Ohio Middles

We flew from Charlotte to Ohio on a Saturday and since we didn't go to sleep the night before (on account of working on the yard) we slept most of the day.

Before I forget...in the airport this random lady sat right next to me on the floor.  And there was space all around she could sit.  But she sat a foot from me.  Awkward.

And continuing... The only reason we got out of bed was to see Meredith get ready for her senior prom that night.  She looked beautiful!  We weren't going to go see her get pictures taken but decided to in the end and I am so glad because we got a great picture together!

On Sunday, Noah gave a talk in Primary and I helped him out!  He included a line saying that yesterday was a perfect day because I came home.  It feels good to have a little person like you so much.

I also had the chance to catch up with two of my friends, Shelby and Sarah.  I had breakfast with Shelby on Monday at IHOP (yum!).  It's been a while since we've been able to just sit and chat and it was great to see how she was doing.  Then Monday afternoon Sarah came down from Wauseon to see me!  She just returned home from her mission on the previous Wednesday so it had also been quite a while since I'd seen her.  Although not the whole 18 months because I hunted her down at General Conference in October :)

I was hoping to see Seth run in his track meet on Monday but it got cancelled due to rain.  Instead, Nate and I went to see Captain America with his family.  I only fell asleep for like 5 (maybe 10) minutes so it must have been a good movie!

We spent Tuesday night visiting Eli at the gas station (he was refilling the beer when we arrived...the picture was totally posed) and eating Chinese which has become a tradition when we go home.

Charlotte Endings

Well ladies and gents, we are back in Rexburg and doing well!  Before I get to that, I have to wrap up our lives in Charlotte.

Oh Charlotte...we love you and miss you!  While our move there was very last minute, we have no regrets.  The experience was wonderful.  Nate was able to do an internship for a month and I was able to just relax and enjoy being with family.  We met so many amazing people and actually made some friends!

This is us with some friends from the ward after Sam's baseball game one evening.  We are eating at La Unica which is an amazing restaurant that we ate at three times in one week...and probably like 10 times while we were there.

IS SHE NOT THE CUTEST THING EVER.




















Eating custard/ ice one lovely afternoon.



















We matched but she was not in a picture taking mood.













She just sits there and smiles and I love it.

Okay enough pictures of that cutie...for now.

We were able to visit with my cousins in Fort Mill, SC twice although I fail on the picture front there.  We went to their house once for dinner and to play games and then a few days before we left, we met up with my Aunt and Uncle in Charlotte for...Mexican!!

One weekend I drove up to Greensboro by myself to visit my grandparents and some other cousins.  Nate stayed behind to work on the yard (which I will blog about eventually...).  It was fantastic to see everyone!  I got to meet my cousin Chris's fiance as well as catch up with everyone I haven't seen since our wedding.  I really enjoyed having everyone in my grandparent's house sitting around talking who-knows-what.

The weekend before we left both Nate and I were able to make the trip up there and spent the night at my grandparent's.  We got in fairly late because Nate had to work that day but they stayed up and fed us and played Five Crowns.  At the end of the game, the person with the lowest score wins.  Here was our scorecard...

I think it is safe to say that Nate CREAMED the rest of us.  I had more points after two rounds than he did at the end!  The next day was General Conference so we watched the first Saturday session at my uncle's house and then everyone went to The Grill for lunch (it's tradition!).  We left after lunch to go back to Huntersville so Nate could work some on the yard that evening.

I almost forgot to mention that Friday was our one year engagement anniversary!  We got engaged the Friday before General Conference.  I think the actual date was April 6th...

Our last week in Huntersville went by quickly.  Nate went to work during the day and I hung out with Chelsea and Sawyer and then Nate would work in the yard in the evenings.  The day before we left we made one more trip to Greensboro to return my grandparent's car they graciously let us borrow while we were there.  Chelsea came with so she could drive me home and it was fun to take her and Sawyer to the dairy farm next door to see the cows and chickens.  Sawyer was skeptical of the cows at first but she warmed up to them.

Aaaaand some more pictures of Sawyer because it was our last day and I couldn't stop taking pictures of her!!!!

Happy Birthday Nate!

Nate's birthday was on Sunday and we had a fun-filled weekend to celebrate!  Last week he took time off his internship to work more on the backyard here which he is renovating.  Let's just say it's hard work, and even harder when he's basically the only one doing it.  I help some but I usually give up after an hour or two.  I'll be sure to post before and after pictures once it's all done.  Needless to say, he was prettyyyyyy tired by Friday.

As an early birthday present I surprised him and booked us a hotel room in town so we could get away for a night.  He was super worried about what the surprise was as we were driving because he was so tired and didn't want to do anything, meet anyone or be in public at all.  I told him to just trust me and he said it was my one chance to prove myself because if he didn't like it he would never trust me with a surprise again.  I think I succeeded.  We've been living with people since Christmas so it was nice to just have some 'us' time again.  For dinner we got La Unica (for the THIRD time that week) and just ate it in the hotel.  He ate the same meal he always gets but I ventured out a bit and was proud of myself!  We were sad when we had to check out on Saturday and go back to "reality".

On Sunday morning I gave him the rest of his birthday presents...a pair of dress socks (which he knew were coming because I already gave him two other pairs earlier in the week so he had socks for work...I had to save one pair for his birthday!), and I rewrapped his Valentines Day present because he still hadn't done it!!  haha  I gave him a personalized puzzle with a love note on the back and I gave him fair warning that if he didn't do it by his birthday that's what he was getting.  And I couldn't go back on my word, of course.

Monday evening we went to Maggiano's with Sam, Chelsea and Sawyer.  Instead of birthday cake he just wanted a piece of Maggiano's cheesecake so that's where the idea came from.  (Chelsea still baked him a cake...she's a better sister than I am wife!)  I'd never been there before and I was thoroughly impressed.

I'd say the weekend was pretty successful!

Sawyer Mae

Have I mentioned that we live with an ADORABLE 18 month old right now.  Seriously.  She's the greatest.  My kids better be this cute and funny.

 

 

She does this thing where she runs up to the fireplace, turns around and yells "aga!" or "ago!" at completely random times.  Apparently she's done it for months and we still cannot determine what she is saying...but it's the same every time.  Hilarious.  I told you.

 



 
She loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and if you start singing the song for her she will interject "hot dog!" right at the precise moment it's sung in the song.  Adorable.  I told you.

She got my name down one of the first days we moved in and so when you say "What's my name?" she will say "Abby!" ...even if it's her mom or dad.  She doesn't even try Nathaniel.

Bahama Breeze

Here's a few pictures from our date night a few weeks ago.  We were down in Atlanta for the week after Valentines Day and decided to take a night (or two hours) to ourselves.  One of Nate's favorite restaurants is Bahama Breeze but they don't have them everywhere so when his family is down south that's where they always go.  It's mostly a seafood place but they have burgers and salads and whatnot as well.  Since we went after 9:00 we got half off our appetizer and our waiter gave us a $10 gift certificate as well!

Our appetizer was firecracker shrimp and it was probably the best shrimp I've had.  Not saying a ton since I don't eat shrimp a lot but I couldn't stop eating them!

With my tilapia, asparagus and rice.

Nate's salmon pasta...his usual.

It was fantastic to get out of the house for a while and leave the kids and noise and spend some time with just ourselves.  We also got some pretty fantastic dessert but I don't think we have a picture....

Stronger Than Me

I came across a  blog a few days ago that has struck me at my core.  It's written by a woman named Ashlee who, three years ago, found out her husband was having an affair only after he was murdered by his mistress's husband.  In one night her world, and the world of her five young children, was shattered.  I read about her story on a separate blog and just couldn't believe that could happen to someone.  Especially a young Mormon couple who had been married in the temple only seven years (I believe) earlier.

In January she just started writing down her story on this blog and it has attracted quite a lot of attention.

Here's the thing I love about her writing.  While 99.9999% of the population have no idea of what it's like to go through something like she did, she always relates her posts back to what we can all do to be better people.  She has this way of saying that even though your circumstance isn't hers, you can still learn to forgive for small things, you need to pay more attention to your children, say "I love you", use your spiritual gifts, thank those around you etc.  Every post ends with an uplifting thought of how we can make our own lives better.  On more than one occasion I have read something that I just needed to read.  It's given me much to think about and a starting point for setting goals for myself and my relationship with my own husband.

Another thing that I'm absolutely amazed by is her ability to remember all the good times with her husband.  She has every right to hate his guts for the decisions he was making.  And yet, she acknowledges that that's what they were.  They were decisions and they were bad ones, but he was a good person.  In almost every post she recounts stories from their past...how they met, their wedding day, when children were born.  She doesn't let the end of his life change the way she will remember him.  Now, she talks about the grief and pain and anger she felt about what his actions put their family though, but she still tells her kids about how great their dad was and how much she misses him.  It's beautiful.

I don't know how exactly the next life will work.  I don't know how his actions will have an effect on the eternal covenants they made in the temple.  But I wouldn't be surprised if her love and support of him is enough to carry both of them into eternal happiness.  I just can't describe how inspiring it is to read about someone who is learning to forgive a spouse who has done the unthinkable.  I hope that one day, when I make a mistake, or when Nate does, we will both have the courage to stand up for each other and stick by one another no matter what.  Because that's what we promised each other we would do.  No matter what.

In today's world, people get divorced left and right.  Things don't go smooth so they end.  Well, I can tell you, even six months of marriage hasn't been perfect for us.  I'm not sure if the first week was perfect!  As much as I love my husband we will both make plenty of mistakes and let our weaknesses show.  I just want to be strong enough to say that they don't matter.

I am thankful that I ran across this blog because it has given me so much to think about and will continue to provide insight to me on how to be a better person, wife, and one day mother.

The blog is The Moments We Stand and I would encourage anyone and everyone to take a minute (or a couple of hours...) to read.  It's best, in my opinion, to start from the first posts and read them in order because she is writing her story in chronological order.

And Life Goes On

It's been a solid two months since I've been on here.  I can't say I forgot about it.  I thought about writing every couple of days.  I can't say I didn't have time.  I've had more time on my hands in the last two months than I have since I started school.  Kindergarten, not college.  There isn't really a good reason for my absence.  I'll attribute it to too many things happening and not enough patience to try and write about it all.  I'll work backwards since that seems easiest at the moment.

Currently, I'm in Atlanta, GA visiting Nate's sister's family.  We came for a weekend and are staying for a week.  I think I'm going to be sick of the three shirts I brought fairly quickly.

We are visiting Atlanta from our temporary home in Charlotte, NC.  We got to Charlotte February 2nd and will be there until mid-April.  Nate will be doing an internship at our brother-in-law's private equity firm.  It's a really great opportunity for him to learn about the business and since he's off-track winter semester he's not missing out on any school.  Actually, he's also doing an online class so bonus points for him!

Our move to NC was pretty last minute.  Meaning we changed our flight back to Idaho like two days before we were supposed to leave.  That meant all we had with us were our carry-on bags we brought for Christmas vacation.  Niiiiiiice.  Actually, it gave us both an excuse to take a shopping trip to get some new clothes and shoes. 

Most people probably don't know that I am quite unlike most girls and I hate HATE buying shoes.  For some reason it is just hard for me to spend money on them.  Because of this, I wear my shoes until there is nothing left of them.  They stink, there are holes in them and they all turn the color of mud and rock salt.  It was probably a good thing I was forced to buy a few new pairs.

We found this fabulous Star Wars shirt and legging set....I was tempted to buy it.  But no.

Anyways, NC has been great so far.  Minus the monster snow storm we got that I thought we were going away from.

Before NC we were in Ohio for a month and a half.  While there we bounced between my house, his parent's house and his brother's house.  I am so thankful for our families and their hospitality for us!

New Years at his house.

Eating lunch with Noah at his elementary school.

I made Noah a perfect omlette.  The most perfect one I've ever made.  So it deserved a picture.

 Gosh I take a lot of pictures of Noah...here he is covering up all the pictures of Nate with magnets.  Not the whole picture...just Nate's face.  It was pretty funny.

Christmas was spent in NC at a cabin with most of Nate's siblings and their families.  Only one sister wasn't there but we were with her family for Thanksgiving so we really got to see everyone!  The cabin was great.  Lots of watching movies, playing games, and eating food. 

Before Christmas was school and that's already been written about.  I finally finished my internship and officially graduated from BYUI.  My diploma still hasn't come in the mail though.....