First Christmas

Our first Christmas was pretty fantastic!! We definately got spoiled that's for sure!I got Dave a Wii and he is in love! He got me many different things. My favorite of them all was my ZUMBA clothes! I could change my whole wardrobe and wear ZUMBA clothes. I actually went to the mall and bought MORE today! I can't wait for New Years because this hasn't exactly been an excellent year so we are going to party..... And put mistletoe in our back pocket so this year can kiss all our butt's goodbye!!

My first Christmas in Heaven

This is the first year I will be spending Christmas without my dad. It makes me sad that he won't be waking me up to open Christmas presents with him, but I know he is going to have an amazing Christmas in Heaven. This picture is my first Christmas and this year will be my dad's first Christmas in Heaven. We also lost Dave's grandfather this year and we recently lost our dear friend Katie. This will be there first Christmas in Heaven as well.


My first Christmas in Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below

With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars reflecting on the snow.

The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear

For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.



I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear

But the sounds of music can't compare with the Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,

For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing.



I know how much you miss me, I see the pain inside your heart,

But I am not so far away, We really aren't apart.

So be happy for me dear ones, You know I hold you dear.

And be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.



I sent you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above.

I sent you each a memory of my undying love.

After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold.

It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.



Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do,

For I can't count the blessing or love He has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear,

Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year!

Life is too short

On the morning of Saturday December 18, 2010 we lost our dearest friend Katie Miller. She was driving home from work when she hit ice, lost control of her car and was killed immediately. :( Katie was such an amazing person and touched many people's lives. I've known Katie for approximately ten years. I will always hold on to our memories with Katie. I love you Katie and will always miss you. You are one beautiful Angel! <3.

*Such a Miracle*

Congratulations to our great friends Derick and Brittany O'Connor. Baby boy Liam was born December 16, 2010 at 4:41 P.M. 6 pounds 8 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Such a little guy. He is so handsome and one quiet baby. He'd rather sleep than eat. (Smart boy). I can't wait to see him again. I love babies oh so much! I can't wait to go over to their house and watch him grow up.

Friends

This is my good friend Brittany. As you can see, she is going to POP very soon. She's going to have a little bundle of joy baby boy named Liam! He's going to be the cutest little blondie boy. I can't wait to give him some lovins. Brittany and I have known each other since 8th grade and have been going strong with our friendship since then. I'm so excited and happy for them!! Anytime now and he will be here!

Our room. It needs some serious decor. Haha

Office. This room is pretty much miscellaneous!

Lovely bathroom. Washer and Dryer are also in there.

Dining room

Kitchen :)

AFTER!!

Living room. And our pretty tree :)

Another bedroom

One of the bedrooms.

Sick bathtub!

Bathroom. We replaced this nasty floor

Dining room

Living room.

Kitchen.. That stove went in the trash.

Before

Before we cleaned up our new place it was pretty much NASTY! Here are some pictures before. This is the nasty burnt spot on the carpet. Thank goodness we got new carpet.

Its been AWHILE

Boy its been awhile since I posted anything. I guess a lot has been happening!

In the last post I talked about how we got a new dog. Unfortunately we had to find her a new home. She was not good with children and bit our nephew 3 times.

We moved into a new place! Dave's parents own rental property and one of the renters moved out! What we thought was going to be a little project, turned into a MASSIVE project! The previous renter completely trashed the place. Right as you walked in there was a huge black burned spot on the carpet. Therefore, we had to replace the carpet (No complaints here). There were also patched holes EVERYWHERE so we slapped a nice coat of paint on the walls and it was like new! We also got a new dishwasher and stove. (Best in-laws ever)... Do I get extra points saying that?

We decided we wanted new furniture so we took a trip to good ole RC Willey. We had looked at other places like Ashley Furniture and we were not having any luck finding what we wanted. We walked through all of RC Willey and were finding absolutely nothing! Actually we found stuff, but it was thousands more dollars than we really wanted to pay. We decided to go back in the clearance/as is section........ BAM! There were these 2 beautiful couches that popped out at us! Not realizing it we both walked over to the same ones and sat in them. We both looked at each other and said these were the ones... We also got a killer deal!!! My mom decided to show up to help us with our decision making and she said we made a good pick. While they were running our credit and information we decided to walk around and look at tables and BAM another thing popped to our attention. It was a beautiful kitchen table for a KILLER deal! So my mom decided to buy it for us. Boy did we walk away with a grundle of furniture!

It came the day when our furniture was supposed to be delivered. The delivery guy had called me and told me he had wrecked his truck on route to delivering to us. He pushed our deliver date out two days later which ended on black Friday.. (They messed up my shopping schedule). I waited four hours for them to deliver. I decided to call and they guy had the nerve to tell me he was still an hour out!! He finally showed up and he only had the kitchen table!! I was fuming because I had already gone a week without couches. Soooooooooooooooo my mother-in-law decides to take me down to RC Willey to file a complaint.... Turns out the couches are on back order until December, but they failed to mention that to me in the ordering process. So I still have no couches to sit on... Makes me frustrated. Maybe I will recieve them this week. *Fingers crossed*

I made a decision on my major. I only changed it a bajillion times! I'm looking into Radiation Therapy. It requires a lot of schooling, but I think I can do it. (I need family and friends to tell me I can do it). I think overall I would be a good candidate for it and it would be a rewarding job. I know my dad would be really proud of me to finish the program.

Libby loves daddy.

New addition to the family!

You won't believe it! I never thought I would say this, but WE GOT A DOG!! We got a weiner dog named Libby. We rescued her from the Humane Society. She is 5 years old and as cute as can be.

CHOPPED!!

Here is the final product!!!

Here is my hair as a little girl! It's been this long since its been this short!

IT'S CHOPPED!!

So I finally chopped my hair off! 6 inches off!! I don't think I have had hair this short since I was a little girl. I feel pretty naked, but it was a good change.

Life is too short...

This year has been such an eye opener for us. We have came to realize how short and delicate life really is. This year we've been through the passing of my father, the passing of Dave's grandfather, emergency open heart surgery for Dave's dad, and health complications for Dave's other grandfather. Remember every day to tell your family and friends how much you love them and care about them because you never know when they will be gone.

Today my dad's best friend Rick passed away. He was the same age as my dad. (Too young). My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and kids at this time. I hope they have comfort knowing that he is no longer in pain anymore and he is in a much better place.

Dave's side of the family. They traveled out from California.

This is my moms side of the family.

This is my dads side of the family.

This is the Crossley family. I have been friends with Kaylee (in the green) for about 8-10 years. I used to go over to their house every single day and eat dinner haha. Cory was my last bishop before we got married. This family is a super family. They help everyone!

These are the Williams family. They have been friends with our family for at least 20 years. Jerry and my dad became best friends when they both built their houses across the street from each other. This was one of the strongest friendships I have ever seen. While my dad was sick, Jerry was always mowing our lawn, weeding our garden, fixing our sprinkling system, and calling us everyday to see if there was anything he could do to help us. My heart just breaks for Jerry because he lost his best friend. I know I lost a dad too and that is one hard thing to lose, but my heart just breaks for him because they had such a strong friendship for so long.

GUESS WHAT??? I HAVE WEDDING PICTURES!

I finally got our wedding pics. There are soooo many so I definitely won't post them all. I love all the pics. I just want to display all of them. Unfortunately we don't have that many walls.

One month!

Can you believe we have been married for one month? I definitely can't! Time has definitely flown! We've been super busy with just life in general. I think we are finally starting to get used to this whole married thing. Its finally starting to feel normal not having to drive home at night. (I love being able to just crawl in bed)
This month has been amazing and crazy at the same time. We've already booked out first vacation. We are going on an Alaskan cruise in June 2011! Were pretty stoked. This month has also been a month full of emotions for me. Everyday I wake up, I just think about my dad. A certain song, color, flower, drive, anything reminds me of him. I catch myself saying stuff like "My dad loved doing these kinds of things." The other day I was just thinking about Christmas of 2009. I was planning a trip with Dave's family to go to California for Christmas. My dad mentioned to me that maybe I should come home before Christmas to spend the last Christmas with him before I get married. Dave and I ended up coming home early to spend Christmas with him. Little did we know that would be the last Christmas with him. Crazy how those things work out.... I miss you dad!
Hopefully in the next post I will have wedding pics to show!

FINALLY MARRIED!!

We finally got married on June 26, 2010! It was the best day ever! There were so many people that came out to support us. It was really hard not having my dad there in person, but we could totally feel his spirit. My brother Chase walked me down the aisle in place of my dad and he did an AMAZING job! We had a table displayed right as people walked in for a memory of my dad. There was a plaque displayed that said "A beautiful family has just begun. These families are thankful that you could come. A father whose grateful you were here to support a daughter he'll forever hold dear. Thank you for sharing this special day. He sends his hugs and kisses your way (next to a basket of Hershey's hugs/k...isses). In remberance of A Loving Father: Lynn D. Kraaima. I will post pics very soon! :)

Letting go :(

It has been one of the toughest weeks! Like I said in the post before we brought my dad home.
We were able to spend 6 days with him. He passed away on May 25, 2010 at 11:36 Pm on his birthday. I never thought I would have to let my dad go at such a young age, but we didn't want him to be sick anymore. He was able to return home to Heavenly Father and be with his brother and family again. I have to keep telling myself that he isn't in pain or sick anymore because I miss him so much.
Were getting married in one month. I'm sad my dad won't be there in person, but I know for a matter of fact that he will be there in spirit walking me down the aisle with my brother. I love you dad and will always miss you, but you will always be in my heart.

http://www.webfh.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=309769&fh_id=11049

Life!

Dave and I have 34 days til we get married! This has definitely been the hardest year of our lives! We brought my dad home on Thursday May 20, 2010. He had a health decline within the last 2 weeks. The doctors finally did one last MRI and found out that the cognitive part of his brain no longer works. Since that part of the brain doesn't work it means he would never be able to do anything anymore. This means he is in a vegetative state. The doctor told us they can't go on with treatment. We decided to bring him home so we could spend his last few days with him. :(