She's So Lucky (courtesy of Britney Spears)...!!

The Results Are IN for this giveaway! I just wanted to give a BIG thanks to all of you who commented and for all of your kind words and birthday wishes! It was so great to hear from all of you! I used the number generator to pick a number at random...

Here are your random numbers:

11 

Timestamp: 2008-06-27 14:34:45 UTC

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And #11 is Rachel!! My apologies to everyone else, blame it on the Lucky Fridays that Rachel seems to have! Congratulations Rach! I will get that package sent off to you asap. Thanks again everyone!

Birthday Giveaway!!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year, my birthday! And in celebration of it, I want to share this special day with one of you as well! Come out family, friends or lurkers....! Just leave a comment on this post by Thursday at 8:oo PM, and you could receive all of the items pictured below. I will announce the winner this Friday Ashley's Favorite Things:
-Gummy Bears: Not just "any" gummy bears, but Haribo Gummy Bears are the BEST (try them frozen, a delicious snack while being out in the hot, summer sun)

-Uno: Because it's America's Favorite Game

-Banana Boat Chapstick: Nothing better than sunblocked (or sun-kissed!) lips

-A Cinderella Story (and Sisterhood of Traveling Pants): 1. I love Chad Michael Murray (and you soon will too in this movie!) and 2. I could watch it a dozen times, in fact, I probably have

-Cards: One can never have enough homemade cards on hand during all these summer celebrations! (and it's also my favorite new past time...)

-CD: Made with love, by me, with all of my favorite songs for those lazy days of summer

-Trident Gum (Tropical Fruit!): a.k.a. Pure bliss in your mouth

-Edward Cullen: Okay, so he's not included in the pack, but he definitely IS one of my favorites...

Good Luck!

June 23rd

I share my birthday with a special man. In honor of him, I wanted to share this quote with you:

"My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we 'accentuate the positive.' I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort." -President Hinckley

This is What I'm Thinking about Today...

What's On Your Mind...? Happy Friday!

P.S. Make sure to stop by on Monday for a Treat! You won't want to miss it

You Learn As You Go

Things I Loved and Learned during my one week visit home:

- I learned never schedule a trip to Tri-Cities for only a week, you'll only be left wishing you could stay longer

-I love that my brother is now a mature high schooler. The poor kid...those high school years can be the worst of times and the best of times. He got asked to speak at his Moving Up ceremony and I was SO proud of him. He's such a great kid and I look up to him in so many ways (literally, because now he's now taller than me, I can't believe it!) Sometimes I still see him as that 5 year old who would chase me around the house and I could dress him up in my dance costumes to make him cry. Good Times.-I love my family and all that they do for Marcus and I. They all took a day off work to spend time with me, even my extended family! I am very blessed and loved. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great week filled with good dinners!

-I learned (was reminded, cause I already knew) that I have some of the greatest friends who will always be there for me (like talking to me till 2AM on my one year anniversary because I am away from my husband). They are the type of friends I can hangout with even AFTER high school is over; yet when we're together it feels exactly the same.

-I learned that my in-laws are very forgiving. I didn't get to see them nearly as much as I wanted to (*cough* gas prices!) but they were still very understanding. I'm still kicking myself for not getting a chance to see four beautiful girls and a handful of Henry kids. I'm also bummed Marcus and I missed out on the camping trip...luckily you can go here to read all about it though!

-I also learned that Jen was in Pasco for 12 hours too? Yeah, I missed out on that too. Sorry Jen! -I loved having time to finish reading this book. I won't spoil anything, but it was good to finally have some time to finish it.

-I learned never to miss your flight at the airport. On a non-stop trip that was suppose to take 7 hours to get back, actually ended up taking 14 hours when I had to ride standby through Dallas. What a pain!

-Lastly, that I loved and missed my husband! Although it was a great week (especially when a dozen roses were dropped off by my mother-in-law from Marcus), it was a good feeling to know that someone was waiting back in St. Louis for me!

It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. -Rita Rudner

I will try to keep this as anti-cheesy as possible, but today I want to express my love for my husband! Why? Because today marks our one year anniversary! I can't believe its already been one whole year, and I also can't believe we're not together on this day (because I am currently visiting my family in Tri-Cities this week but that's another post at another time). So I just wanted to take a moment and write about how we met and share with you everything from "my" perspective of it all:

During the summer I was 16 (June 2002), I walked into church with my best friend Laurel. She talked me into going with her because she had just recently moved to Pasco and had not yet met anyone her age. Me, being the good friend that I was, decided to go with her. We sat down and immediately she pointed out a boy (yes they were boys back then, not quite men) she had her eye on. Myself, on the other hand, couldn't take my eyes off this dark haired, green eyed boy sitting up at the sacrament table. I then asked her, "Who is that!?" and she said "That's my cousin Marcus," at that moment I knew I had an in. After a few weeks at church and a couple of mutuals later, I asked Marcus out on a date while we doubled with Laurel and Ben Fox. Sparks flew between us at Red Robin and bowling, and we even got scared by a Finley Ghost. I knew I was in love...and from that moment on, I came home and said, "I'm going to marry that boy someday!" This was before I found out that he had a girlfriend...

After this, I spent the next two years pining for him: begging Laurel to drive by his house with me just to get a peek of him and giggling relentlessly behind him during sacrament meetings. Of course we had gone out a few more times but all in all he said I just wasn't his type, tears were shed and hearts were broken. All of my friends in Burbank knew of the crush I had on the infamous "Marcus Henry," so it was a surprise to one of them when he came into her work at RealLife to have his senior pictures taken. After finishing his photos, she grabbed and extra one that was thrown away and surprised me with my very own Marcus Henry, an 11x14 senior picture! (which I still have today). The picture sat in my room because it served as a good laugh to many. It must have rubbed off on me, seeing his face everyday for two years, because six months before he came home from his mission, I quickly started up the letters and packages again (assuming my competition of girls had probably dropped off writing him by now). When he came home, I was glad to see that my efforts were not in vain. I called him the day after he got home and we talked on the phone for 3 hours (I knew I had to get to him before he gave his homecoming talk and all the rest of the girls tried to snag him) and this began our year long courtship. A summer filled with love and jet skiis, two semesters at BYU, and one grand proposal and wedding later, we were married.

Most couples say they married their high school sweetheart, but Marcus' is even better, he married his high school stalker! Okay, not literally, but everyday I am so glad that that black haired, green eyed boy took a chance on me. What a loving, caring, and patient husband I have. Even though today we are not together, it is not the big events in life that continue to keep us together but the little everyday things that occur that just make me fall in love with him more and more everyday. Thank you Marcus for all that you do, I love you.

History of Nauvoo, IL

This past weekend, Marcus and I took a trip to Nauvoo, IL. The reason for this trip was because a lot of our Church History comes from Nauvoo. It was an amazing day and it really made me appreciate all the pioneers and what they did before heading out West to Utah. We took a lot of photos and heard a bunch of great stories. I learned so much from this trip and decided that I wanted all of you to read about it and learn as well!

Our first stop was the Nauvoo Temple. Originally the temple was built in 1841 and was completed in 1846. Church members only used the temple for 2 years before the mob drove the church members out of Nauvoo. I can't even imagine how hard the early saints must have worked to complete this beautiful temple, only to have to leave it two years later. The mob then burned the temple and years later a tornado took some of the walls down. In 2002 a replica was built of the temple from 1846. The only thing that was left of the original was 31 Sunstones. (Fact: One of these being held at the Smithsonian Institute!)

We than began to tour some of the original houses back from the 1840s. One of my favorites was the home of Sarah Granger Kimball. She took part in organizing the women's relief efforts during that time until the Relief Society was organized shortly after. She was often alone, while her husband was away on business, and took care of her family and mother. Her husband was not a member of the church and she became so tired of his unwillingness to move to Utah, she gathered up her children and mother and took her whole family out there by herself. Her husband joined the church right before she left and he passed away shortly after while leaving to serve a mission. What an AMAZING women! This was her original home, floors and everything! (Fact: Notice the ropes on the bed sides. They would use these ropes to tighten the bed, or put slack into it. They would then use a stick to hit the straw mattress to get rid of bed bugs. Hence the saying: Sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite!)

We also got to visit the home
of Brigham Young and John Taylor. The second and third president of the LDS Church. Two extraordinary men. These two men endured so much throughout their lives and it was very emotional and spiritual to be where they had served the Lord. We also visited the local blacksmith, bakery, hall of the seventy (basically the Missionary Training Center of their time), and brick maker (Fact: A bundle of bricks took 6 weeks to make!).

Most of the homes and business we saw were made of bricks; including Wilford Woodruffs (the fourth President of the Church) who used 60,000 of them on his house! Can you imagine how long that must have taken to make,
as well as all of the hard work that went into it? He only lived in that house for less than 100 days before him and his family were driven out of Nauvoo. (Fact: He
served a mission in England and after that, he decided he never wanted to be cold again. Thus, he had 6 fireplaces in his home. One for each room!)



We also went into the cultural hall. This is where shows would be performed and gatherings would take place. This is where Joseph Smith mapped out the route to Utah in chalk on the floor. A very touching and spiritual room to stand where a Prophet of God stood. Among other places we stopped was Joseph Smith's mother's home, the grave site of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and Emma Smith, as well as Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith and others were martyred.

I just wanted to share briefly his death because I believe it demonstrates his excellent character and
also how he gave his life to serve the Lord. Joseph Smith was called to the jail under false allegations of destroying a printing press. Joseph and a few others kissed their families goodbye, knowing this was the last time they would see them. He went to Carthage willingly, yet was never put on trial. While in Carthage, himself and eight others, including his brother Hyrum, John Taylor and Willard Richards, all were serving in the dungeon room upstairs in 125 degree heat! The homeowner and his family took pity on them and placed them downstairs in a cell. In this downstairs cell, the men prayed, sang hymns and worshiped. The homeowner became nervous for the men when the mob started to circle the jail. He then placed Joseph and the others into his own room upstairs. When the mob rushed into the house, his brother (who was very tall) tried to barricade the door of the bedroom but was shot through the door where the bullet went into his cheek. Joseph went to the window and was shot by two bullets in the front and two in the back, where he then fell out of the second story window. Willard Richards was the only survivor who was not shot and John Taylor was shot by one bullet that hit his pocket watch and another that hit his hip. When the mob rushed from the house, Richards and Taylor covered themselves in straw inside the dungeon room in order to hide from the mob. The Lord must of had more work in store for them because they both became two great leaders of the church.

Throughout his life, Joseph Smith was a humble, caring, and great man who could have easily denied his beliefs; yet, he stood by them until the day he died. The mob thought that by killing Joseph, it would also end the Church; however, they were wrong because the Church was not Joseph's and it has continued on because it is our Heavenly Fathers. Because of this, it has lived on today. I'm so grateful to have the gospel in my life, and that I had the opportunity to visit such a spiritual part of our history. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and I will be eternally grateful to all those early saints and pioneers who endured and suffered so much.