Showers and MRIs!

Wow, is it really only 11 days until I'm married? How exciting! It has been a whirlwind of an October here! I saw some carved pumpkins on a neighbor's porch today, and thought: "Is Halloween really that close?" So much is going on that time is flying by!

Each day I feel the blessings of Heavenly Father, and the more I try to count them, I get choked up with emotion at how much He has blessed me. I have been blessed with such kind family, friends, and ward members that have showered me with gifts at wedding showers, and I'm amazed at the generosity of these incredible women in my life! It has been so weird to go to a shower without a gift! For years I have gone to friends' wedding and baby showers, and to now be in the spotlight-- well, I just feel spoiled! No one is obligated to give any kind of gift, but so many are so generous and willing to do so. I have been touched by the outpouring of love and how excited these women in my life have been for me. I know that we should mourn with those that mourn, but I've also seen the blessing of friends that rejoice with you in your rejoicing! I know that's not easy sometimes, especially when the woman wants it for herself too.

I have loved the messages in cards too-- I love cards! Some of my favorites: "Who says fairy tales don't come true?" "Capture your life together in plenty of photos-- each photo will have it's own story to tell." "Love can make a dream come true... just as it has for both of you!" "Believe in your love. Believe in your dreams. Believe in each other." "Live happily, Laugh joyfully, Love completely." "Wishing you soul-mate magic, best-friend fun, and true-love joy today and happily ever after." And the reason I love these messages and many others, is because they are SOOOO TRUE for Tyler and me! We often say how this is like a fairy tale come true for us, and that we can't believe how blessed we are. We both say we feel like the luckiest guy/girl in the world! And we just have to pinch ourselves to realize it's really happening!
So here are a few of the pictures from the showers.. I'm sorry I didn't take more!





Tyler has been so sweet and after her found out he could make an appearance at every shower, he made sure to come to each and every one! He's helped pack up the gift and take them to our future Kendrick home, and he even brought a gift to the first shower! And to the last shower, he surprised me with 18 beautiful pink roses! Is this guy for real? I have actually asked him if he is one of the 3 Nephites, because he is so kind and so good to me, and it's like he was waiting until I was ready! He laughed at that and joked back, "Actually honey, my name is Ahkmed." I like that he has a great sense of humor to top it off!

The quilts that my aunts have made have truly blown me away, the gift cards have been generous, and the presents and excited friends have all just been more than I could ever thank! I can't believe all the time and effort that these amazing women have gone to in planning and putting on a shower.

On the day I went of track, the students TOTALLY surprised me with a wedding shower! The moms of my students and another teacher helped organize it all! What really impressed me, is the students all knew for THREE WEEKS, and I had NO idea!!! They never breathed a word of it to me! They made me a wedding dress, veil, and bouquet all out of toilet paper and paper towels! And they looked great, too bad I already bought one! :) Again, I loved the cards. (Anyone who knows me knows how very much I love cards! I love to write them, read them, keep them, and buy fun cards to give to others!) My favorite one I will share, not to build myself up, but to show what a very sweet group of kids I'm blessed to teach! This is from one of my boys: "Dear Miss T, Congratulations! You are getting married Nov. 5th! Do you know that you are the best teacher ever? You let us do fun activities, you are nice all the time, and the most of all you give everybody a good felling (he means feeling) inside...." Isn't that sweet? I'm glad that's how he feels at school, but can you believe an 8 year old wrote that? Great kids. They all left that day saying, "Goodbye Mrs. Kendrick!"





I have continued to enjoy good times with Tyler as we prepare, and I love that our weekly goal is to attend the temple! Tyler's mom has been working so hard finding names that need work done, and it's been fun to help with that! Thanks to Mom getting tickets, I enjoyed a beautiful classical concert with my parents and Tyler at the Tabernacle!




We also enjoyed a nice drive up the canyons on Sunday after church. It was still beautiful, but we missed the peak time for the orange and red leaves. That's what we get for planning a fall wedding! Next year we can celebrate a fall anniversary and see the leaves! :)





I'm so excited to be able to spend eternity with this amazing, incredibly loving and understanding man! I love him so much, and I know this is nothing short of a miracle. Heavenly Father has answered our prayers and led us to each other, and we feel so grateful!

In other news.... I have had my foot checked recently because the right foot is a lot larger on top than the left! One doctor told me to get it checked, and the foot doctor said it might be a ganglionic cyst-- but that it was the biggest one he has ever seen if that is what it was! He sent me to get an MRI, and the results showed it's a muscular or vascular tumor, causing the muscle to greatly enlarge! There is a very slim chance it is cancer, but isn't that strange? I guess I know how to grow tumors well! This one is labeled by the doc as a hemangioma, and the one in my brain is called a meningioma. BUT... through more research Mom and Dad did, it looks as if they could be related. More to come on that! Anyway, I will need surgery done on my foot, but they will wait to do that in January, which will be after the holidays and the next time I am off track! When I told me sister about this today, she said, "Well, now you have Tyler to help take care of you and wait on you hand and foot!" More like head and foot-- literally-- right? So I have had MRI's from head to toe this year, and we made it -barely- through 2011 without surgery! Just one right before, and one right after! :) I just hope friends and family I'm praying for can make it through their difficult trials! I am so blessed, I feel I have no room to complain! Life is good!