My Nana's Funeral

My Nana's funeral was on Monday, December 15th. My camera's battery died so these are all stolen from Aliese's blog. I could get my dad's camera and put the effort into doing things myself but why do that when I can just theive them? Anyway, at the funeral, Adam, Jacob, Darrin (BIL), and my dad were all paul bearers (plus two cousins, Dad's uncle, and some guy).

It was FREEZING outside...with wind chill it was something like 9 degrees...it was cold though.
While the boys were paul bearing we got a picture with just the girls. Of note: at my grandad's funeral 3 years ago (almost to the day) a picture of our family was taken and it is seriously the best picture we have ever had. As the upcoming pictures show, funerals/a good cry yield great family pictures. Below is Mom, Natalie, Aliese, and me.

And here's the family picture...quite a good one really. Me, Adam, Jacob, Natalie, Aliese, Darrin, Mom, Dad.
After the dedication of the grave, I was ready to go...it was SO COLD...but my dad is a chatter (I guess he has the right to linger at chat at his mom's funeral though) so Adam and I huddled in near this tree to hide from the wind. Apparently people thought it was a prime photo opt because Natalie and Aliese both took a few pictures (we're not looking at the camera but I still like it ok...even though or eyes are squinty). Then Aliese and Darrin like the pose so much they got some too.

After the funeral, my dad took us all out to Olive Garden. I just realized this is the only picture in which I have a neck. I was scarfed in all the others. The picture of Natalie was taken by Aliese...it's Natalie with my dad's camera, she was given the job of taking pictures throughout the whole thing...so Aliese got one of her.

My Nana

Leone Beckstead Chipman 1929 ~ 2008
Leone Beckstead Chipman passed away Wednesday December 10, 2008 at her oldest daughter's home surrounded by family members. She fought a valiant and courageous battle of Multiple Sclerosis, all the while keeping her sense of humor. She was born in Salt Lake City on May 11, 1929. Her parents are Merrill H. and Vera Leone Wheeler Beckstead. Leone graduated from East High School. She did beautiful embroidery and also wrote poetry. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She held many positions in the church and served in various presidencies but she particularly enjoyed Relief Society. She married Lester Chipman in the Salt Lake Temple on June 19, 1951. They had three children. Leone is survived by her children; Kathy Felt-Harris (Tom), Stephen Chipman (Carolyn), RaKell Kilpatrick (Andy), her grandchildren; Chad Felt (Lisa Bendtsen), Todd Felt (Shanna), Aliese Fry (Darrin), Jennifer Chipman, Jacob Chipman, Natalie Chipman, and Jessica Chipman, and her great-grandson, Ethan Felt; and brothers and sisters, Merrill Beckstead (Nanette), Judy Billeter, Diane Berntsen, Cheryl Ford (Clyde), Leo Beckstead (Lorene), and sister-in-law, Colleen Diamond. Preceded in death by husband, parents and brother-in-law, Bud Billeter. Graveside services will be held at 12:00 Noon, Monday, December 15, 2008 at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 South Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah. The family will receive friends at a viewing Sunday evening from 6:00-8:00 P.M. at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary, 3401 South Highland Drive, and Monday from 11:00-11:45 A.M. at the mortuary prior to services. Interment - Wasatch Lawn Cemetery.

Major Catch up

I have been crazy busy and finally have had a chance to update...sorry about the overload but at least there are pictures!

First, my friends, brittany and kody, got married on December 3rd and I was one of the witnesses (I'll email you all the pictures I have, Brit). They did a tiny civil ceremony and will do the big bit next month.

Kody, Brittany, me, & Krista are signing the paperwork.

Brittany and Kody - while the judge was reading their vows.

Their first kiss as husband and wife

Next, while I was waiting for Brittany and Kody's marriage license to process, I got a text from the future SIL, Lindsay. She had her baby that morning. So now I have a cute little [almost] nephew, Max Wesley.

This is all I've seen of baby Max so far...cute picture I'd say.

And now we shall rewind back to Thanksgiving...all the pictures are stolen from Aliese's blog because I'm lazy. We had a small Thanksgiving with just my immediate family and my ill grandmother. It was quite lovely...all homemade food eaten on china...our Thanksgiving's are very fancy pants.


We played games that night...and pretty much every night the whole weekend. Note: I didn't sleep the night before Thanksgiving or the night of...and when I don't sleep, I get quite hyper...it's as close to being drunk as I'll ever be...the picture of me covering my face is because I started laughing so hard I was bawling...not cute.

After the games, Adam and I went shopping...around 1 am ish...we met up with Darrin & Aliese at 4 am. The shopping was done at about 10 am...then I took a 7 hour nap.

Ok, this is a bad picture of me but I had to include it...we (Darrin, Aliese, Adam, Jen) went to Chili's for dinner on Saturday night. We got some skillet queso and chips to share...I asked the waiter if I could steal the skillet, she seemed like she wanted me to, so I did...it's in the bottom "to go" box...wood base and all.

There you have it...the abridged version...if you want more details go to Aliese and Darrin's blog.

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and it is time for me to reflect upon the many things I am thankful for...and then post them, apparently.

• Adam is first. I won't go into detail here because he seems to be a subject I frequent but I am most grateful for him. (nothing else is in order...just so you know)
• I am grateful to amazing family. They are so supportive and funny and cool. I am also grateful for Adam's family for liking me, being fun, opening my once narrow mind, and for providing me with nieces (and soon a nephew) to play with.
• Next up, friends. I don't see anybody very often, though I'd like to, but that doesn't matter so much...I'm still grateful for ya'll...including you bloggers...so my random thoughts are read and occasionally commented on.
• I am thankful for the opportunity I had to move out and live in Logan with really really cool people. I learned a lot about myself, enjoyed the freedom and independence, and had extreme amounts of fun. Seriously some of the best times of my life.
• Related to the above, I am grateful for Cassidy Weiler Meine for telling me Adam's secrets and for coming up to Logan the weekend she did...look what you did! If it wasn't for her, Adam and I would have eventually found each other, I think/hope, but maybe not for a while.
• I am grateful for my religion and my bishop and my cute little primary kids...who aren't all so cute on account of their awkward age...but they're sweet.
• I am grateful for the things that go horribly wrong in my life and cause me to hyperventilate...if it wasn't for the really bad times, I wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the good.
• I'm grateful for hygiene products...seriously...razor, tampons, toothbrush, deodorant, etc....we'd all be disgusting without them.
• I'm grateful for me...not conceited...hear me out. I've been blessed with a mind and body that are both, for the most part, uncompromised. I'm glad I can do pretty much whatever I want to with few limitations. I'm glad I can think for myself and take care of myself. I'm even glad my joints suck and I have such bad asthma...I wish it weren't so but things could be worse and I'll embrace my flaws...sometimes.
• Lastly, I am grateful my classes were cancelled today!

I am grateful for so many things that I couldn't include them all but I had to at least share the basics...feel free to do the same. I hope we can remember to give thanks and not just gorge on delicious food.

Hot dogs, wedding stuff, and a tag

First, when I'm coming home from school (south on I-15 around 7:40pm), it smells very much like hotdogs around 4000 south...every time. Curious.

Wedding stuff...don't get excited (like anyone would). There really aren't many updates. As of today, it is only 7 months away! I was basking in the ease of the long engagement...it's so stress free...unless you do absolutely nothing until the last minute. I'll start getting more stuff taken care of, apparently...all I have is a date (June 20, 2009) and a reception site reservation (Wheeler Farm...beautiful, outdoorsy, and ancestral). Oh...and my wonderful mother is tinkering with the pattern (yup...not just making the dress...she's drawing the pattern too...poor thing), and I have my flower girl and bridemaid patterns.

Next for this tag.

Favorite person outside of family: Technically, Adam is not yet family. While, to me, he has been for quite a while, he won't officially be family for 7 more months (from today). And now I don't have to choose...he is easily my favorite!

Guilty Pleasure: Stupid movies...seriously love them. Also, sleeping in beyond an acceptable hour but I can't do it too often or I'll hate myself for wasting time.

Quirks about me: I'm fairly quirky person actually. I'm organized to an anal point but my room does NOT show it (to my great embarrassment and shame). I also (Aliese does it too) arrange my closet by color (rainbow), sleeve, and they all face the same direction. Adam doesn't do this...he will in 7 months though ;). I, apparently, talk weird. When someone is taking my picture, if they don't hurry, I start pulling faces.

Favorite charity/cause: I second Aliese on the Primary Children's Medical Center on the grounds that I owe them my siblings (they all would have died other wise). I also support the Tiny Tim Foundation (I've made sooo many things for them) who takes quilts, toys, etc. to impoverished areas in Mexico. In general, I am way into humanitarian work that involves children and poverty...the combination is seriously near and dear.

Favorite Blog recently: I honestly enjoy almost everybody's blogs...friends and family...I don't really bother with strangers due to time and because it seems a little stalkerish. Kelli's usually makes me laugh and because I enjoy laughter, I'll choose her...although I'm not slighting others.

Worst job I ever had: I've been pretty lucky with jobs but they have all come with cons. As a lifeguard, I had to clean truly vile things...unfortunately, this pales in comparison to the intense dislike of a select few people who worked with me. I don't usually dislike jobs...I'm a hard worker and really enjoy money...but politics associated with jobs make me livid (experiencing a little of this these days actually...glory).

Any confessions: When I see cute very small children wandering around alone, I think how easy it would be to take them. It sounds creepy but really, I'm concerned for the kid and wish their parents cared enough about them to stay near them. I sometimes lie on accident...there's no need for it and I have nothing to hide...I just lie sometimes (I'm also overly honest). I've tortured a hamster to death (age 3). I fish without a lisence. I've "skinny dipped" several times...well...chubby dipped...don't worry, nobody saw me nudey although I've never nakey swam alone...but it's so exhilerating. I've done some hilarious/appalling things in my day...I could share countless snippits of mischeif but I'll save it for another time.

If you had to spend $1,000 on yourself, how would you spend it? I don't like spending money on myself. I'd probably buy stuff Adam and I could use together (games, movies, etc.)...or maybe future house stuff or something.

Favorite thing about your house: Current/parent's house: It's comfortable. I like the location of my room (back corner of the basement...A LOT of privacy and alone time). I like our (Adam and Jen's) couch...it's temporarily living here but it is grand. Future house: Adam will live there too!

Least favorite thing about your house? Current: Adam doesn't live here too. Future: I don't know yet...hopefully nothing.

Favorite Bible verse: Psalms 56:3 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." There are a lot of passages with a similar message...trust God...He won't give an obstacle without the means to overcome it....what will be will be. Also...I have to include bits from Aliese' favorite because it mentions a funny thing I once said...

From Aliese's blog:
Luke 6:27-28 "But I say unto you which, hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." I'm all about the whole, "hate the sin, love the sinner." Pretty sure that's somewhere in there too, but I don't remember the reference. I generally enjoy how people choose to interpret bible verses as well. As my sister [meaning me] so eloquently replied to a person with highly questionable judgement, "Are you without sin? Then quit throwing all these fetching rocks at me!"

Things you're good at: Music, tinkering (I'm probably the handiest gal in the world), planning stuff (accept apparently our wedding which seems to be a little neglected). I'm also good at stuff that may be less admirable...I lie really well, I can make people feel really badly about themselves without saying or doing anything "mean"...I'm good with guilt trips...I'm very outgoing and confrontational (especially with an audience)...I'm a master plotter. I'm thinking I was a master criminal in another life because I seriously have an evil side. I sometimes wish my negative talents were nonexistant (because I really am a good person and really do care about the well being of others) but they've really come in handy in the past so I just tuck them away and use them when appropraite...or necessary.

Something you would change about your circumstances: I'd be married to Adam. I'd be graduated. We'd be financially ok (not wealthy...I don't every want to be wealthy). We'd have a decent house.

Who would you like to meet someday: I suck at these ones...Adam would probably say Lce Armstrong so I'll second that...I already know the people I want to know.

Who is your real life hero: I'm apologizing in advance for the cheese...but...Adam is my hero. He is everything I'm not which I have so much respect for. He cares so much about people and has made me a better person. He's also smart and funny and seriously improves every single day of my life. He rescues me from myself and from so many other things.

What is the hardest part of your job: Getting to know people that you know will die...and then watching their loved ones suffer.

When are you most relaxed? When things are tidy, I'm not going to school, and I'm with Adam.

When are you most stressed? (I have to copy Aliese...who copied Anna)...When all of the aforementioned are...shall we say...NOT! (Me:) School stresses me out SO much...I don't understand all you weirdos (Adam included) who love the educational process...I loathe it. I also hate a mess but I'm so scatter brained and busy my room is always cluttered.

What can you not live without? I really didn't expect this post to be so cheesey...seriously sorry...Adam again though...and my family and friends.

Why do you blog? It's easier to share various happenings with others. It's a good way to keep track of others. Also, I plan to (post nuptials) devote certain posts to scrapbooky type things and do a blurb book every year or two...it's a cheap way to journal.

Do it if you want to...