Fah who for-aze, Dah who dor-aze....

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! 

Yes, it is that time of year again. That time of ribbons, tags, packages, boxes, and bags!

WELCOME CHRISTMAS

 Fah who for-aze

Dah who dor-aze

Welcome Christmas

Come this way.

Fah who for-aze

Dah who dor-aze

Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day.

Welcome, Welcome

Fah who rah-moose

Welcome, Welcome

Dah who dah-moose

Christmas Day is in our grasp

So long as we have hands to clasp.

Fah who for-aze

Dah who dor-aze

Welcome Christmas

Bring your cheer

Fah who for-aze

Dah who dor-aze

Welcome all Who's far and near

Welcome Christmas

Fah who rah-moose

Welcome Christmas

Dah who dah-moose

Christmas Day will always be 

Just as long as we have we

Fah who for-aze

Dah who dor-aze

Welcome Christmas

While we stand

Heart to heart

And hand in hand

Fah who for-aze

Dah who dor-aze

Welcome, Welcome 

Christmas, Christmas Day!

I thought that I would share that with you because it is only the greatest Christmas movie ever made and clearly my favorite. My father has called me Little Cindy Lou Who since I can remember and I look forward to watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" every year. 

So my mother gets frustrated with me every year but I have never been one to make a Christmas list and tell her what I want and this year is no different. I have always been the one that goes above and beyond with everyone else's gifts. I get so much joy out of buying things for others. To see their faces light up and the smiles come across their faces as their hearts leap with happiness and excitement...there is just something about it that warms my soul. Spencer even has to remind me from time to time that I have to save some ideas for the following year because prices have never been a huge deal to me. (Now don't get me wrong...I never spend more than I can afford but I don't hold back either.) 

Now I have to inform you that Christmas is such more to me than ribbons and tags. It's more than packages, boxes, or bags. It is in watching the people around me and the hearts that sometimes get lost in the chaos of everyday life throughout the year but always seem to find their way back home during this season. It's that time of year that people give from their hearts, people reach out to those that need it the most, and family becomes the most important thing to basically everyone. I have always said that it is the one time of year that you get a small glimpse of what world peace would be like and I truly believe that. 

So be safe this Christmas and rejoice in having the family around. May our hearts grow three sizes this season and may God bless us in ways we never dreamed of. Spencer and I send our love to all of you. Merry Christmas to all and to all a happy December!!! Let's bring on the New Year with a blast and lots of love in our hearts!

 

Tickets, Damaged Wheels, and Broken Bodies

Yes, it's true! Spencer has officially received his first ever (and he hopes his last ever) ticket. Two weeks ago Spencer and I had our two dogs in the car and were on our way to return a movie. Now I have to tell you that we sat at home saying "Oh we don't have to take it back tonight. Yeah we do, lets just do it and be done with it." To say the least we clearly ended up taking it back that night. On the way to return it, Spencer looked in his rear view mirror and asked me what the speed limit was. I proceed to tell him that it was 35 mph. He then told me to look in my mirror and said "You can't see them but there is a truck behind us and they are so close to us that you can't even see their headlights." Sure enough, I looked in the mirror just in time to see one headlight. Spencer tapped his brake to slow to 32 mph. The truck then flew into the median and begun to pass us. (For those that don't know the truck has now broken two laws...following too closely and making an illegal pass, three if you count speeding.) The truck then came back into the lane but in the process they cut us off right into the front driver's side wheel.  (Now she has broken four laws by cutting us off.) The lady driving the truck pulled over got out and begun yelling at Spencer. He also acted in a way that I have never see him act. Anyone that knows Spencer, knows that he is the most calm and collected person ever (something that I love about him). NO!!! Not this time, he got out yelling just as bad as the other lady. I am glad I was there because I was able to get him back to the car and have him call the cops. I was also able to get the lady of the truck back to her car and do what she felt she needed to do. To sum everything up, the police came and found NOBODY at guilt! He told Spencer that you CAN'T brake in a lane, so the cop could actually ticket both of us! I am SURE that the lady calling the cop bias had nothing to do with his decision. Now I work for the justice system and I kind of understood where he was coming from but at the same time I was extremely frustrated. I mean this lady just about ran us off the road and you are going to tell me that no one is at guilt!

I know that you are probably wondering how Spencer got his ticket since I just told you that nobody was ticketed....well again anyone that knows Spencer, knows that he is pretty organized too and always (and I mean ALWAYS) has what he needs where it should be....Not this time, Spencer couldn't not find his proof of insurance or his registration. Lucky he had the sticker on his car so the cop knew that the car was registered but we still didn't have our proof of insurance, which is unheard of for Spencer! So yes that is what his ticket is for and he has to appear before a judge on Jan. 5th...I must say it is sad that he got a ticket but I have loved teasing him about it as well. He has been taking it well! :)

Spencer also told me that I can never again say that he doesn't show emotion. :) He was teasing me and I wanted to beat him up for the comment but I couldn't help but laugh. Spencer really is someone that has never talked about his feelings, which has since changed and I can only credit the accident for that. He stated that night that he probably would have never acted the way that he did if he wouldn't have had everything that meant anything to him in the car. It is true, Miracle, Faith, and I were in the car. We are lucky that it was not as bad as it could have been. However, Spencer and I will both tell you that the accident was a blessing in disguise. He really had a change happen that night and talks to me and and others in ways I never thought that he could. He tells me his feelings and his emotions, he lets me be a part of his heart and soul, which is something that I have longed for and I love sharing in it with him. He really is my world and I am so blessed to have him! I love him!

Broken Bodies...Lol, this is probably why you are reading this whole thing! No, none of us got hurt in our car accident. However, last Sunday I received a call from my dad informing me that my brother was in the hospital! He proceed to tell me that my CRAZY brother had wrecked his motorcycle but that my dad had actually talked to Cory already and Cory seemed to be OKAY! Spencer and I drove over to the hospital and basically spent all Sunday afternoon there. 

How did it happen you ask...long story short, it wasn't his fault, he hit some gravel and his back tire came loose. He couldn't regain control and slammed into a guardrail sending his bike back into the road and him over the guardrail about sixty feet before he landed.

Broken Bodies

Cory came out with two broken feet, a broken hand, and possibly a torn rotator cuff. He lied about one of the broken feet and made it seem like it was an old break...he didn't want to have both feet in boots, stupid, I know, and he didn't say anything about the shoulder, why, I don't know.  We are just glad that he is okay and that he got to come home with us. I would be devastated had it turned out to be the worst case scenario because Cory is truly my best friend! Praise God that I get to continue hugging him and bothering him like sisters do.

Catching Up...

So it's been awhile since my last blog....I was commenting to Spencer that one of the blogs we follow is kind of like us, they don't update often. I also said that I guessed I didn't have room to say anything though because I hadn't updated ours. I had to laugh because Spencer's response was "I know! You need to do one because I go to work and always get on to see if there is anything new and there never is! What am I suppose to look at while I am at work?" I thought to myself, "Well I am sorry baby, why don't you add to it if you want there to be something new all the time?" To say the least, I am the one that updates it so that I can even keep my husband entertained, go figure...So here you go baby. Have great night at work!

Halloween for Spencer and I was pretty lame. Spencer had to work Halloween night but he was happy to report that it was a pretty mellow in the ER. I was scheduled to work on Halloween

but had taken it off to go out of town. I didn't end up leaving until the following day, so I decided to stop by my work and give the girls some candy. I work with troubled youth, mainly females. I took my dogs with me and to say the least the girls loved it. They were grateful for the candy and loved playing with the dogs. The one up side to Halloween was that a friend of mine from work and I painted a beautiful pumpkin and the pumpkin is now my one and only decoration for Thanksgiving! :) 

The weekend before Halloween I had the great opportunity to go down to Phoenix, Arizona and getting my brother for the second and last

time from school. I wish that I had taken more pictures but here is the picture that I do have. This is the only thing that we did NOT send Cory down to Arizona with but it sure came home with us when we picked him up. One of these days I will hop on a take a ride with him but I will for sure be padded up! 

As I said earlier, I was planning on going out of town the weekend of Halloween. I went to Denver with my father to watch Miami against Denver. I have been a fan of Miami for years and not for the obvious reasons. I promise you that it is pure coincidence that I love dolphins and Miami's mascot is the dolphins. I had a blast, as I always do with my father, and I love that it has become tradition for my father and I to attend this game. Miami only plays in Denver about every four years and so it doesn't happen often but when it does it is know as the "Daddy/Daughter Game!" The other thing that I love is that Spencer totally supports it and encourages it. He really understands and is such a sport to not insist I take him instead of my father. Thanks baby and know that I missed you all weekend!!! 

GO 

Dolphins!!!

Last but never the least, when I woke up to leave for Denver I noticed that something was wrong with Faith. Her face was so swollen and she had the puffiest eyes. I began to 

worry because I knew that it could only be one thing...A SPIDER BITE. (She likes to chase them and tries to eat them if she finds them in the house.) I didn't know what kind of spider and I figured that if her face was swelling then it must have been poisonous. I woke Spencer up and insisted that we take her to the vet before I left. The 

vet gave her two shots and sent us on our way, telling us to give her children's benadryl for the next three days. By that night she was back to normal. I am so glad that I

noticed before she ended up getting sick or something!

We also found that Miracle needs surgery!!! For those of you that don't know, Miracle limps really bad and has for a couple years. We didn't think much of it at first because it wasn't bad but it has gotten worse

over time. Well, the story goes that when Miracle was not even one she was at my parents house on their bed. She went to jump off the bed and had her leg caught in the blanket. She limped at first but the next day she seemed to be doing much better. I figured that it hurt at the time but that she had gotten over it. Boy was I wrong! We had x-rays done on her leg this year and the vet told us that Miracle had torn a ligament (like tearing your ACL). Miracle also has pretty bad arthritis from the accident. The vet ALSO told us that she has hip dysplasia in the opposite leg. Right now we know that we need to get Miracle surgery that will cost $2,200-$2,300. That will take care of the torn ligament and help with the arthritis. After that heals, we will be able to tell if she needs surgery on the opposite leg for the hip dysplasia.

Well, that's all the major stuff...hope you enjoyed catching up with us and we send our love to all of you! 

CRAZY EIGHTS

I don't like doing tags but I have had fun getting to know friends and family through them doing tags and I feel that it is only fair to give them the opportunity to learn about Spencer and I as well. So I have completed yet another tag...I hope that you guys learn something reading this. 

8 TV SHOWS WE LIKE TO WATCH:

1.  Grey's Anatomy 

2.  Desperate Housewives

3.  Brothers and Sisters

4.  The Hills

5.  CSI (any of them)

6.  House

7.  Scrubs (mainly Spenc)

8.  Anything on Court TV (eg. Jacked, Cops, The Rookie, etc.) ...(mainly Nikki)

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY:

1.  Work

2.  School

3.  Nikki's car battery died in her garage :(

4.  Nikki's mom got mad at her because she was walking home from school at 8:40pm due to her dead car.

5.  Cleaned the house after getting home from school 

6.  Called about a Complimentary Cruise Spencer was picked for (we don't fit the age bracket)

7.  Nikki got a new girl at work for the first time in about three weeks

8.  Spencer left for school at 6:00am and was not able to come home until 8:00am Tuesday morning due to work

8 FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT:

1.  Cafe Rio

2.  Quiznos

3.  Training Table 

4.  Cheesecake Factory :)

5.  Wendy's 

6.  Artic Circle

7.  McDonalds

8.  Gandolphos  (?spelling?)

8 THINGS WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO:

1.  Nikki's Graduation

2.  Medical School for Spencer

3.  Our Honeymoon :) (we bought a house instead of going on a honeymoon)

4.  Getting Miracle's leg fixed

5.  Finish remodeling our house

6.  Building our own home

7.  Our next vacation

8.  This semester of school to end and Christmas to be here

8 THINGS WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT:

1.  Our Faith

2.  The well being of others physically,

 emotionally, and mentally

3.  Family and Friends (any relationships in our lives)

4.  Our Pets

5.  Education

6.  Having Financial Freedom

7.  Our Jobs

8.  Mission Trips around the world (including in the U.S.)

8 PEOPLE WE ARE TAGGING...ANYONE THAT READS THIS AND WANTS TO! 

Tagged...

This is for Dusti... :)

1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is UP.

NIKKI

1. I am an extremely honest person. I don't feel that I have anything to hide from anyone. It usually doesn't matter how personal the question is, I normally answer anything and always with complete truth. 

2. I have a thing for the underdogs in any situation. I will cheer them on with everything I've got. Probably part of the reason I work with Juvenile Delinquents. I love seeing people succeed when others are telling them that they won't. I also love to succeed when others tell me that I won't and I have always kind of been an underdog. 

3.  I LOVE to give! I don't care how well I know you, if I can find a reason to get you a gift I will. It drives Spencer (and actually most of my family) nuts! They think that I am way too nice for my own good. 

4.  I have a lot of OCD tendencies. I have to have my towels folded a certain way, dishes stacked in a specific order, and the dishes get washed in a special order (first the plates, then bowls then forks, then pans...) You get the idea. Things need to follow a pattern or at least be symmetrical. Once I place an order to something, it has to always follow that order. 

5.  I love, LoVe, LOVE dolphins. It does not matter what it is, if it has a dolphin on it I want it. I have tons in my house and even more still in boxes waiting to be taken out once we get some side tables.

6.  I am VERY insecure when it comes to friends. I grew up in a neighborhood of all boys and I didn't go church. So when I was in elementary I was friends with the boys outside of school but girls have cooties at school so they didn't hang out with me. Many girls make friends at church but because my grandpa led a bible study when I was young I didn't attend a church near me to help in making friends. It was not until the 4th grade that I made my first girl friend. She changed schools before 5th grade and so once again I was alone. :) So to say the least, it has been difficult for me to make friends and due to this...it takes a LOT for me to let people close to me. However, once I let you in, it is even harder for me to let go of those friendships. I have very few friends but they mean more to me than a lot of them really know. 

Spencer

1. I had brain surgery because when I was 22 we found out that I had a brain tumor the size of a half dollar. Now I have a scar from ear to ear that you can kind of see. 

2.  I could probably be diagnosed as a hypochondriac with OCD tendencies because I am horrible with germs and things. I wash my hands so much that they crack and bleed. I have to check over and over to make sure that the doors are locked, I shut the garage, turned the water in the sink off...you name it. I hate using the towels in my house even if I know they were just put out because I don't know what has touched them. I also ALWAYS think that I am sick or have something wrong with me. It drives Nikki crazy! 

3.  I am a HUGE baseball and football fan. However, I never watch baseball on TV (I would rather be at a game) and I don't have a favorite pro team for either sport. However, I am a rock solid Utah Utes fan. 

4.  I love school and would probably go for as long as I could but Nikki doesn't want to pay for it. I have changed my major countless times and would probably still be trying new things if I could afford to keep going but I guess I have to graduate sometime. I just like learning. :)

5.  I am one of the nicest people you will meet but when I get in the car I have serious road rage. However, I also have a perfect record. I have never been in a car accident and never had a ticket. My family makes fun of me for being a grandma driver and obeying the driving laws.

6.  I am an overachiever and pretty outgoing when it comes to trying new things but many don't know it because I am really shy.

We are tagging...

1. Brandon and Melissa

2. Brock and Kimber

3. Brandon and Kristin

4. Andy and Sharli

5. Corey and Amanda

6. Brian and Jenn

Husband Tag

I never do these tags and I am not really a fan of them but this was a cute one and I love talking about my amazing husband!!!

HUSBAND TAG!
-How long have you been married? A year and a half this month.

-Where were you married? Red Butte Gardens and the weather was AMAZING. God blessed us with a beautiful day.

-How old is your spouse? He is 24 

-Who eats more? He for sure eats more than I do!
-Who said I love you first? He traced it on my cheek while we were watching TV at my parents house one night.
-Who is taller? He is taller than me.
-Who sings better? I love him but I am for sure the one that sings better.  
-Who is smarter? He is very book smart but I have a LOT more common sense.
-Who controls the T.V. remote? Spencer runs the TV because I hate the box except for a few shows or movies and he always lets me watch them.

-Whose temper is worse? Neither of us have a bad temper but I am more vocal when I am upset and Spencer usually shuts down.
-Who does the laundry? I usually do it but I did teach Spencer so he helps from time to time.

-Who does the dishes? We both do the dishes, so it's about half and half.
-Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Spencer sleeps on the right side of the bed.
-Who cooks dinner? Spencer cooks because I hate it and he is getting REALLY good at it.

-Who is more stubborn? I am for sure more stubborn that Spencer is.
-Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I don't really know, neither of us like to admit it but I think that it depends on the issue.

-Whose parents do you see the most? We see each set of parents about the same amount. They live pretty close to each other, so it makes it pretty easy for us.

-Who has more siblings? Well I don't believe in the term in law so now that we are married we have the same amount but if you want to be technical Spencer has two brothers and I have one brother.
-Who wears the pants in the family? I usually have the most pull in things but we try to make decisions together.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALLLLLL!!!!!

Spencer and I went to the New Orleans vs. Denver football game on September 21st in Denver. It was a very short trip but well worth it! Spenc had to work on Friday night and didn't get off until 7:oo AM on Saturday morning. Once we were all ready to go, we headed to my parents house (My parents buy season tickets to the Broncos every year. My dad has been a fan since he was a baby.) to meet up with everyone and hit the road. Now I have to tell you, I am NOT a Broncos fan! 

I would never dream of being one. That would just make my dad too proud of me. :) So to say the least, Spencer and I weren't going to the game to watch the Broncos. We are actually really good family friends with the Savages. For those of you that aren't Utah Utes fans (there might be something wrong with you) or don't recognize the name...Josh Savage played for the U of U and was one of their best!

 He now plays for the New Orleans Saints! So my parents went to the game because that is what they do and it was a bonus that the Broncos were playing against Josh. While Spencer and I got the lucky privilege of sitting with Josh's parents at the game to watch Josh play. 

The game was amazing and though we weren't even in Denver for 24 hours before we headed back home we loved the break from everything. We had so much fun and were really grateful that we got to go. Denver did win but Josh was in pretty good spirits after the game and we had some good laughs.  Probably the best part of the trip was being able to spend some time with my family and the Savage Family. We love the Savage Family! They are so humble and such a blast to be around. We were sad that Josh's wife couldn't be there                                                          with us but we thought about her the whole time and told Josh to send her our love and hellos. We can't thank Savages enough for allowing us to join them at the game and for being so kind to us all the time. They really are like a second family and we are so blessed to have them in our lives. 

Thank you 

so much 

Savages!!!

Another Semester...

So it is official...I am now a student at Weber State University who does not have to commute. I went to my first two classes today and I have to say that I was a little nervous but I think that I will be okay. Everyone makes such a big deal about going from the community college to a university and after today, I don't really understand the big deal. I just can't wait for all of it to be over and for the day when I don't have to go to school.

Spencer on the other hand loved school today. He said that the classes sound like so much fun and really interesting. I was happy to hear him so excited on the phone about it. 

Well, one more semester underway meaning one less semester until we are done. We can't wait!!!

Our New Wii

So Spencer's brother, Preston, and his girlfriend, Jill, have gotten Spenc and I hooked on Rock Band for Wii. We love playing and always have a blast with the two of them. Well, about a week and a half ago Spencer came home and asked what I would think if we went and got a Wii. I told him "Whatever, if that's what you want to do." We called Best Buy and they said that they had gotten some Wiis in on Sunday but that they sold out within two hours. We didn't think much of it and just let it be. Then after church this past Sunday Spenc asked if I wanted to go and see if Best Buy had any Wiis. We drove over and sure enough...there were five. I don't think that I need to tell you what we spend the rest of the day doing. :) Spenc loves it and I have to keep reminding him that he has homework... all he had to say was "But baby I have three knock outs in a row now." I got to hand it to him though. He has still been getting his homework done and we have still been able to enjoy playing together. 

My dad was so excited too. I think that he spent at least three hours at our house just playing and hanging out with us. I might even have to call my mom to come get him to take him home sometimes...ok so he isn't that bad but he is pretty excited. 

Absolute Miracle

My parents have a black lab named Goomba. She is nine years old and just the sweetest dog.  We noticed some different behaviors about her around a month and a half ago. Our family thought that we were going to have to put her to sleep and this would be only a few months after putting their other dog down due to cancer. The whole family cried all day up to the appointment with the vet. We were told that Goomba has diabetes and is blind. My mom chose not to have Goomba put down and her reasoning was that we didn't put Cory (my brother) down when we found out he had diabetes. Over the last month and a half I have watched Goomba learn how to live and I have gained such a greater appreciation for her. She has not only figured out how to navigate around the house, she has learned to use other resources in order to meet her needs. For example, she will walk to the couch and place her chin on the edge of the it to figure out how high she needed to lift her feet in order to get onto the couch. She is still so happy and friendly. It is so amazing to me that no matter the situation an animal is put in they will always make the best of it and do whatever it takes to live. This is a lesson that so often we as humans forget and it has been such a good reminder for me to be grateful for the ability to do anything and everything I can do (i.e. walking, seeing, hearing, etc.).

For Starters

I don't really know where to begin on catching everyone up to date with our lives so I guess I will just start with where we are right now. Spencer and I have been married for just over a year now and though tough at times, the rewards of being married are amazing. We have grown in so many ways and learned so much...not just about each other but about ourselves. We have been trying to do some traveling and I have to say, we haven't done too bad. Spencer and I have also been slowing picking one room at a time in our house and trying to make it look like a home, OUR home. 

Our dogs (Miracle and Faith) have been a blast to have around. Faith really keeps us on our toes and Miracle is such an angel. They are the best of friends and it is so fun to watch them. 

Spencer is working for IHC as a Respiratory Therapist and currently finishing his pre-meds. He also just recently got accepted into a research program and classes started two weeks ago for it. They are keeping him really busy and he is really learning what it means to run off of no sleep. The program is two years so after he has completed that he will be applying for medical schools! I know this sounds weird to say since he still has two years left but I can't believe that there is only two years left. I thought it would never come. 

For those of you that don't know...Spencer was told in October of 2006 that he had a brain tumor. We went into the doctors office saying that we would for sure not do brian surgery and walked out of the office with the surgery date in hand. He had brain surgery on January 9th, 2007, just months before we got married. The surgery went great and he recovered quickly. He still has to have MRI's done and go in for check ups just to make sure everything is still good though. Well when we went for his second MRI check up the doctor said that everything looks so good that he now only needs MRI's once a year rather than twice. He still has to go in twice a year though to meet with the doctor but he is great and everything looks good. 

I am working for the state with troubled youth. I work for a place called Observation and Assessment and I love it. I have learned so much and I think that I would have to say that my favorite part would be going to the court house with my girls. It is such an amazing feeling to know that what I have to say matters. I am also going to school and only have four semesters left. I am counting down and can't wait for it to be over. 

Well, I think that pretty much catches everyone up to speed so you can now expect more up to date posts from this point on. I warn you though, I am not the best at keeping everything up to date so if I start to get a little behind just yell at me. :)