how i know it's true love:

Greg put a picture of Ron Swanson as my phone background last night.

As Kerry Jackson once said, "If anything in the world could stop a comet, it would be Ron Swanson's mustache."



Let it be known that I'm not making any promises about posting - we can all see how well that went...

absentee

I've been absent of late. I returned home last Tuesday after spending 11 days playing mom to these three babes in Pennsylvania. I miss them like crazy. They call me "Sissie" although, technically, I'm their aunt. I started tearing up at work last week when someone asked how my trip was. We had so many fun adventures and it's just plain hard to not be near them all the time to watch them grow. Stop growing up so fast my littles!

Photos and stories to come...

on motherhood

I may not be a mother to children of my own (yet) but I consider myself a mother of sorts to 70+ 3-11 year olds every Sunday when I "teach" music to them at my church. I did, however, feel a tiny glimpse of motherhood's joy when one of my little friends brought me this for Mother's Day:

What a charmer. Girls, watch out for this one!

mother's day

For Mama Wilson (Wendy's Mom):

For Mama Willis (Greg's mom):

No explanation necessary, right? Ha, ha. :)

Love you both!

deef

This post by Meg inspired me to share the following...


We sat side-by-side on a church pew; we being me, he, and he's girlfriend. I don't remember what the man standing at the pulpit was saying. All I remember is that he said, "deef," and as soon as the words escaped his lips, me turned to he and he to me in unison, both wearing a look of utter confusion. I think we may have mouthed "deef" to each other and then, unsuccessfully, tried to contain our laughter. Meanwhile, girlfriend sits clueless outside the connection forming between me and he. He later told me that moment brought a thought, "You should marry a girl like Wendy." Little did he know what the thought really meant, "You will marry Wendy."

letter

My mom found this letter (written on a leftover valentine envelope no less) while going through some things at her house recently:

Was I a funny kid or what?!?

I wonder what I used for the 7 very small pieces of love...

two years ago

We sat in the room adjacent to the one where we would be sealed for all eternity as our Sealer asked us how we met and what our plans were for the future.

"Do you have any questions about the ceremony?"

Greg and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"Let's do it!" Greg said.

The Sealer and I erupted with laughter (quiet laughter that is - since we were in the temple :)

"Ok then, let's get this done." The Sealer said.

We walked into the room where our family and friends were waiting. I was sooo nervous to see everyone. Not nervous because I was about to make eternal covenants, no, just nervous to see my loved ones waiting to witness the ceremony.

We walked out of the room 15 minutes later (estimation) man and wife for eternity. That's including the chat before the ceremony, the ceremony, and hugging everyone in the room after. I do believe we may have set the record for fastest wedding at the Bountiful Temple.

We had family members who were unable to attend the ceremony who missed the majority of the picture taking on the temple grounds after because the ceremony was so quick.

What can I say? My man knows what he wants and there's no waiting necessary.

Happy two years my Gregory Allan.

retraction

Dear KSL Classifieds,

Maybe you're not so bad after all. The guy with the free piano just called and said he still has it. Until tonight that is. When I pick it up. Ok, my husband, dad and brother will really be the ones hefting the thing, but I will be there for support :)

I think I love you KSL Classifieds. That may or may not be contingent on the piano's condition.

xoxoxo,
Wendy

To my Daddy,

I love you!

I am that woman

Which comedian makes the joke about women that remember everything, including the date of the first time their significant other kissed them in a Jiffy Lube? Jim Gaffigan? Demetri Martin? That other guy? Well, I am that woman. Honestly, I think it scares Greg a little bit. I mention this because today is the 1-year anniversary of our official engagement (we had our date set at the Temple for almost two weeks before I actually said "yes"). Granted this event is of obviously greater importance than a kiss at any Jiffy Lube. Unless, of course, that is where you were proposed to. (please say that has never happened to anyone) Regardless, when my wedding ring went missing last week, Greg held me as I sobbed into his shoulder and said, "I didn't even make it one year without losing my ring."

Today I'm happy to say that I'm wearing that ring and I am that woman - the one Greg picked.

Clarification: The aforementioned comedian does actually make the joke about Jiffy Lube; I'm not trying to say I remember the first time Greg kissed me at Jiffy Lube. Besides, we're more of the Pep Boys type.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my nephew Xander who turns 1 today!

Atta boy!

My eyes hurt. Why? Because I've been crying for the last two days straight over the losing of my most prized physical possession. My wedding ring.

You lost your wedding ring? What kind of a wife are you? Do you have any idea how much Greg paid for that? And let's not forget the immensity of the sentimental value!

And that's why I've been crying so hard. That's what my "shoulder devil" has been saying.

HOURS of searching. Searching under the bed. Searching through the trash. Searching through the trash again. Flashlights beaming down drains. The retracing of steps. Multiple trips back and forth to work. I even looked in the breaker box AND the peanut butter jar.

MANY prayers were sent to heaven. Prayers of pleading.

Desperation.

So, I sent an e-mail to everyone at work, just in case. I've never felt so loved by co-workers. People I don't even know were asking if I'd found it yet. Sympathy came from everyone who had lost their wedding ring at some point too. (One guy told of going to the store where his wedding ring had been purchased soaking wet after searching through a reservoir for 2 hours for his. He thought he could dupe his wife by buying a new one before going home. Inevitably, they didn't make that ring style anymore.)

Even more HOURS of searching. I was physically ill. I wasn't even hungry, and that is saying something. When I did eat, a beloved cucumber was the only thing that sounded edible. (Note: not uncommon for me)

And then, inspiration.

Greg was just tall enough and standing at just the right angle to see it. There is was, glittering on a shelf in our downstairs bathroom. I rarely use that bathroom but had been in there cleaning in preparation for an overnight visit from our good friend Scott. It blended in with the metal shelf and was too high for my line of sight.

I cried even more.

Greg: "You don't need to cry anymore, we found it!"
Wendy: "But I'm just so happy you found it!"

Celebration!

And I was hungry again! But only for french vanilla ice cream covered in Reese's Pieces.

My boss told me this morning that she couldn't sleep last night because she was worried about me. Another co-worker said that Greg deserves an "Atta boy!" for finding it.

My eyes still hurt. I can't stop looking at the beautiful ring on my finger and the sparkly diamonds are blinding me.

Atta boy Greg. Atta boy.

April 12, 2008

One Year

One year ago today Greg and I went on our first date. It's been on my mind today so I thought I would recount the night. It went a lot like this (for me at least):

I already knew I had a huge crush on him and was therefore quite nervous. So nervous, in fact, that I don't even remember what I wore (this is unusual for me--being nervous as well as not remembering what I wore to an "event"). He was very punctual. And sooooo good looking. The theme of the night was uncontrollable amounts of talking/laughing. We went to dinner at the Macaroni Grill in SLC and quickly realized that we have a lot more in common than we previously knew. I had serious butterflies. Not just thoughts of "oh, he's cute," but actual flutterings in my stomach that made me wonder just exactly what I had eaten for lunch that day. My food was literally cold by the time I got around to eating it. I kept thinking to myself, "I can't wait to tell Caleb how right I was about this one." You see, I had been telling my brother Caleb for months that Greg totally wanted me, he just hadn't realized it yet. BUT, someday he would wise up, ask me out once, and it would be GAME OVER for both of us. Caleb had summed it up to total self-absorption, but that soon changed...

After dinner, we went to a Jon Schmidt concert that was sponsored by our shared employer. Greg's boss (aka my previous boss) was there with his wife and I could tell they were wondering about us. We accidentally sat in the wrong seats and an usher had to show us our real seats which were situated in the middle of all our fellow co-workers that were also attending the event. This, of course, lead to more questioning glances. Or so it felt. I had a really hard time keeping quiet during the performance. How could I not point out the atrocious holiday sweater being worn by the man two rows in front of us or the hilarious dance moves of the guest performing break dancers? I knew Greg would appreciate such things. Needless to say, I'm sure the people around us were annoyed by our whisperings.

As the concert neared its end, I began to dread the thought of going home. The night was going far too well to ever end. Greg seemed to be enjoying my company and was at least pretending to laugh at all my jokes. Then I began to worry I was seeing the situation through rose colored glasses and in came such self-destructive thoughts as, "I wonder how many other girls he tried to ask out before me? I'm sure I was at the bottom of his list. Do I have something in my teeth? I knew I should have looked in the mirror after dinner...."

We slid around on the icy sidewalks of the U of U as we made our way back to Greg's car which led to the idea of going sledding. A rather clever thought considering neither of us were wearing sledding appropriate clothes or in possession of a sled. So, we ventured back to Ogden. After many failed attempts to "sled" on the wake skate Greg happened to have in his trunk, we found an abandoned sled and continued the fun until we were completely frozen. Then, instead of getting in the car where it was warm, we slid around on the ice in a parking lot until 2 a.m. I was really feeling the inklings of "GAME OVER-ness" at this point. We talked about everything. I confessed to getting thrown out of the Grand America Hotel (a story for another day) and he talked about his mission, etc., etc,. etc. It was pretty much all on the table by the time we got back in the car.

Then for everyone's favorite, "the doorstep scene." I'll admit, it was a little awkward. We had worked together for almost a year at this point and I really had no idea what he was thinking. The doorstep for the apartment where I lived at the time didn't help the situation either. I just remember thinking (like I always had) that it was the guy's job to lead the doorstep finale. All I really remember is that we didn't even hug. I felt really stupid after for not initiating something but I didn't want things to be weird if he wasn't that into me (although I REALLLLLY hoped he was). It turned out just fine considering he kissed me only 4 days later, not to mention the fact that we have now been married almost 8 months :)

I still get butterflies when I think about that night. Thanks for taking a chance on me my Greg :) I love you.

Memoirs of Thanksgivings Past

I have Thanksgiving on the brain.


Is it possible to not completely LOVE this holiday? Granted there was the Thanksgiving when I was 4 and was relegated to Grandma Billie's to spend the holiday by myself (with no shirt on as I recall) while everyone else partied next door at Grandma & Grandpa Hancey's. Oh no, I wasn't bitter; granted this banishment was due to no wrongdoing on my part but rather a consequence of contracting Chicken Pox. In my parents' defense (so as not to paint my childhood as one of neglect and them as the guilty offenders), two babies under the ripe 'ol age of 4 months were present.


Other Thanksgiving memories:

• Hoping one of my cousins drew my name for the family Christmas gift exchange so I knew I would get something cute. Don't get me wrong, I love my brothers BUT I found out quickly that other girls knew what you would want better than boys.
• Wondering what they talked about at the "adult table" in the other room.
• Laughing at my Dad for spending more than one feast at the kid's table.
• Winning the family challenge by gaining 7.5 lbs. (All weigh-ins are monitored by another participant to ensure adherence to the rules.)
• Dominating the "Rootbeer Float Pie Contest" of '07. Ok, so "dominating" is up for debate but those pies certainly were tasty.
• Writing what I'm thankful for each year in the gratitude notebooks.
• Loving being with family.

What will tomorrow (my first Thanksgiving as a married woman) bring?

7 months

I love you my Greg.

A Tale of a New Hat

This is my new hat.

It's a lovely new hat.

One more reason I love Target.

Happy Halloween!

And Happy Birthday Kate!

We hope PA "treats" you right today :)

Love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY GREG!!!

28 years ago this adorable baby boy was born.

[The day after he was born]

[Blessing Day - November 1980]

[Look at those cute chubby feet :) ]

[CLASSIC 1980's photography - 2 years old]

[Sooooooooo adorable - 4 years old]

[Looking gooood]

[Bobcat!]

[Take a CLOSE look at the shirt and pants - NICE.]

[Graduation May 1999 - Bonneville (clap, clap) Lakers (clap, clap) - just for you Greg]

[Dancing (?) in the MTC - on his way to the Philippines]

[Soooooo hot.]

[Grendy - December 2007]

*editorial sidenote: this was taken the day of our first kiss :)

[Engaged]

[Married]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!!

*Wendy's sidenote: I realized that I had never seen a baby picture of Greg so I riffled through all the photos Mama Willis could throw at me and these are just a few of the gems :)

What I'm thinking right now:

[This is inspired by recent e-mails at work from Greg asking what I'm thinking about at that very moment. Isn't he adorable?]

• How much I love listening to Greg sing along to his iPod while getting ready in the morning. He has a new cover of the "Oogie Boogie Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas -done by the one and only Tiger Army- that he gets really excited about :)
• I haven't worn make-up pretty much this whole week; not sure why. Although sometimes I don't put any on in the morning so I can have a refresher before I pick Greg up from work and it makes me feel way hotter (so glad I just admitted that).
• Some of the toliets at work have the auto-flush feature and others don't. I opt for the non-auto-flush; that's just a surprise I don't appreciate (translation: I found out about the auto-flush toliets by accident one day.).
• There are signs hanging up at my work that say "Making Ethical Training a Success." I laughed the first time I saw one. Why? Because of this:
  

• This is awesome.
• Favorite quote(s) from last night's episode of The Office: There's just too many good ones to pick from. Check them out. Or even better, watch the full episode.
• Pie. I got an e-mail telling me that Culinary Arts is going to be selling slices of pie for 25 cents at 11:00. Nope! Just kidding. I was just offered FREE donuts AND chocolate milk at 10:00. Sorry pie, you snooze you lose. And, I love chocolate milk so you really didn't stand a chance. This brings me to a story though:

STORY: The pie that is being sold at 11:00 today contains a mystery filling (according to the e-mail). Don't worry, I'm sure the people that made the pie know what's in it. I hope. Anyway, if you can guess what's in the pie, you get free lunch. Is it worth the risk???

STORY #2: A few weeks ago, Sunday September 14th to be exact, my Greg was in Denver and I journeyed down to K-Town hang-out with some Wilsons for the day. On that day, my Mom made a pie. She called it "mock apple pie." I was uncomfortable with that. Then, when she wouldn't reveal why it was a "mock" of real apple pie, I became really uncomfortable. I didn't eat that pie. Even after she told me what was in it. The best part is that now I don't remember what it was.......little help Mom?

• I love Fridays.

SIX?!

Sunday was our 6 month anniversary! We celebrated on Saturday by taking a trip to Park City and then stopped in Salt Lake on the way home for some delicious P.F. Chang's (I can't even see those words without salivating).



I really can't believe how fast six months have passed......




Thanks to many of you fellow bloggers who helped make April 12th, 2008 the best day of my life. And mostly, thank you my Greg for choosing me :)
I love you!

The Human Touch

I continue to be amazed by Stephanie Nielson and her family. Today, on her sister Courtney's blog, their brother Andrew wrote a "guest blog" about "The Human Touch." I never thought I could feel so much love for and from a family I've never met. I honestly feel the Spirit anytime I read their posts. I encourage anyone who wants a boost to read this post.