we have a new nephew!

baby Colter Henrie was born today!
7 pounds, 10 ounces, and completely adorable.

i was getting texts about the safe delivery during narnia.
which, was a pretty good movie by the way.
here's a picture of the crazies before the show.

and then there was light.

one of the benefits to living in an old house,{that george and leslie graciously let us invade},is that i have the privilege of learning all the strange things people did to their houses way back when. for instance, before george and leslie bought it, the old folks living in it plastered over a perfectly good ceiling light. our room is usually dark dark dark.  but, happy day! santa bought us a ceiling fan and light. here are some precious moments from the installation:

thanks, dad, for the professional installation.  we love you!

i hate zombies.

i hate zombies. in stark contrast: john seems to love them.
allow me to explain.
last night, john and sam forced me to watch three and a half hours of The Walking Dead.
if you like feeling safe at night, {like i used to}, getting a full nights rest, {like i used to}, and being free from nightmares that involve the undead surrounding you and tearing you to pieces, {like I used to} -- then i wouldn't recommend it.
if you like your mind to be miserably poisoned, then The Walking Dead is for you.
needless to say, i had a very restless night last night.
i listened to David Archuletta and other happy, anti-zombie music on my new iPhone for about 3 hours, finally drifting off to sleep sometime after 4:30am.
it wasn't john's fault of course.
i wanted to watch it initially.
and i am a pansy.
but by the time I had the thought: maybe i shouldn't be watching this.....
i was already hooked.
and also too afraid to walk from the family room to the bedroom.
now john and his friends, {ryan, john crespo, and nat harward} are in the living room playing
a video game.
a ZOMBIE video game.

on a glass half-full kinda note,
my Christmas was the best yet, despite the zombie movie.
i have the best husband in the world.
and my family {on both the brunt and neff sides!} are the kindest, most loving, and most generous people i know. i am so lucky so have them.
oh, and zombies aren't real.

{merry christmas}

i wish i could live in this.

birthday fun.

monday. john's birthday.
leslie's cinnamon french toast in the morning.
presents.
work :(
lunch at DP with ryan and janessa.
more work :(
dinner at thai drift with parents and brother george.
delicious chocolate cake and byu ice cream.

kinect from george and leslie, which resulted in at least an hour workout for paige and john.

we made the parents play, too.

highlights:

1.  john blowing out the candles, resulting in a powered sugar explosion off the cake.

2.  the pictures that kinect took of us.  hilarious.

101 reasons why my husband is the best.

{he}

1.  tells me he loves me at least ten times a day

2.  makes me breakfast in bed

3.  treats me like a princess

4.  takes me out to dinner

5.  pretends to like my cooking

6.  holds me when i'm cold

7.  tells me i'm pretty - even if it's a grunge day

8.  kisses me good morning

9.  is genuine

10.  is kind to everyone

11.  makes me laugh

12.  takes care of me when i'm sick

13.  dries my tears when i'm sad

14.  is easygoing when i'm neurotic

15.  will do something that i want to, even if he doesn't

16.  likes the same tv shows

17.  teaches me things

18.  lets me teach him things

19.  calls me out on my crap when i'm simply being dumb

20.  helps me study for school

21.  supports me in my little whims

22.  eats vegetables for me

23.  sings and plays guitar for me

24.  says things like, "on a scale of one to awesome, you're super great."

25.  believes in me

26.  holds my hand

27.  will drive me to salt lake every weekend to see my family, though he makes the trip 10x a week

28.  does the dishes

29.  focuses on the Savior and becoming like him

30.  protects me

31.  takes me to exotic places like playa del carmen

32.  makes me feel happy

33.  makes me feel giddy

34.  likes ice cream just as much as i do

35.  drinks water just as much as i do

36.  makes the bed

37.  is willing to watch glee with me, even though he hates it

38.  is generous

39.  cares about things, and expresses his opinion

40.  is a genius

41.  stays up on what is going on in the world

42.  is willing to share

43.  can take off his thumb

44.  makes life thrilling

45.  puts up with me

46.  is strong enough to carry me

47.  opens my doors for me

48.  does the things for me that i ask him to

49.  does things for me without me even asking

50.  works hard, every single day for me

51.  makes me feel good about myself

52.  goes running with me

53.  goes on walks with me

54.  helps me get back on track if i slip-up

55.  likes to try new things, especially the treats that i attempt to make

56.  makes goals with me

57.  takes me to the temple

58.  looks good in anything he wears

59.  is tall

60.  makes me feel special

61.  is fun

62.  likes to be outdoors, just like me

63.  can tell when i am just trying to be tough and i am really sad inside

64.  gets excited about little things, like the color of bedsheets or the pumpkin muffins in the oven

65.  makes sure our activities revolve around maximizing our time together

66.  efficiency is the nature of his business

67.  tells me i'm smart, even if i bomb a test

68.  is the adult when i am acting like a total child

69.  drives me to school

70.  is just so darn handsome!

71.  is patient with me

72.  is a gentleman

73.  carries in the groceries

74.  buys me ice cream

75.  always likes to have discussions about insignificant things, but we always agree on the big

76.  finishes my plate for me when i can't

77.  likes to sleep a lot, just like me

78.  is righteous

79.  kisses me goodbye and kisses me hello

80.  helps me cook

81.  knows the scriptures and can pull them out of thin air when i need one

82.  is a tease

83.  buys me diet coke {he's noticed that it is a miracle cure for paige's crabbiness}

84.  studies with me

85.  drives me where i need to go

86.  rubs my feet when they hurt

87.  tells me that all he wants for christmas is "love"

88.  sings songs with me, and doesn't go berserk when i'm in a singy-mood

89.  is sometimes a nerd

90.  introduces me to all kinds of great movies

91.  laughs when i laugh, and vice-versa

92.  buys me nice things

93.  takes me to fun places

94.  has great hair

95.  teaches me new vocabulary words

96.  listens when i'm ranting

97.  is super funny

98.  challenges me in many ways

99.  calls me to tell me he is on his way

100.  makes me want to be a better person

101.  will probably be super-ulta-embarrassed upon reading this post

have a happy birthday, dearest.  there are 101 reasons why you completely deserve it.

the lights and the fam.

low

john and i have been spending time with my family.

this means:

a shorter commute for him....

much more exciting days for me with my family....
very few blog posts....

and the opportunity to go to the "low" concert in salt lake.

the concert was in a run-down area of salt-lake....

and my friend lizzy had been to a concert in the same venue.

she described it as "ghetto" {oh, how i love her, and i'm thrilled she is home!}.  

we loved it.  

the band was absolutely amazing.

they sang some pretty great songs, 

and added some christmas tunes in there as well.

i was a big fan of the harmonies and distorted guitar.

here are the pictures:

i really love low.

quick weekend recap.

friday night, john and i went to our friend phil hurst's surprise birthday party.  there were several of john's friends there, and it was so great to see and hang out with everybody.  after some delicious cake and cider {briana is an expert at cooking delicious things, the cake tasted like a chocolate orange} we played backwards charades and signs with the remaining bunch.  it was a lot of fun.  sometimes john and i tend to be anti-social, {probably because the little time we spend together, we feel like spending alone.  plus we're lazy....} but it was nice to remember that i actually do have fun in a group of people.  silly me to forget that.

saturday, i hid in the library for awhile, and then came home to john playing black ops.  i cracked the whip and we cleaned for awhile, but then ended up being L-A-Z-Y.  we watched about ten movies, watched the jazz vs. mavs game {i don't really want to talk about it}, and ate a rather-depressing dinner at some greek restaurant in orem.  not that the food was particularly horrible - but when you fall in love with a splendid greek place in salt lake, it's kind of difficult to accept a sub-par place of much lower quality.  {especially when the workers at the greek broiler in salt lake know your faces so well that they say, "hey, long time no see." [wink] each time you come for a falafel}

sunday, george and leslie flew in {yay!} and ryan and janessa came over.  we played a funny game where you have to finish a lyric of a song, the second half of a proverb, a line from a play or book, or a quote from a movie.  i have learned that i do pretty well with the proverbs {as did most of us} but can't finish famous lines from american presidents to save my life.  it was a fun night and i desperately needed the break from studying!  i should probably end this post now though, since "brevity is the soul of wit."

I took this video last saturday.  i thought it was hilarious.  listen carefully, and you can hear me say: "i won't put it on the blog!" yep. that was a lie and a half.

a fun look at our tree

last saturday, john and i went and got the tree of my dreams.  literally.  i've been dreaming about this for quite some time now.  who needs an air freshener in the home when you have a christmas tree?  ahem.  going and getting the tree just gets me into the christmas spirit so much.  i love walking into the lot and knowing that when you walk out, one of these special noble pines is going to live in your family room for the next month.  ah.... bliss.  and, since i refused to turn on the lights, we got some slow-shutter pictures of the tree.  so, rather than a picture of john and i standing in front of the tree, i gave you a little bit of a different approach.  

in other news, i studied for about 8 hours today.  not straight through, naturally, but collectively.  i hope that it ends up being worth the effort.  pathophysiology:  you will be the death of me.

lately i have been reading my neighbor's daughter's blog.  it has made me think a lot about my life and how lucky i am to be where i am.  i have so few challenges compared to other people.  sure, i am having to work my butt off to stay afloat in byu's nursing program, but other people really do have much greater challenges.  i imagine that they will be eternally blessed for their faith, hope, courage, and love.  if you want to look at her blog, (which i highly recommend) the link is here.  if anything, it should make you grateful for the blessings you have, and help you admire the true Christ-like love and faith that this woman has for her children.  i hope that one day i am able to show as much compassion and faith as she has. 

finals! {and the way i will reward myself when they are done.}

every semester, i find that it is excruciatingly painful to force yourself to take five comprehensive finals in the course of three days.  especially after the promise of jingle-bells, gingerbread houses, decorations, mistletoe, shopping, jack frost nipping at your nose, yule-tide carols, candy-canes, sugar-plums, chex mix, movies, and family has been eating away at you for the past three weeks.  the only thing that gets me through it - is the reward that i know will be waiting when john and i can finally bunk at my parent's house for a week or so.... and that i can have not a care in the world, knowing that all my homework is in, finals are over, grades are being calculated.  after that, nothing is in my hands.  and it's time to enjoy my holiday doing the things that i love most with my family.

my mom has promised me hot cheese dip and this:

while we watch this:

why i love byu.

 "nice guy

will D8

4 food"
and i've seen him there about 5 times.

"the life of a married female byu student"

not usually, but sometimes....

i DO see it....

"you choose..... your destiny"

you can't really tell,

but they're wielding swords....

very dangerous,

body-mutilating swords.

since when is this a school-approved club?

"BYU - Where your

best hasn't been

good enough since

1875.

Good luck on finals" 

ONLY at BYU.

saturday adventures: {and finally! a tree}

today was so fun!

i woke up at the crack of dawn for no good reason.

but then i thought:  why not make the most of this?

thus came the cleaning, scrubbing, wiping, spraying frenzy.

i do love cleaning.

john woke up {at a more reasonable hour for a saturday morning},

to a scary-looking wife.

sleeves rolled up, hair in a tight bun, six inches deep in shower cleaner.

he must have known what he was in for.

once the shower and bathrooms and laundry and kitchen were done,

we cleaned the garage!

oh what fun.

this is the garage before we cleaned it....

and this is the garage three hours later....

i know.  you're definitely impressed.

it was a fun and also terrifying experience.

and i mean terrifying because we had an encounter with a rather nasty-looking spider.

and john and i made a critical oversight in our choice of spouse....

neither of us can be the spider-killer.

but john bravely took the job.

he's such a brave man.

and it was hilarious watching him gingerly picking up the towels that the spider was hiding in...

trying to catch and kill something that is merely a millionth of his size.

i could laugh because i wasn't the one having to deal with it.

or i would be crying.

in the end, john come out victorious.

we had to dispose of the towels, obviously.

a spider had been on them!

{anyways...}

john was so very excited,

to be able to park his car in the garage.

and avoid the fifteen minute de-icing routine that he has grown so accustomed to.

our saturday adventures didn't stop there.

we next went to get new tires for john's car,

grab some lunch,

go to sunflower market and costco,

go to bed bath & beyond

{and drive back and forth and back and forth many times in between}.

and finally, the best for last.

at our ward christmas party,

we got to sit on santa's lap:

i think i am a horrible wife.

last night, i threw john's jeans in the dryer because i was in a hurry.
now, they are a little tight.
i am trying to do things right.......
make dinner every night, do the laundry, keep the house clean, keep up on my schoolwork.....
then every once and awhile i make a big mistake like this.
like the time i left chicken-juice on the counter for a minute before disinfecting it.....
and john promptly came and sat in the chicken juice.
i am definitely a newlywed.

more joys of nursing

sometimes, i love the nursing program.  sometimes, i hate it.
right now i am feeling the latter.

i know that i need to chill out and believe that it will all be okay -
that in three weeks time i will be home.
with my family.
and my cute husband.
for christmas.  {yay!}
but right now i have so many scary tests looming over my head.
and i am terrified that my grades won't be up to snuff.
sometimes, the nursing program is so incredibly difficult!
actually, it all the time is.  {please excuse my poor grammar}.

but i know i shouldn't be complaining,
since i am so lucky to have what i have.
and to be where i am.
and to love who i love.

speaking of who i love.....
it's our 2nd month aniversary.
i just thought i'd tell you, since you're probably DYING to know.
i promised myself that i wouldn't mention it in my blog.....
but i guess i don't keep promises.