Weekend Wrap-Up

I have been working a ton lately. Double shifts and overtime can have their plus sides before the holidays with the extra cash they bring in, but it gets pretty hard when personal time for myself and time with friends and family and fiancee becomes so limited. This weekend I was blessed to have friday AND saturday off from work. What a party! Better believe I crammed a lot into those two days. Two Christmas movies, two temple trips, two potential apartment tours, two hours of engagement pictures, mattress shopping, doctors appointment, wedding cake meeting, lots of driving, and one giant tree covered in Christmas lights. Tis definitely the season for wedding planning and Christmas joy!

The Tree of Life in Draper was super close to one of the basement apartments we were checking out on Friday night. We made a quick detour to check it out, and we are glad we did! So pretty! 

♥

Saturday morning we woke up at Matt's parents' house in Ogden and immediately launched into engagement picture prep. Thank goodness for patient men who put up with women who obsess over an abundance of outfit changes and lip gloss and ironed shirts and earring decisions and lip gloss checks. We won't have any of the pictures from our AWESOME photographer Jenifer Allen for about another week, but Matt's mom snagged some (okay, more like 200+) candids on her iphone as she followed us around for the morning. Some are just too great not to share.

Who would you guess got sick of this whole posing for pictures business first? It wasn't me... even though my face tells a different story haha.

Attention: in case you're in need of some motivation to come to our wedding:

Story time:

Our plan for yesterday was to leave Ogden and return to Provo for the Christmas Market on center street. The day ended up being a bit more busy and tiring than we were expecting, so we just decided we might as well stay another night at his family's house. After some naps and recuperation, we spent the remainder of our evening inside the Ogden temple with Matt's parents doing proxy sealings. What a special blessing it was to be in the same place that we ourselves will be married in just 10 short weeks! We even took a peek into our reserved sealing room. Guys, it is SO. BEAUTIFUL.

But thats not the story, THIS is the story:

This morning, when it was still dark outside and too early for anyone without an alarm to be conscious, I jolted awake as the words "OH MY GOSH I HAVE TO WORK TODAY" sputtered out of my mouth. Over the fun chaos of the past two days I had completely forgotten that I was in charge of running the admissions office at work on this particular Sunday. Still groggy and confused and completely panic stricken, I sent a text to Matt who was sleeping a few doors down in his own bedroom, and I was just so hoping my message would wake him up. Within minutes he knocked on my door, fully dressed, and said "lets go!" I didn't have my scrubs or my papers or anything I needed for work, which meant driving home to Provo and then back out to Murray in a matter of just a couple of hours. 

Through all of this mumbo jumbo, not one harsh word came out of Matt's mouth. Not one question or sound of exasperation or even a silly tease. I felt so stupid for having such a huge brain lapse, but Matt thought of nothing except helping me get to where I needed to go. He quickly gathered our belongings from all over the house and loaded the car while I got dressed and brushed my teeth. His reaction to my mistake almost left me in tears - the happy kind. I could do nothing but throw my arms around him and thank him for being so nice to me.

Our day ended up being full of blessings despite the rocky start! I recognized the miracle that it was that I had woken up early realizing I had to work, when I easily could have slept late and never remembered about work... until I got a text from my boss or something. Also Matty had happened to wake up just moments before I sent him my panicky text. On our car ride home, we were able to enjoy a spectacular sunrise. We also shared an awesome spiritual learning experience as we read from the scriptures to recenter ourselves and kick off the Sabbath day right. Because I was assigned to work in the office and not on the floor today, I had a few extra hours to get to work than usual - and then it ended up being the easiest day ever as there were no discharges or admits in the facility. Matt was able to go to church and bear his testimony in our ward, and I sat among my patients and their families at work as the sacrament was administered (perks of working in Utah). Tonight we reunited and were blessed once again with more time together as we listened to the Christmas Devotional given by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

My heart is full of love and gratitude as I climb into bed tonight. After weekends like this, I am reminded that God has his hand in my life. He is aware of me always. He never ceases to bless me! During this time of year, it is so easy to get caught up in the happy havoc of Christmas. Through it all, may we remember that the Savior is the real reason for the season. He is the Gift!