Guess It's time to write.

So.. My husband. He's great. His home page is my blog and I haven't changed it in a REALLY long time. So I'm guessing now is a good time.

TE AMO babe!

Last time I wrote I had just started my first year of teaching. Wow! That was difficult! But this year has gone soooooooooooooo much better! I only have 23 usually. and they are all pretty sweet with hint of sass.

Jesus is working at the U hospital and going to school. We may not see each other a lot, but I'm grateful for all the hard work he puts in.

And if we didn't have enough time on our hands He, but really me too, we both started working part-time for a financial company and are in training right now. We both feel good about the company and what they offer. They offer an educational approach to finances for free to the consumer.
You know any other financial companies that do that? I don't think so!

And we teach the 8-11 year olds in primary. It's great!

We've traveled a bunch! Bahamas, Disney World, Disneyland, Indiana, Illinois, California, and a few other places. We can't wait to travel some more.

Bahamas! 

Nauvoo Pageant was AMAZING!

Disneyworld was amazing! We won't go in the middle of summer next time. toooo hot! 

Squirrel! 

But the MOST exciting event coming up is that we're having a baby!! AHHHHH!!! We're having a boy and we're pretty excited.

I am thankful to Jesus who was the nauseous one. I have felt pretty great the whole time. I am super lucky!

I'm getting rounder. and I'm starting to feel more movement. We're halfway there, and we're pretty excited! 

A year of changes

It was this day exactly last year that our whole world changed. We took Jesus' Mom through the temple for the first time. It was a great day. We took her shopping after and the guys took my Dad to get some delicious Mexican food.
We all met up at home and were going from downstairs to upstairs and back. We were headed upstairs when all of a sudden we heard a thud thud thud and knew my dad had done something.
As you all know- It wasn't great. He fractured his neck which left him paralyzed. He was hoping for a recovery, but we knew the outlook was not so great.

He passed away 6 months ago and we do miss him, but we are grateful for the gospel and for the atonement. We know he's in a better place free from suffering, pain, and any other infirmity or affliction. I feel like his life was a mighty miracle. Many people would be down and depressed if they had all the problems he had, but it didn't bother him much. He just continued forward in faith every day.

I loved this last conference. I loved the talk by Elder Rasband. He said

 "My first year as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has been most humbling. It has been a year of stretching, growth, and earnest, ever-present petitions to my Father in Heaven. I have felt the sustaining prayers of family, friends, and Church members all around the globe. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers."
(to check out more of his talk click here)


And I think that is exactly how we felt this last year as we have been humbled stretched and grown. We have asked and petitioned Heavenly Father for many things, but we have also felt the prayers of many people all around in our behalf and we are truly grateful.

As Jesus and I have been married for a year. CRAZY how time flies. We have grown and learned a lot. I am grateful for him every single day. I couldn't imagine life without him.

Since we've been married almost a year, our roles have now reversed. I'm the worker and he's the schooler.
I now teach 1st grade. 27 of them. To be honest I can't say that I love it every day. I might have a few that make my life difficult, but I do love how excited they get to learn. I taught them how to read a label on a picture like a month ago and whenever a label pops up they get really excited! "Teacher! A Label!" It warms my heart. Some days I feel like nothing gets through or they all argue/ fight with each other about something, but in the end they are kind of cute. And there is nothing like a warm first grade hug.

Jesus is the schooler. I've never met a more studious person in my life. He took a CNA course and will soon start working at the U hospital, but while waiting for that he is taking 14 units. He reads every word in his book and annotates everything. He sometimes hardly gets any sleep. I could never do that, I am in awe everyday of his dedication.

That is our year in a few words. I'm sorry I haven't been the best blogger. Life is crazy.

July July July

July 2, 2016

Sheesh! I need to write a lot more than I do. Sorry! I started that last post a long time ago. I figure I need to be better. So Here we go.
So 6 months ago when I started that post we were deciding what to do with my Dad. In December he seemed to be doing so well, then January 1st hit he just went downhill. We spent a lot of time praying as a family, going to the temple, and fasting to figure out if we should put him on hospice or not. The answer finally came to my mom that it wasn't up to her. It was in God's hands and he would let us know when it was his time to go.

A few weeks before he died we decided that since his quality of life was poor. We decided to let him enjoy life a little and eat (and drink some Diet Coke). He did enjoy that.

We also decided that if he got another infection that we weren't going to treat it. We were just going to help him be comfortable.

So... The Friday before conference he got a bad infection and we decided to just let him be comfortable. And Hospice came in and kept him comfortable for the weekend until Monday. 

We are so grateful for the messages of conference. It was all about overcoming our trials and challenges. We felt like every message was for us. 

Especially Elder Hollands Talk and here are a few of his words--

"...but the fact of the matter is none of us want tomorrow, or the day after that, to destroy the wonderful feelings we have had this weekend. We want to hold fast to the spiritual impressions we have had and the inspired teachings we have heard. But it is inevitable that after heavenly moments in our lives, we, of necessity, return to earth, so to speak, where sometimes less-than-ideal circumstances again face us."  

Click here to listen to more of his talk or any other General Conference talks. 

We weren't excited for Monday to come, but we are so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation Whatever he was dealing with here- no mobility, no taste, no smell, horrible hearing, brain injury, and all the other problems he faced would be made right, and he wouldn't be in any more pain or suffering. 

Monday morning came and he was taken off the vent. A few hours later he took his last breaths and was gone. It was a beautiful thing to be together with an amazing home teacher as well as his brother to watch his spirit leave his body. 

We obviously were sad to see him go, but We know that he is in a much better place.

We're grateful for all of the love and support our family and friends gave to us during that time and after. 

And the funeral was a happy celebration of life. We, again are SO grateful for the gospel and the knowledge we have of the great plan of salvation. 

Anyways....... New subject... I graduated! YAYYYY!!!!!

Last time I wrote I had 44 days of student teaching. My kids at Lincoln were so great! We had some great times and I definitely learned a lot. I'm grateful to Becky Page who was my Amazing mentor teacher. 

I also student taught at Millcreek Elementary in Dual Immersion. That was an interesting experience and I learned a lot at that school as well. 

I am excited (and nervous) to be teaching first grade in the fall at Mountain View Elementary in the Salt Lake City School District. 

In June we took my mom on a relaxing beach vacation. All she wanted to do was sit on the beach and relax. Which is what we did.

We spent 4 days on Coronado Island and then 3 more at a beach house in Oceanside.  It was in incredible time! NICE AND RELAXING!!

We think that it's about time to go back again. 

Life is great! My birthday is in 10 days! I'm going to girls camp next week with Jesus. It will be his first girls camp experience. 

I'm sure there's a lot more to life, but i'll stop here. I'll be better about writing more often. 

Decisions Decisions...

Another 3 months has gone by again. Time. Flies.

Another football season, Christmas, and a new year have all come and gone.. As of today (January 24th). I have 44 student teaching days left (who's counting, though). I have to decide what i'm going to teach, and how i'm going to teach it. I'm going to start having to make decisions about where I want to work in the coming months. AHHHH!!! I'm graduating in about 3 months! ahhh!! finally! 

14 weeks have passed since we got married and 14 weeks have passed since my dad fell down the stairs.

The changed lives.

Oh man. It's almost beeen 3 months since the last time I blogged.. Life has changed quite a bit since then. And forgive me! I haven't taken a lot of pictures for what i'm going to write about. odd, right? so.. mostly words this time. Sorry.

Since July 30th I have started student teaching. I'm in a 3rd grade class at Lincoln Elementary. It's pretty great. I do miss my old friends at Stansbury, but I'm loving my new friends at Lincoln.

So I kind of just want to share with you all how our lives dramatically changed 2 weeks ago.

Jesus' family drove in on monday night. They were all pretty excited to be in Utah, but pretty tired from the long ride. So we took them to their hotel where they got a good rest for the upcoming week.
Tuesday morning we woke up early and took his mom through the temple for her first time. This was so exciting! This meant that she was able to be at the temple when Jesus and I were sealed for time and all eternity.

Before I continue this story let me tell you a little bit about my Dad  for those of you who don't know him well. In 2002 he fell off the roof and suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury. TBI is an injury different for everyone who experiences it. Some people come out of it and live the normal lives they used to, some come out and their lives are changed forever. They may not be able to walk again or even talk again. We feel pretty fortunate that although he did experience many health problems from broken ankles, shoulder surgeries, diabetes, intestinal problems, countless falls,just to name a few he was able for the most part to take care of himself pretty well. He couldn't drive a car, but he could do the dishes and the laundry  and he loved working on and building his N-scale trains. 

Right after the temple we came home and were enjoying some time all together. Jesus and I are living in my parents basement. So we were coming up and down the stairs putting things away and such. The Bailon's were about to head out for City creek and I was going to do my HW.. My dad was outside throwing something away and we all were going up the stairs for the last time. He was right behind Jesus. When Jesus made it to the top step we all heard some loud noises and as soon as I heard it I knew it was my dad. We found him lying at the bottom of the stairs unconsious with his head tucked into his chest.  I am SOOOOO grateful for Jesus and his friend, Ian. They were down at the bottom of the stairs in a flash so calm and collected trying to get him awake and to help him stay calm. 

If you know me, you know that I don't like those situations. I try to stay away when people (including my dad are injured) So that's why i'm the designated 911 caller. I call and then I flag them down when they come. 

The parameics came and rushed him to IMC because there was no room at the U hospital. 

At this point you might be wondering how we (my mom and I are feeling, yes?) Well... the normal person might be scared out of their mind for my dad. However, to be honest with you all, my mom and I get more frustrated that we have to go sit in the ER on uncomfortable chairs and wait for hours and hours. We have experienced this so much that unfortunately (or fortunately) we are kind of used to this, or numb to his pain. 

Although a wedding was happeing in 2 days not once did we think about cancelling. Life goes on even if important people in your life may not be there. I know he was at the temple in spirit. and he'll be able to see the video of our wedding day later on. 

Although this happened we are grateful it happened 2 days before, not the day before or the day of. He fractured his neck and had to have surgery to relieve the pressure on the spine. They were worried if he was going to be able to use his arms and legs again. Spinal cord injurys are serious stuff. 

I have a few people I need to thank right now. When the paramedics were at our house one of my neighbors Stacie Lawerence came over to see what she could do. I was so grateful. There was a lot of things i needed to do including decorating the tables for the wedding dinner on wednesday night and she went ahead and did that with my cousin Michelle and aunt Mairlyn and uncle Reed. So grateful for them!! The tables looked SOOO good!

And Jesus and I were so grateful for all of the love and support we felt on that night as we saw close friends and family, some traveling long distances to be with us.

After the dinner we went to see my dad. 

Family selfie! 

You have to stay positive in times of difficulties and trials.

Going to the temple and marrying my best friend was an incredible experience. If you wonder what goes on in the temple sealing you can click here to find out more :) Jeffrey Swinton sealed us (He used to be the stake president in my stake and is an incredible man. We are grateful for him and his wisdom. Anyways.. It was a beautiful day. 

I don't have many pictures back yet, but here are a few. 

It was a beautiful day! 

My mom looked incredible. Grateful that she was there

Grateful that Jesus' family made the trip down. 

So grateful for incredible friends who were there to support us. 

Grateful for this guy and ALL of his love and support. Wouldn't be who I am without him.

Want to see more? Click here

We had a great wedding reception! We couldn't have asked for a better reception. It may have been a little difficult to find, but once you found it, it was fun,

Beautiful view! 

chocolate and carmel fountains!

Aimee playing the harp!

And a beautiful cake made by my friend Alaina Wilcock

The honeymoon was great! It was so nice to relax after all the stresses we had gone through over the last week.  We spent 2 nights in Heber, came home on saturday to open presents. But first we had to make a stop at college game day. 

We were sad to be missing 2 Utah games. :( but we miraculously found it on the radio driving to California. We're happy for 2 wins.

We went on a cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada It was beautiful!! We also spent the night at a beach house. Can you say Paradise?

 We also had a wedding reception in California. My mom flew down. I'm grateful that she did. It was probably a nice relaxing break for her which was much needed. Wish we could send her back to the beach for a month.

 My absolute favorite part of this reception was that my best friend in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD was able to make it. 

CATHERINE!!!!!!

My other amazing friends Rachel and Mindy came. We had to have girls night at the beach!

Oceanside Pier

They held me up at the end of the night when I had no idea what was going on. (They didn''t either...)

Jesus and I really are so grateful for all of your love and support. We feel so blessed.

Ok ok. so now enough about my life. 

How about back to my dad. He's out of ICU and now at the U hospital in Rehab. He has been labeled as a quadrapalegic. He has a little movement in his arms and legs. So we're hoping for a miracle. He's a tough guy and has been through so much. Right now His white blood count is a lot higher than normal and he can't talk because he has a tracheotomy. So he's going to have to learn how to talk and swallow all over again. 

You may ask what can you do?  Well... Prayers are greatly encouraged. We're hoping to see a miracle. We've been trying to define "miracle" in his sense, is it that he goes back to the way he was before? that would be incredible.. Is it that he is ok enough to come off of his trach and be fine using a wheelchair? that is probably another miracle. 

For right now we have plenty of food in the fridge. :)

When he does get a little better we ask that you take a little time out of your day to go visit him and if you do write down that you visited in the little book so we know you stopped by. 

A lot of people have told us we are handling this so well. and have asked why? 

Well.. This is nothing new to us. Yes, it is a new experience and trial, but these things supposedly make us stronger.

We are also so composed and calm because we know this life isn't the end. We have a testimony in the Atonement of Jesus Christ  We are grateful for the Book of Mormon and the scripture in Alma 11:43 

"The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in itsperfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now..."

We know that whatever trials or difficulties or pains or sickness in this life will be taken away and we will be perfect one day. We're grateful for that knowledge. This comforts us every single day. This happened and it is part of Heavenly Fathers plan. We know that every experience given to us is for our good. There is still more he needs to do while he is here and still more that we need to learn. 

Life goes on. You just have to have a good attitude in all aspects of life. it's hard sometimes, but totally worth it in the end. 

We wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. We are grateful for all that has been given to us and grateful for all we've learned in the last few weeks and the last 13 years. 

We love you and are so grateful for all of you.

If you read all of this. wow! i'm impressed. thank you!! 

Anxiously engaged

I've been back from Spain for almost a month. um crazy! time flies!

So for all those who need some wedding details and maybe a few pictures this is probably a good place to see them :)

Anyways.. Jessica Davies is my cousin. and she is one AMAZING photographer. We took our engagements at the U (of course!) and we love them!

You can check out more of her work at http://jessicadaviesphotography.com/

We're getting married on October 8th and we're pretty excited! We are also having a reception somewhere in California on October 17th. It's during UEA which is perfect because if you live in Utah, lets be honest, you'll probably be there anyways.. 

Speaking of receptions. we are registered at Target and Bed Bath and Be 

Jesus and I have seen a ton of tender mercies and small miracles in wedding planning It's been such a cool experience. I remember when I started this blog I talked about how we were moving forward with faith and Yeah! Faith takes work for sure. I read an article that one of the Sister missionaries in Spain actually sent me recently that I absolutely love. Moving forward in young adult years can be scary and often times you just want to feel 100% sure with Heavenly Fathers approval on everything you do. But He trusts us enough sometimes to make our own decisions and then later we receive the witness we want after we prove our Faith.

If you need some guidance in your life with the big decisions that may lay ahead I encourage you to read this talk

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/anthony-d-perkins_nevertheless-went-forth/