Cruising

We were able to go on a great vacation to many wonderful places in the Caribbean. We left from Miami and went to Cozumel, where we spent a day sailing, snorkeling, eating good food, and laying in the sun. Then off to Belize where we did zip line and cave tubing. The cave tubing was cool because you can float down the river through these caves and that was amazing. Then we went to Roatan which is an island off of Honduras and that places was beautiful. It looks like it came out of a post card. We did scuba diving there where we saw sea turtles and eagle rays. Our last stop was the Grand Caymans where Treven and I split off from my parents and went jet skiing it was a rush to fly through the waves! It was great to spend my birthday on the Cayman islands! We had a great week of playing in the sun and relaxing too bad the cruise boat found Miami port again and we had to come back to reality. Now it is time to plan our next vacation!

Heading back to the boat after a day in Cozumel

They had this thing you could sit in and the wind would take you flying!

Walking to the place where we would go cave tubing

The Zip line All four of us ready to scream like little girls down the zip line!

Weirdos Beautiful Roatan
Waiting to go scuba diving

The water was very clear and blue
My birthday, even on a cruise boat I got sang to
The best vacation!

Caribbean

I can almost smell the Caribbean air......
We are now booked and ready to go on May 2nd leaving Miami for a 7 night cruise seeing Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and the Grand Cayman Islands!!! This will mean we are spending my birthday on the Cayman Islands and I can't think of a better way to celebrate it! I just wish it was sooner!

An Answer

Awhile ago I started a radiology program, I eventually quit my job at Time Warner to pursue my schooling and my student debt went from almost nonexistent to substantial loans. Then I realized, I hated being a rad tech and after a lot of tears I quit the program. Most people know I was bitter over the whole ordeal. I didn't understand why it felt so right when I prayed about it for it to turn out the way it did. I quickly found a great job that has pointed me in the direction I wanted to go in, but I was still bitter.
I prayed a lot, I felt like I was entitled to the answer of why I felt I needed to quit my job and go into school for the rad program. For some reason I felt the answer of finding my current job of office manager wasn't good enough, I felt like there was more to it. So I prayed for a long time and became more frustrated that I never got an answer. I eventually stopped praying about it and chalked it up to, my prayers weren't being heard or Heavenly Father just didn't care how I felt about this issue. It is something that has always simmered beneath the surface and has made it difficult for me to pray about things for awhile because I felt like he didn't care.
Today I feel like I got the whole answer to something that has bothered me for a long time. I received a text message from a co-worker who still works there saying they are shutting down the entire division I used to work for and everyone is being laid off in April. I know that had I not gone into the program I would probably still be working for Time Warner and this post would be very different. It would have been about joining the ranks of people who had lost their job and the hopeless situation of finding a new one along with thousands of other people in the Denver area. Had I not gone to school I would not have found the job I work now and I would be very lost in where to go to next. But I have a great job and I know what I want to go back to school for and FINALLY finish my degree and I finally can let my bitterness go. I am beginning to understand more and more about prayer and that we are not just left to fend for ourselves. I just need to learn that things will not be done on my timeline, I'm not sure if I will ever learn that lesson :)

2010

Treven and I had a great holiday, it was very different though not going anywhere for Christmas but we had a good time. On Christmas Eve we went and saw the Nutcracker which I thought was a great way to spend the afternoon. We went to his sisters house for dinner that night and went home to spend the evening watching Christmas movies. In the morning it took all of 5 minutes to open our presents, so different from being a kid! Then brunch with some friends.
Now it is 2010 and I am wondering what I am going to do for a new years resolution. After some time I have decided I want to spend this year learning new things. One thing I have decided for sure is I want to take cooking classes and learn how to make something more complicated than spaghetti! I have ideas for other things but need to make some decisions. I also want to go back to school, watching Treven get ready to graduate has made me want to go and finish what I started. AND I want Treven and I to go on a real vacation since we haven't been on one since our first year of marriage. So that means less trips to see family this year so we can save our money and vacation time, sorry family. Can't wait to get started!

Christmas Letter

We are not good at sending letters and so once again we have failed so we will put it on our blog.
This year has been eventful in many ways and not always in a good way. Some things have been tough, we went through a stressful time of not knowing if Treven would still have a job or not, thankfully it blew over but not without some sadness as Treven had to watch several good friends get laid off in the process. My car was hit by a large SUV but luckily as bad as the damage was I was not seriously hurt but still deal with some issues. I try not to look in my rear view mirror when I am at a stop because I have had full blown panic attacks anytime I feel a car is coming too fast. I watched the driver who hit me come at speeds greater than 50 mph as I helplessly was at a stop light behind other cars. The impact was horrible and an experience that left me shaking so bad I couldn't talk or function, Treven had to come to the scene because I couldn't function.
We have also had some great experiences that balance out the not fun ones. Treven in May completed his first full marathon in a great time of 4 hours and 15 minutes, I could not have been more proud of him as he smiled ear to ear at the finish line. A few short weeks later I completed a sprint tri-athlon that was so empowering I felt on top of the world. In October both of us along with my parents and my friend Jodi did the Moab half marathon. I think both Treven and I have started down the path of race junkies as we hope to do several more in the upcoming year.
We have been able to go and visit friends and family through the year. I think we both really enjoyed our trip to Idaho. I loved visiting my friend in Twin Falls so see her ADORABLE twin boys. Then off to Payette to see friends and go white water rafting on the salmon river.
We were able to see the phantom of the opera, Treven had never seen a broadway show and he really enjoyed it.
I was asked to teach Primary singing time and was scared to death at first. But it quickly became a calling I really liked and miss sometimes now that I am not longer doing it.


We have had a great year overall and through these experiences we have grown so much closer as a couple. As we went through one of our toughest trials when a family member of Treven's disappeared for a time and left behind a note and his possessions. During this time we learned truly of the power of prayer as we said many. I learned that sometimes prayers are not answered right away but we are not left alone. As we searched and the days rolled by it became increasingly frustrating that we were not getting any inspiration of where to look. Eventually after a week this family member returned home and it has changed his life and ours as well. As the months have past and I have often thought about this I wondered why no one felt anything of where to look or even if the person was still alive.
As I talked with a friend she gave powerful insight that I feel is the reason. She said if our prayers would have been answered right away and he would have been found then our prayers would have been answered, but what about this family member? What would it have done to him, he would not have had his experience he needed. He needed to know if he wanted to be apart of this life and of this family. For years he has been distant and in his own world. Since he has come back he is a changed man for the better. Sometimes prayers are not answered in the time or way we want but it is not without reason. If we would have found him the first day or two maybe he would not have learned what he needed to learn. He had to come back because he wanted to, and he did. Our immediate prayers to find him were not answered, but the prayers people had been saying for years asking for him to have a change of heart were answered.

During the Christmas season we wanted to say how much we love God, his son Jesus, and our church. We are grateful for the trials that have been put before us this year, we are truly stronger because of it. We are very grateful for our families and friends. How blessed we are that God was so loving that he put Treven and I together, we have had 4 years of marriage and I can there was no one that would have been better. This year has taught us that we need to leave things in God's hands and know he has a plan for us and we are not left alone to fend for ourselves. We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and we love you all!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas this year is to make it through an entire Jillian Michael's workout video without the urge to puke...... It's not like I'm asking for the world!!!!

Facts of Life

Recently we have had events in our lives that has really made me think about what I want in life. We are leaving Thursday so we can spend a weekend with my step-grandpa Frank, it will probably be the last time we will see him in this life as he has not been doing very well. I haven't talked about it much basically because I hate the conversations you have when you tell people someone in your family is dieing, it basically goes, "I'm sorry that sucks......." followed by a long awkward pause because really what do you say to a person in that situation? Nothing ever seems good enough. It has given me time to reflect on what this man means to me since he came into my life when I was a teenager by marrying my grandma. It is no secret I did not like him much at first, I thought he was grumpy and it was tough for me to adjust going to HIS house to see my grandma. But through the years as I have watched him and my grandma and the way that he truly accepted her family as his own I have been impressed by many things which I would like to incorporate into my own life. I think everyday I hope that something will happen I hope that the doctors will do a test and find out that somehow he has been cured and that he will be around for years to come. But that is not the case and time marches on becoming the greatest enemy. All I can do as I watch helplessly is hope that when I am old and gray I can look back on my life and be proud of who I am, what I have done, and how I have change people's lives. I have watched how much him and my grandma have accomplished in 9 1/2 years of marriage and I know that if they can serve multiple missions, travel the world, and be there for their family I have big shoes to fill.
This weekend will be hard as I know that when the weekend comes to a close I will have to say goodbye to someone who has made a difference in my life. I can only hope I can take into account the lessons I have learned from him and make a difference in people's life just as he has done in mine.
Grandpa I love you.