Belated Post: The Friends We've Made

Here are a couple of pictures of the people we spend our free time with, Shawn & Nikki and Brandon & Emily (Emily has had a baby since these pictures...a very cute little boy named Dallin).

Here is when they threw a party when I was accepted into the nursing program:

Shawn on the couch, Michael & I in the back, Brandon & Emily in the front (Nikki is taking the picture)

...and here is another from when we got together and played Settlers of Catan (in which, I might add, Michael and I won...fair and square):

The camera was on the counter, so you can see Nikki to the right of Shawn.

...and here is a picture Nikki sent of us from that evening:

Update

Since it's been about half a year since I posted, a simple update doesn't seem as if it would suffice.

Therefore, Michael and I will probably do poor "re-enactments" of the past 6 or 7 months.

Here are a few things that happened:

• We moved back to Idaho to attend school
• Michael became Head TA again, teaching bones and muscles
• I received my first A- (a truly tragic and devastating experience, indeed!)
• Michael turned 24
• We were called as ward librarians, serving faithfully for two weeks
• I was accepted into the nursing program
• Michael took an internship with Dr. Peterson, the same doctor who fixed his nose after the rugby accident
• I started working for one of our favorite teachers, Brother Shaw
• Michael discovered that Organic Chemistry is much better than Chem 106
• I was deceived by peer advising
• Michael was called into the Elders' Quorum after contemplating the meaning of priesthood meetings
• We made friends with our neighbors

I will try to make belated posts about different things we've been up to.

Love you all!

T-Bone

T-Bone!

This is a picture of one of my very dear friend's steer, T-Bone.

Michael and I went to attend Lark and Greg's wedding. The reception took place at Lark's family's home. For those of you who don't know, T-Bone was a great steer that would always get the cows home safe. They couldn't just bury him in the backyard now, could they? No, T-Bone is immortalized in their living room.

Michael and I couldn't resist having a picture taken with T-Bone.

Lark's wedding was beautiful! It was such a good experience for Michael and I to be able to be in attendance while two people we care about so much were sealed in the Twin Falls temple.

The Twin Falls Temple

It's amazing how it brought back thoughts from our own sealing; it made us realize what we really have, how blessed we are to have been able to find each other and be sealed in the temple.

The Twin Falls Celestial Room

We're now getting ready to move back to Idaho: to return to BYU-I and begin the long haul of school. It is, indeed, very exciting and somewhat daunting. Finding an apartment was quite difficult, but we have miraculously found a place in Rexburg. We're not quite sure what it looks like, or exactly how big it is, but that's what an adventurous life is made of, right?

Hair in the Drain

Michael getting hair out of the drain. Gross.

Have you ever had a bathtub that wouldn't drain?

Look at how much hair was in the drain (and that wasn't even all of it)!

Count your lucky stars if the hair you pull out is your own...it's so much more mortifying when you don't know to whom it belongs!

Wedding Update

Well, I'm married now. I have to admit, I love being married. There are blessings that Heavenly Father saves for you until you are married. After being married in the temple, I cannot imagine being married any other way.

This is Michael and I right after we were sealed

The sealing ceremony was absolutely wonderful. Before Michael and I went inside the sealing room, the temple president talked with Michael and two temple workers spoke with me. After we were given counsel, we went up to the sealing room level of the temple. Once we got up there, the sealer, Brother Holgate, spoke to Michael and I for a while. The things he said matched up perfectly with so many blessings I've had and also with many of the promptings Michael and I felt. I wish I could tell you all that he said.

Mom, Dad, Me, Michael, Grandma & Grandpa Beard

The temple was the best part of the entire day. The power that you feel when someone called by Heavenly Father seals you to another person is indescribable. I wish you all could have been there outside the temple.

Michael and I on the Oquirrh Mountain temple grounds

Aren't the Oquirrh Mountain temple flowers pretty? I thought you guys might like them. :)

Aunt Janeanne and I

It was really great to be able to see Aunt Janeanne and Grandma and Grandpa Beard. Don't you just love them? I miss them a lot; they are really among the best of people.

Michael with his sisters, Sheryl and Julia

Michael's sisters are very kind; Sheryl has two children. Tanner is 4 and Ella is 2. Julia also has two boys; Bryce is 2 and Michael is 5. I love both of them very much, and their kids are a lot of fun. I think you guys would like them, too. :)

Greg, Lark, Me, Michael, Kevin, Scott, and Kaycie

You guys remember Lark, right? That is Greg to the left of her. They got engaged two days after Michael and I were married. I'm very excited for them! They are getting married December 17. Kevin, the boy standing to the right of Michael, is one of Michael's good friends. When Michael and I first met, Kevin would come with Michael and they would play a lot of games at my apartment. Scott and Kaycie are old friends of Michael's family, and we've enjoyed playing games with them when they come to visit.

I'm done.

This is the last picture at the temple. I don't know if you can see my expression, but I was done taking pictures at this point. :)

The reception was pretty fun; I wish I could have seen more of you there, but it was good to see Joseph, Emily and Esther.

Michael and I, getting tired at the end of the day

Even though the day seemed pretty long by the end, it was a great day. In all actuality, I've never been happier than I was at the moment I was sealed to Michael. There isn't a way to explain that feeling you receive when you have Heavenly Father's approval at doing exactly what He would have you do.

I love you all! I'll try to keep this updated a bit better. :)

I love Tetonia...and other things

Well, I know you all already know, but Michael asked if I'd marry him on Saturday.

I said yes...how could I not in such a pretty place? It's so pretty and peaceful up there. Look how green it is at Badger Creek! There is still a lot of snow on the mountains, though.

Alas. Now I have to focus on finishing the semester with good grades. I forgot about an online quiz I was supposed to take, and I missed the time, so I'm not allowed to take it now. I emailed my teacher, and, much to my delight, he said he drops everyone's lowest quiz score.

Now I just have to be sure to do very well on all my other quizzes!

Sometimes I wish we could all live in Tetonia again, just for a little while at least. I know it's not the same, and it probably never will be quite like it was when we were supposed to be there--but it's still something that crosses my mind pretty often.

Anyway, I love you guys, and I hope everything is going well at home!

Well...

It's a real shame that I haven't been keeping up with such a good-looking blog!

I should be sleeping right now...but I just can't!!

I loved coming home this last weekend. It was sad to not have Dash greet me at the fence. I sorely miss that handsome boy; he was one of a kind.

I enjoyed getting to know Playboy and Sugar better, and Red is doing AMAZING. They all look great, and they seem to be really happy.

Sally is such a funny hen! It will be exciting to see how all the smaller chicks, ducks, and geese will turn out and what they'll be like.

I so appreciated having a pool once again. I loved being able to swim with all of you and ride horses with the older girls, and go purchase clothes with most of my sisters and mom. :)

Thank you all for being so patient with a silly girl who gets caught up with school and an equally silly boy. I am glad you all seem to like Michael well enough, though. I think he's pretty fun myself.

I can't wait until the end of this semester! I love learning, especially anatomy and physiology...but I really don't know how people can go to college year round sometimes. I really miss you all, and I want to just have some time with you again.

I also wanted to post a couple of pictures that Lark took when she came to visit when we saw "The Price of Freedom." I think you will appreciate these pictures; I did.

I sure do miss this girl! She was one amazing dog, wasn't she?

Says one, "I cannot believe in the salvation of beasts." Any man who would tell you that this could not be, would tell you that the revelations are not true. John heard the words of the beasts giving glory to God, and understood them. God who made the beasts could understand every language spoken by them. The four beasts were four of the most noble animals that had filled the measure of their creation, and had been saved from other worlds, because they were perfect: they were like angels in their sphere. We are not told where they came from, and I do not know; but they were seen and heard by John praising and glorifying God.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 291