February 27, 10:00 AM

I was supposed to report to the MTC this morning. I honestly catch myself going days without thinking about Poland. Ryan is my life now and I can't imagine walking through those doors and leaving him. I am grateful for my time spent preparing to serve, but I am looking forward to the time shared with Ryan in the temple while getting sealed for Time and All Eternity. And it definitely saves all ya'll time with writing me...because I know you would!

Breaking Dawn

Book 4 of the Twilight series. Release date: August 2nd
"Twilight tempted the imagination. New Moon made readers thirsty for more. Eclipse turned the saga into a worldwide phenomenon. And now, the book that everyone has been waiting for...
Breaking Dawn, the final book in the #1 bestselling Twilight Saga, will take your breath away."
Just a teaser....for those young ladies out there who are obsessed with Edward? Read this: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/midnightsun_chapter1.pdf

Shoes and Dresses!!

Alright so I found my wedding dress shoes. It was a stressful day! How many stores carry white pumps...like 2...so it was difficult but we walked away with some pretty adorable shoes. AND. We found bridesmaids dresses!! Wow. Ann Taylor was good to us. Here is me in one of them :-) Ahhhh it was great. The perfect sage green that I'm shooting for. My mom is going to try and make a butter cream bolero cap sleeve jacket for the girls to wear with it seeing as though the dress is strapless (naturally....)

Save the Date!

We finalized on a date! August 9, 2008 at the Columbia South Carolina Temple. It was weird calling the temple and getting an appointment to get sealed. The little temple worker was the cutest little lady and kept say, "Oh, this is so great...this is so great..." And it is! I'm having a bit of anxiety with figuring out how to plan a wedding...seeing as though I want to get everything right the first time...but, I have a feeling that my blog from now on will be good tips on how to save for your future wedding! It'll be fun! Love you all for supporting me.

It's Official girls, I'm engaged!

You are all probably wondering how it happened....right? Well this is our story. Ryan was supposed to fly into Charlotte around 3 PM, Saturday afternoon. So, I had to be at work until 1PM so he left a message on my phone while he was in Dallas on his layover, he said, "We're delayed about an hour, so I'll call you when I land. I guess the plane is having engine problems." He gave me his flight number to check on-line. So, I got home, got all ready for the night, and I checked the on-line status of his flight probably like 6 times and it was on time so I was really confused where this "hour" delay came from. So, I was just sitting on my couch around 3:30 waiting for him to call, and my Dad asked me to go down to the dock to measure the boat slip because they are thinking about getting a boat this year. I didn't think anything of it and just followed. We walked down the paved walkway and I wasn't paying attention to anything except my feet in front of me. So my head was down...and I looked up as we were walking on the dock, and there Ryan is. Just standing on the dock. I was like.....WAIT....what??? I was so confused. #1 super happy to not have to drive to the airport, and #2 how on earth did he get there? Turns out his flight wasn't delayed, our friend Maylee picked him up and my dad schemed the whole thing for him to cut through our neighbors lawn to get to the dock without me seeing him. Darn parents knew the whole week what was going to happen. So Ryan and I walked down to the end of the dock. Ryan sure knows how to melt my heart. He told me all these beautiful things and boy.....I was shocked. He just got on one knee and asked me to marry him! I was like, wow----hang on....still digesting the fact that you are here. Of course I said yes, and he put the ring on my finger and it had to have been the best feeling in the world. I am so in Love and I can't imagine life without him. He leaves on Tuesday morning....but I'm making a trip to Rexburg in March and then he'll be back for good in April. Wedding date isn't set, but we're thinking August 9th, at the Columbia, South Carolina Temple.

Holiday of Love

The LOVE of my life is 2,000 miles away from me and instead of celebrating with him tonight, I have plans with my TV to watch LOST. I'm excited. Being in Love is such an interesting thing to me. Before Ryan came into my life, I didn't think I could love. To give your whole heart is hard, and I am a very stubborn and abnoxious person. He has changed me. I have learned how to love, and expect to be loved in return. He surprised me with flowers....absolutely beautiful yellow/orange roses and lilies....I went out for an hour run and while I was gone, they were delivered! I love it! Being in love is the best.

LOST

I LOVE IT!

WATCH IT!

WILL THEY EVER GET OFF THE ISLAND....?

Thursdays at 9

Don't follow the trend in Hollywood!

Ew. I am so annoyed. If I hear about one more celeb who is pregnant and not married I am going to puke. What is with society these days. It is definitely a sign of the times because marriage is becoming such a belittled and old fashioned way of life. I am so grateful to have parents who have been married in the Temple and who have taught me how beautiful and wonderful marriage can be. I hope you all can reason with me that Hollywood is a terrible scene (even though I read Us Weekly and People...) I am sad for these children who are/will be brought up in such ridiculous standards and atmospheres. Here's to raising children in wedlock!

Sad Day for Mitt

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters ... many of you right here in this room ... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming president. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America.

As of today, more than 4 million people have given me their vote for president, that's of course, less than Senator McCain's 4.7 million, but quite a statement nonetheless. Eleven states have given me their nod, compared to his 13. Of course, because size does matter, he's doing quite a bit better with the number of delegates he's got."

Over the ensuing 12 months, Romney sought the support of conservatives with a family values campaign, emphasizing his opposition to abortion and gay marriage, as well as his support for tax cuts and health insurance that would benefit middle-class families. "We need to teach our children that before they have babies, they get married."

Our Story

I actually met this boy, named Ryan Briggs, the very first Sunday I went to the singles branch here in Charlotte back in September. We spent time together in September and my parents actually saw him alot, thought he was a very impressive young man and they liked him right off the bat. Bishop Knopf had given me council not to spend time alone once I had my mission call so I followed that and told Ryan that we could only spend time together in groups. In fact, I had laid down many rules and he is the most patient young man and just supported me all along. He did let me know that he was pretty sure I was the one though and that he was willing to wait for me. So this "relationship" really didn't progress anyway until right after Christmas when Ryan got ready to leave Charlotte and head to Rexburg. I started having some serious feelings but I was still very committed to my mission. As I sought guidance from priesthood leaders, Bishop Knopf, my branch president and stake president, they all told me the same thing. The handbook is very clear about what to do in this situation for girls and its not to pursue the mission. So after alot of emotional distress, prayer, fasting, going to the temple, priesthood blessings, endless discussions and tears, I am not going. My parents like Ryan alot, he just returned home from his mission in the summer and has lived in Charlotte for about 12 years. He has a terrific family, my Dad has already golfed with Ryan's dad, (always important) and they are grateful that I have found such a great guy. So there is nothing official yet, Ryan will be home next weekend.

Back to Seattle

I definitely think I went back to visit Seattle too soon. I felt like I was moving all over again. But, I spent some time with my family and hung out with Kristine Cannon Metcalf. We had a blast. Kristine and I can laugh at just about anything. We had a good time together. My sister dropped me off at the Institute building where the University ward has church and we met Kristine in the parking lot. Wow-I was SO happy to see her! It's been since last summer! We just laughed the whole way into Church thinking--wow--deja vu for sure. There were a few familiar faces and it was so nice to see Bro. Metcalf (aka Richard). We had a fun Sunday afternoon, watched the Superbowl, ate an amazing taco salad dinner, and told fun stories. On Monday, as tradition, watched The Today Show, ate some "eblesceebers" (sp?), and headed to Fremont for a fun afternoon! I absolutely love Fremont. After crossing 4 lanes of traffic and stopping 3 cars, Kristine found us a great parking spot. We went to a few really cute boutique's and did more window shopping which was fine with me! We ate some tastey chocolate and mint gelato, took some great pictures, and ate lunch at Specialties Bakery. Yum. It was a fun day! I already plan to come to Rexburg this summer...get ready to party. I miss you girls too much!

Grand Entrance

It's been an interesting 2007. I've made a lot of big decisions recently but I am so happy and excited for 2008. My family decided to relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina in Sept. due to my dad's sudden job change. I decided to move out with them and put in my mission papers. Since then, I met Ryan Briggs, started working at the Gap, got my mission call to Warsaw, Poland, have tried and loved hush puppies and every variation of fried chicken, started running to prepare for a marathon at the end of the year, and decided to stay home from my mission to get married in August. More details to come! I'm excited to blog and keep you updated with my life.