A Memory...

I don't have much to say, except this is the moment we got engaged! I found these little gems on my mom's computer during the summer. Enjoy!

This is my Grandma, Ila. I hope to be like her.

Thanks, Lila!

I got this idea from Lila, and I loved it. Especially because I think that my life is so super stressful, and I don't have my family here, and I don't have enough money, and I don't ever see my husband, and on and on and on... I'm so pitiful! So, today I am going to write all the things that make me happy:

Crunching leaves in the fall.
Sitting outside (anywhere) in the summer and reading a book, or just watching and thinking.
Opening the door in the winter (in Utah) in the morning before nobody has messed up the perfect snowstorm from the night before, it is so peaceful.
Running in the springtime.
The feeling I get after a really hard run.
Thinking about our story.
Imagining Eric as a dad.
Sitting the the background at a family gathering and watching the interactions of my family.
Christmas lights.
Nativity scenes.
Winter coats.
Christmas music.
Christmas shopping (I know I'll hate it when I have kids, but don't ruin it for me!)
Christmas presents!
Any presents!
Grumpy old men (the real thing and the movie)
Getting a grumpy old man to like me.
Listening to the elderly sing.
Listening to my Grandpa's stories.
Lakepoint sunsets.
Southern accents (the fourth of JOO-lie)
When my young women and I really get to know each other, especially when they tell me about their lives.
Getting a new dayplanner!
Hearing my phone ring.
Spending time with the Neelys on their back porch.
Pat's beef stew and corn bread.
When I finally master a task (studying, cleaning)
Playing the piano.
Going on drives with Eric and imagining what our house will look like one day.
Watching my sweet ward wander in while I'm playing the prelude music.
Twizzlers on the Fourth of July.
The smell of spices in the fall.
Getting my schedule just right at work or at clinicals.
Riding on a boat.
Watching Three Amigos with Katie and Scotty.
Reading a good book on a rainy day.
Studying church material.
Teaching.
Laughing with Eric (we do it all the time, but we're probably not that funny!).
Gatlinburg!
Being in a cabin with my family.
Dancing.
Going to the ballet.

I think that will do it for today. Thanks Lila, I feel much better!

Catch-Up

Here's where I play catch-up for my blogging... This June I went to Utah to see my baby sister, Katie, off to the MTC. She has since gone to Ft. Lauderdale Florida where she rocks the scriptures and preaches with fire... Yep. This first pic is of my parents in front of their home in Erda, Utah. "Where's Erda?" you may ask. Its right before you get to Tooele (Too-ehl-uh) I love Utah!

These are some of the Grandkids sitting on the front porch eating popcicles after dinner, so fun! Oh, and my brother is in there too, he's the one with the long tongue.
This is Brad and Rachael. Brad helped put the candles on Rach's birthday cake.

This is my sweet Grandma, Ila. We went for a drive with my Grandpa and my dad, and she loved all the houses and flowers.
Here is a pic with my grandparents, my mom, and my sister Katie

For some fatherly bonding time, my dad took my little sister and me shooting. I'm holding his pistol that he just bought, and when I shoot it, I'll give it back to my dad and never shoot it again. What a kick-back!

Katie preferred the .22

This is Katie after going through the temple for the first time.

Ahhhh, the MTC. What you don't see is that everybody is bawling except Katie (and maybe Scotty)
And there she goes! Holy cow, it still brings a tear to my eye!

Thankfully, I brought my little neice back to Tennessee with me, and she helped ease the pain of my sister being gone! She is SUPER active, so we went rock climbing a couple times, went to a wave pool with some HUGE slides, went shopping (where she proceeded to spend her money on anybody but herself, she is so sweet), went to the zoo, and watched Gilmore Girls. Did I mention she saved enough money to pay for the entire trip herself? She's 12! I loved having her over!

This is the Fourth of July (pronounced JOO-lie in the south). We went to our friend's house for a fireworks spectacular, and it surely was! We loved it! I worked that morning, and my favorite old man (who fell in love with me, more on that later) cheered me up. When I told him it was the fourth, he said, "the fourth of JOO-lie," and then proceeded to sing, "I'm a Yankee Doodle dandy, born on the fourth of JOO-lie, a real-live nephew of my Uncle Sam, I'm a Yankee Doodle Boy" on the top of his lungs! It made my day!

And, last but definately not least, OUR LAST FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! We took the commemorative 'first day of school' picture to celebrate. As of today, we only have 109 days of school left, and counting...

So, this ends my blogging fill-you-in. More on Dollywood to come!

What We've Been Doing...

So, Here is what we've been doing for the past few months...

In February, we had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Eric planned it: bowling, dinner, and a movie. And the best part... a funnel cake at the bowling alley!

Eric grew a beard when we went to Utah in January, but shaved it promplty upon our return to Tennessee...

Our little apartment got broken into, and we decided to move to a two-bedroom on an upper level! Luckily, we weren't home, and only our laptop and some change were stolen. Thank goodness for renter's insurance and Harry Flippin, our insurance guy!

Over Spring Break, we decided spontaneously to go to the Biltmore in South Carolina and DISNEYWORLD!!!!! The best part about Florida was the AMAZING citris juice we found at a stand on the side of the road...

During this time, we are enjoying our last spring in Tennessee! We love driving around and see all the GREEN that we are having because of all the RAIN that has been flooding our streets! Here are some pictures from the view from our balcony...

And though we have had a beautiful spring, we also experienced our first real natural disaster. It was humbling to be able to serve those in our community by watching children that were victims to the tornado that hit Murfreesboro, and help in cleaning the community of the debris. We've never seen anything like it, both the devastation and the love of the community.

Then, to make life so much happier, my sweet siblings came to visit me! M, S, and K came out to see M and me run the Music City Half Marathon! While they were here, we saw historical sites around Middle Tennessee, ran the race, ate good food, and watched movies. Michelle and I ran the ENTIRE 13.1 miles, despite the heat, the hills, the boring route, and the lack of hydration... Every other plan we had to do while they were here was thwarted, probably because I didn't plan as well as I should have! I hated to see them go (I'm sure Eric did too!), but I'm so glad that they came!

After they left, Eric planned a killer 24th birthday for me! We had so much fun chillin' and relaxin'! We ate lunch at the Wild Horse Saloon, then sat by the Cumberland river for about an hour, just thinkin' about life. After that, we shopped and went to a movie. What a perfect day! And, he also scored big with my present - the BBC Pride and Prejudice! Notice his exquisite wrapping job!

We finished our finals, and did very well this semester. Only two more semesters for Eric, and only one for me! Graduation on December 19th! (See countdown above...)

And, the most recent and exciting news........ Eric scored a perfect 100 on the AT-SAT! This exam tests his aptitude towards air traffic control, and apparently he is perfect for the job! Our friend Todd who goes to church with us, also scored a 100 (they got the highest scores in their class), which means they are going to be well sought after when they graduate. Today, Eric and I celebrated by taking a drive to Shelbyville (pronounced shelb-a-vul). I'm so proud of him, and relieved that my dad has taken him off of his probation period for being my husband. Whew!

So, as you can see, we are very happy! We miss our families, love Tennessee, and love doing just what we are doing!

The Crazy Weekend

What a day Friday was...
I woke up at about seven, and Becky, Meaghan and I went to the Greenway to run our 13.1 miles (worst run ever!). We finished around ten and went home where I sat on a heating pad for a few hours! At about noon, I turned on the TV and found the weather being broadcast on all stations. We actually had a tornado warning for Rutherford county, which has never happened since Eric and I have been in TN. I watched as they showed footage of a tornado crossing I-24, and got scared the more I watched. People were calling the news station saying they had just seen tornadoes in areas that I go all the time here in Murfreesboro. Eric is looking out the windows, going outside, walking around the house, not really worried at all! Then, when it starts to hail, he mentions, "did you know that hail precludes a tornado?" Really?!?!? We ended up in the bathroom for the last ten minutes of the warning, then I went to work and Eric took the missionaries to Franklin.
Little did we know, it was pretty serious. The light were out at Adam's Place when I got there; earlier in the day, all 46 patients were in the hallways covered with blankets and pillows while they watched a tornado out the back window. When the power came back, we watched all the destruction on the news. But it didn't really hit me until the next day.
On Saturday, Eric and I got up early and went to see where we could help. A sweet family in our ward was out of town (miraculously) while their house was completely destroyed. Walking down the street and see the big blue "C" spraypainted on the houses for "clear" was really surreal. Bishop sent Eric and me to get an apartment squared away and some groceries for the family, then I spent the rest of the day with Bishop's wife, their kids, and the kids of the home that was destroyed. I wanted to cry all morning! Though this was so devastating, it was good to be with the kids. We had an Easter Egg hunt, dyed Easter eggs (thank goodness for another neighbor coming otherwise we would have all been dyed blue!), played outside, had pizza and got ready for bed. After being with 7-8 kids during the day I slept really well that night!!!!! The family is doing well for having gone through that mess, and my heart goes out to all those who had traumatic run-ins with the tornado. What an experience for out little stay in TN!
Going to church yesterday was wonderful! I honestly don't want to leave Murfreesboro ever! My ward has become my family, and I will never find another ward like it. Our family away from home in Antioch has been such an answer to prayers, and we love being a part of their family. We are so happy and content! We are taken care of out here like we would be taken care of at home in Utah. We are so blessed!

This is about my Grandpa Sanders. He died when I was pretty young, only about 9 or 10. I remember the smell of first coming into his house and giving him a hug. He used to fall asleep watching the television after he muted the commercials because he hated the salesmen yelling on the screen. We would all look at each other and wonder what to do when our show came back on! When I would sit in his lap, he'd make a noise and try to scare me. He had two work shops, one in the basement and one outside. We used to play card games with him at his house in Idaho; 31, its a Sanders classic! He remodeled his home from an old school house: he took out some walls on the first floor to make a living room, and added two rooms in the attic. When he and Grandma came out to visit us in Utah, I remember sitting on the living room couch watching for their big orange 5th wheel. That was the coolest thing ever! Every morning when we would wake up to go to school, we'd knock on their door before we left and gave them hugs goodbye. One time we went camping with them, and I got to sleep in the fifth wheel - pretty big event. When he started to go, I remember him swearing when we would play cards, and I was shocked! I remember my mom telling the story at his funeral of her playing the piano after everyone had gone to bed. He'd call out from his room for her to play "Somewhere My Love." Now that song always reminds me of him. He was a good, hardworking man who loved my Grandma and his kids.