Here's something not so serious.
Catch-up for the last 4 months! In reverse order.
Finally!! Great day, what a ride that was.
I had so many feels the whole time. And of course, at the end. I sobbed and leaked tears all over the pages of my precious book. (And lets be honest, probably some snot, too).
It was not at all what I expected, but I do accept it. Veronica is my homegirl and Divergent will always be the book that inspired me to write a novel. And my favorite book for a long time. I don't want to rule out the possibility of something overpassing it, but it sure would take one helluva book to do that.
My copy, right before I started reading. Just noticed the blue in the wave totally matches my sheets. :)
You know how you just grab whatever is nearby for a bookmark sometimes? My cute little brown bear became a bookmark once. I'm so weird. You can also see my heating pad - the blue thing - a necessary accessory for any RA reader.
2 - Pumpkins with Malorie and Allie
After learning that Mal is having another little girl and that she is, praise God, perfectly healthy, we made a stop at a pumpkin patch. We didn't get nearly as many pictures this year as last, but it's okay. Allie carried around as many mini pumpkins as her little 3 year old arms could carry, that little adorable babe! I snapped this picture right before she stood up from smelling the flowers...
What a stinkin' cutie. And she still has two littles in her arm.
We got one big pumpkin and one small pumpkin just for Allie. It was so hard to pick one because they all had scratches and parts that looked like it was about to mold away. So, we got the best we could of each. Then we went home and painted them. I learned I much prefer painting pumpkins to carving them. Carving with RA hands is like the hardest thing in the world. I also learned (well, relearned cause I've known it for a long time) that I have paint anxiety. Luckily we started to mixing colors and that made it okay to mess up. :)
The pumpkin we all painted together. Mal did the wave, I did the dark blue behind it and we all three did the color mixing on the rest of it. But mostly Allie. She also did the purple on the stem.
3 - BYU Football game at Reliant Stadium
BYU came and played University of Houston. Brother came down and Dad, brother, Sarah, my friend Justine, and I went to the game. It was intense!! But in the last 2 minutes, we won!
Sarah and I
Justine and I after the game ended. The end was just so intense. Please note the man behind us. What is he so impassioned about?!
Yes, I totally read a bit when I got too overstimulated by the noise and all the people. Introvert, much?
4 - Doctor Who
I mentioned in my last post that I have become a Whovian. I started the second week of August and finished the modern seasons by the middle of September. Sarah, Mom, Becca, and I have all fallen in love with it. My niece Andie has some too, but she hasn't been able to watch as much as us cause of school and bedtimes and such. Becca has been behind us because of working nights so any time I go home, we pick up wherever she is and watch. Recently we watched the beginning of season 6 with the Silence and I decided we needed to play along.
Wait, why do I have these marks on my arm? I can't remember...
5 - Professor River Socks
Andie's friend's cat had kittens and she got one. Her name was originally just Socks when we got her, but with my strong encouragement, Andie and Becca decided to name her Professor River Socks. Any combination of those names gets used regularly. We got her at 7 weeks when she was so, so tiny. And now, she is something like 13 and seems so incredibly huge. She is also incredibly feisty and bitey and scratchy. I have scars. Her nickname is Lilith because she can be a demon kitty. I look forward to when she can get fixed so she will hopefully calm down a bit. But she is adorable and has made me firm in my decision to get a cat as soon as possible. But it will be a rescue kitty that has already been fixed because I just can't handle the energy and biteyness.
There's my bear again, her name is B. But instead of a bookmark, she is being brutally attacked by an adorable kitten.
She loves attacking my little stuffed things. That is B again and my hedgehog named John Watson. (Sarah has an otter named Sherlock). River also likes to attack my shoe, hence it being in the middle of the room. Crazy thing.
Sarah and I with River one of the few times she was calm enough to stay still. She slept on Sarah for about 10 minutes, then on me for about 5 and then she went back to attacking things.
6 - The Mortal Instruments
Becca, Sarah, and I went to see City of Bones. I don't think it was the opening night, but we dressed up as Shadowhunters anyway. Complete with black clothes and rune tattoos (temporary, unfortunately). Such a good movie. Obviously, the book is better, but it was so fun to see these characters we love on the big screen. Though there were some plot points changed that I was bummed about, the characters were perfect for me. I originally hated Jamie Campbell Bower for Jace, but it didn't take me long to be won over. And Kevin Zegers as Alec, Aiden Turner as Luke, and especially Robert Sheehan as Simon - PERFECTION.
I somehow don't have a picture of all 3 of us - probably on one of their phones. I had three runes and it definitely did not help with my desire to get tattoos.
7 - Floating Lantern Celebration of Elizabeth Grace
August 20, 2012 was one of the worst days of my life, with many more days of equal pain to follow. A baby girl was taken from the earth and it was so hard, so hard to see my loved ones in pain. But God was there and has been there to help heal the pain as much as possible for all who loved that girl and her parents. We went to the beach on her first birthday to release lanterns in her beautiful memory. And God was there again. (Even when a cop came and told us we had to leave because apparently fire is illegal on the beach). :)
I love you, Beth. I can't wait to hold you one day.
These things are seriously hard to light when it's windy. Recommendation: don't use them at the beach where it is perpetually windy.
Three of the lanterns in the sky. Beautiful.
The moonlight on the ocean was breathtaking. Such a peaceful, beautiful night to remember a beautiful, precious, loved-beyond-measure, little girl.
8 - Finding old family pictures
My amazing Grandma found some old family pictures and brought them to the cabin to show us. I took pictures of them on my phone. It was crazy to look back at them and see our family so long ago.
I am well-known in my family to often rave about how adorable I was a baby and young kid. Seriously, I was adorable. I can't handle it sometimes. I want to pinch my little cheeks!
Gosh, I still love swinging so much. Though, I could never swing on my knees like again ever again.
My 2 great-Grandmas from my Dad's side. I'm on the left with my legs and arms in my shirt. The two other kids are my cousins Kaley and Lee. This summer, Kaley was named as the 1st Runner up in the Mrs. America Pagent. She is soon going to Hong Kong (I think), to compete is Mrs. World. CRAZY! She was also my favorite cousin growing up.
All the cousins with the Great Grands. Each family is in their own color. I still have my legs and arms in my shirt. I must have been cold. Or grumpy.
My Family! Michael, Becca, Mom, me, Dad, Sarah, Great Grandma L, Great Grandma R. We were so cute, I can't even handle it!!
Fast forward 20 something years. Me and Grandma. Yes, I am wearing my Iron Man shirt. We were working on a Thomas Kinkade puzzle. I love doing puzzles with Grandma so much. She is doing so well and is so beautiful. I am so grateful for her!!
9 - Breakfast with McKenzie
I got to meet up with Kenzie, my best friend from my mission. Her friendship toward me has been so healing over the years. No matter what I am feeling, I know I can go to her and she will drop what she's doing and help in any way she can. She listens better than almost anyone and shows pure love to me, no matter how little I sometimes deserve it. We hardly get to see each other (like, once a year), and don't talk much, but just knowing she is there makes me feel safe. I am so grateful for her. She just started her Master's program in Young Adult Fiction (I think - sorry if I got that wrong, Kenz!), and I am so proud of her and happy for her. Love you tons, my friend!
10 - Despicable Me 2 with Allie
Sarah, Mal, and I took Allie to see Despicable Me 2. It was my first time to go to the movies with Allie. Her mom and I went to sooo many movies in high school. It's pretty much the only thing to do in our home town. We once counted how many movies we'd seen together, at theaters and at home. It was around 150 in a year and a half. So, movies are a rich tradition with us. So fun to be with her and her daughter for one! And the movie was hilarious!!
It is so fun watching her get immersed in stories. I'm a little obsessed with this niece-child of mine.
So, to all of you who help me,
who reach out to let me know you are thinking of me,
who let me vent,
who invite and include me in activities even if I'm in a bad mood and can't be easy to be around,
who take my mind off things,
who fangirl with me (even if just through Pinterest - you know who you are),
who make me feel that my life can still mean something despite how difficult this disease is,
who reach out to me in your struggles, even though I have my own, so we can feel the grace that comes from helping each other,
who included me in a business venture out of love despite signs that I might not be the best person to trust with it,
who smile at me,
who listen to me try to figure out the wanderings of my sick, sad mind,
who text me even when I don't answer,
who love me for me when I can't see anything worth loving...
Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
Thank you for joining me on this journey, for being my fellow traveller in this messy life.
I couldn't do it without you.
:D Love you! Love all these pictures! Also, I love Sarah's hair; it looks darker! I love this because it shows how much joy there STILL is amidst the rest of life :)
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