The Very Beginning of Us

A continuation of 'The Pre-Beginning of Us Continued Again :)'

Early on Sunday morning my uncle and my dad left to go to the other side of the state to be support for our family in need. They were going to bring helicopters and search dogs in to help locate my missing cousin.

I was living in Abby Lane apartments in Rexburg at the time and it being Sunday I decided to go to my ward there. It was a testimony meeting. I actually really wanted to get up but there were way too many people and each was taking what seemed like forever. One guy took 10 minutes telling about a girl he dated that he called Satan... It was not testimony material, and in all honesty I was pretty annoyed.

Towards the end of the meeting, a guy bore his testimony and included something about losing his father. With young death recently on my mind, I lost it and started bawling. I decided it would be best for me to just leave at that point. I was a blubbering fool and didn't want to draw attention to myself. On the way out a stranger caught my eye, looking as if he wanted to know what was wrong and why I was crying. I didn't think much of it and went to the school gardens to be alone and cry (which was something that I was getting really good at...).

Monday brought a new week of classes and homework. That kind of stuff doesn't really stop for a death in the family. Unfortunately... 

The sky had been sporadically crying on and off throughout the day. I decided that it wanted to cry with me (as I intermittently had done during the day) for my cousin and his young daughter.

Luckily, it was real nice for my 15 minute walk back to my apartment. My thoughts were still lingering with my cousin and his deceased daughter but at least I wasn't crying.  

Once I got to my apartment, the door was locked. This was the first unusual thing because usually during the day the door was unlocked. The second unusual thing was that I heard a lot  of voices inside. Normally if the door was locked, that meant no one was there. I was getting real curious as to what was going on as I retrieved my key to unlock the door. Finally, I got the door unlocked and walked in. A couple of my roommates were in there with Brad and his roommate Izac. Brad had been hanging around our apartment a lot lately and I knew that he was taking a liking to me from the way he treated me and acted around me. Everyone was sitting at the table. They were coloring... There was all sorts of coloring items spread about the table. 

I was somewhat confused, but decided to go with it. Izac, Brad's roommate, proceeded to tell me that the nice coloring set they were using was his tool kit that he kept in his Bronco. I played along with it teasing him for having such a nice tool kit. 

Before long he randomly put some sparkly-glue-stuff on my cheeks. I then put some on his face and he willingly  let me. I had fun decorating his face with the sparkles. It added to the spontaneous-ness of it all that he was tall, dark and handsome. I put my face close to his to make sure I was doing a good job, this caused my heart to beat a little faster ;) . At this time I found out that the tall, dark, and handsome stranger had never kissed a girl! This added big brownie points for him in my book!

Out of no where this stranger tackled me to the floor, pinned my arms down, and put the sparkles all over my face; including my eyelashes, cheeks and forehead. I put up a little bit of a fight but not much because this fun and laughter was a great release from the sadness that I had been feeling.  

Brad was feeling left out of the fun so I put some glue sparkles on his face but it wasn't quite the fun and exciting experience as with my handsome stranger called Izac.    

Somehow it ended up that handsome-never-kissed-a-girl-man was going to take me to my night class and then give me a ride home. I hurried and scrubbed the sticky sparkles off my face and headed out with him. 

While we were in the warm apartment and having a lively glitter fight it had rained outside. Handsome stranger's source of ride was a Ford Bronco and he had 'accidentally' left the passenger window open. The rain had soaked the passenger side of the seat through. Lucky for me, the Bronco had a bench seat. ;)

I teased him about 'purposely' leaving the window open so that I would have no other choice but to sit by him. Aside from my teasing, I was completely thrilled and having a joyous time with this stranger.

At the time, I was trying hard not to think about boys because they had just caused pain. What was I doing?

I have some pictures of this event :) Enjoy!!

 Me sparkling Handsome-Never-Kissed-a-Girl Man's face.

Me being tackled and sparkled on.

 More sparkles...

And More...

Me putting sparkles on Brad. 

The three of us.

Again. :)

 I have kept pretty good journals most of my life and I have pretty good record of the events of Us. It has been real fun for me to read about these experiences again and my thoughts at the time. I would encourage you to keep a journal. It is real fun to go back and read about old experiences (especially with the ones you love) and see how you have changed :) 

And... I added some pictures from my mom's race on my blog The Pre-Beginning of Us Continued again. You should check them out :) 

The Pre-Beginning of Us Continued Again ;)

A continuation of 'The Pre-Beginning of  Us Continued' 

The gun shot rang and race started. The loud shot seemed to be permission for my tears to start flowing again.

I cried for Emma. 

I cried for Ryker. 

I cried for everyone close to them. 

I cried for my mom.

I cried for all that had ever lost a loved one. 

And I cried because I could. 

This was supposed to be a thrilling, happy, and exciting race not a mournful one. If my life depended on it, I don't think I could have stopped those tears from flowing. 

With everyone having the same color of swim cap on, at first it was difficult to find my mom. After a short time however, it wasn't hard to pick her out. 

She was at the very back of the all racers. 

The very back.

The odd thing was, that someone was with her... Like right next to her... In my mind I thought that it had to be one of her friends, that was competing with her, helping her along. No stranger would purposely swim that close to someone else. From a distance though I couldn't tell who it was. 

I cried again (or still...). These tears were tears of thankful cries that someone was going to help my mom conquer her fear. 

In my mind I wondered when this friend would leave my mom. I figured that the friend was just helping her get started. Then the friend would continue to swim to try and get a decent time. 

Before long it seemed these two swimmers were deserted by all other racers. They seemed to be the only swimmers in the lake, miles behind the race and going at a snail's pace. One who hadn't deserted them, however, was the rescue boat. They were sticking real close to these two swimmers. 

After what seemed like an eternity of time, they came ashore and had finished the swim! 

Dead last. 

But what an accomplishment for my mom! If that friend hadn't pushed and helped my mom along I think the rescue boat would have had to get her after 100 yards.

The friend stayed right next to my mom the WHOLE time! Talk about a good friend. I cried, grateful for the God send of a great friend to my mom. 

Amid my sadness for the loss of life, was great happiness for success of an accomplishment. She had done it!

When we arrived home later that day we found a news report that said they had tried CPR for an hour to revive little Emma but to no avail. We also found out that when the men (Ryker and two buddies) went to anchor the boat, the line caught. It pulled the front of the boat down and started sinking the boat, leaving the occupants to flee. 

Ryker's body was still missing...

I was clinging onto all hope that he was alright...



** here was the news report we watched**
http://www.ktvb.com/home/One-girl-dead-deputies-searching-for-man-after-boating-accident-123165783.html 

 Everyone waiting for the race to start.

 My mom (on her back) and her friend.

 Them together again.

Them and a rescue boat near by.

Finally finishing the swim, my mom's friend and my mom.

Them coming out of the water. :)

Please always feel free to critique. I am writing our story for practice.

I enjoy making the suspense last ;) but The Beginning is coming :)

The Pre-Beginning of Us Continued

A continuation of 'The Pre-Beginning of Us'

There was multiple of things and people running through my head... Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandmas, Grandpas, and Friends. All passed through my thoughts in the 30 seconds while I waited for my dad to gain composure and tell us what had happened.
 My dad continued to tell us that my cousin (who is very close to my age) and his daughter (two years old) had been boating last night...

And that the boat had turned over... 

My dad started crying in anticipation of what he was about to tell us, which made my tears well up and spill over. My dad is a rather big burly bald looking man with facial hair and a beard and just seeing him affected this way made me so. 

He emotionally continued on to tell us that they had found little Emma's body on the shore. 

She was dead. 

He then told us that they hadn't found Ryker's body as yet...

There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Many of us were asking why? and holding on to hope that Ryker would soon be found...

Memories of the two of them filled my mind and I couldn't stop them flowing, almost with the same swift pace as my tears.
My dad had gained some composure and continued to tell us that he and my mom had been up most of the night talking to each other and family. We all came to the conclusion that my mom hadn't received adequate rest in preparation for her race.

I knew that the mind games had to be playing in her head... I couldn't believe that she was still going to do it...

First: She is scared of water. With the news of a relative drowning fresh on her mind, this was going to be no easy task.

Second: She maybe got three hours of sleep. (Not nearly enough to compete in a 1/2 triathlon if your asking me...) 

I was really hoping that she would finish and finish strong. I knew that if she had to quit early this would be the end of her trying to conquer the water. 

The swim was the first event. So at least she would get the worst over with. The thought crossed my mind more that once that if it was me in her shoes I don't know if I could do it knowing what had happened the night before. (and I have taken swimming lessons...) I didn't want to doubt, but I kept wondering was she going to make it?

The Pre-Beginning of Us

First: This is the pre-beginning of our story. 
Second: Eventually in my story some names may be used and some will likely be changed.
Third: I plan on making the suspense last ;-)  
Fourth: I am practicing my writing by writing our story. (Feel free to critique!! (writing or grammar or punctuation usage or anything else :)  ) )

For your reading delight.....

We were in Utah.

 My mom was going to compete in one of her first half triathlons there and the family came to support her. This was a pretty big event in my family because it involved a 1/2 mile swim and my mom is NOT a swimmer. In fact, growing up I knew that she was scared of the water and getting out too deep.  

We headed down South on a Friday and stayed the night at my Grandpa's so my mom would have adequate rest in preparation for her early morning race. 

My mom had to be to her race bright and early to sign in, I was definitely still asleep when she left. Around 7:30 in the AM my dad woke me up and gathered us four kids in the basement of my grandpa's house. Just from the way he was acting I knew something wasn't right...

This made me rather nervous and if I was at all sleepy it left in concern for my father. 

My dad began my talking about the decisions we make and how important your decisions were...

This was out of his character. I really knew that something wasn't right by this time. His physic showed it, he had hints of tired sadness all across his face.

My heart rate increase... Wondering who it was or what it was that had happened....

Insights...

I have two favorite quotes right now. One is the following:



I would just add my personal touch to that quote, "...make the best of it!" 

The other is from my husband, "the right way is never easy."

Sometimes being a mom isn't the easiest thing ever.   

(In case you are wondering.. I got that photo quote from here: http://www.goalvanise.com/blog/achieve-more-in-2013-using-the-six-cs/a-journey-of-a-thousand-miles/#.Us3bOJ5dWYE )

PS: I think I will tell our story sometime soon :)  (you know... how we met.... how it all went down... (...Remembering grand moments :))

2014

I am now writing a post on 2014. 

Original right?

As I sit here eating my Reese Peanut Butter M&M things I am thinking about some new years resolutions...

I have been thinking about some goals for this year for a while. I love the opportunity to improve and be a better person. I want to work on self improvement and a few other things. Here is what I have so far :

(these are in no particular order)
1. Catch up on my scrap-booking ( I have 2012 done ;) but nothing from last year...)

2. Learn to play the guitar and sing for a crowd (the definition of crowd in this context is 'more than just my husband') 

3. I am going to start writing a book (this goal really should be more specific or I won't get much done.. I need an additional goal to write like 100 pages of my book by June, or 5 chapters but I haven't decided how hard this goal is going to be, so I haven't got that specific yet...(is that a run-on sentence or what?) )

4. I am going to get fit (aka: become one hott momma and lose the rest of this baby fat) 
    4a. I am going to eat smaller portions and work out at least 4 times a week.

5. Read 'Jesus the Christ' by James E. Talmage (wish me luck!)

6. Memorize the Bill of Rights, The Living Christ, and the order the Articles of Faith come in (I have the articles memorized but not the order...)

7. Start an at home business or business from my home (also wish me luck.. I don't have any ideas for this yet...)

8. Read my scriptures for at least five minutes a day (I hate to admit it but I am not very good at reading them right now... I hope to increase my reading time over time :) )

9. Try at least four new recipes a month (Pinterest is sure helping with this one :) )

10. Be the best momma, and the best wife-ee.

10. Have a better schedule for each day. (aka don't spend as much time Facebooking, Pinteresting ect..)

10. Blog.

10. Figure out better how to work this blogging website. (if you haven't noticed leaves are still my back ground...)

10. Find a new hobby (like knitting, wood carving, squirrel wing-suit  jumping.. you know :) )

10. Enjoy life! (sometimes I stress way to much over stupid things and forget to enjoy life)

(I only wanted to write 10 goals down... more than that seems overwhelming...)

When I make goals they have to be simple and  feasible or they don't get done. These are my big goals for throughout this whole year. Some of them I will have to really break down in order to accomplish them. For example: read 3 pages of 'Jesus the Christ' every day or learn 3 chords a week on the guitar. Breaking my big goals into smaller goals really helps me to get them done with out them seeming so overwhelming. So these are things I will be trying to working on.What are your goals? Maybe I need to add a few more to my list. ;)

(Sorry again about my extensive use of parenthesis. (I just seem to like them and they work great)  :) )

2013

2013 has come and gone. Sometimes the years just go fast. I will admit, though, parts of this year have gone fast and parts have gone slow. Some monumental things that happened this year for me are as follows:

1. I turned 22.
2. I had a baby.
3. I had a baby boy.
4. I had a baby boy 2 months early.
5. I graduated from BYU-Idaho.
6. I graduated with my Bachelors Degree from BYU-Idaho.
7. I no longer work at Mobley Physical Therapy (sad face :(  I liked that job :)  )
8. I became a stay-at-home mom (one of the hardest but best things I have done (working would be easier for me, but I know this is where I need to be at this time.))
9. My husband and I got a new Bronco.
10. I have fallen even more in love with my prince charming! We have been through a lot this year.

Two things that I am proud of. My husband and son.

Two other things that I'm proud of. First, I paid cash for my college degree. No loans. No debt for that piece of paper. I had the money saved up and I didn't have to use any of my husbands money to pay for it. How did I have that much money you may ask? Well my parents paid about $1,000, but the rest came from me working two jobs (sometimes three) while I was going to school full time, and getting a quarter of my tuition paid for from my good grades. I did not receive any grants for my schooling.  I also was a nanny for about six months to help pay for it. But I am proud to say I graduated college with my undergrad with no debt!!

The next thing that I am proud of is that when we had our baby two months early we were totally not expecting it... We had no idea that I had eclampsia. We had no idea that the baby was going to come in June when he was supposed to come in August. We had no idea that I would be in the hospital for a week and he would have to be in the hospital for 35 days and transferred hospitals twice. We had no idea how much it was going to cost.

But we had budgeted. We had a budget on our computer that we would update every month. We budgeted for a baby with a normal pregnancy but not for a baby who came two months early and had to be in the hospital for 35 days. The people at the hospital and others around us told us that we would need to be on Medicaid in order to pay for all the expenses. We didn't want to be on Medicaid. We had goals for ourselves that government aid would be the last, last, last, last, last, last resort. Well even with our good health insurance there was a hefty bill for both mine and my son's care (Extra hefty for our son).

We stressed about how to make it work without having to go on Medicaid. If you ask my husband he'll probably say I extra stressed about it. By God's we were blessed and we did not have to be on Medicaid to pay for our baby! We were so blessed! I still think about it and I am amazed! A great testimony builder for paying tithing!

Sorry I may have got a little wordy but I really am proud of those four things ;)