Boy... this year has been one to remember! That's for sure! So here we go. My top 5 for the year 2013.
5. So I think number 5 is going to have to be a tie. It's between the weekend I went to California to "surprise" Andre, and the week we spent in Virginia before we got married. So, if you want to read about that weekend in California, go back to my last post and read it. Otherwise stay here and read about our trip to Virginia.
So, we went to Virginia at the end of August where I got to meet Andre's parents and siblings. Oh my goodness. I love them! I felt a part of the family in an instant. The love they showed towards me was way more than I had even hoped for. I knew from the moment I met them, that I was going to love being a part of their family.
Mary has the most caring heart and the love that pours out of her is just unbelievable. I can't even express to you how loved I felt from the beginning. Andre told me the other day that the first person that comes to his mind when he thinks of someone who has inspired him to be better, is Mary, and I can totally understand why. She is literally one of the most kind-hearted, soft-spoken people I have ever come to love. I am grateful to be able to call her my sister :)
Alex would make conversation with me everywhere we went. She would ask me all kinds of questions, and I felt like she was trying so hard to get to know me. She even trusted me to take care of her newborn baby, Alessia, for a while during Mary's wedding! Only 1 hour after she met me! haha.
Pie is just... awesome. From the moment she saw me and ran to me to give me a huge hug, I could tell I was gonna love her. It was like she had been waiting forever to meet her soon-to-be sister-in-law and she made me feel so extremely loved, it's incredible.
Chris is so much like Andre, I feel like. He seems to be calm and quiet, but has a great sense of humor. He and his best friend, Zach, picked us up from the airport at 5:00 am! It was kinda funny to meet them for the first time when they were pretty much still asleep. haha But later that day I got to talk to Chris a little more, and he was there to help me take care of Alessia for a little while. Chris simply has a sweet spirit. He is definitely Andre's brother.
Nikki and Sebas are Mary's boys. I'm not sure how they felt about me at first. I think Sebas is just a little shy and was scared to talk to me. I think by the end of the week though, he was starting to warm up to me. Nikki on the other hand is hilarious! See, I have this problem where I always seem to be cold. So Nikki liked to call me "cold-blooded." For some reason, I really wanted Nikki and Sebas (and Alex's son, Adrian - but he's like 2) to like me. I mean, they are my first nephews and I want to be classified as a cool aunt! So, when Nikki would talk to me and even tease me a little bit, I liked it because I felt like he might actually like me! haha I know, I'm weird.
Gloria is Andre's Mom. I love her so much. We have a hard time communicating just because she speaks very little English and I speak very little Spanish. So... it's hard to carry on a conversation without someone else there to translate. Sometimes I really wish there was an easier way to talk to her, but I can feel the love she has for me just in the way she acts towards me. She has such a kind, loving spirit, and the love and respect I have for her is so immense.
Jimmy, Andre's dad, went out of his way, every chance he had, to make me feel a part of the family. He was always making conversation with me, getting to know me and including me in everything. He said something to me one day that almost made me tear up because I felt so loved. Unfortunately I don't remember exactly what it is was that he said to me, but I remember how I felt, and how much love and gratitude I felt in my heart!
4. Number 4 is something that is very personal and I'm not sure how many details I want to share, but at a time during this past year, I went through quite a few emotional struggles. One in particular comes to mind that was one of the hardest trials I feel I have had to go through thus far in my life. It was something I was completely overwhelmed with. I felt heartache, sadness and confusion everyday, and I got to the point where I just didn't know what to do anymore.
In the L.D.S. church, we have something called the Priesthood. All men in the church who are worthy to hold it and use it and have been given that authority, can use it when they feel it is necessary. My family has been blessed to always have a father who is a worthy Priesthood holder. At this time, I felt like I needed extra help, so I asked him for something called a "father's blessing." In this blessing, I was told I would feel peace... very soon. Not even 5 minutes later, I felt peace, and I went throughout the rest of the day feeling content and happy. I didn't even realize it until later that night when I sat down and realized what happened that day, and I knew what I needed to do.
I have always had a testimony of the priesthood and the miracles that it can work, but this was the first time that I felt like it helped me on a very personal level. I know this doesn't seem like much of a miracle, and without details, it's hard to put enough emphasis into the story, but this was an amazing enough experience to make my top 5 list of experiences in the past year. I mean, it's up there with getting married and graduating from college. haha I can definitely say my testimony of the priesthood grew immensely this year because of that experience. I can even say that it was a life-changing experience. I don't know if my life would be completely different now if I hadn't received that fathers' blessing. In summary, I am so grateful to my father for always being the amazing man he is and for enabling me to have this experience.
3. Coming in at number 3 would have to be August 29. That is the day I went through the Washington DC Temple. Though at the time I was not too sure of what was going on, I came out with an incredible feeling in my heart. What made it even better is the fact that my parents were able to be there with me. My mom was even able to be right by my side the entire time. Andre and I even got to sit next to each other in the session, which doesn't get to happen in many temples. It was a wonderful experience, once again, to do something I've been looking forward to for many many years. I'll never forget that day and the feelings I felt while being inside the Lord's House.
2. I graduated from college. Yup. the excitement of it is over now, but at the time it sure was exciting! I have been the owner of a Bachelor's degree for about 8 months now and what have I done with it...? Well... I have gotten a couple different jobs. I suppose the word "degree" helped, but only one of them cared, even a little bit, that it was interior design. That job only lasted the summer until I got married and moved back to Idaho. Then I got the job I currently have where my Interior Design education is slowly fading into my past life.
Anyways, I feel accomplished either way :) The skills I obtained and the lessons that I learned from that Interior Design program will help me through the rest of my life. Those four years were extremely hard, but I would never ever take them back for anything. If I don't do anything with the degree I hold, I will at least always remember the experiences I went through and the amazing people who came into my life throughout that program. Even if nothing comes of it, I am, and will forever be, classified as a college graduate, and if nothing else, I can always look back and be proud of what I accomplished.
1. This one takes the cake for sure, no doubt about it. It was a huge, life-changing event that I have looked forward to for as long as I can remember, and it happened to me this past year. I got married! And let me tell you, I got married to the best man in the world. Holy smokes. How did I get so blessed? Let me just brag about my husband for a few minutes here. He:
a. Is one of the most patient people I have ever known
b. Has a huge, loving, caring heart
c. Wants nothing but for me to be happy
d. Serves me in any way he possibly can, no matter what day, time or circumstance.
I could go on and on, but let me sum it all up by saying this. A few weeks ago, we were talking about our marriage and how we've been doing living together and such and he asked me to tell him anything he does wrong and how he can fix it. Ok seriously, I would have told him if I could think of anything, but I just couldn't! I mean, ya, he plays video games...but only like an hour per week! And sometimes he spends time doing homework instead of spending time with me but...come on... I can't actually complain about that. My point is, I have the best husband :)
I know this is an insanely long post, but I feel like this past year deserves a lot of recognition. It has been one of the most memorable years of my life. If you read through this entire post, thank you for taking the time :) I hope you enjoyed learning about my life.
Love,
Wendy
To learn more about temples and the priesthood, you can go to: http://mormon.org/
