no place like [a new] home for the holidays

well we have slowly moved into our new house this past week. it has taken several days as we were waiting on some electrical work and such. we are still waiting for our new sofa and love seat to arrive that we ordered on black friday so our front room is looking pretty bare. but despite the slow moving we have tried to get our christmas decorations up in a hurry as to try to get the most out of them. i image in years to come that we will have our tree up on or the day after thanksgiving.  so here is a little sneak peak into our new home as i show off our christmas decor, most of which is diy stuff.

first off, i blog about this before but here is my gold pine cone wreath on the front door. (i am hoping to get a new door sometime down the road but this one will do for now). i may need to add a bow or something to it but for now that is how it hangs.

right when you walk in the front door you see our christmas tree (in the front window). this is my in-laws old tree and was about 2 feet too talk for our ceilings (blake wanted to make sure we left plenty of room for a beautiful star for the top, which star we have not yet found). we had to saw off the bottom of the tree to get it to fit. i made a lot of the ornaments (painted pine cones and a few glass ornaments stuffed with red flower petals). it needs a few more for next year i guess. but you can see the dark wood floors that i love and the very corner of our rug (another black friday purchase).

i used a few of the branches that came off the bottom part of the tree that we took to place on the mantle behind our awesome choo-choo train stocking hangers.

i used another branch and bent it in a circle to put as a centerpiece for our table. (it is our very small-apartment sized table that we will replace when we have a little more cash.) i put a candle in the middle and threw some pine cones around it. the light was one when i took the picture so its hard to see the chandelier but it is pretty awesome looking.

we bought this small tree to put in the kitchen on the island (along with some salt and pepper shakers that blake has bad since he was a kid), but this picture is mainly to show off the awesome exposed brick wall that i love.

and here is one more from the kitchen. my parents gave us this plate and mug last year from christmas so we have to find a good place for it. (more of that awesome brick wall too.)

this place is starting to feel a little bit like home. and its starting to feel like christmas as well. now as soon as we can get those sofa's delivered we might actually have a place to sit as well. 

we are so blessed.

ness-full-of-thanks

i has been a long time since i have blogged anything. which is crazy considering everything that has happened since may. here is a quick recap of what has happened, and also what i have been thinking about during this month of thanksgiving.  there is so very much in my life that i am grateful for.

back in may, i graduated and passed all my board exams to become a dental hygienist. i am now working at an office in phoenix doing what i love. it is fantastic getting paid to do this now. 

june was great because my best friend got married. i flew to denver with my other best friend, calli and got to spend the weekend with her and nate. it was like old times. oh how i love the both of them. and nate married one of the coolest girls ever. for years i was so nervous that he would marry someone that i didn't like. not because i think he has bad taste but because i was so afraid of losing my best friend. kelly is beyond fantastic. and i am so excited to get to know her more over the many, many years to come. (can't wait for nate to be done with dental school and move back to AZ--- he takes his boards today and will do amazing). i am grateful for friends and for the blessings of temples and eternal marriage. their sealing ceremony was one of the most beautiful things i have ever witnessed.

in july we went to hawaii with blake's family and had an incredible time. it was my first time to any of the islands. it was like a dream: laying on the beach, hiking, kayaking, zip-lining, repelling, etc. the weather was great and the company even better.

 

amazing things have been happening with our lives in the gospel. blake is still teaching early morning seminary at arcadia high and loving it. i got a new calling to teach gospel doctrine and having the time of my life learning from the scriptures and the class. my baby brother turned 16 and was ordained to the office of a priest. my baby sister, touched by the spirit during the exciting announcement regarding missionary age at general conference is now preparing her mission papers. which has sent my mind more so than usual to the life-changing time i had on my mission. (and my mtc companion was the cutest thing ever. love her)

blake and i have been searching for a house for a long, long time. we have always looked but for the past 9 months or so, we have been seriously looking to buy. we have watched housing prices go up and up here in phoenix and have been frustrated as we have missed out on several houses. this may be a little premature to announce but things are looking good for us to buy a house (pictures to come when the close does actually happen). today was our original close date but it got pushed back because some things have taken longer than expected. i really like the house and i am dying to close and move in. i have been wanting so badly to be in a house by christmas. i said last year that i would not set up the 3 foot christmas tree in our apartment again, that we needed to be in a house by christmas. i didn't know then that i would take this long to find and purchase a home. i have gotten so excited about it that i have started making christmas crafts to decorate when we move in. here is a wreath i made out of pinecones this past weekend. it still needs a bow or something maybe and i think will look awesome on the red door of the house we are buying.

this project and so many others would be impossible without my incredible mom. she is so talented and is able to make anything look beautiful. i have the best parents ever. sometimes i don't think all of my siblings know how good we have it. my dad is the most self-less man i know and my mom has become such a loving grandma (no kids from us yet, sorry mom) and mother. i get sad when i think that i went through years in which i was so blind to everything that these two do for me. thank goodness for the power of forgiveness. 

and of course i am forever grateful for my amazing husband.  he works so hard everyday to provide for us. he is loving commercial real estate and is so good at what he does. he has had extra work on his plate with this house situation as there have been a lot of moving pieces. i love our simple date nights that we have every night when we get home from work. we eat dinner and cuddle up on the couch and watch an episode or two (or three or four) of the office or the mentalist to just unwind. this boy has such big dreams and goals and i know that we will achieve all of them. this picture is when he surprised me with the news that he closed the deal on this building when we went out to eat near by. (don't mind the blurry photo). he is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

even as i type this i am almost overcome with gratitude for these things in my life. i am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who is so aware of us, and for the Lord, Jesus Christ who has paid the ultimate price for me and those i love, (and those that are hard for me to love). i love that thanksgiving is just a week away, then starts the season where we celebrate his birth and his life. there are not enough words to describe the peace that comes with these thoughts.

daddy's girl

i wish everyone could have a dad like mine.  he has been my best friend my whole life, though i'm sure there are parts of my stinker teen-age years that he and i have both tried to forget.  i have always been a "daddy's girl."  and today is this daddy's birthday.  he is the best daddy and now is the best grandpa to my nieces and nephews.  sweet heart of 1, father of 7, grandpa of 6, and one of the most self-less people i have ever known.  happy birthday, daddy!

the picture above was of our trip to disneyland when i was about 4.  it was just the 2 of us and i was in heaven to have all that attention to myself for a weekend. 

to find a roof over our heads

i wish i had a picture to post of a house, our house more specifically.  we have been looking at houses since we got married, and even more seriously these last 6 months.  we have date nights several nights a week looking on mls for new listings.  we spend many saturdays driving to find open houses, and to going to appointments of house showings we set up.  last night we toured a house that i fell in love with.  the inside of the house is 95% done how i would want it to be done (white kitchen with farm house sink, claw foot tub in master bath, white subway tiles in the showers, wood floors, big windows for lots of natural light).  i just wanted to stay there hoping that if i never left that they would just let me keep the house.  we found another house today that blake loved the outside of.  it just went on the market yesterday and already it is under contract.  i guess you've got to act fast with these things. 

we are trying to be patient and be open to what God would have us do.  there are so many big things happening in our lives right now:  i graduate on thursday, therefore i need to find a job.  we don't know if we should buy a house in phoenix or mesa/gilbert and that will greatly effect how far i am to drive to this job i am suppose to find.  we want to have kids at some point; when do we have them? what schools will they go to (in what school district is this house suppose to be in?)  we have such fun things ahead of us.  here is to the unknown and to endless possibilities.

no messin' with sister mesen

after leaving miles city, i was transferred across the whole state of montana to "ronan, mt: my living grave."  (something one of the ladies we pseudo-taught used to say).  i don't know how people could live in such a beautiful place and not believe in God, that he created all that beauty.  and having lived in arizona for so long, i definitely appreciated the beautiful mountains.  i got lots of mountains in salt lake, but nothing compared to the mission mountains in ronan and st. ignatius. 

i was there serving with sister stephanie mesen.  man do i love this girl.  she did not like to cold.  in fact, i think it is safe to say that she hated the cold.  and man did it get cold.  we would tract in -20 degrees F (much colder if you include the wind chill).  we covered some small towns.  ronan was the biggest (i just looked it up and in 2010 it still only had a population of 1,871) and we covered one little town that the "downtown" was a convenient store with one gas pump, and a seasonal beef jerky stand.  so it only took a little while to knock on all the doors in the town before we had to start venturing outside of town and hiking up in the mountains to find someone to teach.  since this was my only chance to do the more traditional missionary work, i wanted to put everything i had into it, (not like i didn't put everything into my work at temple square).  i probably drove poor sister mesen crazy with how much i wanted to get done.  i wouldn't let us stop for lunch most days.  i would just pack snacks for the car that we could eat while we drove to appointments.

i learned so much during my time with sister mesen.  i learned more than ever before in my mission that serving my companion was so important.  she was my "most progressing investigator."  i am so grateful for our time together and how much it prepared me for the rest of my mission, further church service, and marriage.  she was the only companion i had for longer than 6 weeks.  (at temple square we changed companions every transfer while i was there.)

quick funny story, one night i was apparently talking in my sleep.  i never talk in my sleep unless i am in that state somewhere between asleep and awake; asleep enough to think it is ok to talk, awake enough that i can talk.  i was teaching the plan of salvation when i was interrupted by my now awake companion saying, "sister florence, it is not time to teach, it is time to sleep."  i was now slowly starting to wake up.  still thinking it was a little real and also feeling a little prideful, i responded, "hey, someone in this room needs to hear this."  then she, a little upset perhaps and a little freaked out about a potential, "someone" in the room asks who was in the room.  we both fell back asleep and laughed about it in the morning.

i got to see stephanie a couple months ago at sister willhite's wedding.  she and a bunch of the other montana sister came down from utah.  (yes, my cold-hating-companion chose to move to utah after the mission.)  it was so good to see her.

almost there

never mind my squinty-faced smile in this picture (which was taken and edited so well by erin the beautiful).  graduation from my dental hygiene program in just around the corner so we had our class photos the other day.  in the picture with me is autumn, who has been my lifesaver during these last two years of school.  its hard to believe that it is almost over but i'm so ready for it to be in some ways.  i'm am going to try to learn as much as i can during my last week of clinic this next week.  2 weeks from today i will be a graduate.

big sky country

as part of the temple square mission we get sent on an "outbound" where we receive a new call to a stateside mission for a few transfers.  the temple square mission president decides when we go, and the brethren decide where we go.  i got called to serve for three transfers in the great montana billings mission.  since the transfers at temple square were different than the transfers in montana i got to montana a week and a half before their transfers would occur.  i was placed in a trio with these two awesome sisters above, sister linda willhite and sister emily highland.  (this picture was taken on p-day bowling with our zone; i didn't tract in clothes like that).  we lived in miles city which is on the eastern side of montana and covered a few small hunting towns not-so-near-by.  i lived out of my suitcase for that whole week and a half.

it was a strange feeling to be half way through my mission but to suddenly feel so green again.  it was the same wonderful gospel i was teaching but it was taught in a different way, in a different setting, and i actually got to carry my bible with me.  this was the perfect situation for me to get someone emotionally settled into a new mission.

after our week and a half was up, i ended up getting transferred all the way across the big state of montana, but never forgot my experiences in miles city.  i also knew that i hadn't seen the last of sister willhite.

(much more to come about montana)

all you need is love

what a lucky girl i am. 

i usually wake up in the mornings before blake but i don't like to get out of bed without him so i cuddle up next to him and have some quite thinking time before he wakes up.  this morning i was overwhelmed with gratitude for the amazing guy lying next to me.  he is so sweet to me.  this picture makes me smile as i think of him looking at me so lovingly. 

i know lots of girls say that their husband is the best.  and for them, they are the best.  but for me, i cannot think of anyone more fitting for me to spend my life and all of eternity with.  i wish every girl could be this happy.

ring of fire

 

so over a month ago i got my ring caught on a ledge as i was catching myself from a fall.  as seen on the picture above, this fall took some of my skin but my ring did a number on my finger.  as i noticed my finger turn purple as my swelling finger was losing circulation i called my brother who works in the ER and told him that i needed him to get my ring off.  i drove out to the hospital, he met me in my car with some supplies and suggested we cut the ring off of my finger that had now swelled up pretty big.  i really didn't want my ring cut so asked him to please try to just pull it off using some lubricant.  i screamed bloody murder as he twisted and pulled my ring off.  it hurt.  he wrapped it up for me and gave me some stuff to keep it clean.  i had to cut the flaps of skin off and it eventually healed over a few weeks.  i only have part of a scab left.  the problem now is that the swelling won't go down and i still have trouble gripping things since my finger can't bend all the way which makes dental hygiene work a little tough at times.  at least its my left hand.  so after weeks of no improvement i had a classmate take an x-ray at school using dental films.  i don't know how to interpret x-rays but it didn't look broken to me.  well, my husband and father and pretty much everyone i talked to said i should go see a doctor.  so i went to see someone this morning and brought print outs of my dental-film-x-rays of my finger with me.  and its broken apparently.  not badly but he said i should go see a hand specialist.  silly really.  i have broken this same finger back in elementary school and it healed just fine.  why now does it give me so much trouble?  i have a beautiful wedding ring that i want to wear and i don't think i will have that chance for a long while.  i guess i could have cut it off after all.  it would have been fixed long before i will be able to fit it back on my chubby, scarred-up finger.  so to another doctor i go.

there will be snacks

we went to the andrew bird show last night. blake was loving it. there is nothing like good music. my phone died before I could get a picture of him playing but here is me and blake excited for it to start.

just another adelaide moment

every now and then God puts someone in my life that strengthens my testimony of the pre-earth life.  sister freja cross was definitely one of those people.  we had to have been friends before we came here.  and since she lives in australia and i live in the united states, God had to call us both to the same mission to meet each other for the first time (or rather reunite).  there is not a day that went by during our transfer together that i did not laugh uncontrollably.  there is also not a day that went by that we didn't eat otter pops.  there is probably not an hour that went by that we didn't sing.  freja has the most beautiful voice EVER, and has perfect pitch.  the poor thing had to listen to me sing along with her and was patient enough to put up with it.

freja and i knew we were going to be companions long before we were called to be.  we would even call each other "compy" in the hall or on the square as we passed each other.  divine inspiration.  so we weren't too surprised when this transfer call came around.  she was such a supportive companion.  for example, i was really into running in the mornings.  my previous transfers i either had a roommate that could go on exchanges in the morning or a companion that wouldn't mind running with me.  freja didn't want to run with me but she got up every morning at 6:00am (30 min earlier than we have to) and go outside with me while i ran.  it was october and november while we were together so sometimes she would be sitting outside while it was snowing while i ran.  it still blows my mind that she would do that for me.

we would laugh a lot a quote disney's robin hood.  i would call her, "hiss."  she would also go on adventures with him while in the temple to try to see more rooms that we hadn't before seen, or finding secret rooms in the beehive house.  i loved finding out new things and she would be right there with me.  oh freja, how i miss you. 

since the mission, freja is now married. i heard about this lucky guy while we were companions and long after.  he is a lucky guy.  they are living in adelaide and recently purchased a house there.  i told freja that she is to be preparing the guest room in their house so that i may come for a visit.  i so look forward to the time when we are reunited.  miss you freja.

the teacher becomes the student

so you may remember me mentioning this beautiful girl when talking about my trainer.  well this is the one and only sister karen mckay.  i remember finding out that i was training a few days before transfers actually happened, it was the day that the incoming sisters did their visitor's center experience and who come from the mtc on a bus a spend the afternoon/evening on exchanges with one of the currently serving sisters to get an idea of what they were coming to in a few short days.  i was so afraid of meeting any of the sisters from the mtc because i didn't want to form any ideas about anyone until the day the got there.  the only one i ended up meeting was sister mckay.  i only talked to her briefly in the break room but walked away thinking that she was the sweetest girl ever and that she was a total babe, (don't let the goofy faces we were making in the above picture fool you).  sure enough we were assigned as companions through inspiration.  i learned so much from sister mckay during the transfer we were together.  at first she was a little afraid of talking to people on the square or to lead a tour, but she slowly but surely gained confidence.  i loved watching her throughout her mission and having a psudo-parent's pride while hearing her teach.  what i really loved about her though, was her purity.  there was never a front she would put on, what you saw was what you got; and what you got was really, really great. 

again, i have not kept in great contact with karen.  we did ok at it right when she got home, but since then we have slipped up.  i know that she is creating materpieces wherever she is.  she is so gifted in music and art.  i miss you, karen.

2 years

2 years ago today i married my best friend and love of my life.  it seems weird to think that these 2 years have gone by so fast as i remember so clearly waking up that morning and thinking that was the first day of my new life.  it seems like last week in some ways.  in other ways, however, it feels like we have always been married, like i don't remember what life was like before i married blake.  one think i do know though, is that i am very much in love with my blake and so excited for many  more years to come. 

we haven't taken an anniversary picture yet so this wedding photo (blake's favorite) will have to do in its place until we take a proper photo.  we are due for our yearly family pictures that i make blake take with me.  and we just found out that our photographer (my amazingly talented cousin) is moving to washington at the end of the month so we had better get moving on getting those pictures taken.

a sigh of relief

i took my national boards over spring break (3.5 weeks ago) and after days and days of opening the mailbox disappointed, something came today that made it all worth it.  they finally mailed me the results and that four letter word (pass) that i was waiting to see was finally on a paper there in my mailbox with my name on it.  so i passed my national boards, soon i will find out the results of my process of care board exam, then next is to take my jurisprudence exam, then last but not least take my clinical board exam.  which reminds me, i still need to find a board patient.  (ok i never forgot about that, it is always looming over me).

"man, dis is sucks"

i can't think about my transfer with sister reupena without hearing in my head funny things she would quote like, "man, this is sucks."  a phrase that doesn't describe her attitude.  she was always happy and laughing.  again my pictures from this transfer are on my parent's computer but this picture above shows one of my favorite times during our transfer.  we had water olympics for morning exercise that turned into a major water fight.  our team was "the office" as we all were in the office that transfer. 

one thing i remeber the most about sister reupena is the tremendous amount of love and charity she had.  she would give anyone the shirt off of her back and as a companion was constantly serving me and doing kind things for me (whether i deserved them or not).  i remember during transfer calls when they announced that i was going to be companions with sister reupena.  i didn't know who she was since she had been on her outbound ever since i was there, but everyone kept telling me how lucky i was, and how funny she was, and what a great transfer it was going to be.  they were right about everything.  its kind of crazy how the mind works, but as i sit here thinking about her i can almost smell our apartment, and the hair product she would use when she would curl her hair.  she always had the most beautiful hair.  (see below).  regretfully, i have not kept in very good contact with marja since we have been home from our missions, but i know she is serving the Lord and everyone around her.  thank you for your example, marja.

with power and authority

 

where to start?  what did i not learn from my transfer with sister trinidad?  when i look at the lessons that i am currently trying to learn, i realize that Heavenly Father was trying to teach me those when He allowed me to serve with sister trinidad.  talk about a "kick-butt" missionary.  this is someone who lives and breathes to gospel of Jesus Christ.  she sees every souls as being so precious to God and i continually am trying to do the same.  i have no doubt that she will be actively involved in the church for her whole life.

one of my favorite memories with sister trinidad was when we found some ugly dresses, put them on, and knocked doors in our apartment building (don't worry, everyone who lived in the building was a missionary also).  and no, my hips were not that wide, its mostly the dress.

since the mission, karina has married a loving husband, has been blessed with a valiant little soul, and is now foster parents to 3 toddler aged kids (i believe that is the status right, trini?)  i will forever look up to this amazing woman, for who she is, and what she does.  the world needs more people like karina trinidad cox.

popsicles

my second transfer i was companions with sister palamarchuk from ukraine.  this picture describes my main diet during that transfer: popsicles and otter pops.  i can't think about this transfer and not laugh.  we had some seriously fun times.  one of the most important lessons i learned from sister palamarchuk was how to have fun.  i have a tendency to get serious about things that are important and tend to put work before play.  i think of it as being responsible but there is "a more excellent way" (as sister prochazka would say).  you can still be effective AND have a blast doing it.  thanks for the fun times and the many russian tours we took together.  

tatyana is now married and has a beautiful little girl.  her cute family lives ______ (maybe in reno still but i am not sure). 

the first born in the wilderness

well i finally have a moment to blog again.  i am thinking it may take me all year to get through this tribute to my mission companions but i think it would help make it a great year.  most of my pictures from my early mission are on my parent's computer so this is the only one i could find of me and my trainer, sister jesica lopez from argentina.  this is the traditional "generation picture."  sister glancy was sister lopez trainer, sister lopez trained me, and i trained sister mckay (stay tuned for a tribute to her later on).  i can't think about sister lopez without thinking about love and service.  there was not a day that went by when we were together that she did not serve me.  and she had such a intense love for everyone we met and taught.  God knew what he was doing when he inspired President stewart to put us together. she has such a big heart and was a hard worker.  i used to tease her that she used to teach in her sleep.  i would wake up in the middle of the night to her saying something like, "Heavenly Father loves you, yes."  i eventually took after her months later when i was in montana i started teaching in my sleep.  i guess it runs "in the family."  i will always have a special place in my heart for sister lopez.  i wasn't good about showing that appreciation while we were together, but i hope she knows how much i love her.

since the mission, my sweet jesica is now married and has a little baby (pictured below) that i refer to as my baby sister.  jesica refers to me as "her first born in the wilderness."

cactus and palm trees, all in white, second parents

i was so excited to olivia (aka prochazka) sent me a message on facebook telling me that she was going to be in phoenix for a conference.  remember that last march she was our tour guide in switzerland when we surprised simoncini at her sealing.  she spent so much time with us so we wanted to show her a good time here in phoenix when she came even though we only got her for a few short hours after long days of conferencing. 

when i was thinking about what we should take her to see, i had remembered on the mission her talking about how cool she though the mesa, az temple was.  it isn't like most other temples because it doesn't have an angel moroni on it.  anyway so i knew that would be one of our first stops.  we went to the temple and found some cactus that she thought was so cool.  she loved seeing the palm trees and the cactus. 

i also wanted to hike camelback with her since i think it gives a great view of the city.  too bad we took a wrong turn on our way there so only made it about half way up before we decided to turn around so we were walking down in the dark.

there is nothing like friends from the mission.  i truly believe that you always have a special bond with mission friends because of the things you go through and experience together.  i has seemed that this has been mission friend month.  we started off the month with one of my companions weddings.

 
a few of the other sisters from the great montana billings mission drove down from utah to be there.  so i got to spend time with 2 companions that day.

these last couple days we have spent with blake's mission president that were down visiting friends.  what amazing people.  we got to go to dinner with them and another missionary that served with them as well as his wife.  then the next day the went to blake's seminary class with him and then we went to lunch with them and spent some more time with them.  i loved being with them and feeling of their spirit and their love for the Lord, the gospel, and for blake.  we unfortunately didn't get any pictures but here is a picture from their mission. 

blake and i both loved our missions and the people we served with.  and we very much love when the come visit so we can spend time with them and be reminded of the many miracles that we witnessed together.

my cheeky sheila

today starts a tribute to my missionary companions.  there is not a day that goes by that i don't think about my mission.  i learned so much about the gospel, church history, people, and myself.  i owe everything i am to the Lord, but He also assisted me by giving me the most amazing companions that a missionary could ask for.  each one taught me what i needed to know right when i needed to know them.

i remember being in the car with my dad pulling into the parking lot a the mtc and finally having it hit me that he was going to drop me off and i would stay there... and be on a mission.  i was nervous to meet my companion after hearing horror stories of sister missionaries.  sister ward was the perfect mtc companion.  this cute little aussie not only taught me the australian slang and how to get a good accent but she taught me how to love.  she taught me that we don't have to be perfect.  being a perfectionist, i am very hard on myself.  and since companions are suppose to be united, i was unintentionally hard on her.  somehow she loved me in spite of my imperfections and she remained one of my closest friends throughout the entirety of my mission.  and she is one of the most beautiful girls ever so being in the mtc with a cute companion with the cutest accent you ever heard made of some stalkers.

thank you liz for patients, your testimony, your love, and that cute laugh that i can't wait to hear again.  i really need to plan a trip to australia.

girl of his (and my) dreams

so nate has been my best friend for years and years.  i was always so afraid of the day when he would fall in love.  mostly it was fear that i wouldn't like the girl and would therefore lose my best friend.  i am SO excited that he fell in love with one of the coolest girls ever.  not only do i still have my best friend, i get to have another great friend "join the family."  nate and kelly got engaged on monday and will have a joyful wedding this summer in denver.  words can not express how happy i am for these two.  i think they are both very lucky to have each other.  i have always said that he will be an amazing husband to whoever he ends up with, and she is his perfect match.

now i just dream of when nate graduates dental school next year and will move back here with his cute wife.  life will be grand.  since i am in hygiene school, the plan has always been for me to work for nate when he finishes and we would basically have a blast all day long in the office.  when i get bogged down at school, i just think of that....

i am suppose to be studying for my national board exam but i just wanted to document this important event in history.  now, back to the books.

"cool house, cool house, cool house for me"

i am not a believer in valentines day.  i feel like it is for children and high school couples.  once you get married i think that your anniversary takes its place.  or maybe its that just a 2 weeks ago we celebrated both our birthdays.  or that i think getting flowers is kind of a waste of money.  not that i don't love the gesture, but after a few days of admiring them, they die.  needless to say, i'm not a big romantic when it comes to the traditional stuff. 

what i do LOVE is spending time with my blake.  he has been sick lately so he didn't go to teach seminary class this morning so i got to spend time with him this morning and we went out for lunch (cheeseburgers of course) and he took me to school and came back to pick me up.  we then drove around looking at houses in phoenix.  this is one of our favorite activities.  the poor quality photo above is my favorite house i have ever laid eyes on.  it is prefect and about $4.3 million outside of our price range.  we love weaving in and out of old historic districts in phoenix and choose the ones we like the most, or pointing out what needs to change about the ones that are "close, but just not quite there." 

i love having a husband that loves to spend time with me.  so i guess i do like valentines day if it means just spending time with my sweet boy.  i don't need flowers, chocolates, jewelry, gifts, cards, special meals, or anything like unto these things.  i am perfectly content and in love with the moments when we just sit next to each other.  he gets me.  he encourages me.  he cheers me up.  he serves me to no end.  he is so perfect for me.  i don't think there is anyone else that gets treated this good.  good thing we have forever for me to try to show him how much i love him.

brycen cade

friday, 27 january at 8:38pm the most precious baby was born to my brother and his sweet wife.  this handsome guy fought through the odds of uncertainty and was born.  he was suppose to be a miscarriage, he was suppose to be stillborn, but this tough guy fought through it all and was born and lived for an hour and twelve minutes here on earth.  i'm so grateful for the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ that allows me and my family to find peace and comfort in knowing that families are forever.  my sister-in-law and my brother will have their baby again.  he was such a valiant spirit that he did not need to be tested in this life.  i look forward to meeting this sweet boy someday. 

a two and a five

happy belated birthday to my love.  saturday was blake's birthday and be have been celebrating for days.  and oh how i love the celebration.  he means so much to me.  i can't imagine what life would be like without him.  he is so good for me because he treats me so well and loves me for who i am, yet at the same time inspires me to be better and better each day. 

friday we celebrated his "last day" of being 24.  i brought him and his work partners cupcakes from sprinkles. 

saturday, i made him his special breakfast and we went all around town getting free food then celebrated that night with his family.

sunday, we had a combined birthday party at my parent's house.  we ate lots of good food and of course angel food cake (my favorite but a standard birthday treat in my family).

monday, we went to the sun's game to watch them get creamed by the mavs.  the tickets were a gift from blake's business partner.  they were great seats.  its just too bad that it was just bad basketball.  steve nash wasn't playing.

tuesday (today), one of blake's gifts came in the mail... the complete 3rd season of the mentalist.  we love the mentalist and it is pretty much the only show we watch.  (and i like to watch the bachelor, even though it makes me so angry to see ben caught in the evil snares of courtney).  we already have seasons 1 and 2 but now we have a whole new season to (re)watch together.  blake says that if i cheat on him with simon baker that he would understand.  joking of course as i am way too in love with blake to ever even be tempted by simon.  but, he is a good looking guy.  i think blake has a man crush on him.

happy birthday, sweet boy.  here is to many more birthdays to share together.