My New Little Bracelet..

Well, today was the day..



I remember I was serving in my last area on my mission,
and I was talking with a dear friend and she told me of
the experience she had when she found out her son had
Celiac's Disease. She said when the doctor told her
he had the disease, she cried and cried.

I never thought I would know how that would feel.

As I sat in the hospital bed with tubes hooked up all over,
(I don't know why there had to be so many tubes for an endoscopy),
I felt nervous to find out the inevitable.
A quick prayer was said in my heart, and I felt a comfort
knowing everything would be ok.

I was put to sleep after that and remember waking up to a
male nurse telling me I for sure had Celiac's Disease.
Tears filled my eyes as I tried to comprehend what that meant.
My mom and the doctor came in after and he began to explain
what needed to be done from here,
and what other problems were occurring.
I tuned him out and wished it wasn't true.

I then thought about my dear friend's family
who couldn't be more positive about their situation
and made it look easy to have this disease.
I became grateful for some things at that moment...

1. Heavenly Father blessed me to be able to witness
this wonderful family and realize I can still be happy
with this disease.

2. It could DEFINITELY be a lot worse, and I am a big baby.

3. I am so grateful to FINALLY know what is wrong with me.



It turned out to be a pretty good day.

Earl.

My nephew, Earl, turned 6 months this past week,
and I had the privilege of taking his pictures.



If any of you have seen Meet the Robinson's,
Earl looks just like "Goob".



Another common thought is that he looks like an old grandpa;
that could just be because of his name (Earl LaVar Tate IV).



Either way, it is moments like these that I forget
this is my job, and not just a wonderful hobby.
He is adorable.

A-BOUT-TIME!

I know, I know, it has been over a month since I have blogged.
To say I have been busy would be an understatement.
That is the only excuse I am giving on why I haven't been blogging.
Because let's be honest, excuses are lame.
Now I will give you an update on the "busyness"...

1. Let's start with the wedding...


Besides the intense rain, the day was just beautiful.
I loved every minute of it, and Tim & Amy were so happy.
It was the first time that my entire family has been
in the Temple TOGETHER.
I have been looking forward to that moment for so long.
I would have to say, the dancing was the best part.
You can see more pictures on my sister's blog here.

2. The Cruise...
For a while now, my parents have been planning a cruise
for us to all go on when Alex and I got home from our missions.




It was the BEST vacation!! Our entire family was together,
and we were able to just have fun with no stress.
We are trying to make up for all of the years we haven't
been able to spend together with all of this family time.
I am never happier than when I am with my family.



My sisters, mom and I did a lot of crazy dancing on the boat.
We even danced on the island with the natives!
I think they enjoyed it.



I just have to say I am grateful that
my family can be together forever.



3. Dairy and Gluuuuuuuuuten...
When I got home from my mission,
I was still getting sick from something I was eating.
My friend said I should try eating gluten-free,
and I thought she was crazy.
But, I felt that I should, so I did.
Lo and behold, I felt better.
So ever since, I have been eating dairy and gluten free.
I decided to go to the doctor to find out if I have Celiac Disease.
He told me that I needed to eat gluten for two weeks
before I can have an endoscopy.
My initial thought... Why not add dairy to the mix?



It has been quite an interesting week and a half..
The food has been DELICIOUS
but I have never felt so sick before.
I am actually looking forward to Monday
when I don't have to eat gluten and dairy anymore.
Did I just say that?
It has been good to have closure with my favorite foods...
Yes, I needed closure.

4. Work, work, work..
I have been working like crazy.
Luckily I love it..
How could I not?



It is wedding season,
and I am so happy to be back.
But besides weddings, I get to capture
little darlings like this guy.
Yes, you could say I have the best job.











5. The boy..
Now for the main reason my blogging has been..
nonexistent for the past month and a half.



Meet Richard.
He is great.
And he takes up all of my free time.
My sister, Annelise set us up,
and we have talked every day since.

Speaking of Annelise, she is up to date
on her blogging, and many of it is what
I have been up to lately.
So, if you so desire to see more of
what I have been doing, check out her blog.

http://brossfamily.blogspot.com/

Katrina...

Well, here are some more pictures,
but I just had to put these up...
She is just too cute!

At one point I asked her to
look at her tag and think about
what her mission meant to her...
This is the shot that came from it.

There are no words to explain
what a mission means to a missionary.
These pictures depict that perfectly.

BFFL...

Jacob had his first kiss this past week.
I found out through the grapevine.
I couldn't be more happy that
he found someone that makes him smile.
I couldn't be more sad that
he didn't call me the second it happened.

It finally hit me that
things will never be the same between us.

We talked last night after
what seemed like forever
and he told me
that he is truly happy.
I loved hearing that, but
I wish I could be a part of it.
He let me know that he doesn't know
where I fit in his life right now
and it would be best if we
didn't talk much until
he figures that out.

I have taken notice to
how many people say,
"I married my best friend."
I always had a break between the two,
I always had my best friend,
and then my boyfriend.
Jacob pointed this out to me last night.
He always knew I wouldn't
marry the people I was dating,
because I was his best friend
and he was mine.

I am glad I realized this,
because I understand now that
they have to be the same person
or it doesn't work.

So, I want to hear about all of your
best friends...
a.k.a. significant others.
So if you read this, please
make a post about your
"best friend" on your blog.
I would like to read them,
they will make me smile!

I can't wait to find my best friend.
:)

Earl.

I was able to take pictures of more of my nieces and nephew...

They make my job so easy and fun!

Before I left on my mission,
I took their pictures when Ashley was born.
Sophie was not too happy, because
I was taking pictures of Ashley instead of her.
I titled this picture
"The Grumbles".
I feel that it perfectly depicts what it means
to have the grumbles.

When I took their pictures this time,
Ashley was the one who had "The Grumbles",
and I was able to catch it on camera.

It must run in the family...
I love these kids even when they have the grumbles.

Mormon Swearing.

I don't know why, but
I laughed hysterically when I watched this video...
I hope y'all enjoy as much as I did...