The Day Jordi Came Into Our Lives...

I wanted to take the time to write this out while it's still fresh in my mind. A week ago, on January 7, 2017, Jordi came into our lives and it's a day I never want to forget!

My parents had been here since Christmas Eve, awaiting the arrival of their first grandchild. He was due on Dec. 29, 2016 and we were all hoping he would make his appearance before the new year. Well, the new year came and went and still no baby. I had an appointment on Jan. 4 where we set an induction for the 7th, still hoping he'd come in his own before then. I was scared to death of being induced because of some of the things I had heard about pitocin. I really wanted to go into labor on my own. Well, the morning of the 7th came and I woke up feeling like I was having menstrual cramps. I had heard that labor can sometimes start out feeling that way and wondered if that's what it was. Then I went to the bathroom and to my surprise, blood. Another sign of labor. Hmm... So I continued to go about my morning, getting ready to head to the hospital at 8am. We got there right on time, and a few minutes later I was in a hospital gown waiting for the doctor to come in. She came in and asked how I was feeling. I told her about my morning and the symptoms I was having. With that in mind, she checked me and I was already to 3 cm and 80% effaced. She said that my body was already going into labor on its own! Because it was already doing it's thing, that meant I was more than ready to get the party started. The pitocin would just give it a good kick start and things would get moving a bit quicker. So, they started me on pitocin at 9:30am. Within the hour, I was feeling contractions 1-3 minutes apart. I went into this wanting to hold off on the epidural because I wanted to see what labor felt like and see how much I could handle.

By 11:30am I had had enough, so I asked for the epidural. At noon, I received it and starting feeling the contractions ease off within a few minutes. Aw... relief. Now I was able to relax and let my body and the baby do their thing. I was a little disappointed in myself though. I felt like I gave into the epidural too easily, but I just wanted some relief! The anesthesiologist had told me that the epidural would not take my pain away completely, but that it was meant to bring my pain down from a 10 to about a 4. You know how they ask you to rate your pain on a scale of 1-10? Right before I got the epidural, I told them my pain was at a 6 or 7. I felt like such a wimp but didn't even want to think about what 10 would feel like. After receiving the epidural, I was asked again to rate my pain. I told them it had gone down to a 3 or 4. When I expressed my disappointment to the nurse and anesthesiologist that I thought I wasn't handling the pain very well, they both agreed that by what the monitor had been showing, I was probably a lot closer to a 10 than I had thought and I was just being too modest with my ratings. Hearing that actually made me feel better about myself. Haha!

Anyway, they checked me again at 12:45pm. I had progressed to 4 cm and they broke my water.

Right around 1:45, I started to feel the epidural wear off so I pushed the button to administer more. Well, apparently I waited too long because contractions were back in full swing before it kicked in again.  It was so hard reverting back to feeling contractions again after I had just spent the last two hours feeling so relaxed and pain-free. It took almost an entire hour for the epidural to completely take over again. Ugh.

2:10pm, I was 6 cm.

By 4:00pm I was hoping I was progressing well and would be around 8cm. To my surprise, the nurse checked me and told me I was at 10 cm and it was time to start pushing. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! We decided to wait until 4:30 to actually start pushing to give the baby a little more time to move down and for the nurse to make sure everything was ready. She also wanted me to stop pushing the button for the epidural so that I could somewhat feel when a contraction was coming. That would help when pushing and would make the pushing a bit more effective.

4:30 came and it was time! Only 7 hours after I had started pitocin! I seriously couldn't believe it.

So, I pushed and pushed and pushed for about 45 minutes. I was told the doctor would come in when the baby was crowning. I believe it was around 5:15 when the doctor came in. I thought for sure that meant the baby would come out any minute. It wasn't until 5:50 that little Jordi was finally born!

From arriving at the hospital at 8:00am to delivering at 5:50pm, it took a total of just shy of 10 hours! I call that success!

I had expected that when he was born, a nurse would grab him and place him on my chest. Instead, the doctor pulled him out and immediately told me to take my baby! It totally caught me off guard! I couldn't believe that I was allowed to touch him! Haha! He was all slimy and bloody but I couldn't have cared less! It was the most wonderful experience being able to hold him in my arms just seconds after he was inside my body. For the first few minutes, he was laying on my chest with the hospital gown between us. He cried and cried, but I can honestly say those first cries were the most beautiful sound! As soon as I pulled the hospital gown down and put Jordi directly on my skin, he stopped crying immediately and just laid there peacefully for the longest time. It was such an amazing feeling!

Unfortunately though, the hardest part of it all hadn't even started for me yet. I had an amazingly quick and easy labor and delivery. I had a beautiful baby boy to call mine and I was overcome with joy and emotion. But a few hours later, the epidural wore off. Wowza! Recovering from childbirth is no joke! I was told I had a 2nd degree tear (yes, could be much worse), severe swelling and multiple abrasions. I'm obviously not super familiar with postpartum recovery and what is normal and what is not, but from what I was told by many nurses and doctors, my swelling was much worse than the norm. I didn't know anything different, all I knew was that it sucked to feel that way. Now, almost a week later, I still walk funny, I can't simply sit down without discomfort, it hurts to get in and out of bed and I move slower than a tortoise. I am seeing improvement everyday and honestly, my recovery is going quicker than I thought it would, but it has definitely been a rough week. For the first 4 days I seriously could not get in and out of bed without lots of help. Just walking from bed to the bathroom and back to bed again was a feat. Thank goodness for Andre and my mom! I could barely take care of Jordi for those first few days because I could barely even take care of myself. I couldn't stand long enough to change his diaper, I couldn't get out of bed to nurse him at night; someone had to bring him to me. Although the worst of it only lasted about 4 days, it was the longest 4 days I have ever experienced. Now I am feeling much better, but am still in the process of healing. Swelling is still going down, the bleeding still has a long way to go and my ability to sit comfortably is still something I look forward to! Oh and breast-feeding, well that's a whole other story that every new, breast-feeding mother knows all too well. What no one told me though is what it feels like to have to learn how to breastfeed when I can't even find a comfortable position to sit in because of my own postpartum pain. I can't wait for the day that I can just plop down on the couch without having to spend 5 minutes finding a semi-comfortable position! And then enduring 15-30 minutes of nursing in that position.

Ok, not that I'm complaining because this has been such an amazing week getting to know my newborn baby boy! We love Jordi so so so so much! I just want to show him off to the world! Even through my own physical struggles this week, I have been so happy! I have broken down in tears a couple of times because of pain, but I can still say that I have been so happy! I feel so blessed to have become a mother this week and it has been such a blessing to see Andre become a father and for my parents to become grandparents. Jordi brings such a beautiful spirit into our home and I would not ask for my life to be any other way right now.

Life-Long Learning

Life can be full of complications. Even if there are no huge trials going on in your life at the moment, still just everyday emotions and human existence come with challenges. That's me. I'm not going through any crazy life challenges right now. I'm alive and well, everyone I love is alive and well, I have a safe home, a good education, Andre and I are able to provide for ourselves, we have food on our table everyday, the list could go on and on. Yet, even though life is fairly simple and easy at the moment, I feel like I am constantly analyzing myself, and trying to right my wrongs, change my attitude, be a better wife, a better friend, a better family member, a better stranger, just a better person in general. That alone can make life complicated. I unfortunately fall prey to the natural man most of the time when dealing with emotions, and it is a constant battle for me to just show happiness in my everyday life! I honestly think that I just take things too seriously, and I over-think and complicate simple situations. I take things too personally and I worry too much about how other people see me. We'll also throw in there the fact that hunger makes me pretty cranky. Andre knows this all to well. And for some reason, I seem to be hungry all the time. haha

Andre and I are coming up on our 2-year wedding anniversary, and I am realizing that I am not as far along with my learning, changing and improving as I hoped to be at this point. I still get mad and offended by dumb little things. I show pride and selfishness constantly, and I easily try to place blame away from myself. Though these descriptions make me sound like an awful wife, I feel like I am ALWAYS analyzing my life and trying to be better, yet I'm still not even close to the person I'd ultimately like to be. Well, this is when I have to take it back a notch and look at it from an eternal perspective. 2 years. 2 YEARS! That's nothing! God does not expect perfection right now, and neither should you or I. It is a constant learning process, and will be for 50+ years to come. I am 24 years old, and if you think about 24 years on this earth, you'd think someone that's been doing something for 24 years should know what they are doing! Ya well, most of the time, I feel like I don't. But it's ok. If I live until I am 100, that means I'm not even 1/4 of the way done with my earthly life. That's nothing... again! I mean, I'm not even a mother yet, and once that phase starts, that'll be a whole new beginning to a life I have a hard time even comprehending right now. 

So, I started out this post feeling unsure of myself. Feeling doubtful, insecure and disappointed in who I've been. Well, yeah, I make mistakes, but it doesn't mean I'm a horrible person! Especially when I still have so much life and learning ahead of me, and everyday hands me something new. If we were supposed to be perfect and know everything by the time we were 24, there would be no reason to live until we're 100. None of this gives us a reason to give up on ourselves and stop improving or justify our mistakes, but it does give us a chance to realize that we are all human and that God gives us learning experiences on purpose. So, I guess the next time I want to be hard on myself and tell myself that I'm a bad wife, a bad person, or not good enough, I'll just have to chill and remember to take life one day at a time. You should too :) 

Another Move, More Changes, An Exciting Future!

I have felt like for the past couple years, well let's be honest, for the past 6 years, it's been move after move, change after change, new job after new job. This time, it's been a familiar change, but still a change. Since Andre and I have been married, almost 1 year and 8 months, we have moved 4 times. When we started off, it was back to Rexburg. Then Andre decided he wanted to change his career path. So, we left Rexburg in April 2014, never to return (Now, let's remember that I graduated in April 2013, and left not knowing if I'd ever be coming back, because Andre and I were still dating and hadn't made any commitment to marriage yet. So that's twice now that I left Rexburg thinking it'd be my last time). Then we moved to Sacramento, California until September, where Andre worked as a door-to-door sales rep for Ecoshield Pest Control. After that, we moved to Twin Falls, Idaho, where we were planning to stay for 3 years so that Andre could apply to the Rad-tech program at CSI, where he would study for 2 years, then we'd move to Boise so he could finish up with his Bachelor's in Sonography at BSU. That meant he'd be in school for another 4 years, and that's the plan we were sticking to. Then, in January of this year, something changed in Andre, and he decided that he didn't want to go down that path anymore. So he started researching other options. That brought us back to Rexburg, once again, so that he can study Occupational Safety and Health. He'll graduate with his Bachelor's Degree next April 2016.

So, for now, that's what we are sticking with. Andre seems content with his choice, and I am just trying to be a supportive wife as he figures out what he wants to do for the rest of his life, career-wise. I have to be honest, at first, the thought of moving back to Rexburg was... well let's just say, I wasn't too excited. I LOVED Rexburg while I was going to school, and was very sad to leave, but by now, I was over it and had moved on. I felt like, in a way, going back to Rexburg was a step backwards. But, as we prayed about our decision, and took the steps to go forward with the move, I started to feel better about the idea. To be honest, neither Andre or I were super in love with Twin Falls, and had been thinking about other options, but I never thought it would come to this: moving back to Rexburg, for like the 5th time for me, I might add. I just can't seem to get enough apparently!

Since we've moved back, it's been about a week and a half. School started this last Monday, and I am proud to say that I am taking a Spanish class on campus! One thing is to think I would never live in Rexburg again, but I am a BYU-Idaho student again after 2 years, which is something I seriously never even imagined would happen. It is definitely a funny feeling walking around campus with a backpack on and looking like every other normal student, when I know that I already went through all that! haha But, I must say, I am happy and extremely excited to learn spanish! I am blessed to have this opportunity and the time and money to learn the Spanish language, and will hopefully, one day fairly soon, be able to communicate with all of my spanish-speaking friends and family! I can't wait! I am especially excited for the next time we go to Ecuador, so that I can actually understand what's going on! I think going to Ecuador was what hit me the most. I realized that marrying Andre brought a huge amount of new people into my life, many of whom don't speak much English, if any at all, and I realized how truly important it is for me to be able to speak their language. Many of these people have been influential in Andre's life, and it is so important to me to be able to communicate with them!

As for jobs, Andre was able to transfer with Syringa Wireless in Twin Falls, to the store here in Rexburg, He works Monday-Friday here, and then works at the store in Idaho Falls every Saturday. In addition to that, of course he is also a full-time student. Boy, do I love that man. He knows how to work and he's not afraid of it. He does what needs to get done, without complaining a bit. For me, I don't currently have a job, but am in the process of finding one. I have a few things that may be possibilities, but haven't really panned out, so we'll see. Right now, I am focusing on learning spanish quickly and effectively, as well as getting back into a daily exercise routine, which I might add, I missed SO MUCH while living in Twin Falls. That's another blessing of being at BYU-I; a free gym and indoor track that are in walking distance from our apartment. I love it. Andre and I were both super excited to come back just for that. haha

Well, I think that's about it. I am so excited to see what this year has in store for us. We are looking forward to having my parents come up and stay with us for about 4-5 days in May, and we can't wait to show them our cute new apartment and spend some much needed time with them. We are so grateful for God's plan for us and are ready to keep going with whatever he throws at us. Happy Spring Everybody!

Love,
Wendy

2014 In Review

Once again, it's time for my year-end post. When I think back on 2014, there aren't too many experiences that stick out to me as unforgettable, but as I've been thinking a little harder and digging a little deeper, I've been able to think of some experiences that actually were pretty awesome. So here goes:

1. When Andre took the day off from work and surprised me with a day trip to San Francisco for my 23rd birthday! Up until the night before, I was thinking that Andre was gonna be going to work just like any other normal day, and my birthday was going to be pretty lame, but as we were laying in bed the night of the 16th, he turned to me and said, "so, I have to work in San Francisco tomorrow... and you're coming with me" haha. So, we got up fairly early the next morning, made a stop at the Black Bear Diner for some delicious breakfast, then made our way to San Francisco where we went to Ghirardelli Square, the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Chinatown, and then just drove around and looked at the cool houses in the city. It was such a great day spent with a great husband. :)

2. When my mom came to visit Sacramento. My mom means so much to me, and every time I move somewhere new, I love to share it with her. It was so great of her to make the trip up to Sacramento to spend some time with me and Andre. It also happened to be just a few days after her birthday, so we surprised her with a birthday cake and a present the night she arrived. Throughout the time she was there, we did some pretty awesome things. We went to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, Downtown Sacramento and toured a historical mansion (I don't remember what it was for or what it was called, but it was cool), we went on a day trip to a cool little town called Sutter Creek where we ate some super delicious sandwiches,  and then she even came to my yoga class with me one day. My mom is the best, and I love her so much!

3. The summer in Sacramento, California. Ok, so this is more than one experience, but it is definitely a summer that sticks out as unique for us. For me, it was basically a summer full of exercising, yoga, swimming, watching netflix, socializing and exercising some more. I went to the zoo, the pool almost every week probably, we went golfing, bowling, swimming, hot tubbing, camping in our living room, picnicking, you name it! I for one, did so many fun things, with lots of time to relax and just watch netflix too! Andre on the other hand worked long, hard days and weeks with some fun here and there. We had very different summers, but I think we can both say it was a summer to remember.

4. Visiting home in April. Basically anytime I get to go home to Prescott and spend time with my parents is a favorite experience of mine. I have such fun parents to hang out with! I love the conversations we have, the jokes my dad makes, the games we play, the food we eat, everything! One thing that sticks out to me from our trip in April is playing Boggle with mom and Andre. One of us must have said something super funny, or came up with a ridiculous word, and I just remember all 3 of us laughing our heads off for about 3 minutes. It was the hardest I have laughed in a long time. We also played a version of the newlywed game with my parents, and it was awesome! Then we went on a couple different hikes around Prescott and just enjoyed the great outdoors :)

5. I don't know if it's lame that 2 out of 5 experiences involve spending time in Prescott, and 3 out of 5 involve my mom, but what can I say? I guess we know what I love. haha For Christmas we went back to Prescott again. My parents showed us a bunch of the Christmas stuff around town, we got to spend Christmas day with all of my brothers with Eric on Skype, we played games, ate yummy food, drank hot chocolate in a freezing cold Ihop, and then I even got to spend some time with my life long bestie, Michelley! :) I love her so much, and it was so awesome seeing her and her daughters! Also, did I mention that this trip was a surprise for my dad and my little brother. My dad's reaction was priceless. It was so fun! :)

A Year of Love and Learning

This past year has been a whole new world for me. A year ago today, Andre and I got married! It's weird because when I think about that day, it seems like there's no way it was a whole year ago, but when I think about everything that has happened between then and now,  it's amazing! I can say I have learned a lot, but I can say even more confidently that I still have WAY more to learn. Seriously, marriage is an everyday learning process. If I have learned one thing from being married so far, it's that our home is a much happier place when we are both humble, forgiving and don't sweat the small stuff. I'd say I've definitely had to learn that the hard way and I've unfortunately had to drag Andre through it with me, but it has helped me to see how patient and caring he truly is. I can say the same things about him now as I said a year ago; Andre is one of the most patient, humble, selfless men I have ever known (the list could go on and on), and I am blessed times 1 million to be able to call him my husband for eternity :)

People

Today I feel grateful. This summer has been spent exercising, watching tv, grocery shopping, doing laundry, hanging out by the pool, doing fun things with friends, exercising more, watching more tv, and waiting for Andre to come home each night between 8:00 and 10:00 pm. As you can see, it was a very long, fairly boring, but very laid back summer. One thing I have come to be very grateful for this summer though is... people. Complete strangers who I normally would have nothing in common with, who became wonderful friends and people I will never forget. Let me explain.

I decided this summer that I would take up yoga and pilates. So, four days a week for the past four months, I have been going to this class. Back in May, I walked into this class with people nowhere close to my age, who had been doing yoga for months to years, and I was this newbie 22-year old who had never once done yoga in my life. But, everyone was so kind and welcoming and was excited to see a fresh, new face in the class. At first, I felt a little young and out of place, but quickly became good friends with these people who were no less than 15-40 years older than me. I guess at my age you just don't imagine yourself hanging out with 40 to 60-year olds four days a week for fun, haha. But oh my gosh, I love these people! I've started asking myself, "why don't I hang out with 40 to 60-year olds more often?" They have life experiences, kids, families and real jobs and it's so fun to hear their stories. Sure, they liked to tease me about how young and inexperienced I am in life, but it was fun! They always reminded me to be grateful for where I'm at in life right now and always made "old" jokes about themselves that just made me laugh! These people, who came into my life for just a few short months, have made such an impact on me and have made me so grateful for just people in general.

I have associated with the so many L.D.S people in my life, especially in the past 5 years, and haven't had a ton of experiences outside of that. This summer, spending most of my time with people outside of my faith, has opened up my heart and mind to them. You don't have to be a mormon to be a good person. Of course, I already knew that, but I have felt so narrowed the past few years into thinking that the L.D.S. lifestyle is the best thing out there, but I have really come to realize that there are amazing, fun, friendly, good-hearted people out there who maybe don't even believe in God or Jesus Christ, and that's ok! For instance, there's this one lady named Pam. Oh my gosh, one of the kindest people I have ever known! Right off the bat she was just a sweetheart. A few weeks into the class, she invited Andre and I over for dinner. At first, I was a little surprised and thought, "wait, is she L.D.S?" Haha, I honestly thought that people don't typically just invite people over for dinner and that that was kind of a "mormon" thing to do. But I thought that it was so nice of her and of course we accepted the invitation. So, we went over there for a nice Sunday night dinner, we brought some flowers over and Pam and her husband had prepared a salmon dinner with a few different side dishes, and it was delicious! They offered us wine and beer and we politely turned them down and told them we don't drink. They said ok, didn't think much of it, and we just had a great evening full of conversation and laughs! Now, to someone who is not L.D.S, or someone who has spent most of their time associating outside of the L.D.S. bubble, this probably doesn't seem all that significant, but to me, it was a real eye-opener! There are normal people out there who maybe believe nothing close to what I believe, but who are kind and generous and who are wonderful people! I have truly grown to love these people, and Pam is just one of them.

Tonight was my last night of class before Andre and I move back to Idaho. So, after class they treated me to ice cream and we all just sat and talked and ate our ice cream and I just thought about how all these people, who were complete strangers just 4 months ago, now mean so much to me. I'm sad to say good-bye to them! Seriously, I don't even know any of their last names, but I have made friends who will be in my heart forever. And if I ever come back to Sacramento, I will most definitely be visiting that yoga class :)

Another Year Flies By...

Well, it's that time of year again. I wanted to do the same thing I did last year and write a post about the past year, but I don't want to forget to do it, so I'm doing it now, even though there are still a couple weeks in the year.

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

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