or your wife/husband." Yes, I'll admit I let out a little chuckle, but....HOW SAD!

I'm so grateful for the Gospel in our lives to help us understand just how important and sacred marriage is, and to help us see the bigger picture than just the day to day routines or bickerings.

I'm excited to spend eternity with Jeremy! Here are just a few reasons why I adore this man so much. . .

1) Let's face it. . . HE adores ME!

-examples: too numerous to mention! :)

2) He works SO hard to support us and wants to make my life as comfortable as possible

-example: Taking 18 credits while working 60+ hour weeks. (And still getting A's)

Going to school YEAR ROUND, never taking a break so that we can get into and out of dental school faster.

3) He gives me wings to fly and supports my dreams!

-example: Has never said one negative word about me going back to school to get my masters degree even though it will create some extreme financial hardships, but instead has encouraged me to do because he knew it was important to me.

4) He is FAITHFUL and STEADFAST in the Gospel and HONORS his priesthood.

-example: I was blessed to see first hand his diligence in his missionary work. We share a calling teaching the 16-17 year old Sunday school and LOVE hearing him share his testimony and teach the youth. Never makes excuses, just keeps the commandments!

I don't know what I did to deserve Jeremy but I'm so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man, and hope he will forever feel the same way about me!

California Dreamin'

Yes our vacation to visit my family in Cali was over two months ago but lately I guess you can say I've been California dreamin'...and I finally stole Jeremy's phone to get the pictures from our trip. At the end of May we went on a road trip back to Sacramento because my little brother, Kevin, got married. (SUPER crazy that he's married now!) We spent a week there and had a blast with my family. Jeremy got to do a lot of really fun things with the guys too! These were among the fun "guy-bonding" activities:

Jeremy and my dad didn't waste much time before hitting the driving range. I got to go along and it was pretty fun (and funny) watching them try to hit specific targets! I love this picture I snapped of them swinging with all their might!

Jeremy also took his first ride on a motorcycle! He LOVED it and has been begging me for a motorcycle since we've returned home. My dad also took him and my youngest brother Matty out to go dirt bike riding. When Jeremy came home from the riding trip looking ashamed and sad I expected the worst. I thought, "Oh no, there was a big accident or something, someone was injured." But then he explained he had dropped my dad's bike and broke the clutch off. I just laughed since both of my brothers and my dad have all done the same thing and it's really not a big deal. But nevertheless, he felt really bad! Poor thing!

Anytime we spend time with my dad the fact that we are going to play Guitar Hero with his surround sound turned up as high as it goes is just a given. Here's my brother Kevin, Jeremy and my Dad all rockin' out. LOVE Jeremy's face. . . he was really into it!

My brother Kevin works at an extreme go-kart racing track and so we decided to let all the boys race, while us girls sat around and watched and chatted. Kevin knows the course like the back of his hand so he of course lapped the other two quite a few times. Jeremy did a good job even if he did come in third.

I don't mind having a cautious husband! :) The guys gave him a hard time though and nicknamed him pace-car.

Here's us girls "watching" the race! Can you tell we're related? :)

While we were in California a dream of mine came true! Jeremy had surprised me about a month before with Wicked tickets and I was SO excited and anxious to see it in San Francisco while we were there. Well it surpassed all expectations! IT WAS AMAZING!!!! By far one of my favorite parts of the trip (other than spending time with my family). Jeremy loved it too which was a relief because on the way home from our trip I wasn't the only one singing at the top of my lungs to the soundtrack! Here's us in San Francisco, we looked a little odd walking around in the heat by the coast in nice clothes but oh well.

The Orpheum theater is quite deceiving! Looks a little shabby from the outside, but BEAUTIFUL inside.

The BIG reason we went to California was for my little brothers wedding! They got married in Elk Grove Park, on Strauss Island, and had a little reception BBQ afterwards. It turned out really cute and laid back. Here are a few pictures that we captured.

This was most everyone's first time seeing very pregnant Jess! So cute!

My cute little mother deciding to get comfy for wedding clean up. At least she still matched! Her blue stripped Addidas matched her dress perfectly!

This picture doesn't do it justice but it was a beautiful spring day in the park and everything was super GREEN!

Since the wedding was in the morning/early afternoon we got home after and everyone changed. I was ready to go do something else fun but a few minutes after coming home this is what I found in the front room. . . SOOOO cute! Just a wee bit exhausted from all the wedding day activities and preparations. :)

My parents had every right to be exhausted. It was a VERY busy week! Besides a wedding it was also Jeremy's birthday and Jessica's baby shower! (Side note: I've taken so long to finally blog about the trip that Jessica is due to have little Zoe any day now)

This is a little tutu I made for my soon-to-be niece! Although it does look pretty cool as an extreme headband. Everyone thought it was adorable! It's nice to be able to make things for people.

Lastly, Jeremy turned the BIG 23 while we were in Cali! We had a BBQ with some family to celebrate and ate ALL chocolate ice cream cake! YUUUUUMMMMY!

Basically I ADORE my family and can't wait for our next trip out there! We always have so much fun!

One HOT weekend!

I didn't realize just how sunkissed I was getting this weekend! I normally don't burn but since it was my first time really spending any time in the sun so far this summer, I probably should have been a little more careful! HAHAHA well now I have some very interesting tan lines (they were more like red lines) I made this homemade pizza Monday night and wanted to take a picture thinking it was funny how the crust ended up nearly 3 inches thick, but I think the joke was on me and my "red lines". Check those arms out! (not visible in the picture is the ring of red from my watch, on my chest, and at my knees. I figured I probably shouldn't pose nude just to show you my awesome lines!) ;)
And YES for all you wondering this really is a pizza! I was trying to make a chicken alfredo pizza, similar to my favorite pizza in the world from The Pizza Factory, but it ended up more like a casserole...still tasted yummy though!

Happy America Day....Land that I LOVE!

Did anyone else have 3 days full of 4th of July fun?! We had such a blast this last weekend hanging out with family and celebrating our wonderful country's independence. With Jeremy and I both having experienced living in a foreign country for a long period of time we've really come to appreciate just how blessed our lives are for living in America!

We started our celebrating on Saturday but BBQing and playing at Eagle Island with Jeremy's family. It was a beautiful day! Not too hot and not too cold!

The boys all played bocci ball. . . (Jeremy's dad's favorite game, probably because he always wins!)

Us girls relaxed and soaked up the sun. . .a little too much sun I would find out later in the day. :) This is my sister-in-law Erin and her two girls Kelsey and Halley.

After the park we headed to a little podunk town called Melba where we watched fireworks. For being an itty-bitty town they sure do put on a good show! This was our second year coming and they didn't let us down. The only thing that would have been nicer is if it wasn't FREEZING outside! Kinda weird to have to be in a sweater and snuggled up in a blanket on the weekend of July 4th.

On the actual 4th of July we all headed up to Jeremy's brothers house in Emmett where we went to church with his family and joined in their ward BBQ after church...yummy! Then we headed out to "the island" and played around until "the big bang" fireworks show started. Yes I was a little skeptical about how good the show would be...this is Emmett, Idaho we are talking about...but....it was pretty good! The fireworks were great I just hope they do a little better job with the music next year.

This is us waiting for "the big bang" to start. These pictures aren't great because we just used Jeremy's phone but oh well. Beats having to carry the camera around, and with my luck I would loose it somewhere.

Relaxing on the blanket with my sister-in-law Brittany. She actually got to start the fireworks show and had her picture taken to put in the Emmett newspaper...yes, this is a very small town!

I had a blast hanging out with my nieces. They are very entertaining! We watched airplanes, birds, and then mosquitos fly above us. Kelsey and I talked all about kindergarten and her High School Musical backpack. Then we spent nearly an hour seeing how many knots we could tie in a single blade of grass. She LOVED it and actually got really good at tying knots. Her record was 8 knots! The whole experience made me really want to be a mommy....*sigh*....some day.
On Monday the 5th we woke up super early and went to our ward's celebration! We had a big outdoor breakfast, a visiting firetruck from the station next door and then the kids all decorated their bikes and rode around the parking lot in a little parade. It was pretty fun.

While our country has it's fair share of troubles and problems I'm so grateful to be a citizen of the United States of America! This is truly a country where if you work hard your dreams really can come true! If I could choose to live ANYWHERE in the world I would still choose America...with many vacation homes in other countries! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Back to Crafts

So I haven't done a cute craft in a couple months but had the urge earlier this week. So, I remembered my mother-in-law had given me a magnetic board framed in unfinished wood. And, this is what I did to it! (Okay don't judge me, this is an awful picture! But hopefully you can kinda decipher what it is). Crazy what you can do with a little paint, craft paper, and modge podge! It was a fun and easy craft and can't wait to put it up in my craft room!

What next?

Well after looking at some of my favorite craft blogs I really fell in love with this unique table runner. It's made out of doilies! I think it's just too adorable, and will be scanning the thrift stores for different shapes and sizes of doilies in the coming days!
What do you think? Are you working on anything fun? Do you have any awesome craft ideas?

Tender Mercies

"I delight in the Lord's mercies and miracles. I know that His tender mercies and His miracles, large and small, are real. They come in His way and on His timetable. Sometimes it is not until we have reached our extremity. Jesus's disciples on the Sea of Galilee had to toil in rowing against a contrary wind all through the night before Jesus finally came to their aid. He did not come until the "fourth watch," meaning near dawn. Yet He did come. My testimony is that miracles do come, though sometimes not until the fourth watch." -Sister Susan Tanner I never cease to be amazed at how my Savior KNOWS me. He hears me when I cry, when I speak, and when I plead. He knows when I'm happy, when I'm nervous, and when I'm sad. I've known this since I was a young girl, but have been continually reminded of it, of which I am so grateful.

Just yesterday I was reminded that His miracles ARE real. I woke up yesterday feeling very bad for myself. I had an ENORMOUS weight on my shoulders. I was in tears for most of the morning before composing myself and making my way to work. . . and that's when the miracles started happening.

-Starting next week I will be working 40+ hours a week as opposed to 20, until grad school starts! Being the sole provider right now, that translates to us not being thrown out on the streets and actually being able to eat!

-My amazing employer offered to pay for the entire cost of getting my mandatory child care worker license. (That's $73 I saved)

-Jeremy was offered yet another grant of $3,000! (He already has scholarships/grants that cover tuition, so this one goes straight to us)

-One of our monthly bills was just decreased!

-And. . . the air conditioning in my car has been working wonderfully without the terrifying squeling sound that generally accompanies it.

I could go on an on about the miracles that have happened in only the last 24 hours. I'm just so grateful to know that my Savior loves me and that in my "fourth watch" he knew my pain and exactly what to do to relieve me of my burdens. I'm so grateful for my new-found peace and lightness.