1 Year later...

Many of you know that a year ago I was married to a man that I believed would be my eternal companion. Well things changed when he moved out and then a few months later gave me divorce papers. No my life is not over from those changes. Some people may feel that way, but not this divorced woman. I admit that I never wanted to be divorced but I agree with Kristen Oaks in her book about being single. In the book she mentions what a sister said to her bishop and I agree with it completely! she said: "It is better to be single than to be badly married!"
I would rather be single living the gospel than to be in a situation where I feel that my standards are compromised be another. No offence to the man that I married. He is a good man, just not the one for me. I believed that he was when I married him and I don't regret that choice at all. I learned many things in the 4 and 1/2 years that I was married. On the other hand I learned much during the last year.
Today I went to the temple, then went bowling with my ex-husband (yes we are friends and we have done things together since we have been divorced), and then I came home to find my acceptance letter from ISU!!!! So all in all it was a great day. I am excited to start a new chapter of my life in Pocatello, ID. While I am single I am going to make the best of it- better than I did the first time when I was single. It is a time to KNOW who I am! It is a time to LIVE the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is a time to have a stronger knowledge of His gospel.
Needless to say I have felt many blessings for living the right way and for moving forward. I even had a doctor tell me that I am doing pretty good for having the situation that I do.
More to come later.

Me with my acceptance letter to ISU. I just had to share! :)

New Years Day 2011

So the New Year began with a day of work...so exciting when all the doctor's offices are closed. LOL So I actually got to go home early.

On New Year's Eve I decided that I would do something just for myself that would be fun and that I probably would not do again since I will not be up here next year. I took a cruise on Lake Couer d'Alene. It didn't cost much since it was a short one- less than an hour but still good. The first picture below is the entrance to the boat docks.

As we left the docks we saw none other than... The GRINCH!!!! He kept yelling at us that we would not have any fun. ( He was so wrong. lol)

The next part of the cruise took us to another side of the lake to see where Santa's Workshop was at the North Pole. Who knew that there was a North Pole in Idaho!!!

The next part of the Cruise was my favorite!!!!! I love Christmas trees and they told me before going on the cruise that there was a tree that was bigger than the one at Rockefeller Center. I thought that it was going to be a REAL tree decorated with all my favorites. Instead it was all made of lights!!!! Unfortunately I was not prepared to make a video of the entire song but I did take pictures and one short video. I hope you enjoy what I saw.

These next 3 pictures are all of when the rest of the lights turned on at the finale. Truly it was amazing.

This was the village that they had in lights.

This is supposed to be the workshop for Santa.

After all the lights turned on we headed back the the CDA Resort. The lights were amazing from the water. They are all over the boat docks that they have at the resort and it is even more amazing from the water.



I have actually become pretty good at taking my own picture and getting my entire head in the picture and some of the background. That being said this is me on the Boat by the stairs that lead up to the deck.

So the adventure on the lake begins the year off with something totally out of the ordinary. I am really glad that I took the time to do it and that I had the ability to go.

Now for what to look forward to for the rest of the year....

1. My best friend is getting married and I will be her maid of honor (I am so blessed to do that for her)

2. I will be moving in May to Pocatello to attend ISU and work towards becoming a pharmacist

3. Being around people closer to my age and with the same religion

4. Anything that God wants me to do to be the best daughter that I can be.

Here is to 2011!!!!!

Christmas 2010--part 2

Christmas morning in Oregon--This was the tree with all the gifts.

The rest of the pictures are only a few of the ones that were taken. I can't fit all of them on here without making a REALLY LONG post! :)

This is my sister with a gift that I made for here. It has lights in the middle of it and looks amazing when it is all lit up.

This is my mom opening the gift that my sister and I gave to her for Christmas. She is the other one in the family who took the pictures. We gave her a Josh Groban CD.

This is my dad with the picture frame that I put together with pictures that we had taken thorughout the year. I had the chance to see them a few times and thought it would be a great gift for their new house.

I was happy to have new towels. Who knew that the simple things in life can really make us so happy. I just really liked this picture that is why it is included.

My sister with her other gift from me. The second picture was taken at just the right time. She had so much fun throwing sacks out of her gifts into the air and I just had to keep trying til I could get it at just the right time. Well it worked. It looks like the sack is coming right at you...

The fun part of these pictures are the fact that in the first one my mom told me to hang on so she could get more batteries for their camera. So I held on to it quite litterally. my sister used my camera to take my picture hanging on... The second picture is me spinning the snowflake ornament that my sister made for me.

It reminds me of a movie that I watched each year growing up... It Nearly Wasn't Christmas.

There is a magic snowflake that Santa has the little girl spin at the end and I have wanted one like it but couldn't find one so she made one for me. I love it!!!

The rest of the day was spent hanging out, playing games, and we even watched a movie- Eclipse.

On Tuesday I left Portland and drove back to Coeur d'Alene in the rain. Yep it rained the whole way!! The next day it snowed and all was great!!

What a great Christmas!!!!!

And this is our sister picture by the big pile of wrapping paper on the floor after all the fun of opening the gifts. I really like this picture too!!!

Christmas 2010

For being my first Christmas as a divorced single woman, it was actually one of the best ones I have had. I knew that I needed to be with my family so I asked for time off and planned to go to Portland.

On the 23rd of December, I left North Idaho and drove through Washington. The only hard part of the drive was when I found thick fog just south of the Tri-Cities but it cleared as I got to the Oregon border. Then the rest of the way was good. I had been planning for about 2 weeks to get there a day early and suprise my family. (they had no idea I was coming on that day since the orignal plan was to work and leave on Christmas Eve, But a co-worker needed the saturday off before Christmas so we traded days) When I got into Troutdale, Or (just east of Portland but part of it) I got off at the exit and began to read my directions. My parents just moved into the house just after Thanksgiving so I had never been there. I had everyone on that page but the house number---yet I knew that their cars were outside the garage so I didn't have to call to ask which one.

I parked the car and went up to the door. My mom answered and was surprised to see me. (IT worked - I surprised them) when i talked with my family earlier that week I said that I would be there Friday for sure..... I am so sneaky. It was true I would be there all day Friday. I was so glad to be there with them.

We spent the evening together until my dad went to work since he works nights. But we girls had a good time just hanging out.

On Christmas Eve we all went to Vancouver, WA, at my request since I had not been there as far as I knew. We saw Fort Vancouver (with lots of old and historic buildings) and went to the mall. Then we drove back over the bridge to Portland and went to Deseret Book. That night we had dinner and then drove around a few neighborhoods to see the houses that were decorated with Christmas lights, manger scenes, and other characters for Christmas. It is a tradition that was started a long time ago when I was little. I loved every minute of it---even when my sister was using my mom's camera and the flash went off in my face. lol it was funny even enough it was really bright.

Here are a few pictures from what we saw:

These are just a few of the bright colorful lights that we saw that night.

More to come....

Merry Christmas!!

This year I have decided to add my Christmas letter to my blog so that all my friends can see what I have done this year. So here it goes......
I can't believe that another year has flown by and so quickly too. :) There have been many changes in my life this year- some good and some not so great. But we learn to adapt and move forward anyway.
After being married for 4 1/2 years it ended up in divorce but we are still friends. The Lord will guide me in my life as I trust Him. Even though my marriage didn't turn out to be the way that I truly wanted it to be, I know that as I trust Him I will have the marriage that I really desire. This year I have been living in Northern Idaho and working as a Pharmacy technician for Wal-Mart. I earned my national certification in May and I am very grateful that I did that.
This year even though there is a huge amount of lonliness at times, I am feeling hopeful that it will not last too long. Besides the Savior is there holding me during those times and lifting me back up so I can keep moving forward.
As I look back on this year I realize that through all the struggles I have gained peace and feel love for all those who have blessed my life by helping me through the tough times. This next year will be filled with new opportunities as I go back to school again to become a pharmacist. IT will take a lot of work--only another 6 years but it will be worth it.
May the spirit of this Christmas touch each of your hearts as you have touched my heart during this year. Take the time to look at the lights, christmas trees, and snow (for those of you who have it) and allow it to touch your heart to remember the reason for the season. Jesus Christ is the reason for the season- a baby was born over 2000 years ago who would grow up to save the world. He lives today and loves each of us so much.

I hope that each of you who read this will post your comments I would love to hear from each of you. Unfortunately I could not send one to everyone individually since I do not have all the email addresses that I used to.
I hope that each of you will have a terriffic Christmas!!!
This is my Christmas tree!! I love it!!
This is my mini tree with nativity and Christus statue.

November 2010

The seasons are changing and that happens to be a good thing for me. I have just recently learned that I have allergies, which only began to affect me this year for the most part. I have known for a long time that I have been allergic to a certain kind of grass since I was younger when i would have my bare skin touching the grass and have little red bumps from just a little exposure. Now I have learned that I am allergic to: Cottonwood trees, dust mites, ragweed, cats, and timothy grass. No wonder my nose has not liked me this year. It has been dripping quite a bit and my headaches have been more intense lately too.
The sad part of all this is that I love the outdoors!! I love seeing the colors change and the blossoms on the trees. But maybe this is why I love winter so much more!!! There is NO pollen to bother me and I love the snow with the way that it covers the earth. Now I must admit that the accidents that happen due to icy and snowy roads is not my favorite part. We must travel safely this winter.
I do enjoy November with the family get together to eat turkey and all kinds of good foods to go with it. Only this year, I am not sure where I will be enjoying a thanksgiving dinner since I work the day before and the day after. It will not be with my family since they live in another state and it will not be with my ex's family since that would just be too strange. My only family that is here is my church family and no one has asked me what I am doing yet so we will see. I will make sure that I have something better than a TV dinner, even if I have lots of leftovers. :)
The other reason why I like November is that it is time to put my my Christmas decorations. I love looking at trees and nativity scenes. I am excited to decorate this year already and it is not even Thanksgiving yet!
Since this is a time to show gratitude, as we should all year, let me just say a few things that I am grateful for. --a job that provides for me, a home to live in with all that is needed, food to eat everyday that is good for me and some that just tastes good, a family that cares for me everyday no matter what, a marriage that lasted 4 1/2 years which I learned much from, tons of friends here there and everywhere, an education, a laptop to see what my friends are up to, and lastly but first in my life---the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his life for each of us to learn from.

October 2010

Being that we are at the end of the month, I decided to share what I have been up to lately. At the begining of this month, well the last day of September, I drove from Coeur d'Alene, ID to Rigby, ID then to Salt Lake. I picked up my best friend Keira and her adorable 5 year old daughter Aubree and we went down for General Conference. We had a great time!! .

The Utah state sign has changed in the last 2 years.

We met our friends at the mayan Resturant and while we were waiting we saw this snake and took pictures. I like this picture because it makes me look like I am in the snakes mouth.

On Saturday Morning we all went to General Conference in Salt Lake. We travled up there on TRAX--Keira, B, Christine, Mom, Dad, and me. These are the pictures that we took on Trax

These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

We spent Saturday in Salt Lake. We listened to General Conference in the Tabrnacle for the morning session. Then the afternoon session sitting on the grounds since we had food to eat.

We saw all the people coming out of the conference center. Which was a lot of fun to watch as you can see from the picture. I had hoped to be inside but I was just grateful to be there.

After the afternoon session, we went over by deseret book and talked to Michael McLean. I learned that he will be doing the forgotten carols show in Spokane this year the day after Thanksgiving. I am actually very excited for that.

Sunday we spent with friends and family. I went with my family that night to see the 2 newest temples in Utah- Draper and Oqurrih Mountain. It was really fun. On monday morning, I knew it was time to head back to Idaho, but I must admit I really wasn't ready to go. But we drove back and saw rainbows on the way. I made it home late that night but was graetful to have the time off to be able to see my family.

As for the rest of October, well not much has happened besides working, and relaxing.