365 days ago

Yep. Best year of my life.
Love you Stuey, times infinity.

the most wonderful time of the year

This year was mine and Stu's first Christmas together as our own little family! But that definitely doesn't mean we spent much time "just us" since we have two families here to share the holidays with. Christmas Eve was spent with Stu's fam and we did Christmas day with mine, it was the best!

Ave and I making Jodie's orange roll recipe... Mmmm. Actually we were really nervous we were going to ruin them hahaa.

Graf read Luke II to the family as we sat around the fire.

Bens and Bels opened our gift to them, it was so fun to see their excitement!

Grandpa Milne kicked my butt in Wii baseball and bowling...

Stu and I did open gifts from each other Christmas Eve and I was so excited to see Stu's face when he opened his new set of manly tools! Actually he already saw them because I bought them on Black Friday, but I wanted to wrap them anyway :)

Christmas morning we headed over to my parents to make breakfast in our Christmas jammies. It was amazing! Big Christmas breakfast is kind of a Willcox fam tradition and we aren't allowed to open any presents until after we're all completely stuffed. No objections from me.

Dad and Rebecca were a little drained after all the gift-opening..

We sat around surrounded by wrapping paper and played games for a while, karaoke-d it up on the Wii, ate some leftover breakfast, sang some more on the Wii...

...And did more of the same at the Milne house later that day.

A great first Christmas for the (Stu and Angie) Milne family.

The Spirit of Christ

As Stu and I put together our ideas for Christmas gifts this year, we found it really difficult to come up with even just 5 things that we felt we wanted for Christmas. It wasn't that we don't want things, it was more that we don't need anything. Originally, we decided we would be thrifty in our gifts to each other enforcing a price limit because we've been trying to save for a house. Then we went shopping for our families and had such a fun time trying to figure out what we could give them to make them light up on Christmas morning. In my family, it was kind of a quest to see who gave who the best gift, or the best reaction from the gift. Giving is the best part of Christmas! So in the end we decided that we wouldn't buy any gifts for each other and put the money toward helping a family in need this season. We just couldn't help but think of the families in our ward that are facing so many hardships this year, and we were just so excited at the idea of making their Christmas! So we went out late one night with two of my sisters and bought lots of fun goodies and a gift card for groceries.

President Monson said that to feel the real spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable and it becomes the Spirit of Christ. That was what we wanted to emphasize this year as we celebrated our first Christmas together. By spreading love and finding ways to serve others, we found a way to fill our home with the real Christmas spirit.

We pray that we may always strive to find this feeling in our lives, not just during this holiday season, and that we may try to emulate the love of our Savior through small, kind acts of service.

Click here for a moving message about this season.

LOVING LIFE

Is it weird to say that I feel like the most blessed girl in the whole world? Lately, time has been whipping by so fast that I haven't had time to think of all the happy, wonderful things in my life even though I'm surrounded by them. Thankfully, school is over and now I have a little break from work (wheeww) and due to a nasty little illness, I spent some time in bed yesterday just loving on my little life.

.In four days, Stu and I will have been sealed to each other for ONE year. What a blessing he is to me. I can't imagine my life without that man. He is my rock, my comfort, and my comedic relief :)

.I finished all my prerequisites for the dental hygiene program, and it feels so good. Stu and I have been discussing some options lately about where our life is headed and it just feels great to have that part behind us!
.Stuart is amazing. He is working so hard to provide for our little family and just passed his real estate test! Just one more to go and he is licensed as an agent! I know it's been so hard for him with school and work and his other responsibilities, but he did it! I am so proud of him and love him so much.
.We finally had to turn the heater on at night because it was getting so cold! "Winter" is here! I love it! Now I can wear lots of these:

. I. LOVE. MY. JOB. I can say honestly that I enjoy going to work every morning! Even if it's at 7am! I am learning loads and I really just have the best co-workers ever.
. We have the greatest family in the world!
. Christmas is in 2 days and I just can't wait :) I finally turned my station to 99.9 (only AFTER Thanksgiving was officially over) and I am just engulfed in the Christmas spirit! Our little tree is so so cute and our home is ready for a visit from Santa!

Merry Christmas everyone! Life is good.

devotion

The last regular season football game for the Cougs is always against their rivals, Utah. This year, the game was at BYU so of course Stu and I had plans to go since the beginning of the season. So, after getting up at 4am on Black Friday and scoring some major deals with my cousin, Stu and I left on our 12 hour drive to P-town. (Stu is too good to me, he let me sleep most of the way)

We scored some great 45-yard line seats and gave the others to Tyler and Brittany so we could all sit together. SOOO cold, but so fun!

The whole DAY worth of driving (plus the 3 hours at the Hoover Dam) was definitely worth it! The game went into overtime, a total nail-biter, but BYU pulled through in the end and won it by three! Look at the crowd that rushed the field after the game, so sick.

I think we might have to get season tickets again next year... WE LOVE OUR COUGS!!!

grate(FULL)

This year, Thanksgiving was spent with Stu's family because mine went to California to be with my Grandma Laverne. I have to say, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And no, it's not just because of the food... I love Thanksgiving because it's all the love, family and togetherness of Christmas, without all the hype about gifts and spending money. And okay, maybe some part of it is due to the turkey/mashed potato/GRAVY/stuffing/cranberry goodness. Mmmmm. Oh and the rolls, can't forget the rolls.

Thinking about all the hard times that people are dealing with right now, I can't help but believe that we are blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

football, scrubs, and spray paint

Yes I know.. I am lame. I haven't gone this long without a post in quite a while! But really, these last few weeks have been so busy. I know I say that a lot, but I don't think I knew the meaning of the word until Stu and I went through these last weeks together! New job, new projects, more tests and assignments (thank you teachers for trying to make up for lost time and cramming everything in now), football games, and of course our ward callings. We didn't have much time to spare, and quite frankly- if we did have some downtime (rare), we chose to spend it snuggling or sleeping rather than blogging... here is a little bit of what's been going on lately:

Stu and I on Halloween.. (it really has been a while since I've posted)

I was a matador and he was a MVT Toro (chuckle, chuckle)

Stu's on a football team with a group of friends that all played together in high school. They are so good! He has games every Wednesday now and it's been fun to watch and get together with the wives! They've played together for a while so we're all good friends :) Stu caught two touchdowns his last game, what a stud! 

First day of work! Here I am in my scrubs... I actually LOVE wearing these! ah sooo comfy. I love my new job, I LOVE the girls I work with and I am learning so much! This has been such a blessing. 

Also, we started refinishing a dresser and night stand set we picked up from Craigslist. They are super cute, just need a little work, so we've been sanding and painting like crazy! Lucky for us, the sander that we borrowed broke within the first 5 minutes so we had so sand everything by hand. I'll post some pictures of the finished product!

In the meantime... Go HERE to see my most recent photo session! 

ps The Blind Side is the best movie, GO SEE IT. I think it's my new favorite movie, or at least my favorite this year. So good! 

oh the places you'll go

Tomorrow morning, I will be throwing on some of these:

to start training here:

for a new assisting position!!!

I am really SO excited! I have been looking for a job that is more similar to my career choice, basically since we moved down here to Mesa almost a year ago, and I finally found one. I feel like this is the perfect place for me too, Dr. Frost is really nice and the staff was super friendly! Thanks to Stu, I was persistent to the point of annoyance but I guess it paid off! (Thanks for the support and the extra push goonie, I love you!) This is going to be a great chance for me to learn more about the field, become more familiar with a dental office, and interact with patients and doctors. I am seriously so thrilled! Now I just have to figure out how not to look like a total blob in scrubs... wish me luck... 

discount is my other favorite word

Today, and today ONLY, Down East Basics is having a sale on ALL their merchandise (at least in the Arizona locations, Superstition and Chandler Mall) 50% off everything! You have to print off this "smart shopper" card from the abc15 website HERE, and just show it to them when you check out. Sooo easy! Their undershirts are my absolute fave, but they have other wayyy cute stuff that I'm sure will be a steal with this discount! Don't miss out!

no greater love

I woke up yesterday morning in a completely stressed-out state. The fact that President Milne was already off to one of his many meetings of the day, didn't really ease my situation. See, I realized what the date was (November 1, 2009) which meant it was fast sunday- which meant that we were already in November- which meant our YW Evening in Excellence was three days away- which meant that I was supposed to have made up invitations- and called to put an announcement in the ward bulletin- which (since I failed to do that) meant that I would have to be ready for church even earlier to try to get the announcement made anyway- which meant that I had to rush (on a stomach that had been entirely emptied of contents the night before due to some indian food)- which I knew meant that I would look not too super at church- which meant that my confidence would be in the low range- which just increased my nervous factor because I thought that it might have been my turn to teach the combined lesson that I wasn't ready for in the slightest- which upped the stress factor even more- which ultimately created a big hot mess of broken down Angie...

There were so many things that I had wanted this last week, so many things that I needed to do, so many things that I didn't get to, and a few things I just forgot. I felt like I was a total let-down in the wife/YW leader/student/friend/sister/member of the church department. Now let me say, I continually set (high) expectations for myself, and get very frustrated and feel like a complete failure if I don't measure up. This coupled with the fact that I seem to be surrounded by superwomen, makes me think I could be on anti-depressants if it weren't for Stu boy here. 

Everything turned out okay by the time we got to church, but I was still beating myself up over my little failures when the opening song started, "How Great Thou Art." My feelings of inadequacy seemed to melt away as I sang of my Savior and his immense power and incomprehensible love. This man who has power to create worlds, power to raise the dead, died for me. He suffered to make up for my shortcomings, to take away my sins and sad times. Sometimes it's hard to understand all that the atonement encompasses. And sometimes it's hard to let others carry your burdens when you stubbornly try to do things on your own. Like me. I just... I love my Savior. I know that he knows my hurts, he's felt my little failures, he's experienced my every pain, and He can help me get through it all if I let Him. Even my stupid little doldrum days, He can help me realize my true worth and give me peace. I know he loves me. He knows me. He understands me. And apparently He knows when to grant me a tender mercy in the form of a sweet friend (thank you Amanda).  

this is how i feel. 

i know, i'm pathetic

This week has been INSANE with three bio tests, some lovely photography sessions/editing GALORE, home beautification projects, Halloween festivities, and a grand family get together. So I never blogged. And I also never made plans for Halloween night! The horror. Stu and I don't know what we're doing yet, any ideas?

this is awesome.

free is my favorite word

Tomorrow you can get in FREE at the AZ science museum from 10am-5pm! It is the coolest place! I think normal admission is around $10-$15 so this is an awesome deal! click here for the details.

Equally awesome: BYU vs. TCU tomorrow night. Stu and I would be up in Utah getting ready for the game of our lives, but I am taking photos at a wedding reception tonight so we sold our tickets to someone else... sad, I know. But that doesn't mean we wont be watching/wearing our cougar blue all day! ESPN Game Day is going to be at Lavelle Edwards, BYU [16th] is playing TCU [8th] and we're hoping for a big upset! Gooooo Cougs!!!

Oh! and one of my very best friends Mandy Gibbons opened her mission call last night!!! We have been close friends since high school and I cried (happy tears) when she told me she put in her papers. I am so excited for her and know she will be such an amazing servant of the Lord. The wonderful people of Rosario, Argentina are soooo lucky to have this girl come January! I love you Mand!!!

hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

*REVISED... Stu and I won't be going to the science museum, our day just got too busy! (insert sad face)

where have you been all my life?

i've discovered a few new things lately, and i am obsessed.

hummus. particularly of the roasted red pepper variety. i had a veggie sandwich with hummus subbed in as my dressing last night [thank you wholegrain] and i can say it's one of the best things i've ever eaten. i know, bold.. but true.

i had a little spray paint party while stu was gone and i'm much closer to having our little apartment look more like a home. i love it! i bought a few frames and letters from the hobblobb and scored a mirror from goodwill for wayy cheap and painted them to match the rest of our decor! maybe i'll post a picture...

gahhh.. my sister talked me into reading the first and i couldn't put it down! same story with the second one. i hate that i have to wait for the next one! they were sooo good. kind of meant for a harry potter-age audience, but reeeeeeally good story. and clean too! read it!

mmm ling lings, you make a mean potsticker. stu and i could eat these all day. well, maybe not. but they are good.

i had to fill my nights with movies and tv shows while stu was gone and one of my young women told me about GLEE. ahh so amazing! i don't care too much for the storyline, sometimes the show is a little crude, but the music/shows are fantastic! must. have. soundtrack.

this is old news, but i reaaaally love pumpkin flavor. fall is my favorite because people put pumpkin in everything. mmmmm. thank goodness for VT companions who love you and bring you pumpkin cookies in the middle of the night. i think i'll go have one now.. or two..