GOLFER'S...BEWARE...

Story 1:   Golfer's BEWARE:  So I was recently told the hilarious story of my Sister-in-law and the Golfer's.  These stories are why I miss being here because there is always something happening my family haha.  So my sister-in-law and brother live across from a golf course and have to drive by the greens everyday.  One morning when my sister-in-law was taking my nieces to school, they had just pulled out of there neighborhood and started on the main road that runs parallel with the golf course when WHAMMM..a golf ball slams into the hood of her Cadillac.  You have to know my sister-in-law to think this story is funny but just know that she will always let you know what's on her mind and takes nothing from anyone.  So she immediately pulls the car off the road ONTO the golf course.  Puts the car in park.  Gets out of the car, it's early morning, so she's in her pajama pants and top, and starts yelling at the golfer's that hit the ball. They look at her...completely stunned that this women in her PJS is cussing at them haha.  She continues to yell until she sees that it's not doing any good but it made her feel better.  So she meant to the club house and told the manger and the manger said its not the Golf  Courses responsibility to take care of any damage a golf using his course causes, but it's the golfer's responsibility.  So golfer's BEWARE of that hahahha.  She never tracked them down.  She should have continued chasing after them when she had the chance hahah.  I can't believe I missed seeing this with my own eyes.  How funny is that. 

Story 2:  So my same sister-in-law one day after picking up the girls from school stopped at the gas station and went in with the girls to get a drink.  While in the gas station, my sister-in-law overs some big black women telling my oldest niece that she needs to learn some manners and always let the elderly go first.  Well my sister-in-law walks over and my niece says, "mom, I said excuse me when I reached in to get a drink, i wasn't rude".  So my sister-in-law turns to the women and says "you don't need to talk to my children that way when they were being polite."  This ticks the women off and she starts cussing at my sister-in-law and the big black women takes her finger and touches my sister-in-laws forehead and pushes her back.  Ha my Well all hell broke lose when she did that.  My sister-in-law was behaving until the "finger push" to the forehead by this black women.  She starts yelling and a cussing and was ready to punch this women in the face when the people in line at the gas station start says "don't do it, your kids are watching" and after some encouragement from the people in line, she drops her fist and walks away.  The black women is told to leave immediately from the gas station by the manager and my sister-in-law and nieces walk out with a free box of doughnuts...complements to the gas station for not busting someone in the face! hahah

Story 3:  So my nieces Ashton and Taylor came over to spend the night last night and hang out with me.  We made this most spectacular ginger bread house ever.   Two things I recommend...one, don't eat the icing that comes in the kit...it has glue in it.  Two, don't eat the ginger bread cookie part, it taste nothing like a cookie.  The picture doesn't give the ginger bread house justice hahah...actually the picture makes the house look better than it is in real life.  Lets just say it won't be the center piece for Christmas dinner!

My beautiful nieces, Ashton and Taylor

Story 4:  My same sister-in-law as the other two stories is very talented.  She can paint very well.  So I'm not sure if you have ever heard of the game called "Corn Hole".  It is pretty much the best game ever invented.  Well she painted these awesome "Corn Hole" boards for the game.  You have to look up the rules and play it sometime!!  Better yet just come to our house Christmas Eve or any other time we have a famiy get together and we'll teach ya!!! It's a family tradition of ours to play this game when ever we have a family get together!! They love Clemson hence the tiger paws!

Scene from the movie "Christmas Vacation" ha



Christmas at Mam-maw's

Mam-maw, Mama, and Me

Mam-maw

I just love coming home and having Christmas at Mam-maws!! I always leave with a super thick southern accent that I will have until I've been back in Utah for a while.  I seriously have the best family ever!  They all have so much personality and are full of humor.  I laughed tonight more than I have in a long time.  My abs even hurt!  So all my family there in Vale, NC (Hogs Hill) especially my Mam-maw say the funniest stuff.  They are just down home good ole country people that love family more than anything.  Going to Mam-maws always helps to remind me what a blessing it is to be a part of this family and to have been raised by the most generous, loving, and giving people in the world.  I love hearing my Mam-maw pronounce words. Words that I've missed that Mam-maw said tonight: 

 Real word                                                 How Mam-maw said it:

-Freeze  it                                                          -Frizz it

-diarrhea                                                            -dia-rear

- Irish potatoes                                                  - Arsh-taters

- Merry Christmas                                              -Mury Christmas

Uncle Den, Zach, Morgan, and Landon



Aunt Trudy, me, and Uncle Den



My cute little cousins: Morgan and Zach

and many more.  I love my mam-maw!!  I'm so glad I'm from the south!  Not to mention that the food was absolutely amazing!  Man, I've really missed real food and fried foods.  Who cares if it's bad for you..its delicious!  We had a turkey that my Uncle Den cooked, ham, green beans, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, potato casserole, fruit salad, and homemade roles.  Then for dessert we had, orange slice cake, homemade apple pie, pumpkin crisp, red velvet cake, persimmon pudding (yuck ha), and homemade pound cake! And to drink, Sweet Tea, Sundrop, and Cheerwine!!!! I ate enough to be good until January!  

Aunt Reba and Uncle Allen



Learning to love me....

So lately with exams, work, church callings and responsibilities and lots of other things going on in my life..I've spread myself thin once again.  Not a surprise I know.  I'm still learning how to say "No". I'm on this emotional roller coaster that I thought was a dramatic and bad thing that needed to be changed  or fixed but I realized God doesn't want me to change who I am.  He wants me to make the right decisions.  I use to wish that I didn't care so much about people and their hearts so that I could maybe not feel the fullness of my heavy heart all the time.  That it would prevent all the crying...the giving..the busy life of caring...but that's not who I am.  I cry.  I give.  I spill my heart to everything and everyone.  I can't do anything half way.  I never could and I never will be.  But I've come to the understanding the God made me like this.  He loves me the way I am and being emotional and caring for everyone in the world regardless of whether I just met you or have known you for years, is not a bad thing.  I don't need to work on it or change it.  One of my best friends is serving a mission in San Fernando, CA. The term "best friend" doesn't really cover our relationship, she's my sister, part of my family.  She is amazing with words and using the English language to describe just exactly how she feels and everyone who reads her stuff knows exactly how she feels without any confusion.  She has a gift.  We are like two peas in a pod.  We both love people easy. We fall hard and fast.  We put everything we have emotionally , mentally, and spiritually into everything that we do.  We have this unrelenting desire to taste freedom or the sense of "care free" in life.  We have lots of passions in life that lead us down amazing paths that often bring both happiness and pain.  One passion, being life, to live it, feel it, enjoy it, appreciate it, and make history of it.  We are full of free spirit.  We refuse to do what the world wants us to do and that's why I love her so much.  Sometimes people find me too much but I connect with others fast and if I feel impressed that I should share something with you, I do.  Sometimes I look back on moments when I've spilled, cried, laughed, got so excited everyone within a 100 mile radius has heard me, and said whatever was on my heart, that I'm embarrassed because I don't hold anything back.  But Lyndsi made me realize, God doesn't want you to hold back.  He made you this way for a reason and He loves who you are.  So like Lyndsi said, I'm not going to be embarrassed by my dramatic, over emotional self.  So I feel, and what I feel, I tell and everyone around me knows.  So I'd rather sit by the lake on a warm summer night and stick my feet in the lake and look up into the heavens, then go to a movie or go shopping.  I'd rather hike and enjoy God's gift of nature and sleep on a mountain top then stay in a nice hotel.  I would rather eat pizza and have a sleep over with my best friend then worry about how unhealthy pizza is and how tired I'm going to be because of staying up giggling all night long.  Like Lyndsi said I'm not one who will sit nicely with legs crossed on your couch and make small talk.  I'm going to sit on the floor and talk with your grandma about yummy southern food and things she use to do when she was my age. I'm going to wash your dishes and help clean up after dinner.   Being personal and in touch with yourself, your feelings, and your spiritual welfare, is what its all about.  You can't live and know joy, if you don't give life and others everything you've got, every chance you get.  I've felt pain, sadness, anger, hurt, disappointment, confusion, embarrassment, love, happiness, joy, excitement, rejected, hope, lost, and being found and many more.  Because I've aloud myself to feel and know what emotions I'm feeling, I am who I am.   I'm learning to love me.

Merry Christmas from Ryan, Lindsey, and Buddy the Elf

Kidney Cancer Awareness...

Since I lost my beloved Father two years ago December 6, 2008, I wanted to dedicated this post and month to Kidney Cancer Awareness.  Cancer is a terrible disease that affects many.  My father was a miracle x3.  The Lord still had things for him to accomplish here on Earth when he was diagnosed.  He beat the cancer for five years.  Five years is a very long time to fight when the cancer is caught in stage 3, but my father is a fighter and he did overcome it.  As it says in the in the Doctrine & Covenants 42:48 "...he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed."  My dad was healed but it was his time to pass into Eternity.  I'm so grateful I got to have him in my life for 21 years.   

They traced the result of Kidney Cancer in my father from the herbicide, Agent Orange.  Agent Orange is a herbicide that was used by the U.S during the Vietnam War to defoliate the hiding places of the Viet Cong (VC) guerillas and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars.  My dad served honorably in the Vietnam War.  During this time he was exposed on a regular basis to Agent Orange.  My father was an amazing man.  He was presented with a purple heart which he declined because he said "I did what any man would have done for another and for his country."  He is my HERO.   I love you daddy.

A little bit about Kidney Cancer:

Kidney cancer, also called renal cell cancer or renal adenocarcinoma, is a cancer that starts in the kidneys. The most common type of kidney cancer in adults is renal cell cancer. It accounts for more than nine out of 10 cases of kidney cancer.  We don't know what causes kidney cancer, but we do know there are certain risk factors. According to The American Cancer Society, risk factors for kidney cancer include:

• Smoking — the risk factor decreases if you stop smoking
• Being overweight
• Exposure to certain chemicals on the job, including asbestos, cadmium, herbicides, benzene, and certain organic solvents
• Inherited diseases, including von Hippel-Lindau disease and hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma
• A family history of kidney cancer, especially of a brother or sister
• Having high blood pressure
• Having advanced kidney disease
• Gender — men develop kidney cancer about twice as often as women
• Race — African Americans have a slightly higher rate of renal cell cancer than whites

   

I wear a green Ribbon In Honor of the: 

 Survivors, Warriors, Caregivers, The Families, And for the Lives Lost

Be aware. Not afraid.

He is my love, my life, and my best friend

This feels surreal!! We've been together for FIVE years and now it's official.  Do you know how long I've waited to call him my Fiance and now I can!!! I had a rough week but man he sure knew how to make me forget about that!!!!!  He always said that he'd propose when I'd least expect it but I thought I'd know when it was coming!!  He blind sided me!!! I love surprises so this was perfect!  I had told him that I wanted him to pick out the ring and everything, that I wanted it all to be a complete surprise!  So this is how it happened:

 Leading up to it:  
I had to open at work Saturday, December 4, 2010 and work till 2:00pm.  Then Ry and I were going to go to Layton so that I could babysit his niece Sarah while Mel and JB went out and celebrated their Anniversary.  So I'm at work and he comes and brings me lunch and says to meet him at his apartment when I get off and we'll go down to Layton.  So I get off work and go to his apartment.  We get in the car and he says lets drive up by the Logan Temple.  I thought nothing of it because we love to just drive up by the temple and get out and walk and look out over the valley and at the Wellsville Mountains (our favorite).

The Proposal:

     So as we are walking about the temple, he stops me at the west end of the Temple where you can look out over the valley and have an amazing view of the Wellsville Mountains.  It was drizzling so he grab my hand and took me over to one of the back doors of the temple where there is an arch over the door way! He begins to tell me how much he loves me and the adventures in life he wants to share with me and then gets on one knee.  I honestly couldn't believe it because I really didn't see it coming.  He knew just how to do it so that i was completely surprised!  It was just us and it was absolutely amazing.  My eyes about popped out of head when I saw this gorgeous ring!!!  ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!! He did so great!!!  Talk about amazing...I love him so much!  He is so good to me!!  I'm so grateful that I get to spend all Eternity with a wonderful man like Ry!  I couldn't be any happier! :)  He is my love, my life, and my best friend. 

After: 

So after we get back in the car to head to Layton, Ry proceeds to tell this: "So this morning at work, do you remember that package that you signed for Abraham...well that was your ring..and when I came and brought you lunch, I secretly took the package with me when I left!"- Ryan.   How funny is that.  I signed for my own ring that morning and had no idea!!! He was definitely excited because he only waited 3 hours to give me the ring from when it arrived!!!!! I just love him so much!  He is such a cutie!

The Wedding: 

No dates have been set yet but we are shooting for late summer, so early August!!!  I'll keep yall updated!!!!