Wifey

ONE.

We currently have no internet at our house. Hopefully we'll have it by Wednesday or so. Until then...I'm stealing a sporadic wireless connection from a neighbor that is slow and disconnects a lot and only works from random parts of the house. Bahahahaha. Yes. I'm a thief.

TWO.

We currently have no cable in our house. SADDDDDD. But that comes Monday. Or rather it will be satellite. Ahem.

THREE.

I want to blog about the honeymoon. But...my laptop is retarded and does not understand that when I stick my memory card into the little slot for it on the side...that I want it to upload the pictures. Instead it doesn't realize that there is anything in it. Grrr.... Thus, I need to find a way to get my pictures from my card onto this computer before I blog about my oh-so-glorious Bahamian stay. I'll work on it. Promise.

FOUR.

I love the temple. 'Nuff said.

FIVE.

I want to paint my house. Does anyone have a good turquoise/robin blue/call it what you may paint color? I want to paint a couple of the walls in my living room this color. But paint scares me. It never turns out the color it SAYS it will. So I'd love to actually SEE it on a wall and then go with it. I'm also looking for a red. I like the one in my parent's house but I'm open to other suggestions. Here is the blueish color I'm looking for. Something like this:





(Yes, I know. Martha Stewart is AMAZING. Who else would come up with a TURQUOISE Kitchen-Aid? I don't know. But I do know that I am in LOVE with this. However, I FORCED myself to go with a black one. Yes, turquoise is in my kitchen now. Because it's AMAZINGNESS. But will it still be in 15 years? Who knows. So I went practical on my most expensive kitchen item. Gahhhh).

SIX.

Setting up house is harder than you think. But I LOVE it! I love being a wifey. I'm currently writing up my FIRST married grocery list. After work, Jess and I are going grocery shopping together. I'm making some fun meals next week. Like chicken divan, pizza, homemade bread sticks, green chili burros and blueberry muffins. Yum! I'll get into the really cool stuff once I build up a bit. I need to start simple. I don't cook. Aha. We'll see how this goes.

SEVEN.

I'm open to any suggestions, ideas, advice from all you wifeys out there on fun recipes, fun decor things, fun things to do for your husband, ANYTHING. I would LOVE to hear from you.

THANK YOU!!!

Okay...so today I want to thank MANY of the wonderful people who helped make my wedding night so great.{1} My mother: Okay. She is FABULOUS. Her mind is amazing. She just has a knack for making things cute, coordinated, amazing and different. She spent COUNTLESS hours trying to make this day perfect and even put up with my bad moods. Sorry Mom!

{2} My daddy: He PAID for this wedding. And I know that it was not cheap. Seriously. But he never complained about it. He wanted the day to be perfect and he wanted to make sure that I felt and looked like a princess. No worries Dad, I did!
{3} My parents-in-law: They were so easy to work with and they planned an AMAZING night-before-the-wedding-dinner! They are the greatest people and I love them! I'm so happy to be a part of their family!

{4} Brad Perkinson: He performed a great wedding ceremony and the spirit was definitely present there. I"m so glad that he was our sealer!
{5} Jess: He never complained. He helped me run countless errands and even did some things ON HIS OWN. He learned a tango dance. He got me a GORGEOUS ring. He always kept a smile on his face. He calmed me down when I got stressed. He understood why I wanted it to be a special night. The list goes on and on...

{6} Annie Randall: She took so many AMAZING pictures! I couldn't be happier! The photographer was a big deal to me...and I spent a lot of time researching wedding photographers and deciding who I wanted. For some reason, I felt really good about her. So I called her up and I'm SOOO glad that I did. She captured the moment really well. She had a fun, unique style. She was quick and easy to work with. She was friendly and helpful. I just love her and would totally recommend her.

{7} Perry Sevey: Great videographer. He was very outgoing and real. He got done what he needed to get done with ease and speed. It's apparent that he knows exactly what he is doing and has been doing it for some time. He was easy to get a hold of. I haven't seen all of the video yet...but I've heard it was great! I would also recommend him!

{8} Aunt Lois: Did you SEE my cake? If you didn't...just wait for pictures. It was absolutely, positively the most AMAZING cake I have ever seen in my life. It was EXACTLY what I wanted. I don't know how she did it. But I am SOOO grateful that she did. I love love LOVED my cake! Ahhhhhhh.

{9} My bridesmaids: They were always asking me what I needed help with. Even though I didn't have much for them to do...I know that they were always there, ready and willing to help. I had assignments for them on the day of the wedding and they all followed through. It was nice to not have to worry about EVERYTHING on that CRAZY day! Thanks girls!

{10} April, the maid of honor: She stayed down here for awhile before the wedding. It was so fun to have her here to help plan and give opinions. She helped with so much. On our before-the-wedding-picture day...she came and helped. She brought this bag full of everything you could possibly need for pics. She even chewed the gum for me in the bubblegum picture because I couldn't seem to get it soft enough! ahahaha. And...she did my make-up for both the pictures and the wedding day. It looked awesome! Thanks Prilly! I miss you!

{11} Carli: My cousin/hairdresser. I LOVED my up-do. It was AMAZINGNESS! She is the most fabulous wedding/hs dance hair lady EVER. Her up-dos don't fall out. I don't know how they don't...but they don't. They always stay. I love having her do my hair. She is the best! And...she brought my veil and tiara to the temple...as well as took care of hair spray, bobby pins, etc. for the whole day so I didn't have to worry about hair stuff at all. It was awesome.

{12} Lori Crum: She helped me and my mom with all the Wright House planning, gave ideas, spent extra time...AND made that CUTE CUTE candy table at the wedding. Oh my goodness. She is talented beyond words. And she is probably the sweetest lady that I know. Thanks for everything Lori!

{13} My mom's amazing friends: Deb Brenner, Elaine Claspell, Lori Crum, Lori Smith, and Gail Ellsworth. These ladies are the greatest EVER! They are so creative and so talented. They spent hours planning for this and were there the whole night serving and making food. I love these ladies! They are such great friends to my mother and are so much fun! Thanks for EVERYTHING!

{14} Diane Skousen: Made the yummy big cupcakes! This lady is great! She's been in my ward for years and is always so helpful! I love her! Her cupcakes were AMAZING and she even has cute names for all of them!

{15} Julie Lara: Made the mini cupcakes. She spent lots of time perfecting her recipe and making the yummyness. She also stayed the whole night and helped with the food!

{16} Venice Hall: This lady is one of the most amazing women I have ever known. She is my neighbor and a good friend of the family. She helped a lot with the food and even brought the ice cream. I seriously love this lady! She is the best best!

{17} Quinten and Carrie Merrill, Allison Brown and Darcel Brock: All of these amazing people stayed the WHOLE night and helped serve food! I can't thank them all enough for all of their hard work and for the example they have been to me in my life. They are all AMAZING!

{18} Travis Brinkerhoff: Our DJ. Okay...I would SOOOO recommend him as a DJ. He gets to know your style of music. He asks for songs you HAVE to have played and ones that you do NOT want played. He lets you pick out all your own songs for first dance, daddy/daughter, bouquet toss, etc. During the line, he would come over periodically and bring us water and let us know how we were doing on time. He let us know when it was time to do each thing throughout the night but was open for changes from the timeline we had originally set-up. He was just GREAT. Loved him.

{19} Amy and Troy: Amazing family friends. They are amazing people. They stayed AFTER the wedding and helped my parents bring all the gifts back to mine and Jesse's house. I'm so so SO glad that my parents have such great friends in their life so that they didn't have to do that job alone. I know they were so tired! Thanks Amy and Troy!

{20} Andrea Jones: She made the pasta salad. Her recipes are always so good and I love her food and treats! She is such a great friend of the family and has always helped so much in my life. I'm so grateful that I know this lady! She is talented and sweet and I love her!

{21} I can't remember the name of the lady who made the rolls...but thank you! They were GREAT!

{22} Sheri Johnson: She helped us choreograph the tango and we could NOT have done it without her! Thanks so much for making our night unique and fun! We loved it!

{23} Aunt Judy: She came over the night before and took a bunch of stuff over to the Wright House to set-up. She was there beside my mother to make the whole event less stressful for her. I love my Aunt Judy. She is too amazing for words! Thanks Jude!

{22} Everyone who came to support us! Jess and I love you all and are so grateful for you time to come and congratulate us!

If I forgot someone...I am SOOOOO sorry! I'm truly grateful for EVERYONE who helped and I know that I'm forgetting someone...it's just so hard to remember! Thanks again!

Friday June 12, 2009

9:00 AM -- Go to my AMAZING cousin Carli's house so that she could form my PERFECT up-do for the day. And...hang out with her 3 cute little kids. Love them.

11:00 -- Eat Paradise Bakery with my parents. My "last meal as a single woman" as they BOTH quoted to me at SEPERATE times. Yes, I woke up and my mom said..."So what do you want to eat for your last meal single?" I was like..."Umm....Mom, can we not put it that way? It's kind of weird..." Then I preceeded to tell her that Paradise would be FAB-U-LOUS.

11:30 -- April comes to apply my make-up. Dang, I'm lucky. Hair dresser and esthetician in the family. Woot woot!

12:30 -- Put on church clothes and make sure everything is all ready for the day.

***Side note: At this point I have butterflies. Lots of them. And they are swarming in every direction. But as Brother Wold would say, I just had to wait until they all got in formation and then it would be good. No, these weren't the bad butterflies. They were definitely the "i'm so excited I can't bear it!" kind of butterflies.

1:00 -- Jess shows up. Only 10 minutes late. And I find out that he got a hair-cut, washed his car (inside and out), shaved, got new swim shorts, and I believe there was something else also that I'm now forgetting. Isn't he great? He looked AMAZING.

1:15 -- Arrive at the temple.

2:15 -- The ceremony starts. Brad Perkinson sealed us and did an awesome job.

3:30 -- Pictures with everyone outside. Annie Randall is WONDERFUL. Don't worry...I will post them when I get them but I don't have them yet!

4:15 -- BREAK. Yay! Only until 5:15...but hey, a break all the same. I won't disclose details here...

5:15 -- Eat some food super fast that my parents brought for us. We were STARVING and knew we wouldn't get to eat all night.

5:45 -- Fix my hair and make-up and get back into my dress. Gahhhhh.

6:00 -- MORE pictures. This time at the Wright House. Once again, Annie Randall is AMAZING.

7:00 -- Stand in line. For almost 2 hours. And talk to people. Surprisingly though, it went by really fast. So that was definitely good. I actually enjoyed this.

8:45 -- Jess and I cut the cake. And don't worry...he definitely shoved it in my fact. Grrr... ahahaha. Gotta love him for it!

8:50 -- First dance. Umm...yeah. Amazing. Nuff' said. I love dancing with my husband. It's pretty much the best thing ever. Okay?

8:55 -- Daddy/Daughter dance. He was crying. Made me cry. Mom cried and joined us for a hug at the end. (P.S.--I saw April bawling the whole time as well.) I love my Daddy so much!

9:00 -- Anniversary Dance: all couples get up and dance and slowly the DJ kicks people off. For example, his first comment, "Sit down if you've been married for...less than 8 hours." Jess and I GLADLY left the dance floor and SAT. It felt good. My grandparents were the last ones up. Awww...presh.

9:05 -- The real dancing started! Woooo hoooo!




9:20 -- Bouquet toss: Caught by my cousin Kenzie. Garter: Caught by my cousin Dallin.

9:25 -- Jess and I go get changed for a surprise.

9:35 -- TANGO. Yes, Jess and I did a tango at our reception. It was freakin' awesomeness. Thanks to our amazing friend Sheri who helped us choreograph it. THANK YOU.

9:45 -- Limo leaves and takes us to our Scottsdale hotel.

It was a perfect night. Sadly, I didn't get to walk around and see everything...but from what I've heard it looked AMAZING. I can't wait to see pictures. But I'm sure that it ended up exactly how I wanted it because everyone who helped was awesome. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED. Seriously, I can't thank you all enough. I will go into further detail on this on a later blog. Perhaps tomorrow.

I will post pictures when I get them. And I will fill you all in on the honeymoon later this week as well.

For more details on the wedding...go HERE.

P.S. -- The pictures on THIS blog are courtesy of my buffer Miss Natalie Wall. She's amazing. :)

I'm Back...

I'm here. I'm back. And I know that I need to post about the wedding, the reception, the honeymoon and the beginning of my new life as Jess's wife.

But...those are going to be long posts. And will take awhile. I'll try to get around to a good one today or tomorrow. But as of right now...I'm gonna be a good wifey and go do all of our laundry from the honeymoon. Then bring my husband lunch! I miss him. It's the longest we've been apart since around 1:00 on June 12. Weird...It's been an hour and a half. Ah...

So I'll post soon. I promise.

P.S.---Thanks to those who "came out" and finally posted on my blog. But I know there is more of you...

:)

I'm totally okay with meeting new people via blogger and making new friends. So come out, come out wherever you are!

Today

I get married today. Just thought I'd tell you. Less than 14 hours. And I know I missed my two day blog. And I don't have much time for my one day blog. But I just wanted to say sorry for missing those two blogs. And sorry for being a slacker and not commenting on other blogs. If you've had a wedding...I'm sure you understand. If you haven't...you'll get it when you do. Life's been CRAZY.

I probably won't be on here for about two weeks. Just a forewarning.

I'll miss you.

But a week in the Bahamas sounds REALLY nice after this week...


:)


Leave some love!

3 days...

I know, I know. I'm posting AFTER midnight. Meaning technically it's 2 days. Same with yesterday's post. And probably a lot of the others. But it's hard getting around to writing on this blog until right before bed. Which is usually after midnight. But it's still Tuesday to me.

So here goes.

{three} Songs that remind me of Jess:

1. Then by Brad Paisley: The first time I heard this song, I was on my way to school. Totally started crying. Hard. Then I had to recompose myself quick before I got to the institute parking lot and was greeted by Brother Livingstone so he wouldn't worry about me and think something was wrong.

"What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then"

Perfect lyrics. I never think it's possible to love him any more. And then I do. It's great.

2. I Cross My Heart by George Strait: I love this song. I think it's the song we're using for our first dance...but I could still easily change my mind. It's hard for me to choose just ONE song for that. But it's the one I e-mailed our DJ for now.

"Our love is unconditional, we knew it from the start.
I see it in your eyes, you can feel it from my heart.
From here on after let's stay the way we are right now,
And share all the love and laughter
That a lifetime will allow."

It's perfect. I love it.

3. Real Life Fairytale by Plumb: Most of you probably haven't heard this song but I LOVE it. Every lyric reminds me of my relationship with Jess. There was a time where I would listen to this song at least 3 times a day because it made me so happy. It's great.

"You are my light, you are my star, you are my sunshine and my dark
You are the everything I dreamed about
You are the guy who stole my heart
I am the girl you're always smiling for
We have a love people dream about
A real life fairytale"

I don't know what it is about this song. But I just love it!


Okay. Now that the "3 days" post portion is complete I have a little complaint. I have around 60 people viewing my blog a day...and only about 5 comments daily. What's that all about? Any comments on THAT? :)

4 days...

Destination: the Bahamas

Here are 4 exciting things Jess and I will be doing on our honeymoon in the Bahamas!

{1} Swimming with dolphins: it's something i've ALWAYS wanted to do. And of course, Jess is making my wish come true.


{2} Spearfishing: Of course, this is for Jess. He's always wanted to do this and I want to make him happy. So it's my way of saying thank you for taking me swimming with dolphins. Plus, we're getting a private charter for this.


{3} Snorkeling: Never REALLY done this. I'm excited. It'll be way exciting!


{4} Parasailing: Another thing I've always wanted to do. Or at least that I've wanted to do since April and James did it on their honeymoon.


Oh man. I'm excited. Can't wait!

:)

5 days...

Here are 5 goals that I have to be the best "wifey" that I can be.

1. Start off things right. I don't want to be lazy in the beginning of our marriage and say, "Oh i'll do that later." Or "We'll start doing those things a month into our marriage." No. We'll start right away. For example: there won't be any "We'll eat bad now but start eating good in July." Nope. Eating healthy starts right away. I'll cook healthy meals, pack healthy lunches and won't buy junk food. It just won't be in the house. In other words, I want to begin by forming good habits. It's easier to form a habit than to break a bad one and replace it with a new one.

2. Keep a neat and clean house. Neat is the key word here. I would definitely call myself a clean person. I can't stand to have old dirty dishes in the sink. The counter must always be clean. In fact, the kitchen must always be what our family calls "slicked". The bathroom sinks and toilets must be clean. However, I wouldn't necessarily call myself a neat person. I always have clothes laying on my floor and stuff everywhere. This habit ends now. I will not have a messy house.

3. Staying close to the Spirit. Personal scripture study and prayer will happen EVERY DAY. On top of that, Jess and I will have couple scripture and prayer EVERY DAY. We will attend the temple regularly. I will read the Ensign every month. The Spirit will definitely abide in our home.

4. Be selfless. Jess and I never fight. Really seriously, we don't. But it's bound to happen. Yes, we're totally in love. And yes, we want to be together forever. But we also know that marriage isn't easy and there are tough times ahead. For this reason, I am going to learn to be more selfless. I will try to compromise more and learn to understand his viewpoint on situations before I make a judgment. I will not criticize him, especially for unnecessary reasons. I will put 100% into my marriage always.

5. Make sure he always knows that he is loved. I will tell him I love him every morning when he leaves for work and every night before we fall asleep (and about a hundred more times each day). I will always try to look cute for him. Even though he tells me I'm beautiful even when I'm make-up less and in sweats with a greasy ponytail, I don't want him to ever think that I don't care enough to get ready for him. I will make sure that he always knows that I want to look good for him.

I'm so excited to be his wife! 5 days!

6 days...

I know. Sorry that I didn't get around to writing this blog yesterday. I was oober busy all day. But I did have this specific blog on my mind all day so I'm going to write both my 6 days...and 5 days...blogs today.

Sound good?!

So for six days until my wedding, I want to talk about six special friends who also happen to be six amazing bridesmaids at my wedding.

{one} Andi -- This girl is such an inspiration to me. Seriously. She has helped me through so many trials in my life. Yes, this girl has seen me cry. And she got me to calm down and feel so much better. I love her. Whenever I needed advice, she always gave her advice with the help of the Spirit and turned my mind to my Savior for help. I miss her so much! She is currently living in Idaho with her new husband Aaron (who is also amazing, might I add). I'm so grateful for her example in my life and for all that she has taught me. And...I could listen to her sing for hours. She has the prettiest voice EVER. I love it.





{two} Cami -- This girl is simply amazing. I just love her. She has always been there for me just to talk to. I can't tell you the many times that I have gone to her house and vented and she just sat there and listened. She made me feel better every single time. And she taught me that it is okay to talk to your friends when you are hurting. It's okay to say, "I'm not perfect. I'm hurting. Please help me." I can't thank her enough for that. She is also such a fun person. We have had some crazy fun nights together that I will never forget. I love this girl and I'm so happy for her that she is now married! Yay!





{three} Chelsi -- Oh my goodness. Where do I even begin? This girl is practically perfect. She is such a strength to me in my life and I am so blessed to be able to call her one of my best friends. We've been friends for YEARS. Her testimony is so strong and she is such a great example of Christ. I don't think that I have EVER heard this girl say something bad about someone else. Seriously. She chooses to see the good in others. And only the good. There have been so many times in my life where she has lifted me up when I truly needed it. Plus, she is super talented and gorgeous. I just love being around her. You can't help but smile when you are with this girl.





{four} Kara -- Wow. This girl has been around for so much. We have had so many great times together. So many random and fun memories. Kara is such a giver. She is always thinking about others and how she can help them. Plus, she thinks of EVERYTHING. I don't know how she does it, but she can think of the best solutions to problems. She thinks of the little things. One thing I know for sure about this girl's future is that she will be the most AMAZING mother. She is always taking care of those around her and making sure that they are doing alright. She is fabulous with kids. I love her. She is a great example to me.





{five} Natalie -- Okay. Where to start? I am so grateful that I was able to meet this girl and to become such great friends with her. She is SUCH a great example to me. All throughout high school, we had a lot of great times together. I don't think Natalie and I have spent more than a half hour together without laughing so hard we cry. We have SOOOO many inside jokes. I could laugh with this girl for hours. She is one of the funnest girls that I know. In the past year since she has been baptized, we have had so many great spiritual talks together. She has strengthened my testimony so much. Reading scriptures with this girl = total awesomeness. Love it. Love her.






{six} Tessa -- I miss this girl lots and I am SOOO excited to see her this week. We have been friends since kindergarten. I know, crazy huh? We were in the same class, became friends and have been friends ever since. This girl gives the BEST advice ever. Whenever I need to talk to someone, she is always there for me. I love that she gets crazy and looney with me when it's late at night and we have a lack of sleep. I love that she laughs at the stupid things with me that nobody else will laugh at. I love that she is such an amazing person and that she has helped me become who I am today. She is the greatest!





I love all of these girls. And my amazing maid-of-honor April.

I will post my 5 days post later tonight before bed.

:)

One week...

Or 7 days...




:)

So here are seven things still to cross off my before the wedding to-do list:

{one} Get marriage license (VERY important)

{two} Go through the temple (tomorrow!)

{three} Bachelorette party (tonight!)

{four} Pack for the honeymoon (the Bahamas)

{five} Put the finishing touches on a reception surprise (can't wait)

{six} Get myself all pretty (tan, wax, manicure, pedicure, the works)

{seven} Wedding dinner

AND about a million other tiny, little things. Wish me luck!

8 days...

Wow. Tomorrow it'll be a week. FINALLY.

So today, Jess and I had our mattress delivered. Since he works...this meant that I had to go chill in our lonely house and wait for the mattress guys to come. I decided to bring my mother along so we could have some fun with the house.

Therefore...I now bring you...8 things I did in my house (it's starting to look cute!)

1. Decorated the kitchen a bit. I'm pretty sure this will change a gazillion times before I'm completely happy with it...but at least now it'll feel like home when I first get there. Look at our cute place settings! I love them! :)













2. Did the dishes. Yes...he had dirty dishes sitting in the sink from weeks (maybe even MONTHS) ago. Boys will never learn...






3. Did some laundry. I washed my bedding and some dirty towels he had lying around. Plus some clothes he's been missing (that i folded and brought home for him).






4. Added some fun touches to the family room. And FINALLY put a picture in the cute frame he'd had on top of the TV with the picture that CAME with it still inside.












5. Lifted weights. Or pretended to...




6. Made the bed. No...we don't have pillows yet, so the pillowcases are just chilling. And yes...apparently our bedding wrinkles REALLY easily. So I'll need to fix that.





7. Left a surprise somewhere for Jess in the bedroom. You'll have to find it babe! I hid it!











8. Laid in my soon to be favorite room in the house: my SCRAPBOOK room. Jess's idea. Yes, I know. He's perfect. He's giving me a scrapbook room because he gets a gym room. I'm SO excited to decorate it EXTRA girly!










I can't wait to move in with Jess and be his wife! Don't worry...I'll post pictures once our house is painted and all decorated! :)

9 days...

Nine days and counting...down. :)

There have been many people in my life who have helped make me who I am today. For the ninth day until I get married...I want to share with you NINE people who have showed me the importance of and helped me stay worthy of a temple marriage.

1. My daddy -- He is the most amazing example of a Christ-like person that I know. He has raised me in the gospel and shown me its importance by his own words and deeds. He truly LIVES what he BELIEVES. He was married in the temple himself and has always taught me that this is SOOO important.







2. My mother -- She was always alongside my father teaching me right from wrong. She has such a strong testimony of the gospel and of the temple and shares that with me constantly. I have learned so much through her example and testimony. She is an amazing lady!






3. April -- She has such a STRONG testimony of the gospel. I've had some really great discussions with her about the church and recently about the temple. She truly is such an amazing person and I am so blessed to have her in my life and to have her so close at this special time in my life.






4. Andilyn -- This girl is amazing. We've been friends since the eighth grade and she is one of my bridesmaids. I was also a bridesmaid for her wedding in April up in Idaho Falls. It was such a great experience to see her come out of the temple, all smiles, with her eternal companion by her side. We shared a few special moments together talking about the temple and its importance that weekend. She has always been such a great example to me and I am so grateful to her for being married in the temple and giving me that example to look up to.






5. Katelin -- She is simply the best. This girl never has a frown on her face...EVER. She is such a great example of optimism. I watched her struggle through some hard times but never give up. Then I had the wonderful opportunity of seeing her be baptized. Her testimony is unwavering. She has so much faith. It was such an amazing experience for me to see one of my best friends be baptized because you realize how much you yourself have taken your religion for granted. I watched this girl fight so much opposition to be able to become a member of this church. She knew just how important it was and would have done anything for it.






6. Natalie -- This girl is stellar. Seriously. Like Katelin, she is also a convert and faced opposition to become a member of the church. Talking with her and seeing the transformation in her life was one of my greatest experiences. Then getting to be at her baptism and see her arise from that water was such a neat experience. Right after she was baptized, I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. I can't tell you how awesome it was to look into her eyes immediately after she had become so clean and pure, and made such a great decision in her life. The spirit was so strong. We have had so many fabulous, deep gospel discussions since this time. She is solid. Reading the scriptures is her absolute favorite thing and she wouldn't miss church for anything. She has taught me so much.





7. Grandma and Grandpa Petersen -- They are so amazing and have shown me so much love throughout my life. I can't thank them enough for raising such a great son who became such an amazing father to me. Even further, they raised four more amazing children to be strong in the church and to be examples to me...and to raise children to help me learn and grow.






8. Grandma and Grandpa Webster -- My grandmother is such a Christ-like person. She has so much heart in her and is loved by so many people. She loves this church. She raised six amazing children and taught them so well. They have all become such a strength to me, one of which has raised me in a house of love. Although I was only two when my grandpa passed away, I have felt his spirit in my life. I've been told that he absolutely adored me as a baby and I know that this is true because I have felt his love. I've heard lots of stories about him and do not doubt that he had a testimony of the truth of the gospel. I thank him for starting the amazing family line that he did.






9. Jess -- Wow. This guy is amazing. Seriously. He has definitely helped me get to where I am today...and I've only known him for just over seven months. His testimony is so strong and he is such a great example of a valiant member of the church. I am going to the temple this week because of him. He helped me get there. I love this boy with all of my heart and I will always love him. And because of the temple, I will get to be with him FOREVER.







There are so many more people that have helped me get to this point. But these are a few that I thought I would share with you all.