My Favorite Things: L

I'm just going to jump right in because there are LOTS!!

Lucky:

My sweet boy. I sure love him. He will give me lovies and cuddles whenever I want them. And for as long as I want them. Some of his expressions crack me up! Yes, I realize that he is a dog, but I've had him since right after he was born and I'm his mommy. Therefore, I can tell when his little expression changes. He isn't the smartest, nor the most obedient, but he sure is the loviest.

Lists:

Gosh, I sure love lists. They keep me on track and help to keep me from forgetting things. In fact, I have a love of lists so much that I have a list I make each day and sometimes, there are more than one list, so I must make lists of my lists! Maren and I each have a book that is one of those "Write Your Own Biography" types and it's completely in list form. ie. "List All the Habits You've Successfully Kicked" or "List All The Memories You'd Like To Forget". It's great and totally up our alley! Lists keep me calm and sane in a world of chaos and confusion. There is nothing quite like getting to make that check beside or cross off items when you've accomplished them. Seriously, when I've completed every task on one of my lists, I feel very much like Wonder Woman or Hercules. Like I could crush diamonds in my hands, run faster than a speeding train, or lift large vehicles off babies. You know... crazy, awesome mind boggling amounts of coolness. Yea... lists are pretty much amazing.



Laura:

My Sissy Sue. Oh how I love my Laura Loo. She makes me laugh so hard. She's one of the greatest people in my life. I don't know where I'd be without her in my life. If you want to read more, I wrote a whole blog post on her and you can read HERE.



Laughing REALLY, REALLY Hard:

Who doesn't love to laugh so hard your sides hurt? So hard that you end up giving yourself a headache? So hard you can't seem to stop because the very fact that you are laughing is making you laugh harder? So hard that a little bit of pee comes out? Yea... everyone does. Don't deny it. Laughing has actually been proven to lighten your mood, increase the serotonin levels in your brain, and make you feel better about people and the world around you. Did you know that studies have shown that if you laugh really hard for 20 seconds, it gives your heart the same workout as for 3 minutes of jogging?! Isn't that amazing?! Let's come up with a diet and exercise plan with THAT in mind! Whoo!!

Leather (Mostly just the smell):

I have a Grandpa Henrie, even though he's now on the other side of the veil, who used to own a leather shop in Driggs, ID. Whenever we would go to visit him when I was a little girl, we would walk into the house and there Grandma would be in the kitchen making a fruit salad (I kid you not, every single time! That woman must have thought we really liked fruit salad or something! Anyway, I digress....) and Grandpa would be in the shop. So, after our hellos to Grandma, out to the shop I'd go to give Grandpa a love hello. You could smell the leather from 10 steps away and it was overpowering once you hit the little front porch. And there he'd be, whittling away at the most wonderful works of art that you'd ever seen. Bridles, saddles, belts, bags, you name it. If it could be made with leather, he could do it and it would turn out incredible. He was an amazing craftsman. The best part though, was that even when he left the shop, he still smelled of leather. So, now, even though Grandma and Grandpa have been gone for 23 and 16 years respectively, the smell of leather takes me back to the good old days of Grandma and Grandpa's place and how loved I felt there. And how well fed on fruit salad I was. Mmm. :)



Letters:

I LOVE to get letters in the mail. In the world of today, it is so much easier, quicker and cheaper to send off a quick text or email or ecard. Isn't it sad though that because our society has created a simpler way to do something, that we hardly ever get to experience what it's like to get a good old fashioned letter in the mail? I love them. I loved writing to missionaries when I was in my early twenties because I loved to go down to the mailbox at my apartment and find little crisp notes addressed to me from all over the world. They always came stamped from some far off place in envelopes foreign to anything I'd ever seen before. I couldn't wait to rush up to my bedroom, flop onto the bed and rip into those puppies. And maybe that's just me being all nostalgic and sentimental, but I don't care. Now, there are times when I just want to send a letter for the heck of it. So... I'm grateful that Alan has a brother in England on a mission. Yes, we email each week, but I am going to send him letters through "post" anyway, just because.



Lighthouses:

This is one of those symbolic things where I look at a lighthouse and see something else entirely in my mind. To me, lighthouses represent Christ. So, in times of trouble, in times where the waves are crashing, you can't see where to go, you could be dangerously close to peril; that is when you look for a guide, that light through the storm that can guide you safely through.



Lightening:

I really love a good thunder and lightening storm. I think they are beautiful and exciting. It was one of my favorite things to do as a child to sit out on the front porch with my dad and momma when I was little, wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket and watch a thunder and lightening storm. I never had to be scared of them because my parents were there to protect me. I plan on doing the same with my kids.



Lilacs:

My Grandma Street loved lilacs and every time I smell them, my thoughts turn to her. Each summer when the lilac bushes in my mom's front yard bloom, my thoughts instantly jump to the act of running a handful down to Shelley to her grave. She would love that. And each time I smell them, my thoughts turn to her and I instantly remember how much she loved me. What a good feeling, to be loved!



Literature/Libraries:

I have a sick obsession with books. I'll admit it. And I'm ok with it. There are worse things. I love classic literature. Don't get me wrong, I love reading a quick easy reading book too, but there are times when I really feel like I need to push myself when it comes to reading and that is when I bust out a classic novel. Something like Bronte, Austen, Dickens, etc would write. My most recent foray into classic literature was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and I LOVED it! One of my absolute favorites (other than pretty much every Austen novel written) is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Love it. And libraries... well, they are houses to books. They are temples TO books! What more needs to be said?!

Hard Days...

Gosh, you know... it's so hard sometimes to get your thoughts organized enough to formulate words and even when words DO come, it's even harder to get them out of your head in such a way as to have them make sense on the page.

The past couple of months I've either been absent from the blogosphere or I've posted and been vague, disinterested, and slightly off. Have you noticed? Maybe not... I tried not to appear so.

Here's why...

Death sucks.

It truly does.

Even when you know that someone is going to die, it still sucks. I wish there was a way that I could describe it differently, but in my current state of mind, that's what we are getting. Me... the "vernacular ninja extraordinaire" has no other words. Give you a hint as to what my brain is struggling through?

And let me be the first to tell you, I have a testimony. I have a testimony that my loved ones and I will live again through the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ and through resurrection. I KNOW this.

That doesn't make it easier when life gives way to death in someone who has not even yet fully lived.

Back at the very end of May, my sister in law was pregnant. We saw her on Memorial Day for a big BBQ and she was very glowingly pregnant with her 3rd child. A son, who name is Logan. The next morning, she went to the doctor for a regular checkup with her doctor and there was no heartbeat. She was 2 weeks from her due date.

It was a hard day.

We went to the hospital and then to the funeral. We went to the cemetery and bid farewell to a little boy who never even got to take his first breath.

It was a hard day.

It was hard because he never got to take a step, grow a tooth, lose a tooth, fall off his bike and scrape his knee, say his first word, go to school, drive a car, go on a date, have a first kiss, have a first love, play sports, go on a mission, go to college, graduate, get married, have children of his own... etc.

When you think of all the little milestones of what makes up a life, you begin to realize just how amazing it is to watch those things happen. And the sudden realization that those will not occur in this life, is hard.

It's a hard day.

Not quite a week ago, on Labor Day, I got a phone call from my mom telling me that my cousin had been killed in a car accident late the night before. My head spun, my mouth went dry and I literally lost words. The only words coming out of my mouth were "Oh my gosh" and stutters.

As my mom started to explain what had happened, my brain took it in, but didn't believe it. I couldn't fathom how Heavenly Father had taken away a girl so vibrant with life. How in a moment, she was just... gone. Then the tears came.

It was a hard day.

Since then, every time I would think of it, I would put it out of my head because I could NOT believe that it had actually happened. My mind would not wrap around this idea that she was dead. It was impossible.

My cousin is the same age as my baby sister... 18. Her birthday is tomorrow. She would have been 19. She had just gone off to college and had been in class for a week. She came home to celebrate the long weekend, went out with friends and never came back.

And I suppose that the lessons we must all take from this horrific tragedy are not getting into a car when you know someone had been drinking, even if it had been several hours and he'd only "had one drink". Or maybe it's to ALWAYS wear your seat belt. Or maybe it's to be grateful for even the almost 19 years we got to have with her, even though it seems like too short of a time. Or, maybe it's something else all together. Those are just the obvious ones in a situation that seems so completely senseless. I don't know right now. I just know that she's gone.

She will never again come bounding through the door of Grandma JoAnn's with her megawatt grin and sassy attitude to take part in the annual pumpkin carving or Easter egg hunt. She will never again come take part in birthday parties, baptism luncheons, bridal showers, etc. She will never again be seen at weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc. The veil has been drawn and we cannot see her there.

But....

She will be there in spirit. I know this. With every fiber of my being, I KNOW that our loved ones are never completely lost from us. Just hidden from our sight for a time.

So why, today at her funeral, was it so hard? Why do we all gather in hoards to say good bye? She is not got forever, just gone for awhile.

In the meantime, we miss her. We mourn for her. And as we do so, our minds turn again to the things that will never be on this earth for her. Graduating college, getting married, having a baby, etc. Things that are major milestones in anyone's life. They are major for those around you who care about you too. Watching those things happen for your family members and friends, and sharing in their joy, is also what makes life so grand.

And instead, today, we watched Keely take her last ride as her casket was pulled gently around the cemetery in a horse drawn hearse carriage with her own two horses following after. And while it wasn't a joyous occasion, it was still momentous. I'm grateful I got to be there for it.

It's been a hard day.

And though I still cling to my faith that I will see Keely and Logan again, it's hard to think about all the things you feel like you're going to miss watching. The birthdays, the weddings, the simple everyday things that make a life a life.

My prayer is that when I look back in 20 years, I will be able to say "oh wow. See how fast time has gone? I've missed them, sure. But, I can do this. I've got this. What's another 20? It will be ok."

Comfort and peace will be given through that ultimate comforter, Jesus Christ, who not only atoned for our sins, but also for our sorrows. He knows this pain and can help bear it. That is how I plan to get through the next 20 years. And if I have a plan, the hard day doesn't seem so hard. I have a Savior who loves me and will help me get through it. Come what may, I can do it.

Here is Keely's Obituary:

http://eckersellfuneralhome.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1576382&fh_id=12591

Favorite Things: K

This post will be short, but mostly just because of the fact that I love so very few K things. Weird, eh?
Kim/Kimmie/Kimmalee/Kim King Kong-

My sweet friend and I met when we were in high school drama together. I think when we because closest friends is when we were in "You Can't Take It With You" together. I was Mrs. Kirby and she was The Grand Duchess, Olga Katrina. There is just something that happens between people when they act together... you have to really expose yourself to ridicule, laughter and a myriad of other self respecting and self deprecating things. She buoyed my spirits and helped me laugh on so many occasions. After high school, we stayed friends but only saw each other every so often as our lives took us in completely different directions. Nine years later, she was the single mother of two beautiful girls looking for a reason to, and a friend who could help her, come back to church. The planets aligned just right and I was given the privilege of being that friend. I am so proud of her and love her to pieces. She has since gone through the temple and has become such a strong and wonderful member of her single's branch. There isn't much else to say about her other than that my cup runneth over. I love you Bambi!



Kumquat-

Webster's defines a kumquat as "a subtropical shrub with a pulpy citrus fruit, used chiefly for preserves. And it's not that I actually have tasted the fruit produced by this shrub, nor is it like I've actually seen this shrub in person... it's just that I LOVE the word!!! Just try to use it in a sentence and call someone that... it's great! It rolls off the tongue so nicely. And it sounds so deliciously sweet. :) Nevermind... I'll stop trying to explain it. I just love using the word kumquat. :)

Bridals

My best friend, Maren, made my wedding dress out of Ivory Dupioni Silk and Ivory lace we ordered out of California. I had a dream long before I ever met Alan and envisioned a dress I was wearing at my own reception. I went to Maren because she is brilliant! We sketched things out a little and she made this wonderful confection of loveliness! She exceeded her brilliance and now I have my dream dress. (For the wedding day itself, I wore a petticoat underneath to give it some fullness)

My wedding colors are chocolate brown, tan, khaki, beige, sage green in all hues, cream, ivory and just a splash of eggplant. I picked out my flowers for my bouquet from Michael's, Porter's and Madsen's Ben Franklin and Maren helped tape the whole thing together after I arranged it the way I wanted. It turned out beautiful.

When the dress and the bouquet were done, Maren and I ran down to Freeman Park down by the river and snapped a couple quick photos.

Wedding photos to follow soon, I hope! :)

Changes

So, I'm sure that anyone who is reading this has noticed a few changes to the blog. And in case anyone missed it, I have been really busy with wedding planning as of late, thus not being able to blog as often. Due to this, I am updating the blog a little early, as the actual wedding day isn't until July 28th, but I know that I have to get a head start.

You see, this upcoming weekend, Sister and Mr. Dustin are getting married. The weekend after that, Jarrica and Kortney are getting married, the weekend AFTER THAT,  Alan's brother Corbin is getting married and the week after THAT is OUR WEDDING!!! So... as you can tell, I'm going to be a little swamped in the coming weeks and I wanted to get a heads start on things. Well... and I just like to see Alan and I's names together. :) And I like to see my name as Heather Vickery. I'm sorta attached to it. :)

So, please excuse the changes that have come about a little early, but since I've only got 25 1/2 days until it's official, I don't really feel that guilty. I could try, but why waste perfectly good energy on something that is completely useless? ;)

My Sissy Sue

Wow, what do you say about your baby sister? Should I talk about how stinkin hilarious she is? Should I talk about how excited I was when she was born? Should I talk about how much I love her or how proud I am of her and the choices she makes in her life? I don't even know... maybe I'll do all three.

Laura is almost exactly 10 years younger than I am. I remember the day my parents sat me down and told me that I was going to have another little sister and I was so happy, I cried. I remember telling the baby goodnight while she was still in my mom's stomach. I remember when I got the phone call that she had been born, I cried on the phone. I was so happy to have another little sister and loved her so much already.

Now, 18 years later, she is one of my favorite people ever. The age gap is closing in and I'm so grateful for that. We laugh so hard when we are together. We have so many inside jokes and she can zing off a one liner like no one's business. Some of the best times we have had are when we watch movies together (especially in "funny fast forward"), are playing games together (Redneck Life!), or going on long car trips ("That's ok, Heather! Mom's on medication!"). I'm so happy that she is in my life and even more happy that we are so close.

She will be headed up to Rexburg in the winter to go to college at BYU-Idaho and I'm so proud of the fact that she has made good choices in her life to help herself get there. She tries really hard in school and volunteers A LOT of her time with the Bonneville Youth Council in community campaigns against the use of drugs. She is active in church and is such an example to me. She is so strong in so many ways.

She's funny and quirky and silly sometimes. She's fun to be with and has a great laugh. She is beautiful and talented in so many ways. And she gives me long hugs... even when she really would prefer not to... because I'm her sister and because she loves me, even if she thinks I'm crazy. :)

Sissy Sue graduates high school



The Awkward Llama... Don't ask! :)



She loved it... Really! LOL

I love you Laura Loo!!

So... Guess Who Has A Little Bit of News???

Let me tell you a story...

Once upon a time, there was a boy, let's call him Alan, who worked with a lady named Brenda. Brenda had lived next door to a girl, let's call this girl Heather, for several years before Heather moved to college. Brenda had been telling Alan while the two of them worked that she knew of this girl who was cute and fun and she thought Alan ought to ask out. Alan told Brenda to get the phone number and he would call the girl.

Months went by... two to be exact and finally Alan put his foot down, "Brenda, I'm tired of just hearing about this girl! I want to meet her! Get the phone number and I will ask her out!" Brenda came to visit Heather's family to drop off a Christmas present as this was about 2 weeks before the Christmas holiday.

Three days later, Heather's mother told her that Brenda had asked for Heather's phone number and that she had given the number to Brenda. Heather was shocked that her mother would do this and slightly embarrassed that some strange boy was being given her number, but the damage was already done so she wasn't going to worry about it. Heather thought, "It doesn't matter anyway. No boy EVER calls in that sort of situation." So, she put it out of her mind and promptly forgot all about it.

Two days later, Heather was visiting at a friend's house when she received a phone call from a strange number she didn't recognize. Seeing as she didn't normally answer numbers she didn't have a vague idea might be calling, she let it go to voicemail. After the voicemail was left, and her phone alerted her to the fact that the person did indeed leave a message, she decided to give it a listen.

Suddenly, a boy's voice was on her phone telling her that he'd received her number from a Brenda that he worked with and that he would like Heather to call him back. He told her to "please call back... or don't... but if you don't... I'll just call you again." She could hear the smile in his voice at the end and she knew he was either A) A very clever stalker or B) The boy Brenda had spoken to her about.

Heather panicked. She didn't want to call Alan back. She was afraid that he might actually want to take her on a date. She was afraid that if she went on a date with Alan, Alan would decide that he liked her and want to date her some more. She was afraid that if she were to date him some more, that would lead to the inevitable! She would end up falling in love with this boy... and he would leave. Just as every other boy before Alan.

Instantly, she picked up the phone and dialed her mother, only to chew her mother out for giving out her number in the first place. Her mother and friend encouraged her to at least call Alan back, but "you never know, right?"

She did. Alan picked up right away and the two had a very pleasant conversation during which Alan told her that he was at home in a little place called Emmett, ID which is about an hour north of Boise. He had gone home for the holidays and to welcome home a younger brother who had returned from his LDS mission that very day. Heather was instantly impressed that this boy would be so adamant to talk to her when he was home with his family for the holidays and trying to also spend time catching up with his brother, whom he hadn't seen for 2 years. He actually called her.

"Interesting..." Heather thought. "But a good sign!" The date was December 16th.

Alan was to stay in Emmett for 2 weeks until just after New Year's. Over the course of that time, there were several phone calls and texts sent back and forth. Heather was growing fond of hearing from this boy, but also very nervous.

When Alan returned, Heather did not get a phone call or text for about a week and she started to grow nervous. She thought that it was a nice pipe dream, but that he was never going to call again.

Until, he did.

Their first date was about a week after Alan arrived home. Alan's car had died in his driveway about 30 minutes north of where they were supposed to meet (Orange Leaf) and he had borrowed his roommate's car to come down to town. When Heather arrived at the ice cream shop, she was informed that this car, too, was dead and would have to be started with the aid of jumper cables in Heather's vehicle.

The two spent the better part of 2 hours in Orange Leaf that night, talking and laughing and eating ice cream. Then, when they went out to start Alan's car, Heather had to open the hood of the car as Alan wasn't sure how it worked. He took it in stride and Heather giggled at him trying to play it off like it was no big deal.

As they waited for Alan's car to warm up, he was telling her about how much he loved to ballroom dance and Heather got the brilliant idea that he should teach her some dance steps. Right there. In the middle of the parking lot. At 10:30 at night. In January. When it was freezing cold.

And Alan obliged her. He taught her the waltz and a basic cha-cha-cha. Heather was impressed that she could actually dance, but realized very quickly that it had very little to do with any natural ability on her part. It was more that he lead her across the asphalt very very well.

Finally, Heather could take it no longer and decided she needed to warm up in her vehicle. So, the two sat talking and laughing some more until about 11:45 when he realized that he needed to get back to his house.

He didn't call for days.... Heather worried. But then he would call and they would go out again. This went on for about 4 weeks.

Heather was due to leave at the beginning of February to go on a family trip out of the country where she wouldn't have access to a phone to talk to Alan. She made sure to see him the day she was leaving and he seemed indifferent to the idea that she was leaving. Again... she worried.

She arrived home 10 days later and immediately called him. He was in town and decided to stop by. They caught up with what had happened over the course of Heather's trip and made plans to go out the next evening together, even though it was Valentine's Day.

The next night, the two drove over to a friend's house to attend a party there, but before Heather could get out of the car, Alan took her by the hand and told her how he felt about her. He told her that he wanted to be exclusive and that he hoped things would end up going somewhere serious. He asked her if she would be ok with all of that.

Heather thought things over for a few minutes and, though she was afraid, agreed. She had wanted this for a long time too. She had been waiting the entire time she'd known him to feel for the right time to end things with him and that feeling never came. She knew that if you feel that you are walking in darkness, the best thing to do is keep going until you find the light. This time, the light found her.

So began the courtship of two people falling in love.

On April 23rd, Alan had stopped over to see Heather because she had had a rough day and they were supposed to spend the evening together, just hanging out. Nothing really big. They sat talking for awhile on the couch until finally Alan stopped her short and told her he needed to talk to her about something important.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. He told her that he knew she was going to have a rough day because he was planning on giving this ring to her that night and he knew that because of that, all the things that could go wrong, would. He told her that he had been trying to put that ring on her finger for weeks and that something ALWAYS got in the way. Especially when he tried to plan something big. Something always came up and ruined his plans.

Instead, he looked at Heather with all the love in his eyes and said, "Can I please just put this on your finger finally? I've been trying so long and instead, can I just please put it on your finger?"

Heather smiled and said, "Shouldn't you ask me a question first?"

Alan smiled back and replied, "Heather... will you marry me?"

She kissed him and said, "Yes" about 3 times.

**************

This is normally where the storyteller would then say:

And they lived happily ever after. The End.

Except, this time, the storyteller is going to say this:

And they hope to live forever after, deciding to be happy even through life's ups and downs, sharing in one another's joys and pains, loving and arguing and loving some more, choosing to make one another their one and only for time and all eternity. And it's not the end, it's just the beginning.