7 Years

So today is 7 years since I was baptized! I know it's lame but I love to celebrate it as if it was my birthday :) My life has changed so much since that day 7 years ago.

My baptism day was a hectic and pretty funny one when I look back at it. I had just finished my exams at USF and I had to unpack my entire dorm in 5 hours. My Norweigen roommate was a gem and helped me! I didn't plan the move very well b/c I basically had to fit my entire dorm into my little 1994 Mitsubishi Galant.

So if you can picture this.....I had a mini fridge, TV, computer, dvd player, vcr, a bike, my stereo, a toaster oven, and ALL my clothes in the car. The car was packed so tight that I had to make the 30 minute drive back to my hometown, for the baptism, with my bike wheel in my face and my arms went through the wheel to steer my car. Yes I know it wasn't safe, but it worked. Another interesting thing that happened on this day 7 years ago occured in another country. Jesse was on his mission and he had a important decision to make. He prayed about it and got his answer. He remembered becuase it was exactly 1 year into his mission, April 30, 2002. His prayer was about his future, particularly his future wife.

I'm not going to get all mushy on this post (i'm saving my mushyness for next week when it's our 4 year anniversary :) ) but I will say that I know my life has been extremely blessed by the gospel and I feel so much closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior because of it. Here's to 7 years!

Update on Swine Flu

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXb-h9sXUU

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my daddy's birthday and I just wanted to tell everyone a little bit about him. I have the greatest memories of my dad, mostly on the soccer field. He was the most supportive dad and my number one fan. I don't remember one gane that I had where he was not there. He took me to all my soccer games growing up and he was definitely the loudest. It is funny how your perspectives change as you grow up. When I was younger, I thought my dad was goofy and embarrassed me all the time with his loud vocals at my games. Now it is one of my fondest memories of him. Even when I went to college, he still attended all the games that he could. I went to the University of South Florida in Tampa, but he would still make drives to almost every college in Florida. I even remember him driving over 4 hours to see me play in Miami. Although he didn't necessarily agree with my decision to transfer to BYU, he still managed to fly out for my birthday, which happened to be inbetween 2 of my soccer games. He flew to BYU both years that I played to see some of my games. One of the memories that has stick with me the most is when I finished playing soccer in high school. We had this grand banquet because we had won the state championship and at the end of the banquet, my dad presented me with a scrapbook that he himself had made. There were pictures of me playing soccer starting when I was 4 or 5 years old, and he had cut out every newspaper clipping that I had appeared on, pasted every patch (which was probably close to 30), and cut out every action shot of my career up until then. Later he added everything that he could get his hands on that had my name or picture on it from high school. He recently came to Utah for Abby's birthday and had the chance to watch me play in a alumni game. He was just as excited to watch me play in that game then in any other game I have played. Dad, I don't tell you often enough but I am so grateful to have had you be my father. You have been my biggest support and number one fan in everything that I do. I know I have always complained about not having a sister growing up but now that I am older, I'm kind if glad that I didn't. I am daddy's little girl and I would not have wanted to share you with another girl :) I love you so much! Have a wonderful day Daddy :)

(unfortunately, I didn't have any photos with me and my daddy on my computer so here are pics of him and his SECOND favorite person :) haha!)

The Best Husband and Father

Lately I've been thinking about all the blessings in my life and the one that I have thought about the most is Jesse. I could not have asked for a better companion and best friend than him. We have known each other for almost 6 years and I fall more and more in love with him as each day passes. The best part of my day is when I hear the back door open and I see Jesse peak around the corner and Abby runs to him and yells "Daddy!" He has the most beautiful smile when he sees her and I can't help but smile too. Jesse is the hardest worker I know and the best provider for our family. He gives us everything that we need and more. I am so grateful that I have the chance to be with him for time and all eternity and I am especially grateful for the way he honors his priesthood and the blessings my family receives from it.
Eu te amo Jesse. Você é meu grande amor e eu sou tão afortunado ser sua esposa.

Mom and Dad's Visit

I really have the best parents in the world. Every April and October, they make it to Utah for me and Abby's birthdays.
They got here on the 3rd at 8pm and we stayed up for a few hours talking and watching Abby booty dance. They then opened their suitcases and revealed all the wonderful treats that they brought for us from Florida. They only stayed 10 days but they packed like they were moving b/c they always bring us a TON of stuff whenever they come. This time, the bought us new dishes, they brought my favorite Portuguese food, and they brought what they thought was a waffle maker for Jesse, but when he opened it, he found a Christmas decoration. My mom forgot that she used that box for Christmas storage..HAHA! We laughed for a good 5 minutes then my mom felt really bad because she knew Jesse was excited for it. Jesse and I were still laughing about it when we went to bed :)
The next day, Abby's 2nd birthday, my mom and I went shopping for her birthday party. With her birthday falling on Conference weekend, we decided to have a party for her primary friends in between sessions (for my non LDS readers, Conference is every 6 months where we get to see/hear our church leaders give inspirational messages.) Abby was overjoyed to see all her friends at her house!
We had the family party on Sunday, again, in between sessions of Conference. She loved her birthday cake which was the Disney Princesses. Her favorite princess is Ariel and she flipped out when she saw her on it. Personally, I don't know what she sees in her. She is immediately smitten by Eric and shows no sense of independence or sass. My favorite is Jasmine, now that girl can stand up for herself!
I had to work Monday-Wednesday so my parents were happy to take Abby. Jesse had Monday and Tuesday off so he went shopping with them and took Abby to the park. On Wednesday night, my parents and Jesse met me in Centerville (where I work) to watch 2 indoor soccer games that I played in. Considering my parents haven't seen me play since my days at BYU, I was a little nervous. I had actually been training for about a month beforehand for this occasion and my alumni game.
Thursday we drove down to the St. George home with Bonnie and Jerry. We stopped in Filmore to have a late brunch. It was awesome because the 2 hour drive that we took from Salt Lake created a drastic change in temperature so we were all very happy. Jesse of course called for a golfing time the day before so within 30 minutes of us getting there, Jesse, Jerry, my dad, and I were on our way to the course. Bonnie, my mom, and Abby went on a walk and took Abby to the park where she apparently made some friends with kids who were twice her size going down a slide.
Friday was the highlight of my parents trip. We drove down to the St. George home with Bonnie and Jerry and went to Zion's National Park. My parents couldn't take enough pictures of it! My dad, bless his heart, still has a 35mm camera that takes the roll films and ran out half way through the trip, so, Jerry and I took the rest with out wonderful digital cameras and their 300+ photo capacities :) We hiked the Narrows, Weeping falls, and Emerald pond.
Saturday morning we went to a Easter egg hunt that the city was putting on for all the kids. My friend Jaime, who lives there, told me about it and Abby had a blast. Jaime brought her son Hudson with her and Abby was immediately smitten. Granted it was only the second time they have ever met, she wasn't shy to give him her signature tongue kiss :) It really was like a scene from a movie watching them run into the open field together holding hands. We left St. George right after that so that I could get back to Provo for my alumni game.
It was so great to see all my friends again and kick the ball around. We had so many alumni show up that we could play a full 11 v 11 game with just the alumni (the current team played 2 games earlier that day). My team won 2-0! I know it is strange, but I felt so great looking down at my shins and seeing them scratched up and bruised again. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I haven't felt since I stopped playing :) After the game, there was a dinner that we went to and they showed old film clips and photos where we reminisced of the glory days. Good times!
Easter Sunday, My parents went to church with us and they got to see Abby in her primary class playing and singing songs. For dinner, we took some yummy food that my Mom made over to Bonnie and Jerry's and met the family. We also did our traditional Easter basket hunt. Jesse, being the punk that he is, put his parents basket on the roof of the house. It was pretty entertaining however watching Jerry get a pole and fish it from the roof :)
My parents left on Monday morning and Abby was so sad to see them leave. When they left the car at the airport, she cried for a good 10 minutes screaming "Nina!!" and "Vovo!!" (both of those being Portuguese nicknames for grandma and grandpa).
Thank you Mom and Dad for coming to spend time with us! We love you and miss you already!