Our Home

For those of you who have never been to our house, it is seriously in the middle of no where - Blanding seems like a big city comparatively. We live behind Whitehorse High School in the teacher housing. Our apartment is part of what would probably be called a duplex. It's one story, and we have a storage room that separates the one wall that is shared. Our apartment is  2 bedroom and 1 bathroom. It is nice and comfortable, and the people that are our neighbors are amazing! We have found a lot of really good friends there.

Many people have commented on how much our place has changed since Chris and I got married and I moved in with all my stuff. Hopefully, it has been for the better! Don't misunderstand, Chris did an amazing job with what he had. He is very simplistic and neat. He's a little sad that we have more furniture and now it won't fit in a small trailer anymore, but I suppose that's what happens when you get married and have a wife, right? Poor guy... I do have gypsy tendencies as well, however, I can't pass up a good deal when I see one. Our entire front room - minus the TV cost less than $250 to furnish. That's my claim to fame.

So, without further adieu, here are before and after pictures of our home (minus pictures of our second bedroom, for now).

Our front room. This is what you see as you walk in the door. 

BEFORE

AFTER

Our kitchen. After walking in, you turn immediately to your left, and you see this.     

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

Our bedroom. In Chris's defense, I am pretty sure these were taken as he was still moving in.  

BEFORE

AFTER:
Tinfoil does NOT indicate we are druggies. There is a light pole that could double as the sun right outside those windows. We do use cold and flu over-the-counter drugs, however, so that druggie comment wasn't completely accurate.

This is the one bathroom. unfortunately, there was no before picture. 

Anniversary

One year ago today, my life changed forever, and I didn't even know it.

I had accepted a job and moved back to Blanding, knowing that it was the wasteland of dating, and that I would probably be a spinster the rest of my life. I loved my job, I had started graduate school, and I was serving as Relief Society President in the YSA branch (which was a lot like being a missionary!). I was not expecting anything else out of life. My friend Jillian had mentioned she knew a guy that she wanted me to date, but that had been a month earlier, and if I have a quarter for how many people told me that....

Wednesday night,  after institute, as I was walking out of the room, some weird guy stops me and says that his friend Brooke (AKA Jillian) had kept bugging him, telling him that he needed to talk to me. So, awesome, this guy was talking to me. He even asked for my number, and said he'd call me "sometime". I'm probably too realistic, but in my mind I was thinking, Yeah right. I was 26. I'd been around the block. I knew guys were stupid. So I went on my merry way. A few days later, we are talking on the phone late into the night, and a week after he got my number, we were on our first date. The first few times we hung out, I still didn't think anything would happen. I'd been on dates with guys before. It was better to not get my hopes up. A few weeks later, after Chris's school had the carbon monoxide leak, I knew I was hooked. I was so worried about him that entire day, that I couldn't function, not until I could see him and make sure he was okay.  I was in trouble. Every other time, with every other guy, I ended up with a broken heart. I wasn't sure that I wanted to risk that again. I was happy being single, seriously. I had my stuff together. Then this guy comes along and had turned everything upside down. It was a little unnerving.

Honestly, a year ago today I didn't even give that weird guy that had asked for my number another thought. In my journal, I gave him a sentence. And said just that, "Some guy asked for my number - probably because Jillian kept bothering him." I didn't expect love, marriage, or a best friend to come out of any of it. I am so very grateful that he talked to me that night. I'm grateful for the opportunity Heavenly Father gave us to meet. I know we both walked a long, hard road to find each other. Considering things that we had been through, it's a miracle that we have each other. Everyday, when I wake up next to him, I am overcome with gratitude for this man that blesses my life every single day. He is the love of my life. One year ago today, I had no idea.