On April 23rd I walked, along with my fellow graduation class, all dressed up with a baby belly, holding hands with the most wonderful man alive, my sweetheart Michael.
It was definitely a day to remember. On the day of the Commencement (April 22nd), the birds were singing, the flowers were blooming, the weather was warm and perfect, and I had my dad and Michael as my escorts of the day :) After hearing Elder Christofferson's commemoration speech, we all went outside to take a couple pictures ... ok, ok LOTS of pictures ;) (our Washington family wasn't able to come but we wanted them to enjoy the experience as well).
On graduation day (23rd), the weather didn't treat us as kindly as it did the day before, it was pouring down hard, the wind was blowing and the leaves on the cherry trees were all gone by the end of the day :( BUT it was still such a joyous day!! I had my entire family there with me: My husband Michael, mom & dad, Dan & Jess, Melanie & Jesse, Kevin, Danny and Vanesita, along with lots of my little cousins!! :)
I will never forget all the love I felt from them that day, especially seeing them all stand up, cheering and screaming my name as they called me up to hand me my diploma and then seeing my wonderful hubby running down the stairs to hand me flowers as I waived at them ... I couldn't help but wonder if this is how it would feel when we are all reunited again in Heaven, hear them cheering and screaming my name once more, and feel Heavenly Father's arms around me and say "You've made it." It really put it into perspective for me when Elder Christofferson, in his commencement speech said,
"Let your cap and gown lead you to your eventual robe and crown in God's eternal Kingdom."
My life is truly so much more wonderful and blessed with all of you in it!!!
To my parents: Thank you for your unconditional love, countless words of encouragement, warm hugs when I needed them most, for teaching me by example with kindness and determination, instilling in me a love for knowledge and a desire for lifelong learning.
To my husband: Thank you for all the love and faith you have in me, for all the sleepless nights you spent helping me stay awake and finish my assignments on time even when you were done with yours already, for cheering me on until the very end, for never loosing faith in me and helping me be a better me, for showing me incredible patience, always so willing to help me with the dishes, the laundry and with dinner ... you are my Super Man, my EVERYTHING!!!! :) Thank you for all that you do for me and our little girl, you are truly the most remarkable person I've ever known!!
To my siblings: Thank you for putting up with me when I had to study long hours of the night with the light on, for all the many acts of kindness you did for us while we lived at mom and dad's like making our bed, leaving us little notes of encouragement and love, sharing laughs and "secrets," and putting up with my cooking haha :) Thank you for your incredible example, for the wonderful people that you are and are becoming. I couldn't ask for better siblings, really my very best friends. I love you all!! Don't ever lose sight of your dreams and goals. You can always count on me for anything and everything!!
To the rest of my family (Mine and Michael's): Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement, for your love and friendship. You are truly an inspiration! We have had our share of "angels" come to us that have helped us endure through this journey.
I couldn't have done it without you!!!
I know I've been a slacker these past few months but now that I'm done with school and I'm back from our relaxing trip to Washington, I'm ready to take on the world of blogging once again! :) These have been the busiest months of the year, it seems. We've taken over 1000 pictures (literally!), but for now I'll leave you with a few pictures as a preview to what is about to come ;) Enjoy!
This was her profile at 16 weeks ... she was so tiny!! :)
Here is a picture of her tiny little foot!!
These were also taken at 16 weeks .... she looked a little scary then haha :)
It's a GIRL!!!!
But it didn't last long!!! One minute I leave it on the kitchen counter to look for something in my room, and before I know it a "little mouse" (Michael) had sneacked into my kitchen and devoured the WHOLE thing!!! Lol ;) haha Oh well, I guess this means I'll be baking another one pretty soon here! :)
On April 23rd I walked, along with my fellow graduation class, all dressed up with a baby belly, holding hands with the most wonderful man alive, my sweetheart Michael.
To my parents: Thank you for your unconditional love, countless words of encouragement, warm hugs when I needed them most, for teaching me by example with kindness and determination, instilling in me a love for knowledge and a desire for lifelong learning.
To my husband: Thank you for all the love and faith you have in me, for all the sleepless nights you spent helping me stay awake and finish my assignments on time even when you were done with yours already, for cheering me on until the very end, for never loosing faith in me and helping me be a better me, for showing me incredible patience, always so willing to help me with the dishes, the laundry and with dinner ... you are my Super Man, my EVERYTHING!!!! :) Thank you for all that you do for me and our little girl, you are truly the most remarkable person I've ever known!!
To my siblings: Thank you for putting up with me when I had to study long hours of the night with the light on, for all the many acts of kindness you did for us while we lived at mom and dad's like making our bed, leaving us little notes of encouragement and love, sharing laughs and "secrets," and putting up with my cooking haha :) Thank you for your incredible example, for the wonderful people that you are and are becoming. I couldn't ask for better siblings, really my very best friends. I love you all!! Don't ever lose sight of your dreams and goals. You can always count on me for anything and everything!!
This ...
There were lots of emotions going through us - maybe the most dominant was a mixture of shock and excitement haha but we are so excited to bring a little angel (boy- according to Michael's revelation :)) into our family. Michael and I can't stop looking at babies everywhere we go. They are all so precious and sweet - really one of the greatest gifts from heaven!! I am 6 weeks already!! Who knew there was a little person forming in me since the beginning of December?! It is all so exciting!!
Our little breakfast bar, great for entertaining!!!
Our small beautiful kitchen, great for a relaxing night making dinner with my hubby!!
View from the living room ....
Walking to our room, notice the storage closets we now have Yay!!
Our HUGE room!!! Notice how tall the ceiling is!! We just LOVE it!!!!!!
We spent such a nice afternoon talking and laughing ... mostly watching Danny making funny faces and sounds Haha!! What a wonderful time we had!! Sometimes I wonder what did I do to deserve such amazing women in my life!! I will truly treasure that day forever!! As fun as it was, it just wasn't the same without our little sister Melanie there who was still in school at the time :( Sorry Mel, we promise we'll do one again soon hopefully tomorrow if there is time before mom and dad leave PROMISE!! 
Last Saturday we had a celebration for second time Mommy-to-be Jessica and the much anticipated birth of her new little Angel into the family!! :) We had such a great turn out!!! Nearly Everyone we invited came!! Girls were coming in almost every ten minutes and some even stayed around two hours past the Shower!! It made me so happy to see Jess having so much FUN, seeing her mingle with her Friends from high school she hadn't seen in years, Laughing and enjoying the company of all of us that LOVE and adore her!! I felt so priviledge to organized the baby shower for her; Jess is one of the most Amazing, Loving, fun, Charitable people I know!! And I'm not just saying that because she's my sister. She truly is such a remarkable person and the most loving wife to Daniel and mother to little Danny!! 
She is always there when you need her and will Always find her doing some kind of service for each member of the Family!! How many times have I found our bed made after Michael and I had a rough night studying for a hard test or writing a long essay due the next morning and hurrying up to make it to school on time (a 30 min commute from our parent's house!)!!! She is simply amazing!! And truly my Best Friend!!
I love my family so much!! I'm not gonna lie and say they weren't times when it wasn't rough for all nine of us to be living in one place, but I can say without a doubt that it has made us come even Closer as a family and have made stronger Friendships with my sisters and brother and has filled our Hearts with great memories of laughing and helping Each Other. President Gordon B. Hinckley once said: "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." And how wonderful it is to enjoy each moment with our loved ones and know that we can be together Forever!! Life is good.
