Leia

Last summer we got a puppy, but he caught Parvo so we ended up putting him down. We had already decided that we weren't just going to just go out and buy a new dog. Well a couple of weeks ago the perfect moment we had been waiting for finally came along. One of Jacob's old coworkers posted a picture of 2 puppies on FB saying he had to get rid of them. Jacob asked me if I was ready and I looked at the picture and just couldn't say no. And that's how we got Leia. I've never been the biggest fan of dogs, so it's definitely been a learning experience for me. Not to mention time and money consuming. We have a vet appointment this week for the next set of her shots. But seriously she is so cute, it's so worth it! As I type she's cuddled herself up in the laundry basket...

She's been such a good puppy so far! We love her so much. And she's just the cutest little cuddle bug out there. And here's a million and one pictures to prove it. Enjoy ;)

We had to let her fall asleep because she wouldn't let us trim her nails

Her first bath (yes, I do treat her like a baby)

Pooped out

She LOVES playing outside, too bad we have to wait until after the 3rd set of shots till we can take her to the park and on walks and what not. But after Thursdays vet visit it will only be a couple weeks until we can do that.

I was trying to get a picture of her whiskers

She's a cute sleeper

Did I mention she loves it outside?

The first night we had her. It's only been a few weeks and she's already grown so much!!

She likes to cuddle with random things, like clothes on my floor...

After her first vet visit. She did so good with her shots!

And that's our new puppy... or as my niece calls her... Princess Leia

Other than that I've been getting ready for our wedding. We finally did our registries. Jacob had fun with that. Well with the first one. The second store he told me he didn't want to go to, so I did it by myself. 

Besides stuff for the wedding, we (or rather me) have been busy with other grown up things. Such as finding a place to live when we're married. Getting car insurance quotes. And all that jazz. Though I'd like to think of myself as independent, my parents really do still pay for most of my things. I'm in the process of about to be paying my car insurance and phone bill, and then for gas and everything else once we're married. If I didn't like the responsibility of being an 'adult' before, I know I'm not gonna like it when I'm married and truly being independent from my parents. And I realize this is starting to get negative, which is not my intent. I am so thrilled to be getting married. It just sucks realizing how much I wasn't worrying about expense wise, that I have to start dealing with in the very near future.

The other day I was driving home from work and as I drove down my street I noticed moving trucks and people carrying boxes and moving out. It crossed my mind that I wish I could be packing up and going home now that school is out. But really this is my home now. I have a job to be at everyday and rent on a place to pay for and I don't have the luxury to pick and go home for the summer. And then at church on Sunday during our temple/marriage prep class either Sister Moss or Sister Nixon mentioned how after you're sealed and married and you walk out of the temple, you're walking out as a family. And I seriously can not wait for that. For me and Jacob to be married and be a family.

One of my biggest trials has been wanting to grow up too much, too fast. I'm the youngest of 6. The two siblings closest to me are brothers and as we were growing up we were always fighting so I think that made me look up to my sisters more. They're 10 and 13 years older than I am so they weren't around for me to fight with and not like. Especially getting into high school I found that my mind set was much more into the future, with growing up and being on my own and getting married and starting a family, than anyone else my age. My junior/senior year of high school I got into a serious relationship and I remember he used to tell me all the time to just enjoy where I am now and not worry so much about the future. 

After I graduated I was so ready to get out on my own and be an adult with my own place doing my own thing. And I did. I moved to College Station. Got an apartment, found a roommate, quickly found a job, and just kept going. Now I'll admit, I've learned to relax and to stop planning quite so much. But it still gets to me. Especially now that it's May and my lease is up in August and we still haven't found a place to live.

So here I am. Grown up. It's still scary. Mostly because I know it's not gonna be easy. That there's going to be trials and hard times and things I wasn't planning for. But at least I'm not doing it on my own. I have Jacob. He really is perfect for me. He's goofy when I'm too serious and he can always make me smile when I'm at my worst. Not to mention, even though he's a child in a grown man's body, he has matured very much. Especially over the period that we've been dating. I was recently reflecting over our relationship and we have already been on a roller coaster ride together (literally yes, we went to six flags last summer with my family, but I mean figuratively) We have been through so many ups and downs together already, and I never realized how much we've grown together so far. Though it's gonna get tough at times. I know it can only get better.

128 days until we get married. And then we have an eternity together. I can't wait :)

The Power of Prayer

Today my day began and ended with the reminder of the blessing of prayer in my life. As I was getting ready to walk out the door I heard my phone go off for a new email. I was in a rush and didn't get to look at it until after I got to school. Luckily I had a few minutes before class to read over the email. It was a missionary letter from a friend. What struck me most was just a simple line in his email... "I would try and help but I'll just have to include you in my prayers". He is serving in Portugal, and though he's thousands of miles away and can't physically do anything, it is so comforting to know that he can pray for me. And it was a sweet reminder to me this morning about the affect that my prayers can have on people, and the influence I can have. And then it made me wonder how often people do actually pray for me. And how often I've been helped because of their prayers. I was definitely humbled and feeling grateful for such a blessing in my life.
And then I was able to have another experience tonight with my fiancé. I began feeling so overwhelmed with everything going on in my life right now, feeling frustrated even. So I decided to turn to the LDS app on my phone. Searching through general conference talks and reading scriptures. After some time of that I still felt so overwhelmed, like I was going to burst into tears at any moment. It was already late at this point, so before Jacob left I asked him to pray with me. As he finished the prayer I just poured out into tears. Not being able to handle the stress anymore. And he held me and let me cry for a little bit and then he told me he was going to pray again. And he said a prayer me. He prayed for my comfort and for strength, and by the end of the prayer I was able to calm down.
I am so incredibly grateful for Jacob. He tells me all the time that I'm beautiful and amazing. But I don't think I tell him enough how wonderful he is. And how much of a strength he is to me. I'm so grateful for the power of prayer. For the comfort it provides me, for the strength. And for the wonderful reminders I had of its power today.

I Stand All Amazed

I'm a few weeks past easter and even a week past general conference, but it's alas it's never too late/the wrong time to share my gratitude for my Savior.
I'll admit, I've been lost, hopeless, feeling alone even when I'm most certainly not. But lately I've been trying so hard to change and to make things better. Because I know without a doubt that through the gospel, and the Lord, and Jesus Christ that there is a way. And that there is happiness. And yet for far too long it's been far too easy to not do it. Something that seems so minuscule has such a huge impact. Today I found myself down on me knees praying for the Lord's help. I needed help to move forward. I needed confirmation that I'm going down the right path. I needed to feel that love that I pushed away for who knows what reason for too long. As I sat there praying, earnestly seeking relief because it feels like I've made so much change and that I've been trying so hard to be better, I finally said Heavenly Father please just help me make up in some way for the things I can't do. And then it finally hit me. He does.
I was instantly reminded of a story told in seminary. I'll try my best to paraphrase. The parable of the bike I think it was called. There was a little girl who wanted to buy a bike. So her and her father made a deal that she would do chores and earn money, and in turn she could use that money to buy a bike. She worked so hard to do all her chores and she would even go out of her way doing more, doing everything she could to earn money. And after a while she went back to her father and told him that she had everything she earned, that she'd been saving it for this, not even buying candy or anything. So he took her to the bike shop and she feel in love with a bike. She handed him everything she had been saving up, but when they looked at the price tag it wasn't nearly enough. She was so disheartened, she had worked so hard. So her father made her another deal, he was going to pay for the difference.
That is exactly what the Savior does for us. That is exactly what the atonement is. I have been working hard, and though it felt like I wasn't doing enough, that I couldn't do enough, I was reminded that the Savior can. That he has. He did it for me, and I assure you that he did it for you too. I am beyond grateful for that reminder. It was exactly what I needed. Along with that I was blessed today to be reminded of the love and support I have from the people around me. It felt so good. And again it was exactly what I needed.
I believe in a living God, I know he is there and that he loves me, I know that he does so much for me, more that I could ever do for him. I am beyond grateful for the knowledge of him in my life. I've made my fair share of mistakes. And it has been unbelievably hard at times. I'm so grateful for the Lord's love. And for the sweet reminders of it that I received today. They couldn't have come at a better time.


And on the note of gratitude, here's a catch up of my life as of lately through pictures on my phone...

Easter weekend Jacob and I were hoping to go to Oklahoma, but it didn't workout. His parent's did go though, and mine were on their way home from California. Last minute, aka like 7:30-8 on Saturday night we decided to dye easter eggs, and I may have been wanting to bake, so we went to HEB to get all of our supplies. On the way back Jacob saw a Thai restaurant and decided to call his brother Stephen and tell him about it, and before they ended their conversation Jacob invited him to come dye eggs with us. He seemed at first like he wouldn't make it, but he did. And I'm so glad, we had a great time with him. I am so grateful for family. Ever since Jacob and I started dating, his family has always been so kind to me. It meant so much to me living away from home. I am so grateful for them and for my family. I am who I am today because of them. I keep a letter in my scriptures that one of my sisters wrote me quite some time ago, and in it there's a line that says 'I don't judge because I can't, I've been there and done that and I don't want to be judged" and that has stuck with me ever since. No matter what, family is family. Whether I was born into it, or am marrying into it. I am so grateful for the love and support I receive from both sides.

On Sunday after church Jacob and I drove to Katy. Let me emphasis this. In the 4-5ish hours we were gone, from the time we left to the time we got back, the majority (almost 3 hours) of it was driving time. Well, of him driving. Lol.

We got there and cooked dinner for my parents, who were getting home from California. And I finally got my car back. Okay let me take a few months back. In December, my brother Stephen (yes, we both have a Stephen haha) and his soon to be wife Caitlin were in town from California. Here for their wedding and baby shower. She flew in and he drove his little Honda Accord. Well after a wedding shower, a baby shower, and the wedding itself, the little car wasn't gonna cut it on the drive back. So they took my car. 4 months later after sweet baby Isabella was born my parents went up to visit them and the baby (I'm still super jealous BTW, I wish I could of gone, they need to hurry up and move back so I can meet her) and now I have my car back. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I could help them out. But did I mention I'm glad to be in my car again? Lol.

So glad!

And I'm so so SO grateful for Jacob. He is a complete goofball, but never fails to make me smile when I least want or when I'm trying so hard not to. He is so loving and supportive and never lets me forget. He is my best friend and the best fiancé/soon to be husband I could have ever imagined.

Weekend Get-Away in Dallas

Well to start off I have to repent for my debbie down opening post last time. Which mostly consisted of how much I hate work. So after I posted that I went into work, and not too long after being there one of the managers and the big boss came up and said "congrats Cyndi, you're the customer service employee of the month". Yupp, you read that right. Haha. Honestly I think they put names of applauded employees in a hat a draw a winner, but it honestly made getting through the day that much easier. I will admit, the people I work with and my bosses are very good about giving credit when its due. I'm just kicking myself for being so negative. So now whenever I walk into the office for the next month I get to see this little beauty ;)

When I walked into work that day it was abnormally humid, hence the lovely frizz ;) haha

And they paid for my lunch with this $10 giftcard of my choice.

I have a great job, with great employers and coworkers, and I was in a horrible mood last week. And I was totally in the wrong.

I worked until 10 that night so we didn't leave until Saturday morning. Our first stop was in Cleburne to celebrate Savannah's 1st birthday with Jon, Kaitlyn, and the rest of her family. They did such a cute job decorating for it and we had lots of fun. AND I finally took some pictures. Haha.

So precious watching her open a present and not wanting anything but that present. Haha.

I watched Kaitlin frost the cake and it turned out awesome! And it tasted great too ;) Haha. I'm so glad we could make it, it was so fun. And I can't wait for sweet baby girl #2 to get here any day now!!

After that we headed up to my sisters house. Jenny, Henley, and Mom my had come up too and were already there playing with cousins!

It's crazy to see Henley and the twins next to each other and realize how much they've grown up, before you know it Henley will be that big too. And it seems like just yesterday they were her size themselves!

December 2009

March 2013

I can't get enough of these cuties!!

My sister made a bunch of avenger masks. How cute is that?

They were having a staring contest.

Logan did pretty good, but then he would burst out laughing.

And then Alyssa wanted a picture with Jacob. When I told her to sit next to him she decided they needed to have a staring contest too. Lol.

Logan was being such a good big cousin and watching over baby Henley.

So glad I got to spend some time with this little one. I miss being close to home and as you can see from those other two little ones, they sure do grow up fast!!

And then of course there was this cutie ;)

And me ;) Haha!

And that was our fun little weekend trip to Dallas!!

Birthday, Birthday, Birthday!

Okay so I'm gonna start out my post negative. I'm sorry but I have to, but I promise I'll end it being optimistic!

I've been feeling pretty sick the last few days, and yesterday, my birthday, was no exception. Bleh! And on top of that, I had to work all day. I was not a very happy camper... well, worker. And it's not easy to be nice when you don't feel good. So I was in a bad mood all day. And on top of that I had a test this morning, which I didn't study for as much as I should have because I was working then celebrating my birthday with my fiancé. (Okay I'll take the blame for that one.) Oh and did I mention I feel awful? There was that too mixed in there. And I have to work a long shift today again. Oh and then my spring break? Yeah I'm working 40 hours in those 5 days. Yay...

Now that that's off my chest I'll be optimistic :)

Besides that, my fiancé managed to make me very happy on my birthday. I got off work and met him at his parents house where he was finishing make me cupcakes. Confetti cupcakes at that! My fav :) and I may or may not have drilled in to him that it was my favorite so he needed to get it right. (I mean I'm gonna be with him for like... ever, so he needed to know. Lol.) And then he was kind enough to go shopping with me. Actually Chrissy and I found this new store at the mall that has a bunch of cute little knick-knacks and I really wanted to show them to him. So we both had fun there.

And I really wanted to get mustaches pictures. But this obviously didn't work out.

This one is better though. Haha.

And after spending some money, which I got an amazing deal on BTW, Thank you birthday coupons from stores! Haha. We went to dinner at Los Cucos! Mmmm mexican :)

It was so delish! And he was kind enough to spare me from telling them it was my birthday.

Then we went back to his parents and enjoyed some cuppycakes :) Yum!

I convinced him to get me my presents the night before. Hehe :)

And this is how he wraps them...

He's pretty cute though, so I let him get away with it. Haha.

Oh and he did a good job. Lol.

He did a great job and I'm so lucky to have him!! He makes me so happy and September can't come soon enough!

So before we went to the mall on my birthday we went to my place so I could change out of my scrubs and I took a picture of us on my porch.

And it reminded me of the night we got engaged. So I just wanted to reminisce a bit.

I came across this baby the other day in my photobooth pictures on my computer. We took it before we went to the drive-in theater the night he proposed. Which means the ring is in his pocket...

Okay I had to post this one. Jacob has a gollum voice. And we saw the hobbit the night he proposed. And the ring was in his pocket. (Bilbo and Jacob) Get it?! Haha. I promise it's funny. 

:)

So that was my birthday!

Last weekend we went to the Texas World Speedway where they were having a Snap-On tour. If you don't know what that is (it's okay I didn't know before I met Jacob) its basically tools. Lol. But it's something he likes so I try to share his interests. It actually was a good day!

Trying to get the texas world speedway in the picture aka the little tiny scribbles next to us. Haha.

:)

And this weekend we go to Dallas!!

Well after I make it through my 9 & 1/2 hour shift. Oh that's right, I promised optimism. Umm, I have a job, that I'm getting paid for, and then I have all weekend off that I get to spend with friends and family.  Yeah that works ;)