12 weeks!

Well, I have hit week 12 in my pregnancy.  The best part about week 12 is knowing I only have 1 week left until the end of my first trimester!  WOO HOO! 

I am surprised by several things right now.  1) just how quickly the past 12 weeks have really gone.  2) how pregnancy is NOTHING like I thought it would be :)  and 3) how my husband is MORE amazing than I thought he was already. 

The past couple weeks have been really rough.  My migraines have only gotten worse and it's made the nausea even worse.  Poor Paul has taken over pretty much everything that I did before the symptoms started.  I can honestly say I have folded 1/2 a load of laundry the past 2 week, we have a brand new vacuum that is apparently amazing... I say apparently b/c I have yet to use it.  He's done all the dishes and makes sure that I come home from work to a nice clean apartment.  I could not ask for a more supporting and loving companion.  How blessed am I?  I know so many husbands out there who would (without being asked) take on most of the household responsibilities.  Thanks babe for all you do!

We have our next Dr. Apt 2 weeks from tomorrow.  I am so anxious to hear the heart beat again!  I believe we will find out the gender at our apt the end of June.  The first ultrasound looked like a little spot.  I am so anxious for the next ultrasound so we can actually see a baby :) My sister is currently 32 weeks pregnant and is STILL throwing up several times a day.... crossing my fingers that is not me!  I would like to point out though that my "baby bump" is bigger at 12 weeks than hers was at 22 weeks, lol.  What in the heck am I going to look like at 22 weeks! 

We bought our crib today!!!!!  It's funny b/c I have really had no desire to buy baby clothes or anything baby related yet.  I think once we find out the gender we will both be on the hung for the "perfect this" and "perfect that".  Although I was going to hold off a few more months to buy a crib, I found a great deal on Amazon.com yesterday and Paul and I both thought it was a deal we could not pass up. 

Our BEST news of this post is that we have settled into our new apartment.  I have pictures on my phone and will try to get those posted sometime this week.  The apartment is wonderful.  We have new furniture for the living room and we have a new kitchen table and chairs.  It's like being on vacation.  Even though almost all of our neighbors have dogs, we never hear them unless we are in the stairwell area.  This apartment was such a blessing.  I am excited to see what our time here holds!

Well all, that's all the news I have to share for today :)  Until next time!

EQ

Excuse my rant...

 Morning sickness has been nothing but a huge suck fest and then there are the headaches...

I totally understand that you should limit the "toxic" medications that you put into your body and believe me when I say I do not want my baby coming out with a 3rd eye or a tiny tail... but how on earth am I expected to function on a daily basis when there are people EVERYWHERE ready and willing to throw their opinion at me about how terrible it is that I am putting Tylenol into my body or that I am actually allowing my Dr to put me on medication for these pain in the butt migraines.  I'd like to point out that I have honestly tried alternative ways to manage my headaches.... including pressure points, heat, ice, chiropractic adjustments, increasing my water, decreasing my caffeine, sleeping more, hot showers, luke warm baths, buying a massage pillow, switching pillows and I'm sure the list could continue.  I am not in a position right now where I can up and quit my job and I cannot spend every day off between now and who knows when the pain will stop, laying in bed in tears with my zip lock bags b/c the headaches make keeping the food that my zofran actually allows me to eat down virtually impossible.  I do appreciate every ones concern but please understand that not everyone has the same pain threshold.  And, a bad headache is NOT a migraine... God bless you if you have never had a true migraine.  I knew when I got pregnant that my headaches would either get worse or better... I prayed for better (obviously) but instead, they got worse. Yay me!

End of rant!

Ok, so on a lighter note :)  WE ARE MOVED!  Wednesday was moving day for us and it went off without a hitch.  Our amazing Missionaries met us at our new apartment and between the two of them and Paul, they were able to get everything up 3 flights of stairs and I did not have to lift a finger.  I did have to help Paul load the truck but we had a dolly that was such a life saver for the both of us.  Our apartment is wonderful.  It's right at 1000 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, decent size kitchen and I have to say I LOVE having a bath tub again.  As soon as we get the spare bedroom put together and finish unpacking our boxes (hopefully by Tuesday) I will take pictures and post them.  Yesterday our furniture was delivered.  Our living room looks amazing with our new couch and love seat and the dining room has a purpose now that we have a kitchen table.  Paul and I decided to go with the tall table and chairs so Harley could not rest his head on our knees and beg for food during dinner.  We had friends over for dinner last night and it was humorous to watch how frustrated he got once he realized he could not get all up in our space.  Poor puppy!  Speaking of Harley... I have to admit that he has had a difficult year.  He went from living in the Lake house for 2 1/2 years and loving it there to being moved to a basement that he hated to now being in our apartment that he is REALLY unsure of.   Nothing is familiar to him besides his bed.  When we moved in we bought new bedding so our bedroom no longer smells like our bedroom.  Hopefully within the next couple weeks he will settle in and realize that this is his new home :) 

Baby Q is apparently the size of a green olive right now.  I am not really showing quite yet.  I will take my 10 wk 1 day picture on Monday and post that one along with my 8 wk 1 day pic on my next post.  None of my pants fit and I am noticing my scrub tops are getting a little snug around the waste.  I will probably be ordering maternity scrub tops in about a month so i am more comfortable at work. We have an apt tomorrow morning at 9:20 and I really hope we are able to hear the heart beat this time. My first ultrasound was so early we were not able to hear it.  That would be such a nice sound right about now.  Just knowing that everything sounds good and healthy :) 

Well, I guess I will go. I hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy!

EQ

The happenings of our home!

Who's a big huge slacker??  MEEEEE!!!!  That's right.  It's been almost a year since my last blog update! How in the world is that even possible???  I guess I have some catching up to do :)

I believe the last update was regarding our house being sold and us moving.  I will start from there, lol. 

I believe our family theme for the past 12 months should be "Ideal Timing". 

When we found out the closing date on our house was May 16th, 2013, we were BEYOND ecstatic!  Recap: It had taken us over 2 years to sell our house so we were feeling a huge weight being removed when we went to the loan office to sign the house over to the young man who is going to marry my sister-in-law Randi in a little over a month.  As soon as we knew the date we would need to be out of the Lake Monticello house, we started looking for housing.  For anyone who is familiar with Charlottesville, it's full of rich people and rich college students (I swear, it's nothing more than boat shoes, dockers and blazers, lol) so rent in this town is ridiculous.... and that's if you DON'T have a dog.  We started thinking and it came to us that maybe would could possibly watch Paul's parents house for them while they were serving their Mission... and the best part is, they were leaving the first week of May so they could transition out and we could transition in.  After some lengthy discussion, we all decided it would be a deal for all parties involved.  So.... we have spent the past 11 months maintaining the home while his parents serve The Lord!  We could not have asked for better timing.  Now their mission is coming to an end which means it's time for us to move out and take on the responsibilities of being adults again such as rent, blah blah blah.  That takes us back to the issue we ran into a year ago... the cost of rent.  Booo!  I jumped online and started looking at what a 1 bedroom apartment would cost us with our dog and I about fell over.  How on earth could someone charge us $1000 a month for a tiny apartment?!?!?!  After my amazing husband did some research and spoke to a few officers that he works with we found out about an amazing deal at an apartment complex 10 minutes from where we live now.  With what they are charging us for rent, I told Paul I did not care if it was in the "Ghetto" of Charlottesville!!!  SOLD!  We submitted our application and deposit and we are THRILLED to say we are moving in April 23rd!  This is the part that I get excited about b/c I pride myself on being a professional packer/mover :)  At least typically it is my favorite part but I have zero energy right now so the basement officially looks like we are hoarders, lol.  Why do I have no energy you ask???  Because I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!!  That's right, baby Quillon is expected to arrive the week of Thanksgiving 2014 :) :) :)  We are BEYOND thrilled. 

Yep, there is our little peanut :)  My official due date is November 23 but the babies size is saying November 26.  Either way, we are going to have a busy Thanksgiving week!  And, tons to be thankful for! 

Several of my friends have asked me the "how did this happen" question.  I always laugh and want to say "when a man and a woman love each other..."  but I hold my tongue and say it was a lot of work and a lot of dedication. 

For those of you who are not aware, Paul and I have battled infertility for the past 3 1/2 years.  It has been quite the journey.  When we got married we knew we wanted to have a family but months and months went by and nothing happened.  After a good 3 years of "leaving it in the Lords hands" I mentioned it to my Dr at an apt and she suggested I try Clomid which is a fertility drug that tries to force your body to ovulate if you are not already.  Paul and I discussed it and decided it would be a good course of action.  What could it hurt, right?.  But, before Dr. Owens wanted me to start the Clomid, she wanted to do a laparoscopy to take a look at my uterus, etc to make sure everything looked healthy since I had complained of symptoms similar to those found in Endometriosis patients.  During surgery she did find Endo and it was successfully removed.  That was in September 2013 and I started the Clomid that month.  It was strange having my Dr be so honest with her.  She said my body was in it's "prime" after surgery so we needed to go the birth control rout to preserve my newly perfected uterus or we needed to get on the Clomid and do a 6 month round.  It was a big decision that we needed to make in a moments notice b/c Clomid is allllll about schedule.  Paul came to my work and we discussed it in our parking lot before he left for work.  We agreed we would try the Clomid.  Every month I had to take 5 pills on certain days and then on day 21 of all this mess you get to have your blood drawn.  Each month my Dr would call and say how happy she was with my levels and she kept saying how "confident" she was that this would work... and yet for 5 months I was terribly disappointed.  Then February came.  My Dr had accidentally written me for an extra month of Clomid so when I was getting ready to start taking my pills for the 6th month I realized I had a 7th month worth of pills.  Hmmmm..... what to do with this extra month.  Since Dr. O did not want me on the pills more than 6 months, there was only 1 option that made sense in my mind.  Double my dose.  So... that's exactly what I did.  I typically took 50 mg on days 5-9 of my cycle and in February I took 100 mg on days 3-7.  I felt like such a risk taker, lol.  The end of February came and now it was the waiting game.  March 13th I took a pregnancy test and it was VERY faintly positive.  I did not want to jump the gun and get Paul all excited over nothing so I kept testing for the next 3 days and finally told Paul on March 17th which ironically was his favorite holiday!  St. Patricks day!  I am officially 8 weeks pregnant tomorrow and we cannot express how crazy excited we are!!!!!!!  For those of you who have asked, yes I am experiencing morning sickness.  My Dr wrote me a script for Zofran on Thursday and it's doing a fantastic job.  This is another reason why I am thankful I am not a pioneer!  Crossing the country while throwing up is NOT my idea of a good time :)  God bless those women who did!

Well, I think I will call this post good for now!  Now that we have things going on other than the day to day grind, I will do a better job of keeping this darn thing updated! 

LQ

It's insane how quickly I lose track of how much time has gone by between updates!  March was coming to a close when I wrote last and here it is darn near June.  So much has happened over the past 8 weeks.  I guess I will start with the house :)

That's right!!!  The house is OFFICIALLY sold!  We closed on May 15th. I think I has honestly taken the past 2 weeks for it to sink in that after nearly 2 years of trying to sell, we have signed by the "X" and all utilities are transferred into the new owners name. 

We feel so incredibly blessed that everything fell into place so smoothly since January when Jonathan (the man who bought the house) contacted the lender about applying for the home loan.  We were told several times by the broker that we would probably have to have a re-appraisal b/c the mtg company likes to reject them just to make sure the appraisal is OK, and yet they did not reject ours!  The inspection was flawless, termite inspection was flawless and the Mtg company very quickly gave us a big thumbs up when we were once again anticipating a little difficulty. 

We finished the basement the day (literally) we moved out, lol :)  I felt like we were working until the very last second on finishing touches but I can honestly say it turned out a lot better then I ever thought it would considering we are far from professionals and did most of the work ourselves. I'll post a few pix of the punished product!

 

I was never able to get a picture of the basement finished AND empty!  Since Jonathan is my sister-in-laws boyfriend, we agreed to let him start moving in before closing so at one point we had about 1/2 of his stuff from his apartment and the majority of our stuff all in the house.  It was quite crazy! 

 

 

So... now that we are out of the house I have had several people as where we are not living.  Well.... I guess you could say we are never too told to live at our in-laws!  lol.  Ok, this is not the typical "moving in with mom and dad" situation.  Paul's parents left the first part of May to serve a mission for our church in Tacoma, Washington so we are technically house sitting for the time being.  It has been quite the adjustment moving from a 2400 sq ft home into 1 bedroom in the basement but we are very thankful for the chance that we have to save money since our savings took quite a hit with the basement/ house project. 

 

Paul has recently put himself on several email notifications for police departments in Utah so he will know when they begin hiring.  We have a few in mind that we'd really like to apply for.  Provo City PD, Layton City PD and Utah HWY Patrol.  We have both felt really good about Provo for some time so I'm anxious to see where the Lord wants us to be.  In reality, we have no idea how much longer we will be in Virginia.  We'd love to be moved by Christmas but I have realized the Lord has his own timing and I have to find a way to be content with what he has in store for us.  I will keep you posted on job interviews/ testing, etc.

 

I am still loving my job at the Hospice House here in Charlottesville.  I celebrated my 1 year anniversary there in April I will be so sad when the day comes that I have to resign from my position.  The "house" has been really busy the past 2 weeks. Although I am 150% exhausted by the end of the week, my time there goes by quickly and I always have something to do. 

 

Paul has been super busy with his job.  He's been working what seems to be an extra amount of overtime the past couple months since he does traffic at a local school at 8:00am almost every morning.  I have no idea how he get's up so early just to do 30 min of overtime just to come home again and go back to bed.  It would wear on me.  He's such a trooper.  He will be gone for a the 3rd week of June for a class and then for a few days again in July.  I'm so proud of all the hard work he puts into making his resume look as awesome as possible. 

 

Harley is healthy and happy.  We put him on a diet about 2 wks ago and I think I'm actually starting to see a difference.  He's far from fat but we have noticed he's put on a little weight since last year.  It's our fault for feeding him potato chips.  I'm such a sucker when he begs and looks all sad.  Right now we are fighting a battle between him and the cat's food.  He seems to think it's quite the tasty snack but it's not at all good for him.  The cat seems to think 1 morsel of dog food is a nice little treat too.  I fear this is a lose lose situation. 

 

Paul and I's vacation starts in exactly 26 days!  We are leaving early on the morning of June 22nd to drive to Washington DC.  We have a 6am flight on June 23rd but we thought it would be fun to get a hotel room the night before so we could get some good sleep the night before our flight leaves.  I'm taking Paul  to Arlington National Cemetery to see the changing of the guards and then to the Hard Rock Café in downtown DC for lunch.  I'm so looking forward to spending that night relaxing by the pool and enjoying the start of our vacation.  Mom will be getting married that next Saturday in Farmington, Utah so we will be in UT the entire week before the wedding and will fly home the Monday after.  This vacation is coming at the perfect time!!!! 

 

Well my friends, I don't know much else right now.  It could be that it's 2am and my brain is officially tired.  Paul had to work late tonight so I thought it would be fun to update the blog while waiting for him to get home.  I hope this update finds everyone healthy and happy!!!! 

 

LQ 

Happy Easter!

Is today honestly Easter?  Is tomorrow April 1st?  It's hard to believe!  The months are flying by right now! I gues that's what happens when you have so much going on. 

St. Patricks day was a couple weekends ago and like every year, I made corned beef and cabbage!  We invited another couple over and realized it's better to ask before hand if everyone likes CB&C!  Oh well. It's one of Paul and I's favorite foods and we loved it :)  If I was rich, Id deck my entire house out in green for the holiday! When we get moved, I WILL have a big St. Patty's day celebration. 

We've been asked for updates on our basement renovation so I thought I'd post a few pictures for everyone.  We had quite a bit of drywall that we had to remove and we ended up removing 1 entire wall.  Although most would call us crazy for doing all the work ourselves since we had no experience with drywalling and it had been a while since Paul had framed anything, we think the project is turning out really well and we are becoming quite the carpenters.  We joke about quitting our jobs and starting a business :)  HAHA! 

 This room has been named many things. Our favorite is the "rape room".  We are not sure if the previous owners grew some illegal substance in this room or what was going on.  It was all double drywalled, had capet in it (no carpet anywhere else in the room), had a light, there were several outlets in the room and on the other side of the room there is a little window.  Hmmmmm. 

 I became quite the pro removing this nasty floor tile. Who would use tile on 1/3 of the room???

 Bye bye ugly tile!

 Going....

 Going....

 Going

 GONE!

 So long strange room!

 The wall where the concrete block are at was framed... until we tore the wall down :)  We also removed all the drywall from the wall with all the brown crap on it!

 To fix a small water problem in the basement, we tore out part of a concrete slab and put drainage rock down.

Oh my gosh the dust is EVERYWHERE!  Has been for 3 weeks now :(

bleaching the basement floor! smelled amazing!

 Look at my husband's cute butt! Wait... DON'T look at his butt!  It's mine ;)

 Nice and clean!

 New wall!

 Looking at the left side of he basement

 Right side of the basement

 looking at the front wall of the basement

drywalling is FINISHED!

 

3 1/2 weeks ago we had a contract signed on the house.  My sister in law's boyfriend Jonathan signed the contract and we have a tentative closing date of May 15th!  2 weeks ago we had the inspection done and except for a couple simple fixes, everything was great!  This past Wednesday we had the appraisal and we are littlerally on the edge of our seats waiting to hear the results from that.  With the housing market in such a slump, this is what has been making everyone anxious.  We've been very prayerful and doing everything we need to do and leaving the rest up to the Lord.  Paul's birthday is Wednesday so we are praying we get great news on his birthday! I will post an update when we hear something! 

 

Well all my Blogg followers, I need to call it a night on here so I can get a few things done around the house so I don't go into the new week with a house that needs tweeked.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!  

Almost March... Already?!?!?!

Ok, Ok.... I realize I have been very lazy since November and have not posted anything.  BUT, since I'm convinced I'm the only person who reads this blog, I won't lose any sleep :)

Where to begin... where to begin???  As my husband says "No better time then the present" so I will begin with current events!  Paul left for the Cardinal Police Academy in Roanoke, VA a week ago today and was gone through Thursday for training.  He is officially a Certified Radar Instructor.  This means he will now be able to teach the radar certification classes for the county PD and become their 2nd current instructor.  Considering how many officers have to be re certified every year, it's been a large task for just 1 officer.  I am so so so proud of Paul and for getting a 97% on his test!  In June he has a week long Advanced Accident Reconstruction class he will be attending at our local academy and in July he will be heading towards Virginia Beach for R.E.I.D school for 3 days.  R.E.I.D is an interrogation/interviewing school.  We are still waiting to find out when he will be sent for his Defensive Tactics Instructor training.  Hopefully by this summer!  As for me, I've been busy with work and just had another biopsy done.  This time it was on my left hand.  I'm thankful to say I am still cancer free.  The biopsy did show an abnormality but my margins are clear so they do not need to do any further treatment at this time.  They are watching a spot on my right foot for the next 6 months.  They took a picture of it when I went in for my apt 2 weeks ago.  Dr Magee said if it has changed in the next 6 months they will biopsy it to make sure cancer is not present.  I have too much going on right now to be bothered by cancer!  Stitches come out tomorrow at 1:50! Thank heavens!



As everyone is aware, Valentines Day was our most recent holiday and for everyone who knows me... it's my FAVORITE!!!  Totally kidding :)  Let's just say I have not have the best luck on Valentines day since 2009!  Anyway, This year on Valentines day I was scheduled to work but ended up having to take a sick day so I could have my biopsy done.  Paul and I decided to celebrate the joyous day the Saturday before.  The day started off great, the middle totally sucked but the end was not too shabby.  I have several fears in life and 1 of them has always been hitting a dear.  Well, Feb 9th I smacked right into a huge doe and caused right at $6000 damage to my poor Toyota Corolla!  The deer rolled up a little on my hood and then rolled down the road 3-4 times and ended up in a ditch. I was totally freaking out and called Paul hysterical telling him I had hit a deer and did not think she was dead.  I knew he had his gun with him so he jumped in his dad's suv and drove the mile to where I was.  I was curled up in he front seat of my car refusing to look at the deer and talked to my mom until Paul arrived.  He told me that when he was pulling up, the deer jumped out of the ditch and ran away.  I'm certain she did not get very far but maybe God allowed her to live.  I don't know! 

STUPID DEER!!!!!

Although I did not have a "sweet me off my feet" Valentines Day due to the trauma of the accident and then the biopsy but I did get to have a wonderful dinner and a movie date with my awesome husband and he bought me some beautiful flowers and gave me a very romantic card!  I am so very thankful that I know between now and the day I leave this earth, Paul Quillon will be the personal I spend every Valentines Day with!  I could not have asked for a more loving or supportive husband.  I pray every single day that the Lord will guide me to ways I can be a better wife.  I'm so thankful I have a husband who is not only kind and loving but who is so very patient with me!  He is going to make my eternity amazing!

Ok, now to backtrack a little in life.  Christmas was AWESOME this year!  Paul bought me something that has been on my Christmas List for YEARS!!!!  He bought me a 17(I think) inch tv for my...... BATHROOM!  Ok, don't judge me!  I have been wanting a tv for my bathroom since like 2005 :)  I use to drag a little tv I had into the bathroom so I could watch Dr Phil while I took a bath. Although we don't have cable, Paul set me up with a small dvd player that I can take into the bathroom with me. How awesome is he!!!  He also bought me a camera.  I have been wanting a little Nikon point and shoot camera that I can take with me in my purse.  It's been so nice being able to take pictures again :)  I bought Paul a pocket watch and my mom made us matching pj pants!  While we were in St. Louis in November, mom and I went to a fabric store, I picked out and paid for the fabric and she was so nice and made them for us.  Even though she had a cast on her hand from thumb surgery.  She's the best!  This was also the first year I was able to use the Christmas dishes I bought last year.  The dishes were on a great sale the day after Christmas so as part of my christmas present from my mom, she helped me buy 10 place settings.  These dishes are like a treasure to me! 

Love matching pj's!  2nd year we've done this tradition :)

 Christmas stockings are the BEST!

 Love my dishes!

 Sorry, it's not right side up!

On the far right is my "ugly Christmas candle". It's a tradition I got from my mom!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful February!!!  I cannot believe it's almost March :)  This year is going to fly by!  I'm be 30 in 6 months and 4 days!  EEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK!  



Thanksgiving Day Letters

For the past 4 Thanksgivings I have written letters to my friends & family.  I thought in the event that FB is someday shut down, I wanted to have it to read :)  Below are my last 4 letters!

2012
Dear Family & Friends,
I'd like to start off by saying Happy Thanksgiving to you all :) I cannot believe the holiday season is already upon us. It seems like just yesterday I sat down to write my 2009 Turkey Day letter and 3 years have already flown by! For several days now I have anxiously awaited writing this letter. I have truly enjoyed writing my 3 previous letters and I hope this is a tradition I can maintain for years to come.
Last night Paul and I were reading in the Book of Mormon about how miracles still exhist on the earth today. I mentioned to him that I know that to be true because he married me! I have been thinking about what I said a lot today and I believe it to be true. Of all the men that have come in and out of my life (in one way or the other), Heavenly Father gave me Paul. With all of my insecurities and shortcomings, I am sure he could have done better... but I am so thankful every single day that he is my husband! I am thankful for not only the eternal marriage we have, but for our friendship. He is my very best friend and I love spending every moment with him that I possibly can. I could not have asked for a better man to spend my life with. We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in July and I can't wait to see what wonderful memories we will have together before our 3rd anniversary!!!!
I am so thankful for the home we share together! Virginia is not where we want to raise children and settle down, but we have still been blessed with a beautiful home :) It's such a safe haven from the outside world. We have been blessed with wonderful memories in our home and I look forward to many more memories while we are living there.
I am so very thankful for Paul and I's families! This past year I have had the chance to form an even better relationship with Paul's sisters and I'm so thankful for the relationships I have with each one of them. I am thankful for Skype and the chance it gives me to "see" my sister on a regular basis. I'm so thankful for both of our parents and the close relationships we have with them. I love spending time with everyone. I'm so excited for next summer when I can spend time with my 2 brothers.
I am thankful for our wonderful puppy Harley! He really is a joy in my life and I can't get enough of him. He makes me happy every single day. I know he is just a dog but in our family he's our kid. We love him and spoil him more then we probably should. I can't imagine a day without him!
I'm thankful for my health. This year has been emotional for me as I was diagnosed with and treated for Melanoma. There is nothing in the world that will bring everything to a sudden stop like cancer. I'm so thankful I picked a great doctor and I am hopeful when I go in for my 6 month apt, everything will look great! I have 2 spots I am watching, but until my dr tells me otherwise, I'm not stressing over the unknown. I am constantly reminded of those people who have not been as lucky as I have been. Melanoma is called the black cancer for a reason, it's dangerous and it can spread fast. Heavenly Father blessed me in such a critical time in my life!
Finally, I'm thankful for the wonderful person my mom has found to spend her life with! I look forward to getting to know Jay better as we prepare for their wedding next June and forming a relationship with his children! I love seeing how happy my mom is and I have a peace knowing she will have someone to grow old with!
In closing, I'm amazed and humbled by the life God has seen fit for me. I am looking forward to all the wonderful adventures the future has in store for me :) My hope for this next year is that our house will finally sell and we will be moving out West by this time next year! We shall see!
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and an even better Christmas!
Liz Quillon

2011
Dear Family & Friends,
For the past several weeks I have been wondering what I would say this year in my annual Thanksgiving Day letter. 2011 has given me some wonderful memories. I remember telling my mom about a week ago that I was not in the Thanksgiving Day mood and that I wish I could skip it and move on to Christmas. Last night while lying in bed, my mind turned to all of the amazing things that I have to be thankful for this year.
I want to start by saying how truly and completely thankful I am for my wonderful husband. We celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary on July 9th :) Words cannot express how amazing our 1st year was. It is hard for me to believe that not only have we been married for almost 17 months, but that the last 17 months have been spent with my very best friend and the most wonderful man I have ever met!!!!
I am thankful I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Paul and I have had the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon and the D&C together over the past year. When we set it as our goal to read the BOM together, I honestly did not have faith that we would actually finish it! I am so thankful for the blessings it has brought into our marriage and the wonderful spirit it has brought into our home. I feel so blessed that we have the Washington DC Temple so close to us. I am thankful we have the chance to attend the Temple as often as we do.
I am thankful for family. I was born into such a wonderful family. I feel so blessed to have the relationships with my siblings that I do. I am thankful for my wonderful parents who have always loved and supported me as I have grown into the person I am today. I am thankful for the family I married into. I love the relationships I am forming with my sisters-in-law and for the time I have had with them over the past couple weeks. I have the best mother & father-in-law ever!
I am beyond thankful for my little family. I think I have the best little dog in the entire world :). I am thankful the house we have made into our 1st home together. Although we have enjoyed our home in Virginia, we are hopeful that by this time next year we are able to call Wyoming home and begin establishing our roots there and begin raising our family where we feel we need to be!
I am truly thankful for the jobs that Paul and I have. The Lord has blessed us with employment we both enjoy. It is wonderful having a job you don't dread going to every day. Paul was given the opportunity to work for the County PD his past April and I was offered a job at an Assisted Living facility in town. How blessed are we! I cannot express how thankful I am that my sister-in-law's husband was able to find an amazing job in AZ after months and months of searching. It taught me that I needed to be extra thankful for the things I have been given.
Well, I could honestly go on and on and on but I'm sure everyone is tired of reading by now. I hope that everyone is safe this year as you travel. May God bless you with the things that you need and may you all be reminded of the things in your life that make it wonderful.
Happy Holidays!!!
Liz Quillon

2010
Dear Friends & Family.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am astonished that another year has come and gone since my 2009 Thanksgiving Day letter :) What a year it has been. It has been a whirlwind of changes, moves, meeting new people, making new friends, losing old friends, falling in love and beginning a new life.

My life has vastly changed in the past year. 12 months ago I was sitting on my couch in Rexburg, Idaho. I shared a tiny apartment with my sister and I was trying to rediscover who I was after a difficult year. I knew that with time, the puzzle pieces of my life would find their way back to their proper location and life would once again seen sunny and make sense. Little did I know when I wrote last year, the Lord had an amazing gift waiting for me. I just needed to be patient and still.... neither of which are my 2 best qualities!

On New Years Eve, Emily and I were in an Idaho Falls church building ringing in the new year with other single adults in our church. New Years was that finish line I had been running toward and it had finally arrived. At the stroke of 12, I hugged my sister and cried. Cried for all of the heartache I had felt, for the amazing people that had come into my life and for the life that God had given me at that particular moment. I felt as though a weight had been liften when I knew 2009 was over and a new, fresh year could begin.

Since that New Years Eve, the most amazing thing has happened!!! I have met, fallen in love with and married not only the most amazing man I have ever in my life met, but my very best friend. Our relationship was a whirwind experience. We met and were engaged in less then 2 months... and married a little more then 3 months after that. What an exciting time it was and continues to be. I am so proud to be Paul's wife. I could not have asked for a better man to love and accept me for who I am, where I have been and where I come from.

Paul and I had a small but beautiful wedding. There wer 10 people at the sealing and probably 70 people at our reception. We are so thankful for everyone who attended either of those events. It was beyond perfect!

This year I want to take the time to thank a few people.

Mom: You have been my rock and my foundation in so many ways for so long. Thank you for being there with an open door and open arms at so many times in my life. I cannot thank you enough for the difficult times you have endured while I lived with you. Thank you for accepting Paul so quickly into our home. You knew before I did that he was a special person "worth getting to know". Thank you for the beautiful wedding reception you gave us. It was perfect and we both loved it. Thank you for the being so calm while I thought I was going to have to get married in jeans :) You are such a wonderful woman. I admire and respect you in ways I will never be able to describe. Thank you for being you and for loving me!

Emily: Thank you for being a great sister. Being several years older then you has given me one advantage.... I have been able to watch you grow. I remember when mom was pregnant with you, when I use to help change your diapers, your sporting events, high school chior. I have loved watching you grow up. You often amaze me. I look at your life and I know that a wonderful man will come into your life who will make you the happiest you have EVER been. You will know that moment when it happens! I promise. Thank you for being my roomie for those months and for putting up with me. I hope you know that no matter what you become in life, I am so proud of you. Thank you for loving me!

Autum Mayberry: I will be forever thankful for the time you took away from your sweet husband to sit in your living room and talk to me. I don't think you will ever understand the impact that comversation had on me. I feel so unworthy of having friends as amazing as you at times. You saved me in many ways that night. Thank you for the kind words. Thank you for also calling me back shortly after I moved to Virginia. That conversation too was sooooo needed!

Marcie Belton: Thank you for coming to our sealing! I cannot express how thankful I was when I walked into our sealing room to see you sitting there next to my mom. I am so thankful for you. For the role you have played in my life. I will be forever thankful for your friendship. You have known me since my awkward years and are of the few that have watched me become who I am.

Johnnie & Lorraine Quillon: Thank you for accepting me into your home on such short notice! You have been so warm and I am so thankful for that! Thank you for raising such a wonderful son.

There are SOOOO many more people that I could thank. I am sorry if I have left you out.

I hope this letter finds everyone safe and happy! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and please be safe in your many travels!

Love,
Liz Quillon (Stone)
2009
Dear Family & Friends.

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is actually here. I feel as though 2009 has just begun and yet I sit and reflect on the past year and am amazed at all that has transpired. I remember when I was in my early teen years, I would get frustrated with my parents and wish to myself that I was and "adult" who could make my own money, decisions and do what I want. Now that I find myself at the back end of my mid 20's, I find myself wishing I could be in my teens again!

2009 has brought many frustrations and sorrows into my life... but has also brought more blessings than I knew I was worthy of. As many of you know, I went through quite the life changing experience in February. Tim and I separated and in April we divorced after nearly 5 years of marriage. At first, I believed that I was witnessing my world come crumbling around me. I soon realized though that the Lord had opened a door for me and with the opening of that door came tremendous blessings and opportunities. In April, I flew into Salt Lake City, Utah so I could drive back to Missouri with Emily after her semester was finished. She was driving her Saturn and and we drove up the side of a steep mountain, I had an overwhelming feeling that the Lord was calling me out West. For those of you know really know me, I have vowed since I was a young girl that I would NEVER live in Utah/ Idaho. I was a midwestern girl who would stay in the midwest. We got home and for several weeks, I kept my feelings to myself. I have had "urges" to move in the past but wanted to make sure that this is really what the Lord wanted me to do. About 2 weeks before Fathers Day, I approached my mom with the idea that I should move and on Fathers Day, I told my sister that I would be coming to Idaho with her in September. I had no idea what a change this would bring into my life! On September 10th, Emily and I packed our cars and set off for Idaho. We moved into our apartment on September 12th. I wish I could say that the day I moved in, life became perfect and I have been full of bliss since. Although moving to Idaho has been exactly what I needed, I have had moment of sadness feeling as though I had left everything that meant anything to me back in Missouri and here I was in Rexburg, Idaho all alone. Over the past 2 months, I have realized that it took me leaving everything that I thought was important to me to find everything that really is important to me. In 2 months I have met the most amazing people. I was told when I left Missouri that angels would come into my life that would help me get through the difficulties that life would throw at me. The people that I have let into my life truly are angels. Do I miss home, Yes. More than I can express. I miss my parents! They have been been my rock and my foundation. They have been my support through the good times and the not so good times. I miss my brothers. I wish I could express to them how much I truly love them. I am so blessed to know that if I ever need them, they are here for me. They are my big brothers and I am grateful for them. I miss my 2 best Friends, Donald and Michelle and I want them to know how much I love them and am thankful for their friendships!!! Although I miss home, I know that Idaho is where I need to be. I feel that the Lord has a plan for me and that plan does not include being in Missouri. I am finding myself here. I am figuring out who I am after years of forgetting. I love rediscovering myself. I have hit a few bumps in the road out here and I am learning that just because I hit those bumps, I cannot let them slow me down.

Today, I reflect on the holiday that we will be celebrating tomorrow. I am very thankful for so many things!!! I am truly thankful for ALL of my family. You are my family and I love you. I am thankful for my wonderful friends. I am thankful for the people that have come in and out of my life. I am thankful for the good times that I have been blessed with and the bad times that have allowed me to grow. I am thankful for every girlfriend that has built me up and every boyfriend that has broken my heart. I am thankful for my cute apartment that I get to share with Emily. I am so thankful for the gospel and the gentle way that it teaches me on a daily basis. I am grateful for my ward. I love getting to know all of the guys and girls that I get to go to church with on Sunday. I am grateful for my amazing life and am looking forward to the events that are still to come!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you all travel safely and have a wonderful time with your families/ friends.

Love you all and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Liz Stone