Remembering A.C.

This amazing woman is my Aunt Carol (A.C. as she was fondly called).  The picture was taken at our wedding reception.  I am so grateful to Tania for taking it because she was a very special person in my life. She was so excited when she found out that I was engaged because I had been talking with her for years of how much I wanted to be a wife and a mother.  She heard about several of my heartaches and always made me feel beautiful and worthwhile as I was traveling the long road to finding my husband. 

On December 13, 2010, she was called home by Heavenly Father.  It was such a sad time and so sudden that I think we're still reeling from it.  We had had our family Christmas party about a week before and she was doing fine, but I received a call from my sister the evening of December 12th saying that she had a stroke that morning and was in the hospital.  We knew that she might never walk again and that she would never be able to live by herself again, but when we got to the hospital, we found that this would be our time to say good-bye.  When I walked into the room, I saw this beautiful woman confined to a body that would not respond.  She could hardly move, she couldn't talk, and she was having a hard time breathing.  The room was full of love as her family surrounded her, and I was able to hold her hand and tearfully tell her good-bye. She was able to turn her head towards the sound of my voice and I think she knew I was there.  I am forever grateful that Josh and I were able to go to the hospital and I was able to tell her how much I loved her!  I wasn't able to do that with my Aunt Gayle (her sister who had passed away earlier that year) and it still makes me sad.

Aunt Carol was a wonderful mother, grandmother, sister and aunt.  She treated me and my siblings more like grandchildren then nieces and nephew.  She loved unconditionally and always had time to listen.  She made beautiful porcelain dolls and could crochet, knit and sew better than anyone I know.  She was a true artist and it was so neat to see what new things she had created.  She loved having her hair and nails done and her favorite color was red.  She was intelligent and kind and made the world a better place by being in it.  She is very dearly missed and I am awed by the strength of my mom who lost two sisters last year.  I can't begin to comprehend how hard that would be!  And yet she continues to live life with happiness and joy and she knows she will see them again.  I love you, Mom, and am grateful to Heavenly Father for sending me to your family!

I was given a wonderful surprise at my baby shower in February.  As I opened the card of the last gift I received, tears filled my eyes when I saw that it was from Aunt Carol.  The card spoke of how happy she was for me and how she had met Drako and knew of his sweet spirit.  And I discovered a blanket she had made when I unwrapped the present.  I later found out that she had started it, but was unable to finish it before she passed away, so my cousin finished it and made sure I got it.  My cousin, Kathy, said that as she was writing the card, she was having a difficult time knowing what to say, but as she thought of Aunt Carol, the words came easily.  She said it was as if her mom was writing the card.  This was so special for me and the family members who were at the shower!  All of us were in tears after I finished reading the card aloud and we heard my cousin's story.  I will forever cherish that blanket and card and am so grateful for Kathy for doing that for me!

Better Late Than Never

Josh and I saved up enough money to buy new couches for Christmas last year.  Our old ones had been given to us for our wedding (which was very much appreciated) but had turned a dull gray instead of the white they were originally.  They had also been scratched by our cat and since we were getting her declawed, we thought it would be a good time to buy new ones.  So the weekend after Thanksgiving we went to the big sale down at Furniture Row.  We found these nice, brown couches and an ottoman to match.  We were excited when the salesman told us they would be delivered in two weeks.   

Well, those two weeks passed with no couches.  Another two weeks passed with no couches.  Christmas passed and no couches.  Finally, after three calls to the store from Josh and a refund of the delivery charge, our Christmas presents were delivered the week after Christmas.   

We're glad that we bought these couches and that they eventually made it to our apartment because they're very comfortable and look great.  As you can see, the ottoman makes a great table.  That was my pile of stuff when I was on bedrest.

Christmas ended up being a great time even though we didn't have our presents for each other.  We had received a much better present in that I was discharged from the hospital after a two day stay and that the baby was still inside of me rather than being born at 34 weeks.  I had been discharged on Christmas Eve after being admitted because the baby's heartrate had decelerated during my first monitoring session.  We were not entirely gift less though. One morning as Josh stepped out the door to go to work, he found an envelope on our doorstep.  Inside were gift cards to Wal-Mart and Smith's and some money.  We were shocked but very grateful to our anonymous benefactor since I had to stop working long before I had intended too.  Heavenly Father was watching out for our little family and we were blessed beyond anything we could have imagined!

Christmas Eve found us home but with no gifts wrapped.  Luckily we had bought all of our gifts for our families earlier in December and Josh talked his mom and brothers to come help us wrap them.  Kim came with ingredients to make us a yummy holiday dinner with all the trimmings and she and the boys got right to work.  It was a fun way to spend Christmas Eve!

On Christmas morning, Josh and I both discovered cards in our stockings.  We were going to fill each other's stockings that last week before Christmas, but with the hospitalization and bedrest, it didn't get done.  It was neat to see that we had both thought of the other, though, with those special cards.

We were able to go to my parents for their traditional dinner and opening gifts.  I had to stay on the couch, which wasn't too fun, but I enjoyed being around my loved ones and seeing my niece and nephew's faces light up with the gifts they received.  I didn't take any pictures, but my sister-in-law did and these are two of my favorites. 

2-year anniversary

This is only about 3 months late, but I want to blog about our 2-year anniversary.  Our blog has been put on the backburner the last few months because of everything going on, but hopefully I can get caught up in the next couple of weeks. 

For our anniversary, we had planned a weekend at the Castle Creek Inn in Cottonwood Heights.  I had taken our anniversary, December 17th, off from work and we scheduled my prenatal visit for that afternoon.  We figured it would be a great way to start our celebration-by hearing that everything was okay with our baby.  That visit turned out a lot differently than we thought (as explained in an earlier post).

We stayed in the Palace Royale room that night.  The first picture is what the room looked like and the next one is of the huge bathroom with a jetted tub.  It also has colorful lights that help to create a romantic atmosphere.  

We woke up Saturday morning and got ready to go to my aunt's funeral.  She had passed away earlier that week.  We had breakfast which was served in the dining room and was delicious.  We felt like royalty as the employees of Castle Creek served us two courses at our private table.  While we were eating, we met another couple who were celebrating their anniversary.  They had been married 25 years and had the same idea we did-to have a getaway not too far from home.  They were from Utah County. 

We had booked two different rooms and once we got back from the funeral, headed down to the Excalibur.  The inn was decorated for Christmas and I enjoyed the festive atmosphere that had been created.

Our room had been given a romantic feel as rose petals were strewn throughout and candles lit.  We also had a bottle of cider and the glasses were full of Hershey's kisses.

We were able to tour the rest of the inn that afternoon and saw all of the different rooms they have.  It's a neat place and I highly recommend it for couples just wanting to get away.  This next picture is what I found when I came back to our room after venturing through the inn to take pictures.  Josh had dressed up like a knight with some of the props that were in our room.  Silly hubby!

We enjoyed snuggling and watching movies that night with room service for dinner.  The next morning we enjoyed another yummy breakfast.  We had decided not to get each other gifts as the time together was our gift.  Josh did get me a beautiful card telling me how much he loved me and how he had enjoyed being married to me.  I made him a card telling him the same thing.  We had a great weekend and I am so grateful for the wonderful husband that Josh is!  I have been blessed more than I could have ever imagined these last two years! I love you, sweetheart!