november happy list.

NOVEMBER

<< happy list >>

-rainy days

-hot chocolate

-feeling grateful

-family time

-fresh born babies

-cuddling with my boys

-mashed potatoes

-sweaters, boots, hats etc.

-an abundance of blessings

-jesus christ

-the gospel

-books

last sunday, we had a lesson at church on being thankful.  the whole time i sat there i couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sensation for all the good things i have in my life.  unfortunately, sometimes one bad thing can make us temporarily forget all the good things we really have.  i am making a conscious effort this month to count my blessings by saying them vocally, writing them down, praying, etc.  i know that as i do this throughout the month, that i can build a habit that will continue on throughout the rest of my life.  as i remember the good and have a thankful heart, i know that i will be an all around happier person and hopefully share that happiness to those around me.

there is sunshine in my soul today.

via

have you guys ever met cara?  she is probably one of the most thoughtful, caring, and positive person on the blogosphere to date.  she was kind enough to nominate me for the sunshine award.  the sunshine award is given to bloggers who bring sunshine to the blogging world.

here are the rules:

1. acknowledge the nominating blogger.

2. answer 11 questions the blogger has created for you.

3. list 11 bloggers that deserve the recognition and love.

4. post 11 questions for the nominated bloggers to answer.

(they cannot nominate the blogger who nominated them)

here are the 11 questions cara asked me:

1) what's your deepest dream and desire for this life?

my dream was to become a mother and while that has happened, my desire is to continue adding to our family and to raise happy, successful, good citizens.  the world is a crazy place and i want nothing but the best for my husband, children, and family in general.

2) what inspired you to start a blog/become a blogger?

see my first post ever (it's pretty lame..ha!) but then you will know why i started blogging.

3)if you weren't you, would you want to be friends with you? why or why not?

yes, definitely.  i like to think that i am a pretty good friend.  i'm loyal and trust worthy and funny as heck.

who doesn't want a weird friend like me? haha

4) What is your love language?

i tied between quality time and physical touch.

5) what is your most used app on our iPhone?

instagram by far

6) if you had an unlimited amount of money, what would you do/buy without a moment's hesitation?

build and furnish a beautiful new home that we could live in for years to come, making utah our permanent location.

7) What makes you joyful, happy, cheery, and makes you bring joy to others?

spending time with people i love (husband, baby, friends, family) makes me extremely happy.  staying up late and getting the tired giggles. when my husband surprises me by coming home early.  good hair and makeup days.  nice emails/texts that are unexpected. baby brooks' smiles and giggles... i could go on forever. 

8) describe your absolutely perfect day?

a nice summer day with my husband and baby at lake powell, soaking up the sun, riding in the boat, hiking, cliff jumping, eating loads of delicious food, star gazing, playing games, sitting around the fire, and lots of laugh. perfection.

9) what are the top 5 things you look for in a friend?

*someone who likes me for me and appreciates my weirdness

*someone who is willing to be equally weird

*loyal and caring

*good sense of humor

*puts an equal amount of effort in the friendship

10) create your everyday outfit and post it

11) what movie could you watch over and over and never get tired of?

grease, pearl harbor, how to lose a guy in 10 days

and yes! i love your blog design :)

i nominate

tregani from chris and tregani sitting in a tree

rachel from drew and rachel

amberly from life with amberly & joe

eryka from abcde plus two

brielle from ready or not

cecilia from dearest lou

katie from for lauren & lauren

kelsey from stories of kel

haley from ink&anchor

amy from keeping up with the smith's

mckenzie from miss kenzie's musings

my questions for you ladies...

1. what is on the top of your christmas wish list?

2. design your typical everyday outfit HERE and post a picture of it

3. what is your sonic happy hour beverage of choice?

4. what song are you currently loving to belt out while driving in your car?

5. if you had the day off tomorrow what would you do?

6. what is a hidden talent, skill, or hobby that you have that not many people know about?

7. channing tatum, jude law, or neither?

8. when was the last time you cried and why?

9. what makes you insanely happy?

10. if you have met me, how would you describe me in 5 words? 

if you haven't met me, but saw me somewhere would you approach me and say something or pretend you didn't see me?

11. what's your guilty pleasure tv show?

thanks for playing.

my sunshine lovers :)

places.

day eighteen:

where are you happiest?

whenever i am at these places, surrounded by friends and loved ones, i am guaranteed to be happy.

lake powell

disneyland/world

the beach

lagoon

road trips

also, since google is doing away with reader and gfc, i have joined bloglovin'

follow me here my dears

happiness.

day three:

what makes you happy?

my happy list:

and the list could go on forever.
what makes you happy?

why friends are great.

so this one time, called yesterday, i was telling my friend how expensive baby stuff was.

i told her that if she ever found herself bored with nothing to do and the internet at her disposal, to feel free and search the WWW for cute, but not ridiculously expensive baby bedding.

as a true friend would, she asked me what vibe i was going for colors, themes, etc.

and i was pretty vague.

because, well i just don't know yet.

anyway.

i wake up this morning afternoon (i had a lazy morning :) and to my surprise i have an email from this lovely lady

whose blog you should all read because she's quite possibly one of my most favorite humans ever.

and this is what the email entailed...

This is a sign that I have way too much time on my hands. Technically you don't need a bumper and some cribs look pretty cute with a cute fitted sheet. You could find a cute sheet and just a plain bumper if you wanted a bumper. You could maybe even use fabric paint, non toxic of course, to stencil something on the outside of the bumper. Or find a cute bumper that isn't too pricey and then just find a solid sheet to match. And your mom could maybe just make a bed skirt if it really needed one in a coordinating fabric if it was too plain without. So ya I just photoshopped those two attatchments with nursery color schemes...here is the bedding info with links below....I am a creep I know. I have no life. hahaha love!

or

and that my bloggy people, is why friends are so great!!

the airport.

**this is extremely long, but something that i definitely want to remember, so be ye warned**

april 11, 2012

i couldn't sleep the night before.  i laid in bed tossing and turning. one minute smiling, the next crying.  my emotions truly were all over the place.  for you see, i had been in this position once before.  i knew that i would and could get through it, and i knew that it was going to be so much different, so much better than the time before, but i couldn't help but make comparisons.

finally, around 4am my nerves subsided and i was able to fall asleep imagining our airport reunion.

i woke up at 9 and literally felt numb.  i couldn't move or eat, nor did i want to.  i probably sat in bed for a good hour just starring straight ahead.  it was far too early to start getting ready, so to calm my emotions i decided to do what any human would do....watch khloe and lamar...duh!!

i think i watched a solid 4 episodes.. so thank you odom's for passing the time.

i finally began to get ready for the airport adventure.  at this point i had convinced myself that i didn't want to go to the airport.  i was feeling like i needed to vomit, but i knew i would kick myself in the face if i didn't go.

by the time i got ready, this is what i looked like.

with an hour left until go time, i headed to the grocery store to get balloons and a big ass dr. pepper.

i felt i deserved it.

i then headed over to matt's parents house where i made a complete fool of myself, it was awesome. 

 once i began talking to them and the realization set in that this was really happening my nerves disappeared and pure excitement set in.  i was dancing around their kitchen clapping and making up songs.  

they laughed to humor me, but secretly i'm sure they were freaked out. 

finally, at 2:30pm it was time to leave for the airport.

with signs and balloons in hand, and of course my dr.pepper (which i didn't even drink, just held for support)

we headed on our way.

naturally on the car ride up i took my jacket off to avoid tacos.  i was a hot sweaty mess.

we made good time and got to the airport with about 45 minutes to spare before his plane landed.

while waiting we of course took pictures.

matt's high school/football buddies

my support crew = best ever.

matt's brother, SIL, and nieces and nephew

matt's dad and baby haven.

there's a million more pictures of us waiting, but i will spare you.

so we get news that the plane has landed and i'm peeing my pants by this time.

i got super quiet and kind of just stood their doing my own thing.

being super awkward as always

this pretty much sums up my feelings.

AWKWARD AS.

matt's mom had gone up the escalator so that she could be the first to see him and get the first loves.  it was awesome, because we couldn't see matt but all of the sudden she starts jumping up and down and disappears.  

next thing we know...

isn't he the cutest thing?!

while that is happening, this is what i was doing....

 pretty much my reaction for the next ten minutes or so.

there were about 30 or so people there to greet matt, so i decided i was going to let him say hello to everyone first and wait patiently for my turn.

it was so precious though, every time he looked at me he would grin so big and wink.  it pretty much melted my heart.

finally, FINALLY, it was my turn

as soon as we hugged, all of my nerves were gone.  i truly couldn't stop smiling.  it was so cute because when we were taking pictures he would grab my hand and squeeze it.

he was hilarious at the airport because he didn't know what to do.

he was like a dog running around distracted by everything.

at one point we were talking...

 and he interrupts and asks if he can show me his yo-yo tricks

i quickly learned that yo-yo equals security blanket. haha he pulls it out when he doesn't know what to do. it's quite precious... and to be honest, he's got some mad sick yo-yo skills.

the next thing he requested was a "fat point" picture or the "mission point" i don't really quite understand it, but i did receive multiple pictures in the past two years with the fat point, sooo here it is.

the rest of the airport experience was filled with smiles, pictures, and more smiles.

because matt was still technically a missionary, we said our goodbyes at the airport and i didn't get to see him again until he got released.

needless to say, the airport was such an amazing experience.  it was almost like nothing had changed.  as soon as i saw his face and hugged him, i knew that the feelings were still there and then some. 

i want to punch blogger in the face right now because i have some pretty sweet video footage to show you of the whole experience but it won't work, and i'm annoyed.

also, our first kiss was so precious.

i will tell you about it another day. tomorrow perhaps :)

thanks to these women for taking the above pictures/video

that is all for now.

love,

amyLynn