Marriage... Highly Recommended!

So, I am a married woman. I couldn't be happier. I can't even express how good I feel every morning now that I have him to wake up next to. He is the most loving, spiritual, patient, generous, handsome man I could have asked for.

This is, of course, not the only picture. ;) This is just the only one I wanted to take time posting seeing as how I am tired and it is late. I will definitely post more when I have them all together and organized.

Ok, the honeymoon was awesome! We went to the Gatlinburg area and had a blast! We stayed in our own cabin which was very nice. (even though I was scared out of my mind due to listening to a scary book on the way up) We were able to go the the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum and aquarium and walked around the jam-packed city of Gatlinburg Tuesday. That evening Bryce surprised me with tickets to a dinner-and-a-show type thing. It was definitely worth the $50 dollars a plate. They had live horses and tricks on horses, chicken chasing by some kids from the audience, piggy races, and dun, dun, dun.... Ostrich races! Haha it was a blast! Thursday we ventured to Dollywood, which is actually ALOT more fun than it sounds! For me, it was better than six flags. People were friendlier, prices were better, and they provided trams from every parking lot. Ah, the simple things we grown ups enjoy! We went back the next day and then we were on our way home! It wasn't a long trip, but it was an amazing one no matter what.

Now my life begins. I can't wait to see where it goes!!

No Words, Just Very Good Feelings

Tuesday night I went to the temple to take out my endowments. I really have no words to describe the feelings that were going through me. I had no idea you could feel so many different emotions all at the same time. I'm very extremely grateful that Bryce and I are worthy to be sealed in the temple on Saturday morning and that he was able to be there with me Tuesday night. I love my life right now and I wouldn't change anything in it! :)

7 DAYS! :)

So, it's finally come down to the final week. I can't even begin to explain how many things are running through my mind. Let's make a list shall we?

1. CLEAN ROOM

2. Start packing

3. Call Terri about dress

4. Potty train the dang dog!

5. Figure out how to do hair

6. Kennel train the dang dog!

7. Begin those stinking thankyou cards

8. Call Sharon and make sure everything is ready to go

9. STOP STRESSING

10. Go to temple for me Tuesday

11. Wash and clean my car

There ya have it. I could add more, but having to think about everything is just more overwhelming. I want to publically thank SHERN :) She has done SO MUCH for this wedding and I don't know how I would have done it without her!!!

That said... I CAN'T WAIT TO GET MARRIED!!! I've been having those freak-out moments where I look at Bryce and wonder, "Is he REALLY the one for me?" or, "Do i REALLY want to marry him?" and last, but not least, "How can a man like that love a girl like me?"

None of those thoughts mean i have doubts because as soon as I think them I do a 360 and throw them out because I know the answer to all of them is yes. (Not too sure bout the last one..) I guess I have the typical bride "jitters".

Last night was my last day at work and as I was driving away I started to cry. I kept thinking about how I haven't had any huge changes in my life for about 10 years now and that everything is about to change. The place I've gone 5-6 days a week for work is no longer my place of employment. The people I've lived with for 19 years will no longer be my "roommates". The friends I have that have lived so close to me will now live an hour and a half away. I can no longer get up late Sunday morning and just have my mom iron my stuff for me. I can't just throw a load of laundry in and leave for work knowing that'll probaby be out of the dryer and folded when i get home. I never realized how incredibly spoiled I was my entire life by my mom until last night.

ALSO... I had no idead how many things i SHARE with my sister till the other day. I have to get my own blow dryer, shampoo and conditioner, face wash, toothpaste, hair brush, mouse and hairspray, and the list goes on and on and on! I didn't realize I'd be spending a fortune BEFORE the honeymoon! :)

Now that I've had my time to ramble I guess I had better get to that list of mine.. Oh, and does anyone have some fool-proof advice on how to potty train my handsome pup?

Story Time

As I was driving home tonight from hanging out with Bryce, I felt the need to share my story about how I gained my testimony. I don't know why... Maybe someone can benefit from hearing it somehow. Anyways, here goes....

Many of you have known me for several years. My story starts almost 4 years ago. We had a youth conference that was amazing for us to be a part of the summer i after my ninth grade year. Most of you will remember, and a few were extremely involved in some way. We basically put together a performance that had 7 or 8 skits with singing in the beginning and so forth. At the dance during that youth conference, a "popular, older" guy asked me to dance. I, of course, assumed he had lost a bet or something. :) His name was Bryce. (This story is ironically not really about him, I just wanted to throw that in!) Haha ok so at this youth conference i started to have a crush on another older guy, but not quite as old as Bryce. I won't mention names, but most of you know who he is.

So anyways, i started to get a crush on him at that point. About 2 months later we started "going out." I thought i was the luckiest girl alive because not only was he "perfect," he was also a senior and i was only a sophomore. We dated pretty seriously without ever really dating seeing as how I was only 15. I fell in love with him, and i fell hard. (or what i thought was love) After 6 months of being together, and anticipating my 16Th birthday the whole time, he told me he didn't love me anymore 3 days before my birthday. It devastated me. I ended up having an amazing birthday with all of the my friends in our little "group," but it still wasn't the one i had been planning for 6 months.

Two days after my birthday that year, I tried to kill myself. I was very close to succeeding and it's a miracle I'm still here. That was the first time I was diagnosed with depression, even though I had probably had it for a long time before that.

Now, I am in no way blaming that young man for my actions. In fact, the next time I see him, I would like to thank him. And this is the reason. That is the time in my life when I gained my testimony.

A few weeks after that incident the bishop came over to my house and simply handed me a CD he had burned for me. He told me the two songs on there helped him get through a year before when his son was killed. He smiled, gave me a hug and walked away. That was all I needed was to know that people really did care.

I started going to church and realized that it made me happy. Being with people who knew nothing about what had happened and were still nice to me made me realize that I really was loved. Heavenly Father loved me too.

When you do something very wrong it's very hard to feel like you can go to your Heavenly Father and ask for forgiveness. Like he would be mad or something. I know that's not true anymore. The atonement is there for a reason. We should never not feel good enough to go to our Father in Heaven to ask for forgiveness.

Some people can grow up in the church and just have a wonderful testimony that has grown within them for years. Others, have to have an experience, either good or bad, to give them that knowledge.

I'm grateful to a young man who was brave enough to end a "not-so-great" relationship because I grew from it. At the time, I thought my life was over, literally. But I have come to realize that even a bad experience such as that was good because it got me where I am today. I have an amazing man in my life right now that holds the priesthood and is worthy to use it and we're going to be sealed for all time and eternity in 19 days. I'm thankful for the Atonement and I know it's real....

I hope someone can get something out of that long mess :) I just felt like I needed to get it out.