Easter & A Wonderful Life

The picture above is what I found when I walked into my bathroom this morning :) I do believe I have the absolute most sweetest husband in the world! Man am I lucky or what?


Easter 2011 - It was simple and full of food! The Easter Bunny didn't bring anything to me or Dan accept time with our families. We are moving to a bigger 2 bedroom apartment next month and so were trying to save money. BUT we did go to the movies to see WATER FOR ELEPHANTS with my mother-in-law and it was AWESOME!! Ahhhh my heart melted when I saw handsome Robert Pattinson come across the screen and totally swoon Reese Witherspoon :) Oh I loved the movie and so did Dan.....shhhhh! Don't tell him I said that :) On Easter, we gave out candy filled eggs to our children in our class at church and then went to my parents house for dinner. It was nice to spend time with my family and have a HUGE dinner and stuffed myself silly. Then Dan and I had approximately 1 hour to digest that food and get to his parent's house for another dinner AND dessert....phewww I ate dinner and dessert at both places and man....I've been eating left overs for 2 days! Yes! I love yummy Easter left overs! It was nice to have quality time with both families to have concentrated so much on the Resurrection and Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for his Atonement and I'm incredibly grateful and blessed for my husband, my family, and my friends. Love you all!! *Kisses*

~BiRtHdaYs, DiAper ParTieS, & RaNdoMneSS~

 This is the most beautiful cake I've ever had for my birthday and it was done by my sister-in-law :) Top layer white with go-nosh (<--no clue on how to spell it) and the bottom layer was chocolate with some type of chocolate coffee filling. Yummy! (P.S. On the left side is where the ribbon breaks apart. I love how she got all 4 themes!)

 Had to have red juice of course and party favors for people to take home. I seriously had the BEST birthday ever and was so thankful to have so many show up just for me!!!! I am so grateful.

 The party room minus a lot of people who hadn't showed up yet.

 One of my many awesome gifts!

 My face is in reaction to my girlfriend reserving a special book for me to be shipped directly to me when it was released. What book? The Official Illustrated Guide to The Twilight Saga. AMAZING!!! :) Can't wait to read it!

Now, onto my friend's Diaper Party! Cassie is expecting her 2nd baby boy in just a little bit and these were a few of my favorite pictures from the party.

 Airplane of chocolate cupcakes! Yummmmmy :)

 Lauren Cullen made this...loved it! 

 Jan Hatch made this awesome blanket for Cassie! Lol hope Jan is around for another year...gotta wait till after my college graduation ;)

and finally, a picture of me and the expecting mother :) Love you Cassie!

Now onto my randomness of thoughts....1. My 1st Anniversary is coming up on May 8th and I seriously can't believe it's almost been an entire year that I've been married!! Time has flown by and I couldn't be any happier. I fall more in love with Dan everyday and I'm constantly reassured that he is my soul mate. We've learned a lot about each other and continue to do so everyday. In June, we will be able to get sealed for all of time and eternity in the temple and I look forward to it so much. I'm already incredibly blessed but I know Dan and I will be blessed for the rest of eternity when we are sealed together forever. I love him dearly :)

2. Also over the course of this past year, I've become very involved with church and have become close to many members. I never imagined that I would have so many genuinely good-hearted friends who love me and support me. Dan and I constantly spend time with many of our church friends....there are always dinners to go to or prepare for, friends to hang out with, sports to play, and talking to do. I've been fortunate to babysit for many members in our ward and the kids are the best! I just love all the little ones....your heart melts every time you see a small child closing their eyes and whispering a prayer. It always makes me smile :) Along with this year....I think about my life before I converted. Yes I drank, I partied, I smoked....I have quite of a past then I'm not ashamed of because I didn't know any better but at the same time, I haven't really opened up about it a whole lot yet. It'll take me time and I have opened up to a few members but I will open up in more time. I feel like my past helps me to understand a lot about life in general and will help me with my future social work career but at the same time the life I had then makes me forever grateful for the life I have now and the gospel. I have truly never been happier in my life then I am now. When I need anything from advice, help with something, finding a new job, a smile on my face, or anything...my friends from church are always there and always non-judging. I recently have had a tough couple of days and have been bothered by something that really got me down. I have a really close friend that unfortunately doesn't live near me so I talking to her isn't always available. But there was a night a few days ago, when a member and I were sitting down talking to me. I never had any intention of talking to her about what I was going through just because I wasn't comfortable yet. But somehow when she sat down and started talking to me, my feelings just kind of poured out to her along with the tears. This was the first time someone from church had seen me cry and break down in a mere 15 seconds. After she listened to me ranted for what seemed forever, she smiled at me and kindly reassured me of the church full of members that loved me and were always there for me to talk to. She reassured me that although they weren't converts and couldn't always understand my experiences before becoming a member, they would always be supportive and there for me. She also told me how much members loved and adored me. I think that made me cry more. The member knows who she is....and I can say that that talk and those words meant a lot to me. They touched my heart and for once in my life, I felt like I had an army of support behind ready to do anything for me. I am forever grateful for the gospel and my decision to become a LDS. I am forever grateful for my new life, my husband, my family, my friends, and all of the blessings that Heavenly Father continues to bless me with.

And finally....

3. Dan is doing great! He is still working at UK and still trying to get on with the police or sheriff's department....no one has a budget right to hire so we are just playing the waiting game. He's a great cook and has been cooking a lot for me since I'm working and going to class and he always beats me home first. He's awesome :)

*BRUNDIBAR and Holocaust Survivor Ela Weissberger*

Brundibar is a child's opera performed by children for children at Camp Theresienstadt (today known as Terezin). I saw this today originally for a class project but it turned out to be an amazing story with some powerful emotions attached. The stories told today were extremely sad and tear jerking at points. The lady above is Ela Weissberger, a Holocaust survivor from Camp Teresienstadt who used to sing in this opera many times! Wonderful lady...her and the other survivor that was there (not sure of his name tho) both were given standing ovations today and at the end one of the kids came off of the stage and grabbed Ela's hand to bring her on stage to help them perform their "victory" song.

History of Terezin as Theresienstadt:
Over 140,000 Jews were transferred to this camp, 90,000 were deported to concentration camps, 33,000 died at this camp. About 15,000 that passed through were children........only hundreds survived.

History of Ela Weissberger:
Last surviving member from the cast of Brundibar. She was 15 when she was freed from the camp in 1945.

History of Brundibar:
It was used as propaganda to show the world how great their camps were and  how well the detainees and Jews were treated. Ironically, the shower is about Brundibar (a bully) who gets defeated...the bully looks like Hitler with a giant black mustache and was defeated by the children. Jews knew this and it gave them to hope to know that Hitler may one day be defeated....but the Nazi's didn't have a clue and never saw it as a threat. In 1944, the International Red Cross visited the camp for an inspection. To show off how "wonderful" the camp was, the Nazi's had shipped off over 7,500 prisoners to have less crowding, planted flowers, painted buildings, and the detainees were ordered to give special performances to show to the Red Cross....Brundibar was chosen and in the end...it worked for a while and the Red Cross believed the perfect "model" camp.

Cast of Brundibar - Notice "Hitler" in the middle. Not sure which one was Ela, but she played the role of a cat. By the way, the boy who played Brundibar "Hitler" sadly did not make it out the Holocaust.

Ela's Biography

Ela Weissberger herself....

I'M BACCCKKKKKKKK :)

Hellloooo everyone :) Sorry I've been away! Being a full time student and working as a nanny full time leaves me little room to just play around. So now that I've redone the look of this blog, I'm going to try and keep it up for a while but I decide to change it again. Soooo anyways!


Notice my new look??? Yes it's Twilight....Yes I am an obsessed Twihard...Yes if I had the money I would be in Vancouver, BC on March 14 on Beatty Street where they will be filming :), and YES, Dan is MY perfect Edward :) There is also a Twilight Convention coming to Cincinnati in August for anyone who wants to go with me!! I can't friggin wait!!!!! ;)


MARCH 26th!!! Mark your calendars because it will be a time to celebrate....because it's MY BIRTHDAY!!! Well technically my birthday is March 29th but that's a stinky Monday so I'm celebrating early! And YES it will be the most fabulous TWILIGHT party ever! Just as soon as I find a venue......You see, for the past few years I've had some stinky birthdays and this is the first year that I'm celebrating it as a devote member of the church and last year I didn't celebrate it because I was in the middle of planning a wedding so this year people....It's ON like DONKEY KONG!! :)

3/26/10 BE PREPARED......

*Our 1st Christmas*

In the end, Dan and mine's 1st Christmas together was awesome (+ some excitement)!! Thursday (23rd) night, I mysteriously chipped my tooth...literally doing nothing! Dan took me to the ER where I was there for hours just to find out there was nothing they could do that night except give me pain meds. I was told to see a dentist the next day and it couldn't wait. There was only 1 place open on Christmas Eve and they were terribly rude, inconsiderate, and made me cry! (Don't ever go to Immediadent!!) I have no dental insurance so I paid a hefty fee for the dentist to barely spend 5 minutes with me and tell me I can shell out a few hundred dollars for a filling that may not stick or I can spend $1000 and start the process of getting a post and crown put in. I said uhh NO and uhh NO to both! So I left in tears. I'm still working out how I'm going to get my tooth fixed, something has to give and I'm trying to find other dentists that are cheaper and that we can do payment plans with. Getting a credit card is out of the question. Needless to say, we're saying lots of prays for the

Lord to help us with this one. Anyways, Christmas was great! Dan and I had ours at Midnight on Christmas Eve, then my dad's on Christmas and his parent's as well, and my mom and brother's the day after Christmas. I am posting only 1 PHOTO of my tooth because I've learned that even tho I look like a HICK and have a lisp sometimes, I can make fun of myself. SOOOO crack your jokes and make fun of me, here is some photos :)

Yea yea laugh it up...this is the last time you'll ever see me like this...

Niko LOVED opening presents!

hahaha Dan caught a great picture! Too funny!

Jeez, this bone is already almost gone!

Christmas at my Dad's

Not used to keeping my mouth closed!

My mom and neice, Alexis

Me, Dan, and our nephew Layne aka My Michelin Baby

In Memory of: Betty Ann Mann

In Loving Memory: Betty Ann Mann, 4/15/35-12/22/09
July 2009- My Granny was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer and was given 3 months to live. She survived for 5 months...enough to give us one last Thanksgiving with our family and to know that I was baptized on Nov. 22. When I went to see her for Thanksgiving, I told her I had just been baptized a week prior...she was very happy. And although at that time, she didn't nor did I know that Dan and I would soon be engaged a few months later. Yet she made it a point to tell me that she liked Dan and she knew he would take care of me. She even left me a couple of cookbooks with notes written in them for "Couple's Cooking"...now how did this lady know that Dan and I would still be together? :) That lady was mysterious...but I believe she knew Dan and I would be married, I don't know how but she did. Exactly 1 month after her passing, Dan asked me to be his wife. It was all surely meant to be :) Now onto the hard stuff, watching my Grandmother pass away slowly and painfully was extremely hard! It was emotionally and physically draining. I was trying to go to school full time and having a rough time with a teacher that later failed me and now is the sole reason I didn't graduate this past May. At the same time, things in my personal life were chaotic, I got in an accident and broke my right collarbone, I was working, and I was seeing my Grandmother 1 to 2 times a week. Towards the end, it got really draining. Family was coming in and out of the house so much because everyone that was family was in coming into town to say their goodbyes and EVERYBODY wanted to be there when she was going to pass. I must say that were several close calls and some false alarms. But each time I'd get a call saying "Hurry come over, she's not doing good"....I dropped whatever I was doing whether I was asleep, busy, working on a final, anything....and I went straight over to her house. Finally, early in the morning on Dec. 22, I got 1 false alarm...headed over WAY early in the morning, get there, and she is doing okay. Wait a little while...she's doing okay, so I go back home to go to bed. Get a few hours of sleep, get a phone call, and all I can hear is everyone crying....my heart dropped to my stomach, I just said "I'll be over". I got back up in my pj's and  headed over to their house for the last time. It was so cold that day....so close to Christmas too. I walk into a solemn room filled with tears, sadness, and crying. I'd never experienced this before....nobody I knew that well ever died. My mother walked me up to her on her hospice bed, I rubbed her face and picked up her hand...bent down to her ear, said " I love you. May you be in a better place" and that was the end. The next few days were filled visitations, funeral, LOTS of crying, watching her slideshow on a dvd from the funeral....and some more crying. Never experienced a loss before and this was something definitely different that I was completely out of my element on. Anyways, below is her eulogy I gave at her funeral and some pictures I like :) This is our family's 1st Christmas without her but she will always remain in our hearts. I love and miss you Granny! Don't get into too much trouble up there! ;) Merry Christmas!!

I wanted to take a few minutes to share my memories of Granny. Something that I’ve always admired about our family is our closeness. Other than Kentucky Cousins Camp, my favorite memories are those big dinners and gatherings at Granny’s. Till this day Granny is infamous for her amazing home cooking! Times at Granny’s were always loud and fun. I remember her specifically always having chocolate filled chocolate cookies in a jar. I made sure to always ask for a cookie and when she wasn’t looking, I’d sneak a couple more J I remember always being scared of Rusty...I don’t think he liked me very much.  Granny also introduced me to one of my all time favorite videos....Can’t Buy My Love. I must have watched it a 100 times at her house and till this day, there is a copy of it in my room. Finally, I’d like to say Granny was a well loved beautiful lady. She will be watching over all of us as our new guardian angel. She will remain present in our everyday lives through pictures, videos, and stories we tell our children. If I’ve never told any of you, I love each and every one of you. Despite our quarrels and disagreements, your all a part of my family and will always be.

 These are the flowers, my "then" boyfriend, Dan, sent to the funeral home for Granny :)

 This was early in her stage of cancer, My Papa, Grandma, & Me

 My Mom and Granda

Granny's Final Wall...she got to look at this every day...

Heartbreaking....but this was my last picture with her...approx. 2 wks before she passed....

 

Good picture of my Granny and Papa

Our Kid's Portraits!!

Well since our kids are our family, I had to get a picture of the kids infront of our tree and together! Do you know how hard it is to get 2 dogs to sit next to each other, keep the big one from trying to eat the little one, and keep the little one from running away from the big one? The answer= Treats! And a husband named Dan! We took photo after photo and this is what we came out in the end with :) I present to you......

1 Husband + 1 Wife + 2 Dogs= My Family :)

Of course I had to add an extra one of my princess!