10 years!!!!

(December, 2000) We are sooooo young-

April 3rd 2001 I was married to my best friend..... Today it has been 10 years....... I am feeling so blessed as I think back on our marriage, we have had MANY trials and many great times and blessings...... Marriage is not easy but it is so worth it- (here is a few things I am sharing for journal purposes:

I met Nate when I was 15 a sophmore at Northridge High and he was a senior, I still remember the first time we hung and I was instantly hooked on him I had such strong feelings at such a young age and we began hanging out all the time, then we began dating...... Our first Date was to a "fake Beatles concert" Yes the impersonater beatles, It was so much fun and I was so excited to go he came to my door with a rose for me and my Dad stood there as I walked out the door..... Now as you know I was young and we ended up going different ways I was still needing to find myself and experience life and Nate had decided after Graduation he was going to serve a mission. I went down a path that was not the one I should have been on but in the end it made me stronger and where I need to be.

When he returned from his mission I was working at Cracker Barrel and going to the singles ward and just having a good time being single, I had just broke off an engagement and was in no hurry to jump into another relationship, Until the day Nate came in to my work to see me.... He had been dating quite a bit when he got home and had heard I was married so he never called me and then a few months later he kept getting a feeling to come by and see me and he was nervous for the fact that he still thought I might be married well he finally came by and I was thrilled and so was he that I was not married that is... LOL I ran up to him and gave him the biggest hug ever, and then I asked him out, Yep I didnt even hesitate or wait for him to do it.

And I dont think he would have because just that day he talked with his bishp and told him he was sick of dating girls and that he was done asking them out and he would not go on a date until a girl asked him out and it just so happens that was me....,

We went out on that date and we were unseperable from that point on, after a week he said I think I am going to marry you and I admit was a tad freaked out by this but in my heart I have always loved him since High school he was always on my mind and I never stopped thinking about him and I couldn't help wonder if this is why I never got married to this other guy because I had always known Nate was the one!

We got Married April 3rd 2001 and it was the best day ever, We had a very Rocky first year of marriage in fact I am surprised we made it through, I was the youngest and had no clue about bills or money, I was so used to getting everything or shopping whenever I wanted that when we bought a house a month into marriage and started getting bills I was in Shock.... I didn't even know you had pay for water.

This caused a lot of hard times for us but we made it through and at 11 months of marriage I got Prego with Twins, Yes another HUGE shock and another couple of years of the Happiest and Hardest times ever.... Now we are 10 years strong and 3 kids later and have been through more trials than I could have even imagined most of those Trails just the last 2 years but we are so in love with each other and Happy it is Disgusting ....... So here is to another 10 years with my best friend!!!!!! xoxoxo

7 months prego with the Twins....... Yes I was Huge!

9 months prego with Forde!

And here we are today :) One happy family!

did not forget.....

I know I am slacking yet again and I have more of my Orginazrtion pics which I will add later this week, right now I need some advice from all of you out there.......

I am trying to decide about school and what to do I thought I knew what I wanted to do but now not so sure.... I mean Social Work still an option but the amount of school/time it is going to take me to get there is over whelming to say the least and with Forde starting preschool this fall I want to get a jump on the college thing so when he is in school full time I have a career type job I can do while my kiddos are gone all day.....

I dont know if any of you have gone to the DATC or not? I have been looking into that a lot and the different Programs they offer.... I would love love love to do Culinary arts BUT there is not a ton of career paths that could lead me down so I am looking into CNA or Pharmacy Technician or Radiolgy Practical Tech or dental assintance just a few ideas I have run accross......

I really am not set on just one because what I really want to do just seems to much for me to get there so I am opting for something different...... Thoughts? ideas? Anyone? I am just so confused on what to do...... So what I am really asking is decide for me everyone :)

LOL just kidding but any advice would greatly appreciated!

Day #7 Pantry Organization

It took me 3 days to do the pantry... Mainly because my little guy was super sick and he was so clingy and would hardly let me get anything done..... But I finally did it and I am going to be honest I hated this challenge..... It was more work than I bargained for and I could still use a little more help but I need to get more storage baskets/bins so until then I did the best I could!

Pictures speak for themselves!

As you can see for these before pic's I was putting stuff where ever I could find a spot and it was impossible for me to find something I needed to cook/bake with!

Yes I am embarrassed!

HELP....... That is how I felt after I unloaded all my food from the pantry...... I was very overwhelmed and did not know where to begin.... But I started with putting food in categories such as soups, cake mixes, cereal ect......

After I got it all cleared out I swept, Mopped wiped down shelves and got it ready to be stocked back up

My little helper :)

Day #6 - Dresser Drawers

Day 6 I did more dresser drawers.... My girls share a closet and dresser and it is not very big room but there closet is a decent size so there dresser is in there Closet and so I ended up doing the dresser drawers and closet.... what a Project but I threw so much away and got a huge bag for the DI and I am one happy Camper right now!

and yes organized by each child in the drawers and sizes ect. and because I rearranged things in there a bit I have room for there clothes hamper to be in there as well!

now I am super embarrassed by the before pic's... Like I said Laundry and dressers are not my strong point and I usually ask the girls to put there own clothes away after all they are 8 and should certainly be able to do it Right? Wrong... you will see why in the picture below!!!

Ahhhhhhh..... Scary!

Again I can not blame this all on the girls I should have checked in there closet more often but I always check to make sure beds are made and that is usually about it!

"sigh" And so help me if they put one item of clothing on that floor after the amount of time it took me to get it looking this nice Well let's just say it wont be pretty ;)

Day # 5 challenge.... Dresser Drawers!

( Yes he has a Mac on his dresser.... LOL he watches movies in there while he play, I don't think there is one room in our house that doesn't have some kind of Mac in it weather it is a computer, or Ipod to apple tv.....) -you would never guess what my husband does-

Day number 5 challenge was supposed to be under kitchen sink but under my sink was already organized and very very clean, so I decided to take 2 days and do dresser drawers, between mine and kids it was messy and a ton of work so I did Forde's first and I will do the rest today.....

His dresser was so bad, it was Chaos, I could never find socks that matched or anything I was looking for, and Occasionally I would pull out things that didn't fit him anymore (yep I am guilty of keeping clothes to long for the fact I have no time to go through them or so I say)

He had so many Pajamas and really we do not need that many so I cleared out half of those and got a full bag of stuff that did not fit, and guess what? I found matches to socks and put those together and organized drawers from T shirts and pants and shorts and summer stuff to hanging all his button up clothes up ect.

It felt good going in to get him dressed this morning :)

Yes his clothes were really all jumbled in his drawers because I Hate doing laundry and especially putting it away but I find that when I have it all organized it is easy to fold it and put it right where it goes!

There.... all better, Now on to the girl's closet and dresser!