A Christmas Miracle!

I can’t believe that it has been two years since I had my operation. I posted a one year update last year on the 16^th and somehow we are back to December 16^th again! Everything has been awesome. I am just so glad that all of that is in the past and this December is only a little stressful. ;)

I am feeling really good! I had a bit of a rough go with my back for a while but had a baby operation and am feeling much better! My heart is doing great as far as I know.  My family has taken it upon themselves to make some kind of pig joke in every situation possible. So that’s fun. At Thanksgiving we were having ham and I was asked if it was my cousin. I am so grateful for the life and joy this little piggy valve has allowed me to have.

I am currently in third grade and working as a paraprofessional in the special education department. It is not where I thought I would be but am grateful for the experience and for a good place to start out. I’ve never been so popular in school and have never had so many friends that want to sit by me in the lunchroom. I miss college. I never thought I would say that. BYU-Idaho blessed my life. I loved what I was learning. I wish I could go back and make a career out of being a student and just remember forever everything I learned.

Andrew is working at Tadd Jenkins in Rigby as a Service Advisor. I am quite certain that he gets hit on multiple times a day. He is amazing at what he does and I am so proud of him for working so hard. Being members of the Tadd Jenkins family has been so fun and is such a blessing for us.  Andrew does everything he can to make me and Carson happy. He is selfless, loving, smart, righteous, and stuck with me forever.

Carson is in kindergarten and is killing it. He comes home and spells out words and I just want to squeeze him for how cute it is. He will probably be voted class president because he brought his battery powered police corvette to class for show and tell and now has 20 miniature best friends. Every week he seems to have another girlfriend. Not a different one... Plus one. Having him in my life is a completely different kind of joy that I have never experienced before and I never want to be without it. He is so excited for “us” to be married. 

I am too.

It is amazing to see how much Heavenly Father guides and directs our lives. I firmly believe that all of the events that have occurred in my life have been strategically organized to get me to where I am today.

Which happens to be exactly one week from our wedding!!!

We have been waiting for paperwork to be sealed for a while now. It has been quite a test of our faith.

We mailed out invitations with a date and the location as the temple and just moved forward with faith!!!

I was able to go through the temple on Saturday for the first time. A bunch of my family members were there and Andrew with his parents.  I knew with everything in me that we were supposed to be preparing for a temple marriage. It was 11 days before our wedding and we still had no paperwork. I have to admit that I had a couple of meltdowns but knew that we were doing the right thing and it would all work out.

When we got home from the temple Saturday night we checked the mailbox and there it was.. the letter that said we could be married in the temple! I was bawling my eyes out.

 It’s a Christmas miracle!

We gave Carson the honor of telling both of our parents and they didn’t catch on at first but when they did I went right back to bawling my eyes out.  

We are so blessed. I know that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and blesses us when we do the right things. I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to witness so many miracles and strengthen my testimony. I know that our Savior lives and loves us. I know that the atonement is real. I know that the power of prayer is real. I love the gospel and find joy in living it. I have an unshakable testimony of our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson and love him dearly.  I am grateful for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. I am so excited to marry my best friend and have our little family together.  I hope this next week flies by!

 Merry Christmas and thank you all for your love and support!

Heavenly Father’s Stoplight Switch.

I have been thinking about this post for a while now. My last post was about my one year follow up from my open heart surgery. If you didn’t read that and you are on your mobile device swipe left. If you wanted to read the post before that about how I discovered I needed open heart surgery swipe left two times.

I am feeling great! Other than the occasional soreness in my chest I am fine! Life has been way too good to me this past year. 

Cue Andrew.

Last year on October 22, I met Andrew. Things escalated quickly. Three days later we went on our second date to the haunted straw maze and we bumped into my parents. Andrew thought that was pretty hilarious.

In the next few days we had gone to just about every haunted attraction around. 

Trick or treating was a whole new experience for me.

Cue Carson.

On Halloween Andrew introduced me to his son Carson by taking us to Yellowstone. I could not believe how stinking cute he was and I instantly loved him. I loved his dad for how amazing he was with him. Their bond and relationship was so sweet and so good. I knew they were both so good at heart and that my life was about to change.

That night we went trick or treating! The last few years have been kind of boring on Halloween but holy cow it’s so much fun when you take a kid! Carson was too cute. He would knock on the door and they would hold out a handful of candy and he would just take one. After a few houses he said that he had enough candy and wanted to go home. We carved pumpkins and that pretty much made it the best Halloween of my life.

We have been pretty much inseparable ever since.

In January I went back to school to finish my last two semesters.

In April I started my internship at South Fork Elementary in a Kindergarten! I loved it.

In May Andrew had back surgery. I am so grateful that he is feeling better.

May was insane. I had my internship, a job, a broken hurt boyfriend, my birthday, a wedding, and school.

Heavenly Father must have been carrying me through that because holy smokes… how the heck did I get to where I am now.

On June 21^st Andrew took us back to Yellowstone. We saw a family trying to take pictures in front of the waterfall so I asked if I could take the pictures for them. They handed me their camera and I snapped a few shots. After that the lady asked if I wanted her to take pictures of us. Andrew said, “Take a bunch.” As we stood there taking a picture, Andrew knelt down and asked me to marry him. I said yes.

I am so happy that some random lady was able to capture this moment for us.

I am so excited to marry Andrew. He is my best friend. Carson is a humongous blessing in my life and I love them both. I absolutely love seeing Andrew as a father. He works so hard. He is so thoughtful and selfless. Seeing those boys together brings me so much joy and happiness. They do so much to make sure that I am happy. I cannot compare it to anything that I have ever felt. Family is truly the greatest blessing on this earth.

On July 4^th, Andrews’s parents flew into Salt Lake from their mission in the Czech Republic. This was the first time I met them! We both have pretty cool stories about meeting each other’s parents’ haha.  

July 23^rd I graduated college with a Bachelor in Child Development.

I am truly grateful for the experience and knowledge that I have gained while working with children these past few years.  It has become very convenient.

So many good things have happened! I am the happiest that I have ever been. We are planning to get married in December so everyone be ready! We will get an exact date to you as soon as we know. 

I one hundred percent believe that Heavenly Father just wants us to be happy. Even though we are given trials, we are always blessed with so much more.

The other day I was driving to Idaho Falls and needed to go to Sunnyside which is across town. I knew that there would be a bunch of stoplights and I was feeling pretty stressed out. It was the morning of my finals and my exit interview for school. I was heading to an appointment with a neurosurgeon to find out what we can do about the injury in my back.

I know, Andrew and I are quite the pair. He just says we are “souped up.”

Heavenly Father must have known I was struggling with impatience and frustration because every single stoplight turned green right before I got to them. 

Some would say that’s just coincidence or detectors, but I really just believe that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy. Despite the trials that will always come, He gives us blessings. Whether these blessings are big like having my boys, or small like flipping His stoplight switch… they will always come.