10 Things I love about my man!!!

I decided that I wanted to write a post about how wonderful of a man my husband is. He is always there for me and continues to show me endless love every day! So here are the 10 reasons why I love my man- there are SO many reasons why I love him, but these are just a few.

10. He is SO hard working. He puts his family first and steps up and takes responsibility of being the head of the household. He follows what the Proclomation to the Family says.

9. He calls me on his lunch, just to see how my day is going

8. The way he smiles-not just with his mouth but with his eyes too

7. How he can always make me laugh even/especially when I'm upset with him

6. He asks my every morning, with out fail, how I slept and he actually cares about it.

5. The way he smells-LOVE IT!!!

4. The way he wraps me in his arms, early in the morning

3. When he comes up behind me, when I'm cooking in the kitchen, wraps his arms around me, kisses my check and tells me he loves me

2. He is a worthy Priesthood holder and is willing to give me blessings whenever I need them

1. He has such a strong testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He loves the gospel, he helped me reach the goal of getting married in the Temple.. and I get to spend the rest of forever with him

I have got to be the luckiest woman alive. I love you babe!

Grandpa Harris

Over the past two years my poor Grandpa Harris has been through a lot. He scared us all last year when he had a heart attack and was rushed into surgery where they found multiple problems in the arteries headed to his heart. He had triple bypass surgery to get stents put in.

Heart Stint

I remember after he came out of surgery he was laying in his hospital bed and he kept saying, "I am so tired" my Aunt Nicole responded, "I'm sure you are, you just had a heart attack." After having a couple heart attacks and having a triple bypass, he was released from the hospital.
He almost immediately went to work on his next project, OLE'S, where he introduced Ole's Triple Bypass Burger, named after what he had just been through.

Ole's Triple Bypass

Now anyone who knows my Grandpa knows that he is not one to just sit around. He is also one not to listen to the Doctors. Haha, I guess you could say "he's a hard working man" ..

Ole's

Things have seemed to be going really well, until this last week. I got a text message from my Dad with a picture of my Grandpa in a hospital bed with scratches and giant band aid on his forehead.

Grandpa had been out feeding his cows- when Grandpa feeds his cows he pulls a trailer, carrying the hay, behind his truck. He gets on the trailer and pushed the hay off- he said that he knew he was going to pass out while standing on the trailer so he started to step off the trailer when he blacked out. The next thing he knew he was sitting in his truck trying to answer his phone; a friend of his was trying to call him to see if he wanted to go somewhere with him that day. Grandpa answered that he didn't know what was going on or where he was. Grandpa's friend contacted my Uncle Bryan and said that he better hurry out to the farm, something was going on with Grandpa. Grandpa later said he doesn't remember falling off the trailer or even how long he had been passed out for. He said he also doesn't remember how he got into his truck. Grandpa wouldn't let the ambulance take him down to Idaho Falls so my Aunt Nicole took him. The Doctor ran tests on him to see if he had had another heart attack. He had to stay in the hospital for a couple days so they could keep an eye on him.

My Grandpa is now back home. They think it was his blood pressure medication dropping his blood pressure too low. He is wearing a monitor, that if he feels like he is passing out, he can have the monitor record what is going on with his heart, blood pressure.

He has a massive bruise on his lip from falling off the trailer. My Uncle Bryan went back out to see if he could tell what Grandpa had hit when he fell off, but he couldn't see anything.

As you can see my Grandpa has a pretty big bruise on his face. My Aunt Nicole said the inside of his lip is just as bruised as the outside is.

Some people might be wondering why I would write something like this about my Grandpa. Well, my Grandpa Harris is an amazing man. Even though he has been through so much he continues to work hard everyday. I'm sure come tomorrow he will be back out feeding his cows and working on his farm or maybe he'll take his grandchildren to the cabin so he can spend some time with them, or maybe instead of the cabin he'll take them to go swimming.
All in all I wanted to show what a strong man my Grandpa is. Even after having a near death experience he went and built a restaurant in a small town and in the process has given everyone the opportunity to see the history of this small town by bringing in old pictures and newspaper articles.
My Grandpa is also a kind man, he went out of his way to make friends with a man, Lucky, who's family didn't want much to do with him. He would take Lucky swimming and would invite him to come to family events. All the way up to when Lucky passed away, Grandpa was his friend and Lucky was grateful for that. This is a trait that I have seen has been past down to my Dad, who is also a hard working, strong, kind man.

I am grateful for them both.

Step one..admitting you have a problem

While looking in the mirror in my bathroom I came to the harsh realization the that I am overweight. I'm not huge by any means but I am overweight, being married will do that to you, but if I don't change my habits, and fast, then I will be huge. I wish I had the excuse of "I just had a baby" or I would even settle for the excuse of "I'm just big boned" but everyone who knows me knows that is not true.

When you graduate from high school and move onto college, there is what is called the "freshman 15"..so what do they call it when you get married? "Careless weight gain?"

And why does a marriage, in most cases, cause weight gain? Maybe its because now that you have your eternal companion you no longer "feel" like you have to try; notice I said "feel" which doesn't mean that you should. Maybe its because you're more lazy than you were in high school; TRUE!! for me any way. Whatever the reason (over eating, lack of exercise) may be, it has to END!

So that is why I have stopped drinking Mountain Dew, which surprisingly has been harder than I thought it would. I didn't really even realize that I was addicted to it until I started going through withdrawal, curled up in the corner rocking back and forth with look of "no one is home" on my face; just kidding, it wasn't that bad, but it was hard. I am now 2 weeks Mt. Dew free.

I have also started exercising for an hour every night (well almost every night); I am doing yoga and the Dancing with the Stars dance video; which is surprisingly hard. When I say almost every night, it is every night that Sterling closes at work; which is most of the week.

I have cut back on my food portions and I have settled down on my "bored eating" while I am at work, that is what killed me!

I am very luck to not be going through this journey alone. I have a sister and a mother who have taken the goal of losing weight this year as well. We have all added our new app to track our calories and weight loss, and we are there to support each other through this process. THANK GOODNESS!!!

I have a couple of tips to help me along my weight loss journey.

The 80/20 Rule

ONLY eat 80 percent of your meal, that way you don't over eat; which in the past has seemed to be my problem.

Get Food Portions Right

I can tell you right now that I NEVER followed this rule, but I'm now trying to.

Eat at Home

Eat home-cooked meals at least 5 times a week to live like a thin person. This one isn't as hard as it was before now that we are in our own home.

Catch the "Eating Pause"

Most people have a natural "eating pause" where they drop the fork for a couple minutes. That is the bodies way of saying you're full but not STUFFED. This one I'm trying to be careful and listen to my body and hope to have it down perfectly eventually.

I guess now there is only on thing left for me to say:

Hello, my name is Megan and I am a overweight because of over-eating and under-exercising.

Step One..CHECK!!!

I found all of my information off of weight-loss-plans-4-you.com just in case anyone wants to take a look.

Flash Back

I was looking through some pictures the other day and saw this really old picture from back when I was little; I was around 5 years old. I had forgotten all about this until I saw the picture and then a wave of memories from this night hit me; I couldn't help but laugh.

I'm not sure of everyone's name in the picture except for the girls that were my best friends from Sugar.

Felicia is in the top middle (it was her birthday party), Brittany in the bottom left, me in the bottom middle, and Kimberly on the bottom right. We went swimming to Green Canyon.

I love finding pictures like this of the past. It takes you back to the days when you didn't have to worry about bills or what to cook for dinner.

Life Beyond Death....

Over the past year I have had friends and family who have past from this life and some who have been close to death. I have become more afraid of death and leaving this earth life because of what I have seen over the past year. As I was laying in bed with my Husband the other morning I began to think about how scary it is that all of us have to die, and how I wished I could just lay in bed, safe, with my husband forever. As a family friend was recently killed in an accident it has made me think even more about what life really means. This morning I was thinking about it and wondering when my time will come and I began to get frightened at the thought that at any minute my life could end. I got on my Facebook page and saw a recent post from a friend. It was of a YouTube video by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints labeled "Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them". The video starts off as a flash back of an experience that had happened to Elder Russell M. Nelson. He tells of a time he was on a small airplane traveling. While on this small plane he hears an explosion, He looks out the window and the engine on the wing was on fire. The plane begins to spiral toward the earth. He looks over and sees a woman; she is hysterical. He remembers feeling sorry for her because of how afraid she was. He goes on saying that even though he knew he was headed to his death he was completely calm because he knew that he was going to meet his Maker. He said that as the plane was spiraling toward the earth it put the fire out on the wing caused from the engine, the pilot was able to regain control and proceed to do an emergency landing in a field. After explaining his encounter he reads Luke 21: 25-26. It reads, 25: "The earth shall be in distress, nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;" (he is reading this as it shows pictures of past disasters; tsunami's, earthquakes..) 26: MEN'S HEARTS FAILING THEM FOR FEAR". He says, "What we are seeing is prediction that in these latter days people will be afraid. Men's hearts are failing and that includes Women, because they forget their identity and their purpose." He goes on saying, "heartaches will come, whether it be through death, illness, disability, divorce, those children who go astray, or injuries...for those who are weak in the heart, be patient with yourself. PERFECTION COMES NOT IN THIS LIFE BUT IN THE NEXT LIFE. Don't demand things that are unreasonable but demand of yourself improvement. As you let the Lord help you through that, he will make the difference." He finishes by baring his testimony. I was so thankful that my friend had the inspiration to put this on her wall. I can't explain the sense of calm I have had come over me all because I watched this 3 minute video. I now realize I had lost sight of what was really important and because I had forgotten the real reason we are on this earth it caused me to be fearful. This earth life is a very small portion of what is ahead of us. I found a quote by President Thomas S. Monson (The president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) it states, "Life beyond the grave is real, and as certain as our life here." I can now say I feel completely different about death. I just needed a wake up call to help me remember what I had already known; there is a life after death. I don't need to be afraid of leaving this earth life because I will be returning to meet my Maker. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of life after death. I'm so grateful for the gospel and how everyday my Father in Heaven shows me his tender mercies. And I am grateful knowing that even though I may leave this earth life and be temporarily separated from my family, that that is all it is..a temporary separation. I can be with my family FOREVER through Heavenly Fathers plan.


To view the video by Elder Russell M. Nelson go to www.youtube.com and type in "Men's hearts shall fail them"

Count your blessings!

I feel like I personally have taken the blessings that I have received recently for granted. I have been so worried about what was going to happen with my home loan that I haven't realized the blessings that have poured in over the past week. Here are some of the many:

*I have been blessed with a husband who has been able to comfort me through this whole ordeal and who has taken care of me through being sick. I have been sick this past week with a cold. When it comes time for bed is when it seems to get the worst. Last night (November 16, 2011) I coughed for around an hour. Sterling rubbed my back and asked me if I needed a drink of water. I'm very blessed with a man who thinks of me and takes very good care of me.

*I'm blessed with a sister who I can turn to when I am discouraged and feel like my life is so hard. She can make me laugh and knows how to make my day so much better. She's there just to listen when I need to vent; which I did a lot of this past month because of our loan problems.

*I'm blessed with parents who give me advice when I need it the most. For a mother who is caring and who will help me when I need it and a father who can show me the good in bad situations, like saying even if we had to wait till next week to move into our home at least the WHOLE family would be here to help move us in because of Thanksgiving. haha thanks for your comments to today dad, they helped a lot.

* I'm blessed with wonderful Grandparents who, as you can see because of my last post, are so generous and humble. An amazing couple who has opened up their home for my husband and I, and our crazy, energetic dog, to stay in. When we were feeling so down and worried they said to remember that we always have a place to stay and we can stay as long as we'd like. I'm grateful for them..for their amazing testimonies of our Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for the Spirit that they have in their home.

*I'm blessed with family members who check everyday when we will be moving into our home so that they can make sure to come and help! For sisters-in-laws and a father-in-law who have taken time out of their busy schedules to help us in any way possible. I have such an amazing family!

* And finally I have been so blessed with a Father in Heaven who I can testify listens to my prayers and my pleadings, no matter how simple they may be. I have been blessed with having so many wonderful people in my life.

There are so many blessings that I could continue to name but I would be typing all night long! We have been extremely blessed! Thank you everyone! It means a great deal to both Sterling and I how wonderful you have been to us!

We are happy to announce that our loan has finally been approved and it should be getting sent to the title company tomorrow and we should be able to move into OUR home..very soon! We have been very amazed how much weight has been lifted off our shoulders just by hearing three little words, You've Been Approved. Now we will finally be able to get a good nights sleep and wake up ready to take on the wonderful days ahead of us; instead of being afraid what the day might or might not bring.

So here is to remembering to always see the blessings in the times of hardship and trials because I am 100% sure that you will ALWAYS find at least one.

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
— Albert Schweitzer

Tribute to Grandma and Grandpa Kunz

I wanted to write a post thanking my Grandparents for letting us live with them for the past 6 months; even though this will never be a good enough thanks for all they have done!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for helping us out with Squirt; for taking him out and playing with him..SPECIAL THANKS to Grandpa for buying Squirt a new squeeky toy everytime he tore a hole in the old one.

Grandpa has been so faithful with buying Squirt toys that one night Sterling and I came home from work. It was around 8:00pm when we walked in the door and found Grandma sitting by herself in the TV room. I asked, "Grandma where is Grandpa?" She said, "well Squirt tore a hole in his toy and Grandpa said Squirt doesn't like his other toys as much as the ones we get him so he ran to Walmart to get him another one." I could not believe that Grandpa had run to Walmart at 8:00 at night just to get Squirt a toy. When Grandpa finally came home I said, "Grandpa you didn't have to do that." He said, "Well Squirt would be so sad if he didn't have his toy, so I had to go get him another one..oh yeah I bought three of the same one so when you guys move out he'll be set." HAHA Grandpa we love you! I'm almost 100% sure both Grandpa and Squirt will have withdrawls from not being around one another once we move out!!

These two people have been so wonderful to Sterling and I. Since we've been there Grandma has taught us how to make chili sauce and sweet and sour sauce.

I am especially thankful for learning how to make chili sauce. It is something everyone in my family has grown up on so I'm so excited to be able to know how to make this wonderful sauce. Although I'm sure it won't ever be as good as Grandma Kunz's chili sauce because she has the special touch ;)

We have also been lucky enough to be with them to celebrate both of their birthdays!







Grandpa wanted to get a picture of Grandma blowing out her birthday candles! He's so funny!

We've learned when we walk in the front door and we have purchased something to eat, the first thing Grandpa is going to do is say, "Whatcha got there?" Once we tell him he'll say, "Oh, I think I'll try some of that, is there enough for me?" Of course we always make sure there is enough for both of them.

Grandma has shared with us her cheers from her high school days. As she sways back and forth she sings, "Well well well, who can tell? We will beat you all to..WELL WELL WELL!!!" She always slowes down at the end! It has now become one of Sterling and my favorite songs to sing around Grandma because she always seems to join right in..swaying right along!

We have been so lucky to get to spend some time with them! Once again Grandma and Grandpa thank you for everything!! You have been so wonderful to open up your doors and allow us to stay at your home! It has helped us more than you can imagine! WE LOVE YOU!!!

"Grandparents are a delightful blend of laughter, caring deeds, wonderful stories and love. They make the world...a little softer, a little kinder, a little warmer."
-Unknown