We Love you!!
Below is a photo from Patrick's bachelor party... they went shooting. Tyler had a blast as you can tell.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Pat and Ashley Lamb
So amidst the many Christmas happenings this year we had the privilege of going to the wedding of our wonderful friends Patrick and Ashley. We love them! They both looked amazing and we can't wait to go to their sealing at the end of the month!
We Love you!!
Below is a photo from Patrick's bachelor party... they went shooting. Tyler had a blast as you can tell.
We Love you!!
Below is a photo from Patrick's bachelor party... they went shooting. Tyler had a blast as you can tell.
Christmas Baking
I know this is late, but I wanted to post some pics of the christmas baking that I did this year. It was really fun, but Tyler and I both decided that next year we shouldn't make any extras for ourselves. We were all good-ied out for quite a while after all the goodie plates from friends.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Greatness?
Lately I have had this recurring thought about what I am doing with my life. Like a "what are you doing that is so great?" kind of a thing. It is not the best feeling in the world to think that I am not doing something important with my life. But I also know that it is normal to be critical of oneself so I am trying to use this as a modivator as opposed to letting it ruin me. I have set some goals for this year and of course, like always, there has been a slight "hitch in my giddy up" for the last couple weeks. I have been sick on and off and then right when I start to feel better my monthly bill arrives and totally debilitates me (sorry to be graphic, but sometimes cramps/back aches REALLY mess me up!). So needless to say I haven't been as modivated as I could be because of my lack of normal health/sleep/energy. But I have been trying to stick to it and have a good attitude. Tyler helps me a lot because he always believes in me, even when I don't. So today while bored at work I decided to read an ensign article and heaven knew it was what I needed. I love it when that happens. It totally re-affirms my faith in the Lord that he knows me. Below is an exerpt from the article. I love it when Elder Holland puts me in my place..it is always my favorite part of his talk.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, The Best is yet to Be, Ensign January 2010
"Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?
To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11).
Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep."
So here are a few of my "dreams" for the year. I am posting them here in hopes that it will keep me accountable and really try harder.
-train for a half marathon
-run a half marathon
-graduate college with honors
-save money
-lose 20 more lbs
-build my photography portfolio (let me know if you need a photo sesh!)
I am really determined to accomplish these things and I don't think it is asking too much of myself. I figure that if I keep thinking about how un-great my accomplishments are then I better start working on doing some great things. So here's to a year of greatness!
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, The Best is yet to Be, Ensign January 2010
"Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?
To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11).
Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep."
So here are a few of my "dreams" for the year. I am posting them here in hopes that it will keep me accountable and really try harder.
-train for a half marathon
-run a half marathon
-graduate college with honors
-save money
-lose 20 more lbs
-build my photography portfolio (let me know if you need a photo sesh!)
I am really determined to accomplish these things and I don't think it is asking too much of myself. I figure that if I keep thinking about how un-great my accomplishments are then I better start working on doing some great things. So here's to a year of greatness!
Monday, January 4, 2010
2 Years
Today is our two year anniversary and I cannot believe how fast it has gone! I am so grateful for the life that we have. Tyler is truly my best friend and I cannot imagine what my life would be like without him. I cannot really even remember what life was like before him. I am so excited about the years to come and I am anxious to see the path that we take together. I am so blessed to have him by my side supporting me, loving me and making me laugh. We are pretty lucky to have found each other. I remember our wedding day like it was yesterday... it was the most amazing day of my life and I would live it over and over if I could. What I remember most is the love that I felt that day. The love between Tyler and I and the love from all of our family and friends. I remember kneeling across the altar in the Newport Beach Temple and looking into the eyes of the most wonderful man I have ever known. I will never forget that day.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
There was light at the end of the tunnel after all...
...All of my books and just a taste of my weekly tasks...
This Fall semester has been the most difficult semester of my college career. 5 classes and working 3 days a week was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The to do lists were insane. There were weeks where I would not only complete writing assignments and discussion board posts, but I would also read up to 15 chapters from my 8 text books. Although it was difficult it was a great learning experience for me. I learned how to manage my time wisely and I really learned a lot. I worked really hard to read everything that was assigned so that I could really expand my knowledge, not just cross the class off of my list. I really took a lot of useful information from this semester. I am excited for Spring because I am taking my last Sociology class and also starting my minor - Health Science. I can't believe I am so close to the end. Just two semesters and a summer class and I will be a college grad.
Oh and did I mention that I really enjoy getting good grades? I am one of those annoying people who is unhappy when I get a B. So with 5 classes I figured that I would not get all A's and I came to grips with the fact that there would be some B's on my report card this semester. I had to mentally prep myself to not get upset if I got a couple B's (stupid... I know). But to my utter surprise I made the impossible, possible. . . I got straight A's! It was rough and I seriously do NOT know how I did it. I am grateful for Tyler for being supportive even when his wife was in the world of sociology for a few months straight. I am grateful for answers to prayers as there were an abundance sent up. I just know that I was blessed to achieve what I did. Thanks to everyone for supporting me, encouraging me and putting up with me.
As a treat to myself I went here...
On Christmas Eve I got a massage and a facial. It was amazing. I got to sit in the spa, put cucumber slices on my face and finally relax after months of worrying about school. It was a great way to start the weekend. I highly recommend it.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Product of long hours of studying...
So this semester was by far my most rigorous semester thus far. Taking 5 upper division classes and working is not as easy as I thought, but I learned a lot about my abilities over the last few months. I have really had to manage my time wisely so that I could get in all of my readings, tests, quizzes, projects and papers. I think my favorite class this semester was my writing class. The professor really taught us how to bring ourselves into our writing and really write with a purpose. I was able to really think about emotion, inspiration and social issues that I was concerned with. I wanted to share with you my final project for the semester. We were allowed to choose our method: a speech, letter, essay or poem. It was inspired, by my sister in law Jessica and her Husband Mike, to write this letter. I hope you like it.
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To the dear young ladies with a choice to make,
I’m sure that you have a lot on your mind right now. Being a teenager and being pregnant is something that many people do not understand. I bet there are judging eyes all round you waiting for you to do something, waiting for you to choose what the rest of your life will be like. You are lucky to have a choice. I know that you don’t know me and although we have never met I might know a little bit about your story. Some of you probably thought that you were in love. You thought that he was the kind of boy who would stick with you through the hard times, but then when things got tough he was no where to be found. Or maybe some of you were not looking for anything serious when you decided to sleep with someone, but what resulted was anything but casual.
Having a baby is serious. It is something that moms and aunts do, not something that you do, at least not right now. Being a mom is something that you were probably not planning on doing until you graduated high school and went to college. Maybe you never wanted to be a mother. Maybe you want to travel the world and study the cultures of the past. Maybe you want to be an airline pilot or an astronaut. I am writing this letter to tell you that all of those dreams can still come true, just maybe not as soon as you may have hoped. Being young in society today can be tough. The media tells us girls that we need to look, act, dress and talk a certain way. I know that life is hard sometimes, but don’t ever be afraid to be you. Sometimes being confident is difficult when we make mistakes or when we don’t fit the mold, but we need to love ourselves. I am guilty of sometimes falling into the trap that the media sets. It isn’t always easy to overcome hardships, but it can be done and we need to be there for each other.
Even though you are in this situation that seems so dark and confusing I would like to make a suggestion of how you can change the lives of others because of your seemingly bad choice. You may be wondering how something so terrible can become something happy. How could this get any better? How could I help anyone else when I am in this mess? I would like to tell you a story about a girl, a girl named Jane. She grew up with a dream that is not very different from yours. She didn’t want to be an astronaut, a traveler or an actress. What she wanted was easy to figure out, it was something she knew she always wanted. She wanted to be a mother.
When she was in college she married a nice man named Andrew. They were in love and they wanted to have a family. They always wanted to be parents. Andrew always knew he wanted to be a dad. He and Jane were so excited to have children and to finally be able to expand their couple into a few more. So they tried and tried to have a baby. Years passed and tests were done and there was no progress. It was official; Jane and Andrew could not have children on their own. For some reason their bodies could not produce something that they both wanted more than anything in the whole world. They were discouraged, but they didn’t let this obstacle defeat them. There were times when Jane saw other parents with their children and wondered what she had done wrong. Would she ever be a mother? She wanted so much to have a child to love and teach. She wanted to hear someone say, “I love you mommy”, but she often wondered if her ears would ever hear those words.
Jane and Andrew eventually decided that they would try to adopt. Although the process was long and often heart breaking as young mothers changed their minds, they continued to seek a young girl like you, who wanted to give them a baby. After many tears, sleepless nights and wondering, the day eventually came that Jane and Andrew became parents. There was a girl who much like you, had become pregnant before she was ready to be a mother. She wanted Jane and Andrew to adopt her son. When Jane and Andrew finally held that sweet baby boy in their arms they knew that he was their son. Jane and Andrew had true gratitude in their hearts because of the trust that young mother had in them. She knew that they could give him a life that she wasn’t ready to give. Jane and Andrew knew that although they had not chosen the path that they traveled on, they were able to arrive at a destination that they always wanted.
Just a few years later Jane and Andrew had a desire to adopt once again. The process was slow, but eventually they were able to be foster parents to two brothers that came from a home with a history of drugs, abuse and unwise choices. They took care of them, loved them and changed their lives with the hope that one day the boys would be official members of their family. It was not until two years later that Jane and Andrew were able to legally adopt the brothers. I was there that day and the love of their family seemed to visibly grow. You could just tell that they were meant to be a family. You could tell that these two brothers were meant to have a better life than what their biological mother had. Their biological mother came from a family of high school dropouts, teen pregnancy and drug abuse. With Jane and Andrew as their parents these boys have a better chance of graduating high school, going off to college and living a life free from drugs. You see, I am the aunt to these three boys and I am forever grateful, as I know my other family members are, for the opportunity that I have to know and love these boys. They are wonderful and luckily Jane and Andrew were trusted enough to take the boys into their home and care for them. Not only have they cared for them but also, they have loved them and provided so many opportunities for them.
I know it might be scary to think of someone else taking care of your baby. What if they hurt them or don’t give them a good healthy life? I want you to know that you don’t have to be scared because you can choose the couple that you want for your child. But it is up to you to make that choice. Will you make the selfless choice and give your baby better chances of succeeding? Will you bring hope and love to the lives of a mother or a father without a baby? There are mothers and fathers out there that are waiting for a baby and for some reason they can’t make it happen for themselves. That is where you come in. You can change someone’s life! You can give the gift that no one else can give. You can give the gift of life, the gift of a child. I hope this letter got you to think about an option that is often forgotten amidst the anxiety and confusion that comes along with teen pregnancy. There are hundreds of men and women out there who are waiting to be parents and you can help them. Please tell others you know about the gift of adoption. Please consider adoption as an opportunity to change not only your life, but also someone else’s.
Sincerely,
Amy Rex
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To the dear young ladies with a choice to make,
I’m sure that you have a lot on your mind right now. Being a teenager and being pregnant is something that many people do not understand. I bet there are judging eyes all round you waiting for you to do something, waiting for you to choose what the rest of your life will be like. You are lucky to have a choice. I know that you don’t know me and although we have never met I might know a little bit about your story. Some of you probably thought that you were in love. You thought that he was the kind of boy who would stick with you through the hard times, but then when things got tough he was no where to be found. Or maybe some of you were not looking for anything serious when you decided to sleep with someone, but what resulted was anything but casual.
Having a baby is serious. It is something that moms and aunts do, not something that you do, at least not right now. Being a mom is something that you were probably not planning on doing until you graduated high school and went to college. Maybe you never wanted to be a mother. Maybe you want to travel the world and study the cultures of the past. Maybe you want to be an airline pilot or an astronaut. I am writing this letter to tell you that all of those dreams can still come true, just maybe not as soon as you may have hoped. Being young in society today can be tough. The media tells us girls that we need to look, act, dress and talk a certain way. I know that life is hard sometimes, but don’t ever be afraid to be you. Sometimes being confident is difficult when we make mistakes or when we don’t fit the mold, but we need to love ourselves. I am guilty of sometimes falling into the trap that the media sets. It isn’t always easy to overcome hardships, but it can be done and we need to be there for each other.
Even though you are in this situation that seems so dark and confusing I would like to make a suggestion of how you can change the lives of others because of your seemingly bad choice. You may be wondering how something so terrible can become something happy. How could this get any better? How could I help anyone else when I am in this mess? I would like to tell you a story about a girl, a girl named Jane. She grew up with a dream that is not very different from yours. She didn’t want to be an astronaut, a traveler or an actress. What she wanted was easy to figure out, it was something she knew she always wanted. She wanted to be a mother.
When she was in college she married a nice man named Andrew. They were in love and they wanted to have a family. They always wanted to be parents. Andrew always knew he wanted to be a dad. He and Jane were so excited to have children and to finally be able to expand their couple into a few more. So they tried and tried to have a baby. Years passed and tests were done and there was no progress. It was official; Jane and Andrew could not have children on their own. For some reason their bodies could not produce something that they both wanted more than anything in the whole world. They were discouraged, but they didn’t let this obstacle defeat them. There were times when Jane saw other parents with their children and wondered what she had done wrong. Would she ever be a mother? She wanted so much to have a child to love and teach. She wanted to hear someone say, “I love you mommy”, but she often wondered if her ears would ever hear those words.
Jane and Andrew eventually decided that they would try to adopt. Although the process was long and often heart breaking as young mothers changed their minds, they continued to seek a young girl like you, who wanted to give them a baby. After many tears, sleepless nights and wondering, the day eventually came that Jane and Andrew became parents. There was a girl who much like you, had become pregnant before she was ready to be a mother. She wanted Jane and Andrew to adopt her son. When Jane and Andrew finally held that sweet baby boy in their arms they knew that he was their son. Jane and Andrew had true gratitude in their hearts because of the trust that young mother had in them. She knew that they could give him a life that she wasn’t ready to give. Jane and Andrew knew that although they had not chosen the path that they traveled on, they were able to arrive at a destination that they always wanted.
Just a few years later Jane and Andrew had a desire to adopt once again. The process was slow, but eventually they were able to be foster parents to two brothers that came from a home with a history of drugs, abuse and unwise choices. They took care of them, loved them and changed their lives with the hope that one day the boys would be official members of their family. It was not until two years later that Jane and Andrew were able to legally adopt the brothers. I was there that day and the love of their family seemed to visibly grow. You could just tell that they were meant to be a family. You could tell that these two brothers were meant to have a better life than what their biological mother had. Their biological mother came from a family of high school dropouts, teen pregnancy and drug abuse. With Jane and Andrew as their parents these boys have a better chance of graduating high school, going off to college and living a life free from drugs. You see, I am the aunt to these three boys and I am forever grateful, as I know my other family members are, for the opportunity that I have to know and love these boys. They are wonderful and luckily Jane and Andrew were trusted enough to take the boys into their home and care for them. Not only have they cared for them but also, they have loved them and provided so many opportunities for them.
I know it might be scary to think of someone else taking care of your baby. What if they hurt them or don’t give them a good healthy life? I want you to know that you don’t have to be scared because you can choose the couple that you want for your child. But it is up to you to make that choice. Will you make the selfless choice and give your baby better chances of succeeding? Will you bring hope and love to the lives of a mother or a father without a baby? There are mothers and fathers out there that are waiting for a baby and for some reason they can’t make it happen for themselves. That is where you come in. You can change someone’s life! You can give the gift that no one else can give. You can give the gift of life, the gift of a child. I hope this letter got you to think about an option that is often forgotten amidst the anxiety and confusion that comes along with teen pregnancy. There are hundreds of men and women out there who are waiting to be parents and you can help them. Please tell others you know about the gift of adoption. Please consider adoption as an opportunity to change not only your life, but also someone else’s.
Sincerely,
Amy Rex
Christmas Cheer!
Here are some photos of our Christmas tree adventure. Lauren and Jessica came over for dinner and to help us... luckily they provided much comedy as usual.
And now our apartment is officially Christmased. I love it!
The finished product...
And now our apartment is officially Christmased. I love it!
The finished product...
Christmas at Disneyland!
I started out the season by visiting one of my favorite places! My good friend Lauren and I went to Disneyland and got to see the fireworks show and the pretty snow. I loved it. I just walked around with a huge grin all night. There was Christmas music playing and lights everywhere. It was just what I needed amidst all of the studying and running around. It was such a good time. Then Tyler and I went again last thursday and it was really great. We stood in the middle of Main Street so we could see the whole castle and fireworks show. It was so wonderful. I really love this time of year and I am so glad that Disneyland does such a great job of bringing the true spirit of Christmas to so many people.
Thanksgiving
As usual we party hopped on Thanksgiving and ate waaaay to much. But it was wonderful! We woke up and Tyler played volleyball with a bunch of friends and I went on a hike with my dad and my sister danielle. It was a beautiful day! We ate our first meal at my parents house and then headed off to Manhattan Beach to meet up with the Bradys. When we got there people were just about done eating and I am pretty sure there was still like 3 turkeys worth of meat left over. It was crazy. There was way too much food. But I of course had to taste test and it was delicious. What a yummy day!
The Brady Dinner in Manhattan Beach
The Pitts Dinner
The Brady Dinner in Manhattan Beach
The Pitts Dinner
The Peterson Family
In november I had the opportunity to take family photos for a family in our ward. They are pretty amazing people and I am really grateful that they wanted to have me take their photos. They are a really cute trio and I am really happy with how all of the photos turned out. Thanks guys! You are a pretty cute family!
Halloween
I know I know... I am super late in posting, but better late than never right? This is a picture of Tyler and I at our ward Halloween party. I wont even try to tell you how many people came up to me thinking I was really pregnant. It was weird due to the fact that I see most of them every week at church... I guess people just don't pay very much attention to me. haha. Anyway... we are Juno and Paulie Bleaker if you can't tell. I loved it. I thought it was so fun walking around with that big belly. Plus, juno is hilarious so I was spouting off lines randomly throughout the night. Notice the orange tic tacs and the bottle of sunny d. We went all out.
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