Nicole's Bridal Showers

This past weekend Nicole came in town! We were so excited to get to spend some time with her and throw her a few bridal showers. We did a shower at the church Friday night and had a huge turnout. Tons of people came to help celebrate with Nicole. Then Saturday we drove down to Aunt Karen's for a shower with our family. It was of course gorgeous and fun to spend time with the family. Here are some pictures from the shower at Aunt Karen's.


This was the cake Aunt Jan had a friend make for the shower. It was beautiful! The middle part of the cake is the topper from Aunt Jan's wedding a few years ago. It was really cute.

The girls on the couch.

The room where we had the shower.

Nicole opening up a pair of candle holders that used to be our great grandmothers. My Grandma held onto them for her when mom mom passed away. Kinda cool.

Grandma with Griffin on her lap. You can see how happy Grandma was to have the dog on her lap. 

Sisters! This was Nikki's hat from the bows on the gifts.

And of course there had to be a picture of me kissing Coley!

We had a really great time. Thanks to everyone who helped to put the showers together. We are so excited for Nicole! 

Love you Coley!!!!

Commitment Issues? I think not!

When someone asked me if I was going to continue to attend the Cornell ward for the next few months, I wasn't able to give a straight answer. I fumbled for words and finally said, "maybe?" He then continued to ask if I was deciding if I liked them enough to make the hour trek every Sunday. This was when I realized that maybe I really do have commitment issues! Friends have said it for years and I have always just blown it off. I have always thought they meant commitment issues in relationships but it turns out... it's all aspects of my life. The question from this friend in Cornell has made me contemplate this "commitment" thing in all of my decisions. I have always thought of myself as someone who followed through on commitments and responsibilities that I was expected to do. I decided that it's not that I have "commitment issues". It's more the fear of saying I'm going to do something and then not being able to follow through. I hate being irresponsible or flaky. When I commit to something I want to be fully dedicated to it, totally and completely. I didn't want to say that I would go to the Cornell Ward and then not be able to go to many activities or later decide to stay in Owego. Trying to overcome this commitment crisis, I decided to make a decision and move forward with it. This idea of commitments to daily decisions also made me think about my commitments and relationships. We have all heard people say they have "commitment issues". I feel though that people commit when it is something they feel is worth their time and effort. We make time for things that are important to us. When the right person comes along for someone with "commitment issues", they always commit. They may be scared but the outcome is worth it to them. They want to commit. So I decided that it's not that I have "commitment issues", but that I don't want to hurt anyone or let anyone around me down. I want to be fully and totally dedicated to anything that I say I will do. So the next time I hear someone say they have commitment issues I will be looking at it with a different pair of eyes.

Sweet Moments

Today at preschool I had a few experiences that really got me thinking and made me grateful for my job and the different experiences it is giving me. My director came in this morning and said that a new student was coming in and he only speaks Russian... He of course freaked out crying and screaming when his mom and grandmother left. He pounded on the door screeching for an hour and wouldn't even look at me. Eventually he moved to lying on the floor. He refused to eat lunch but as he laid on the floor crying I decided to sit next to him and rub his back. I sat there on the floor rubbing his back pleading with Heavenly Father to please calm this poor child's soul and give him the peace that I could not communicate through words to him. He soon stopped crying, and I knew that Heavenly Father was very aware of me and this child of His. It wasn't a total and complete transformation but we were eventually able to get him up and walking around the classroom. By the end of the day, this child had friends he was playing with and was smiling at me and playing. It made me really grateful for answered prayers and for the knowledge I have of a loving Heavenly Father and his influence in my life. 


A second sweet moment of the day was after most of the kids had fallen asleep during nap time. I looked around the room and I had an overwhelming feeling of love for the children. They are children of Heavenly Father, and for a split second I felt like I could feel His love for them. They have these sweet and gentle loving spirits, that are sensitive to influences around them. It really softened my heart towards some of them that are a little bit more difficult. It opens up a new understanding to caring for someone else's children in my mind. I also was sitting next to a child as she was falling asleep for her nap. She leaned over to me and just said, "I love you." This made me realize that those are the kind of moments that make my job rewarding and totally worth it. It also makes me really really excited to be able to eventually raise my own children. I am looking forward to being able to tuck them into bed for their naps and to be able to sing nursery rhymes with them. But until then, I am going to do my best to influence these children for good and help them to feel the love that their Heavenly Father has for them. And for now, I can do my best to be an instrument in His hands for doing that.

My Year In Review

So now that we're already halfway through January, I finally decided to look at some of my major highlights from 2009. It was an amazing year with so many incredible memories with family and friends, along with millions of learning experiences and lessons learned. Here are just a few of the highlights.

• I began 2009 by starting my last semester of school in Provo. I didn't know that it would be my last semester in Provo, but it turned out to be great. I did my practicum experience in a 4th grade classroom working with two different teachers. It was such an amazing experience. I also had the opportunity to bond with many of the other girls in my classes and I built some friendships I will always remember. It was during these few months that I made a last minute decision to go to DC for my student teaching. 
• In June, Tyler and Mckenzie got married! It was a beautiful day full of family and friends. They had a garden wedding with an outdoor reception. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lot of fun! (especially decorating their car, which I have been told that when my turn comes...I have already been warned) 
• In July I had the opportunity to go to Ecuador with my mom, Vicki, and my sister Nicole. Vicki has some church friends down there, so we spent a few days touring the country and also a couple of days in the indigenous community. We went bridge jumping, go-cart driving, horseback riding, spent a night in the rain forest with cockroaches, killed a tarantula in our room, spent hours with little kids playing Ecuadorian games, and almost died a number of times! It was an incredible experience that was so so humbling. I was embraced into a culture that I never would have imagined getting the chance to do first hand. What an amazing 10 days! This was just the beginning of my travel bug.  
• In August I graduated from college with my Bachelors! Well I didn't really graduate because I still had my student teaching to do in DC, but I walked for graduation. It was very exciting, yet kind of mind boggling at the same time! Since when was I old enough to graduate from college?! And what did I really want to do with my life?!?!? 
• This past summer was my last summer in Provo. It was such an eventful time filled with camping, star gazing, LOTS and LOTS of sand volleyball, pool time, summer loving, and Partying! Many memories! 
• In September I moved to Washington DC to do my student teaching. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I was blessed with incredible roommates, an awesome mentor teacher, and amazing students. Those students taught me WAY WAY WAY more than I could ever imagine or more than I ever taught them during this time. It was here that I learned some really important life long lessons and grew more than I had ever thought possible in ALL aspects of my life. 
• In October, Allie and Tiff flew out to New York City. I was able to meet them up in the city for the weekend! It was so unforgettable! We did a lot of new things I had never done in the city, which was great! We went to the Doughnut plant, the Shake Shack, the Metropolitan museum, ate some NY pizza, and saw the 9/11 sites. Allie and I went to Wicked Saturday night and Tiff went to the Lion King. Wicked was my favorite Broadway show I think I've seen so far! I LOVED IT! The music, acting, and set were incredible! Just amazing! 
• This Thanksgiving was the first Thanksgiving since 8th grade that I was able to spend with my family! It was So So nice to go to Philadelphia and spend the time with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. It was a nice break from school and chance to get away from life for a few days. 
• And finally...we come to Christmas break. I finished up in DC and stopped in Philly at my Grandmas for a day. She spoiled me of course, and then I picked up Nicole and her boyfriend Juston at the airport for the drive home. We considered this our road trip for the year. Chris and Kristine flew in with the kids a few days later. We sure missed Tyler and Mckenzie this year at Christmas, just wasn't quite the same without them! Coley and Juston got engaged Christmas morning, so we're now all preparing for an April wedding! I had the opportunity to go out a few nights with the girls, some of which I hadn't seen in two years and I also got to go to lunch with a few guy friends from high school. What a great Christmas break and end to another fabulous year! 

This past year was full of so many blessings in my life and people that have touched me in ways they will never know the impact of. I have no idea where I will be in the next couple of months or what this next year will bring for me. I do know though, that Heavenly Father is fully aware of me and everything that I do and He'll guide me in the decisions I make. I'm really really looking forward to seeing what this year will bring and where I will be by December!