Happy Engaged-Aversary!

Time is a funny thing. Growing up, all I did was dream about the day that I would be engaged. I would run scenarios of proposals through my head. I even had names for my make-believe potential grooms. I would look down at my left hand and picture a ring there and, sometimes, I'd even put ctr rings I had on my left hand and pretend I was engaged while no one else was around. I've always been wedding and proposal crazy. I think it's the hopeless romantic in me. I watched wedding show after wedding show, browsed dress site after dress site, and designed rings on shane co. All I wanted was to be engaged and plan a wedding.

It wasn't until Derek came along that I realized why I was so wedding crazy. I wanted to be engaged because I couldn't wait to have a man that I could call all my own. One that I could share everything with, one who would always make me laugh, one who would know me better than anyone else. I wanted to be completely committed and know that there was nothing that would tear us apart. I never liked the open ended idea of dating... It was hard on me to know that at any second, that relationship could end. I wanted a forever marriage... one built on trust, love, communication, laughter, and happiness.

It has been a year since Derek proposed, and it has been everything I always imagined it to be. The ring was perfect (and the newer one is just as beautiful, ha!). The setting was perfect. And even though my reaction wasn't what I had always planned, I like the real reaction better. I'm so glad that Derek arranged to have it filmed, it's one of my favorite things in the world to watch.

I'm working on getting the video embedded, but for now, hopefully this link will work!

Or you can read about it here!

The proposal meant that I would be marrying the man of my dreams. He's everything to me and more. He does every little thing that he can for me and makes me feel so special and so wonderful. He's the best man I know and I'm so grateful he proposed because I wouldn't be this happy if he hadn't. I love him more than he knows.

Today I am grateful....

I thought about doing the 22 days of gratefulness thing, but I'm always grateful for the following things and I knew I'd be terrible at doing it every day. It would have ended up as one day of gratefulness here and another day there, a total of two days in my 22 and that's not even cool.

So today, I'm grateful for a lot of things.

1) For my amazing husband. He amazes me everyday with just how much he loves me. The other day, we were driving home and had a long way still to go and it was getting late. I started to cry and I mean really cry about some stuff and he pulled all the way off the freeway, into a parking lot, and gave me a huge hug. All he said was "Let's go for a walk". He knows exactly how to cheer me up and he never delays doing it. He makes me laugh and everyday I'm reminded why this guy is the one for me. So today, I'm grateful for the love of a man I don't deserve.

2) I'm grateful for my amazing mother. One who checks up on me every single day and knows just what to say to pick me up and get me going again. One who has always been the best example and has never let me down. So today, I'm grateful for my hero.

3) I'm grateful for my amazing, strong sisters. My two older sisters have been through so much this year and they've just pushed right on through. And for my little sister who has also been through way more than a young girl should and who always has a smile and a positive outlook. She always knows how to make me laugh and I love her more than anything. So today, I'm grateful for my role models.

4) I'm grateful for my Tucker. It always brightens my day to hear his little voice over the phone. The random stories and songs he has for me and just the sound of my name are enough to make my heart burst.

5) I'm grateful for the wonderful advances in medicine and technology. So today, I'm grateful that my new nephew Treyson is doing so well and I can't wait to meet the next little guy to steal my heart.

6) I'm grateful for all of my inherited nieces and nephews and for the smiles they bring to my face. I've never met more loving and awesome kids and I'm so glad I can call them mine now!

7) I'm grateful for my wonderful in laws. It's not often that you hear somebody liking their in laws, but I love mine. I love how much they care and how they're always willing to help. So today, I'm grateful for family.

8) I'm grateful for the Air Force. For the free amazing job training and for helping us get by. School and work at the same time? Can't get better than that!

9) I'm grateful for my new calling as Primary Chorister and for the constant reminder of how simple the gospel really is. The sound coming from those little voices and hearing their answers, prayers, and testimonies, is another testimony to me that this church really is true. So today, I'm grateful for the weekly heart warmings.

10) I'm grateful for our cute little apartment. It's not big, but it's big enough. It's not decorated, but the potential is so fun. It's perfect for us and I love every inch of it. So today, I'm grateful for a place of our own that we can call home.

11) Although I often say the opposite, I'm grateful for our move out here to California. It's been tough and I've been homesick, but it's helped me to see who I really am and who my friends really are. I'm grateful for our little area that has basically everything.. minus Corner Bakery and Sweet Tooth Fairy, but I guess Panera makes up for it:)

12) I'm grateful for my friends, the ones who are genuinely there and the ones that will be my best friends for life.

13) I'm grateful for school, for the things I'm learning and the fact that it gives me something to do. On top of that, I'm grateful to be graduating in just a few short months.

14) I'm grateful for my Maggie Mazda and although she's having some troubles, she's been a great little car and with a few little fixes she'll be running great again.

15) I'm grateful for the Gospel and for prayer and scripture study. I know that without all of these, I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be happy.

Today, and everyday, I'm grateful for my family and for my life. I wouldn't have it any other way.