Happy Fourth of July

The 4th of July... On the 3rd.

Since I'll be sitting in a car all day tomorrow, I figured I'd talk a little bit about why 

i love america.

I come from a strong military background.

Both of my grandpas served in World War II, one receiving a purple heart.

Three of my mom's brothers served in Vietnam.

My dad and all three of his brothers served in some branch of the military.

My dad spent about 3 years in Thailand. 

A year of that time was spent engaged and married to my mom.

Bryan sometimes talks about joining the Army, if movies don't work out.

It terrifies me, but--to be completely honest--I wouldn't be a more proud wife than to have a soldier as a husband.

I have several friends who, upon graduating high school, joined the military.

It makes my heart so grateful for the sacrifice.

I know that this country was built upon a foundation of our forefathers,

in the hopes that its freedoms will never break down.

I was told once to uphold all the laws and rights in this country, so that this chosen land will prosper through to the last days and to the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I take that very seriously.

Every time I have sung The Star-Spangled Banner, my heart is filled with pride.

Every time I see veterans leading out the parades on the morning of Independence day, 

I weep with gratitude.

I love my country.

Let freedom ring.

God Bless America.

I got sick the day AFTER christmas.

Thank goodness.
That would have been the WORST Christmas present EVER if I had gotten sick on the day. But, luckily (but not so pleasantly) I got sick the night after.

But that's not what this post is supposed to be about.
Christmas really awesome. Bryan and I spent the weekend with his family and I got to take part in some classic family traditions and in some new ones!
Every Christmas Eve, Bryan's grandparents (dad's side) go caroling to some of their neighbors. It was actually when we got engaged last year! So, of course we had to go again. It was so fun being on the Oyler's front step again and being with my husband who went from being my boyfriend to my fiance 1 year ago that night. That was the best Christmas present ever :)
After that, my mother-in-law initiated the first of the 2 new traditions.
We had a shepherd's dinner. Bread, cheese, summer sausage, and grapes. Yeah, it wasn't exactly what shepherds in Israel would have had, but we did what we could. Unleavened bread isn't very good and we had to have some sort of balance to our meal. But, the cool part was that we didn't use any technology to make anything (we bought the bread. yeah, we kinda cheated). It was simple, but even with the meagerness of the meal, I felt full at the end.
Then, we went on to the second of the new traditions. Michael McLean wrote a children's book of his story, The Forgotten Carols. It comes with a cd that has the songs and a narration by Brother McLean himself! So, we turned out the lights, lit some candles, and we sat and followed along with the book and listened to some of all our favorite Christmas songs.
Then, we continued with... well, traditional traditions lol
My father-in-law read from 3 Nephi 1; the account of Christ's birth as recorded by prophets in the America's. It was a sweet reminder of the greatness of His glory and the simplicity of His greatness.
Then, we all got to open our pajamas from Santa!
My pants were zebra print (of course!) and Bryan's were blue flannel. I helped Santa pick them out. ;)
We watched It's a Wonderful Life, which is different for me because my family always watched White Christmas. But, I still love that film. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I watch it. It's also Bryan's favorite movie.
Well, the time came when we all (who were staying the night at Mom and Dad's) had to get crammed in the basement so we wouldn't see what Santa brought.
So it started...
All of us girls (Eliza, Leah, and I) were to sleep in Liza's room and the boys (Bryan and Matthew, his brother) were to sleep in the play room outside of Liza's room. This is all part of the basement.
Liza and I wanted to try and pull and all-nighter, so we played The Game of Life until about 3 AM. Bryan was stealing money and Life tiles, Matthew was mad that he had the lowest salary, Leah was in the most debt, Liza was taking money from Bryan because he kept trying to not pay his debts, and I ended up winning even with only 2 Life tiles. It was funny.
Then Leah and I talked til about 5 AM.
Then we got up at 7 AM.
We prayed with Mom and Dad, took a picture on the stairs, then went to our stockings.
Bryan got a rubberband gun and a car kit. I got cookie sheets and my pizza stone. We got more, but I hate talking about Christmas gifts... Weird, I know. But I almost feel selfish because it's like "Look what **I** got!" Meh. Well, Bryan got the cinematographer's manual, some money, a Barnes and Noble gift card, Toy Story 3, Beauty and the Beast, 3:10 to Yuma, and recipes. I got some moccosin slippers, a necklace, some earrings, a shirt, a skookie pan, and we both got a book about Joseph Smith. I think that's everything...
Anyway, we went and saw Aub, Chad, and the kids. Hayden was shooting free throws. He's 2. Yeah. Bella was being shy for some reason. She's funny. It was good to see my sister. I missed her.
Then we went and had breakfast with Bryan's family and Grandma and Grandpa O. It was delicious, as always :)
This year, we didn't shoot our gingerbread houses. We didn't have any ammo for Bryan's bb gun :(
We spent the afternoon napping and playing games and watching movies. Then we went to Gma and Gpa O's house for dinner and the cousin gift exchange. It's always fun seeing that side of the family. Plus, the food is awesome :)
Then, we went back home to watch The Queen, our gift to Bryan's mom. I really liked it.
Then bed.
Sunday, we spent time with my sisters and then went to our friend Christmas party. That's when I started feeling sick.
I got pains in my lower back and down the backs of my legs and in my knees. It hurt to sit, to stand, to walk, to do anything really. Except lay down. Let's just say, I didn't do much. I felt bad. But, Bryan and I got the movie Inception during the White Elephant gift exchange. That was cool.
But that night wasn't.
I was in so much pain.
It hurt to move the next morning.
I didn't go to work.
This morning wasn't so bad. I've been taking pain meds regularly. But I've been coughing and sneezing for 2 days straight. Hopefully, this all lets up soon.

In honor of Christmas...

This is my little "gift" to you!
These clips are from my second favorite Christmas movie of all time, The Muppet Christmas Carol (the first being White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye).

Our First Christmas :)

Okay, I know it's a little early. But, hey! We wanted our OWN little Christmas with just the two of us.

It started off with us talking about our family's traditions. Turns out, they're pretty similar. Except my family's Christmas morning is a little more intense than his, but his family's Christmas Eve is an all-out program compared to mine.
But that's not the point.
So, we talked it out and decided we wanted to sing one of our favorite Christmas songs (we did mine this year). Then we would read Luke 2. Then, we would turn on the music and open presents!
This year, we sang "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear." I don't know why, but I've always loved that song. I guess that this song just personifies how I imagined that sacred night to be.
The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing
Love it.
What I loved even more was that Bryan totally doesn't know the words :) lol. It was awesome. And made me giggle. While trying to play the piano. It was eventful, LEMME TELL YA.
Then we read from Luke 2.
It was such a sweet reminder of the TRUE meaning of Christmas. I'm so grateful for my Savior and his willingness to come to this earth to teach us and save us.
Then... We opened presents!
I made Bryan open all his presents first (that spoiled boy). I got him a sweater from Express, new warm-up pants (Adidas. For free. From work. Woot!), and some business socks ;) (See my playlist to understand why it is so funny).
Then, I opened my present.
Bryan got me a GORGEOUS jewelry box! I love it! I've needed one for a while. I've been keeping all my jewelry in a little Victoria's Secret bag. Let's just say, it wasn't very... Good. Yeah. Everything was all crazy and mixed up and sometimes would end up sad looking because it was all smashed in the bag.
But my NEW jewelry box was EXACTLY what I wanted/needed. I love my hubby :)

Pictures to come!
Merry CHRISTmas

This was too cute to pass up!

So, I saw this on Annie's facebook page. It's so stinkin' cute! But it's also so tender and sweet. Truly, the simplest and most powerful testimonies come from children. They are not corrupted and they are blind to the world. They only know God and his love for them.



I am so grateful this holiday season for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He lives and loves us! I know this to be true.

So it's official...

Won't be going back to AZ for Christmas :( Sad day...

But I'm looking on the bright side:
ALL of Bryan's family is going to be here for Christmas!!! WOOT-DIGGITY!!! I really do love my in-laws. I especially miss Bryan's sister and her hubby. We spent a lot of time with them when we were dating in Idaho and now we don't get to see them much, so it's always so much fun when they come down!!!

Also, my whole family won't be together this year, anyway. I mean, Aubrey's fam isn't going because she doesn't want to travel while 8 months pregnant, and I think one of my other sisters is with her in-laws this year, too (not sure which, but I thought I heard something along those lines).

ANYWAY, total change of subject.

My last post was short.
I spent most of Friday night bawling my eyes out.
Partly because I couldn't sleep (didn't end up falling asleep until about 4 a.m.), but the rest was because I got REEEEEALLLY homesick :( Not a happy place to be. It was like I reached the tipping point that night and it just overwhelmed me! Like... Oh, I don't know... There are really no words that can describe it. It overwhelmed me so much that it made me sick on Saturday and I ended up leaving work early because I felt like I was going to throw up or pass out.
Then I came home.
Red faced and dry-eyed because there were no more tears...
Bryan pulled me to the couch and told me to tell him about it.

And I went loose.

Bawled, again, for hours.


But I am so grateful for my husband. He really does complete me. He helped me look at my problems from the outside and really assess what I was feeling.
I love him so much :)

One of my favorite songs that I like to sing to Bryan when he's discouraged.
I almost sang it at our luncheon, but I knew I was going to ball when I gave my speech, so I just decided to fight my tears with just words and not with song lol.

Not much on my mind... NOT!

Well, I can't remember if I already told my blog... But I'll say it again if I already have... I'm engaged! And it's so stinkin' exciting/stressful/wonderful/scary!! There are so many emotions running through me. But when I'm with Bryan, I'm reminded why I said yes. He's so wonderful, kind, funny. He's my friend and my love and my priesthood holder who wants to take care of me and our future eternal family. There are so many things to be grateful for and so many more things to be happy about. I just love my life!
On the stressful side, I called the temple today and tried to book my date (June 12th!) and they said that they don't book that far in advanced! Really?!! Ugh, frustrating. I'm getting my date and time that I want. It's my day and I'm willing to be bridezilla. No lies. So I'm just going to call until they'll let me book the sealing room.
Well, my parents have been here for Christmas and I've been so spoiled and loving every minute of it. But any day now, they have to go back to Arizona. Not exciting.

So, it's December! Too long...

Well...

"‘Tis winter now; the fallen snow
Has left the heav’ns all coldly clear;
Through leafless boughs the sharp winds blow,
And all the earth lies dead and drear.

And yet God’s love is not withdrawn;
His life within the keen air breathes;
His beauty paints the crimson dawn,
And clothes the boughs with glittering wreaths.

And though abroad the sharp winds blow,
And skies are chill, and frosts are keen,
Home closer draws her circle now,
And warmer glows her light within.

O God! Who giv’st the winter’s cold
As well as summer’s joyous rays,
Us warmly in Thy love enfold,
And keep us through life’s wintry days."

--Samuel Longfellow

Those are the lyrics to one of the songs the Collegiate singers are singing this holiday season. It's been wonderful so far. Bryan came home with me for Thanksgiving. Oh, it was so good to see my family again! How I missed them! All my siblings, the kids, my parents! It was so fun! There was a family talent show and we took family pictures and we played games Friday afternoon... It was just all around wonderful! It seemed like the week went by too fast.
Bryan and I are now just waiting out the end of the semester. Both of us are working so hard to get decent grades on our finals, we barely see each other. But, it's all for a good cause. We'll get to spend all winter together.
It's starting to hit me... I may not be coming back to Idaho. Bryan keeps telling me that he doesn't have an answer about us getting married so I almost don't want to start making any changes to my life just in case he decides that I'm not supposed to be his wife. Just the thought of not being him just tears be apart, but I won't dwell on that. Anyway, we went ring shopping the other day and I found a ring that I loved! I dreamed about that ring. But I will be happy with whatever ring I get... If I get one *sighs* oh well.
Anyway, I have finals and juries to prepare for.