Loving our puppy!

So, Harley's been with us for a week now and last night on our way home from Walmart I mentioned to Paul that I feel like he's been with us much longer then that. We both feel we lucked out in the "new dog" department.

I feel as though I should knock on wood every time I say this, but, he's amazing. He really is a good little guy. He (for the most part) knows he is not allowed to touch our new couch. He has such a bouncy personality. We enjoy watching him trot everywhere he goes and watching his ears flop from side to side.

When he first came home with us he was not quite sure if we were ok with him just coming up to us to be pet. So... he would lay on his belly and scoot himself along the floor with his front legs. Paul said it looked like he was army crawling. He'd stop every time we would look at him so we would watch him from the corner of our eyes and laugh as he would inch closer.

For those of you who we haven't told, Harley is Beagle/Hound mix. We realized after we paid for him that he will either bark a lot or howl a lot. Believe it or not (knock on wood again), he does not make a sound. Well, that was until we took him to the vet last Saturday. you would guess he would bark at other dogs or the noise cats that were in the waiting room... oh no, not Harley... he waited until we were in the examining room and we started hearing him growl. He was growling at a fly. A FLY! Of all things. Not people or other animals... a fly. We believe he ate the fly b/c we did not see him after Harley chased him around the room for a few minutes. Maybe he had a tiny heart attack and died. Anyway, he does so well around our neighbors 4 year old son and the other dogs in the neighborhood.

We had our first bad walking experience 2 mornings ago. We have 30 ft retractable leash and Harley accidentally pulled it out of my hands while we were walking back toward the house. The leash began to retract very quickly and Harley thought it was chasing him. He took off like a mad man up to road barking and whimpering. The leash made a sharp turn in front of Harley which made him take off in the opposite direction. I was able to grab him as he tried running past me. We sat together in the middle of the road for a while while he trembled. Poor little guy was terrified of the leash for the rest of his walk.

Last little tid bit. And whoever reads this may be able to give us a little advice. Harley refuses to go potty in our yard. We can take him a foot into our neighbors yard and he's fine (we always clean up after him btw)... but he won't go in our yard. It's very annoying and very frustrating!

Just a few more pictures :)

I ran out of room for pictures! Here are a few more I wanted to share!

Better late then never :)

Thank's to my amazing cousin Meredith Stone, We have our reception pictures! I have posted them on Facebook and wanted to post a few here so everyone could see.

Paul and I's reception was wonderful. We were so abundantly blessed to be able to have most of our families in town for the event.

I am so thankful that I was able to dance with 3 out of the 4 most amazing men in my life that evening. Unfortunately, my oldest brother Adam was unable to make.
Paul and I's first dance was to the song Me and You by Kenny Chesney. Paul picked the song and it was more then perfect! I loved being able to dance with him. That will be a forever memory!
Next I got to dance with my dad. I danced with him while Paul danced with his mom. I am so lucky to have a wonderful relationship with my dad. When Paul and I got engaged, the word "comfort" does not describe how I felt knowing that my dad supported Paul and I's relationship. I knew that dancing with my dad would make me emotional. It was not tears of sadness, but of knowing that for so long my dad had wanted that day to come in my life... and it had finally arrived. I love my dad so much and am thankful he was able to be there to spend that day with me.
Finally, John and I had out spin around the dance floor. I swear, people who did not know that John and I have a "special" sibling relationship probably thought he was not taking the dance seriously... but to me... it was perfect. We are not serious when we are together... so why be serious then! We twirled around while he sang to me. I loved every second of it. I have the best brothers!

I would like to give a special thanks to my mom. Mom, you put fourth so much time and energy into making sure that our reception was nothing short of amazing. I want to thank you for making the evening beautiful. It looked nothing like prom ;) It was elegant and that's what I wanted from the start. I know I struggled with the reception plans from the beginning and I'm sorry about that. At the end of the night, Paul and I were driving back to the hotel and we both agreed that we were so pleased with the evening and we were thrilled we decided on going ahead with the reception. You are the most amazing Mom a girl could ask for. Thank you for loving me and supporting me and being there for me. I swear, you could are nothing short of amazing and I am so thankful for the creativity you put into our reception! THANK YOU!

For everyone who attended our wedding/reception... Thank you :) For those of you who could not attend but showed your love and support in so many other way... Thank you! We appreciate everyone's well wishes, cards and gifts. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends/family!

Young Womens...

This past Sunday, I was called to serve as the secretary in our ward's Young Women's program. I about burst out of my skin when they asked if I would accept the calling. I wanted to scream I'D LOVE TO!!! I was beyond thrilled with the new knowledge that I would have the opportunity to serve the YW in my ward.

The program that my church has set up for girls (ages 12-18) will forever hold a special place in my heart. It was during that time when I grew so much as an individual and spiritually.

As Paul and I were driving home from church, I felt my mind flood with memories of my days in YW. How excited I was every single Wednesday evening (in VA, they meet on Tuesdays) to know that I would have the chance to gather with other girls my age that shared my beliefs. It was in this program that I began to understand "who I was, why I was here & where I am going".

Growing up, I watched my mom as she worked one-on-one with many girls. She was not only their advisor/teacher but their close friend and confidant. I loved seeing the girls light up when they would spend time with my mom. She still have very close relationships with many of the girls that she was able to serve.

I too was blessed with amazing leaders. Through some difficult times in my life, I would often call my mom to ask her for counsel and guidance. She would almost always either begin or end the conversation with " Have you spoken to Julie or Marcie about this". Julie Hunter and Marcie Belton were 2 of my amazing leaders. They have been "rocks" in my life since I was 16 years old. I have watched them evolve from young leaders and being brand new mothers to being amazing women and mothers of children that are long past the age of baptism. They have watched me evolve from an awkward 16 year old into a 27 year old woman. I will be forever thankful for the time they spent with me... helping me grow and listening to me ask I struggled through life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!!

I hope I can be there for the girls in my ward. I am so anxious to meet them and get to know them. Although I am not an adviser, I hope to be an active part of their lives. I hope to be a good example to them! I am flat out SO EXCITED!!!!!

The new addition to our little family :)

No, we are not having a baby... we adopted a puppy from the local SPCA. Paul and I started talking before I moved out here that we eventually wanted to buy a dog so when Paul took a vacation day on Thursday, he drove to the shelter and found this little guy.

He's 9 months old and I have NO idea if he is hour broken yet. We signed all of the papers yesterday and we will pick him up on Wednesday. We could have taken him home with us yesterday, but he needs to be fixed and we decided it would be easier to let them keep him until the house is ready for his arrival. Looks like we will be hitting up the local pet supply store this weekend!

The Shelter named him Roy... We are changing his name. As of today, we are going to name him Harley. I won't get my heart set on the name (it's my favorite) until we 100% rule out Diesel. That's Paul's favorite. I'll let you know what we decide on :)

With a puppy comes puppy habits..... Please pray for our brand new couch. I am terrified that I will come home and he's going to have chewed the heck out of it. I would honestly cry.. or kill the dog! Everyone has been telling me today that having a dog is like having a baby.......... am I really ready for this??????? I guess we will find out on Wednesday!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone :)

September has FINALLY arrived! September means so many things... the end of summer (and after this horribly hot summer, I'm ready for it to pack it's bags and hit the road... see you next year Mr. Summer), the celebration (or emotional devastation as I like to think of it) of my 27th Birthday, and the start of college football season!

For those of you who have not heard, I FINALLY got a job :) My sister-in-law Anna applied at a local dry cleaners (Skyline Cleaners) a couple weeks ago and told Terrie (the owner) that I too was looking for work. I went in and met with her and the next day she called me and offered me the job. I just finished week 2 and I am loving it. I really enjoy socializing with the customers as they come in to pick up/ drop off clothes. I prayed so hard when I first moved to VA that I would find a job that would allow me to be home in the evenings with Paul. Nothing came from any of the applications I sent out for day shift jobs and I started getting very frustrated. I had Paul's dad give me a blessing one evening and I was told that a job would come that would be perfect for the needs of my family. I continued to apply for jobs and continued to be rejected. When I finally decided to start applying for jobs that would keep me away in the evenings/weekends I was told about the dry cleaners!! I work Monday-Friday 10a-6p and I work every other Saturday from 8a-4p (with an extra day off during the week). I get home a little later then I would like, but I am very thankful for what the Lord has given me. I was so blessed to get this job in this economy. I am especially thankful that the temps are finally cooling down b/c we cannot run the air conditioning at work during the day and my goodness... it get's HOT!

My 27th Birthday was this past Wednesday. For some reason I really struggled with this birthday. My sweet husband tried his darndest to put my life into perspective for me by reminding me that I am turning 27 in a house that I own, married to my best friend and working somewhere I really enjoy. I wasn't feeling too well on Wednesday (the heat had gotten to me) so I came home a little early. Paul was making dinner for me when I walked through the door and he had a batch of chocolate chip cookies on the counter. Dinner was amazing! He bought me a beautiful picture frame that says "The best part of sharing a life together, is who you get to share it with" How true is that! I am so glad I get to share my life with the most amazing man I know. He bought me a funny birthday card and wrote such a sweet message inside. OH, and he bought me a candle that smells like brownies. It smells so yummy!!!!! I was treated so well on my birthday.

College football started this weekend. Paul's first game he has to work is tonight. It's University of Virginia vs University of Richmond, VA. From what I understand, Richmond will probably clobber UVA.... poor things! My heart still belongs to the University of Missouri. GOOO MIZZOU! I wore my Mizzou shirt to work the other day... it's amazing how many people in VA are originally from Missouri. I felt a lot less homesick Thursday talking to all of the Mizzou/ Cardinals fans. I loved it!

Paul went to New York a couple weekends ago for the September 11th Memorial Ride. I believe in all there were 6 motorcycle police officers from Charlottesville (city and county combined) who participated in the ride. Paul really enjoyed the NYC but sent me a text telling me that he was ready to see cows again :) He's a country boy! I will post some pictures when he puts them on the computer. I know he went to Time Square and the Statue of Liberty. Paul's not so fond of water so I was impressed he took the ferry out to see the SOL. I'm proud of him.

Paul was also recently given a calling in church. He's the Assistant Advisor to the Teachers. I know he's excited to be working with the boys in our church. I don't think it will be too long b/f he is working in Scouts too. I'm anxious for the 1st church dance that we get to chaperon. As for me a calling... (knock on wood) I have not been called to anything yet. Now that I have said it outloud, the bishop will ask to speak to me tomorrow.... dum dum dum. Sigh... oh well... it's bound to happen sooner then later.

Well everyone, that's all the Virginia news for now. I will post more as exciting things happen! I hope this finds everyone happy and well!

Love, Liz

August, 2010

I cannot believe July has not only come, but is long gone. September is quickly approaching. Paul and I were married in the Washington D.C LDS Temple on July 9th and it was all in all a beautiful day. We could not have asked for anything better. Here is a quick recap of the days leading up to the wedding and the week after:

What's the fun of celebrating the happiest day of your life without a little snag to make you want to sit on the couch and cry? The A/C went out on our house the day before the wedding. Lucky for us, it was only in the mid 90's that week so it was not completely unbearable. We have a lot of trees in our yard so the house is well shaded. Paul jumped on the phone and contacted a co-worker of his who told him to call a guy who is a former police officer with the city of Charlottessville, VA. Lucky for us (so we thought) he was already heading out the Lake to look at another A/C unit. He came by, told us that it needed a new compressor. Within a couple hours, the A/C was up and running and we were feeling really lucky b/c he did not charge us a dime or the part or the labor. Let's just say... Paul will not be writing him a ticket if he pulls him over for speeding! The nice man left and within an hour or so after feeling like we lucked out, the house started warming up AGAIN. Yep, it broke... AGAIN! This time it was the fan. We were still feeling pretty lucky b/c we were not going to have to replace the entire unit... but we were not going to be able to get it fixed until after the wedding. That's well and good, but my poor family had to stay at our house without any air. They were troopers. The A/C repair man was able to locate a fan for our unit and it was back up and running by the end of the next week. We did have to stay in the house for a few days after the wedding without A/C but we survived.

The wedding was wonderful. We had aprox 10 people at the wedding itself which was perfect. We wanted it small and simple. My friend Marcie flew in from Utah and my cousin flew in from Boise, ID. I loved having them both there. The wedding was at 11:00 and we were done with pictures and everything by 3:00. It was great! Our families headed back to Charlottesville after the wedding and Paul and I stayed at a nice hotel in Bethesda, MD. Bethesda is a quaint little community. I would love to go back and tour the city. From what the woman at the check in desk said, there are a lot of fun things to do around town. Maybe for an anniversary in the future!

Saturday morning we got up and headed to Paul's parents house for a luncheon. It was nice having both families together. I'm glad everyone seemed to get alone. The reception was at one of our local ward buildings in C'ville. We probably had 70 people at the reception. Paul and I were both glad there we not more. Neither of us enjoy feeling like we are on display. The people who meant something to him showed up. We had a beautiful cake (made for us by Kaylyn, Paul's sister) and we did all the traditional... cake cutting, first dance, bouquet toss, garter toss, etc. I will post pictures as soon as I get them from my cousin! The reception was beautiful!

The week after the wedding was fun. Instead of spending money on a honeymoon, we decided to buy a new couch and paint our livingroom/diningroom. I'll find pictures and post those as well.

Random things that have been going on in our life... I FINALLY found a job. I will be working at Skyline Cleaners in C'ville. I looked for weeks for a job that would allow me to attend church on Sundays and be home in the evenings with Paul. I was blessed with this opportunity. The best part is that it will be very low stress and I won't be bringing my work home with me like I have had to with previous jobs. The hours are perfect and I finally feel like I will be contributing! I am in desperate need of getting out there and meeting people, so hopefully this will help a little. One of the best parts is that I will be working with Paul's sister Anna most of the week. We should have a good time together. Also, Congrats to Paul! He made his 1st batch of brownies from a box. I honestly was quite shocked when he told me he had never made brownies before... I thought it deserved a picture. He did a great job. I'm so proud of him :) We bought a WII after the wedding and have had a good time doing that together. We think our MII's are quite cute. I thought they deserved a picture too :)

I don't know much else right now. I'll post more soon... I promise!

Love,
US