Grateful

The other day I was just sitting in my living room, minding my own business and BAM! I was hit with this overwhelming gratitude for certain people in my life. I'd really like to dedicate this post to all of them. (This list is not exhaustive. I am grateful for many many things and people but these we the ones that I thought about specifically.)

My Dad

Seeing as it was Father's Day this past Sunday, I was able to reflect back on the things my Dad has done for me and I realized just how grateful I am for his wisdom. He's a really hard worker, he loves the Gospel and he is worthy of the Priesthood that he holds. My Dad is stinkin' HILARIOUS! My Dad taught me (via phone mind you) how to take apart a kitchen sink to unclog/fix it. He taught me how to run plumbing pipes from the top of our house to the basement. He taught me how to wire a house for electricity. He taught me to laugh at myself (something I'm still not the greatest at by the way...I'm working on it.) If I had to choose one sentence   that describes what my Dad has done for me it would be this: "If you give someone a fish, they are fed for a meal but if you teach someone to fish they are fed for life." My Dad taught me how to fish. (Metaphorically speaking...)  He has been a source of knowledge and love and I couldn't be happier that I was blessed with such a wonderful man for a Dad. 

My Mom

Um, Wonder Woman? I think so. Good grief this woman is amazing. She is Homemaker Extraordinaire in EVERY sense of the word. She cooks, she cleans, she decorates, she SEWS. Sewing. Such a talent! And I don't mean she can sew a pillow case here or pajama pants there. No. She can sew prom dresses, wedding dresses, dresses in general, blankets, pants, shirts, purses! She's a sewing machine!! (Haha, no pun intended...) She also crochets and knits just about everything you can crochet or knit. She's very talented. Not only that but she had the patience to teach me how to cross-stitch and my sisters how to crochet and knit too. My Mom and I don't always agree but that doesn't change that I love her. My Mom is quite fabulous, you see, after having a complete meltdown about my wedding dress she offered to make one that would be exactly how I wanted it. WHAT? Yeah. She's awesome like that. When I called her (in meltdown mode) she didn't try to reprimand me, she didn't scold me or chastise me about the situation. And she could have. Easily. She could have said, "Too bad, you wanted to buy the other dress and I knew you'd change your mind, you should have been more patient and dedicated in finding the perfect dress before buying it. You'll just need to deal with what you have." (She had made a jacket to go with that first dress too so I totally would have understood any anger she may have felt towards me at this point...I also had bought a second dress and was still unhappy. Hense the meltdown.) But she didn't say that. She simply said, "Caitlin, what kind of dress do you want? Send me pictures and I'll see what I can do to make one for you." If that alone doesn't deserve my gratitude, I don't know what would. She also has been making flower arrangements, center pieces and decoration for the receptions. And she made my Temple Dress. And she's handing out announcements for me and Neil so we don't have to mail all of them.She has been doing so much to make me feel good about my Wedding Day and I can't thank her enough for that. I love her and am so happy to have her as my Mom. 

* I would just like to state that the dress situation is not something I normally go through. I normally can make a decision and stick to it. (Except for deciding on a major for college but that's another blog post entirely.) I also still have not spent more than $300 total for these dresses. Mom had to buy fabric and patterns and things but even with all of that I don't think it cost more than $400 total (including the first 2 dresses.) That is still WAY less than one dress would normally cost. Just FYI. Plus I'm selling the first dress. So...yeah.*

My parents! Aren't they cute?

Neil

Obvious answer right? I don't know if anyone else can really comprehend the amount of gratitude and love I have for this man. He is patient which is HUGE because I'm not always the easiest person to deal with. He is responsible both monetarily and eternally. He loves the Gospel and the Lord and he loves me. He is always willing to hear me out and when we disagree on something he doesn't walk off or get mad. He'll sit there with me until we come to the best agreement. He doesn't always just agree with me so that I won't get upset. Which, I know it's a joke for men to give other men the "She's always right" advise but something about that idea makes me cringe. "She" is NOT always right and Neil knows when to help correct my vision so that I truly can see what is "right". I appreciate that more than anything because anyone who knows me knows that when I'm corrected, I take is so personally and get very emotional. Neil knows how to say what needs to be said in a way that I can accept. (Though sometimes I still take it somewhat personally and sometimes I do get irrationally emotional about it. None of us are perfect and I'm working on it.) Something else? We've never fought. We've disagreed and we've ran into some trying situations but we have never fought. He has never yelled (I'm pretty sure that he didn't even yell when we went to a football game. Sure he cheered on the team but I can't remember "yelling".) I am endlessly grateful for this. Neil will also watch "chick flicks" with me. In fact, awhile ago I had had a really bad day and my emotions had gotten the best of me. As sweet as can be, Neil just held me and when I'd calmed down he says, "Do you want to eat some ice cream and watch a chick flick?" WINNER! I am the luckiest girl. Seriously. Watching a chick flick was probably the last thing he wanted to do but he knew that I wanted to and was willing to do it for me. I am the luckiest girl in the world. He, like my Dad and his Dad too, is a very hard worker. He knows the value of hard work. In fact, he has two jobs. (Three is you count selling plasma.) He is a full ride scholarship kind of guy which says something about his dedication to school and his intelligence. He is Talented!! He has arranged a few hymns per my request and each time I hear him play a new one, I marvel at how beautiful it is. He has been playing the piano for 13 years and he is GOOD. That is one of the first things I noticed about him, actually. If you can be that good of a musician (especially on the piano) then reason says that you are most likely someone who knows how to dedicate yourself to something or someone. I am so lucky that I get to marry my best friend, an man who is handsome, kind and patient and so much more, in just 31 DAYS! AHH! I love him. So. Stinkin'. Much.

Such a stud. :)

Neil's Mom, Lauri (Soon to be my mom too!)

Lauri has taught me a lot. She has listened to my concerns and has helped me to learn things in a way that I just could't learn from someone else. She is patient. She is also another woman whose talents I admire. She is a fabulous photographer and she has made some of the most beautiful wedding, birthday, special occasion cakes I have ever seen in my life. I can't thank her enough for all of the effort she has spent on making the receptions as simply beautiful as she knows how. She offered to take the reigns in getting all of the arrangements made for a Luncheon picnic and a reception here in Utah. She is taking our pictures for us and she is making our cake. If any of you are looking at that and saying "So what?" then you obviously 1- haven't planned a wedding/budgeted a wedding and 2-can't appreciate what kind of skill it takes to make a cake, let alone decorate one. She is an amazing woman and I am excited to get to have her in my family. 

Erin and Alisa

These girls are amazing. They have been there for me through just about everything since the day I met them. We've done so much together, experienced heart aches, joys, graduations, marriages, girls camp, high adventure etc. I'm pretty sure that at some point we all had a crush on the same guy. (Which is odd because we all have such different tastes...) These two girls are my angels. I can't pin down a situation in particular but when I think about what these girls have done for me and the examples they set for me I can't help but be overwhelmed with the knowledge of how blessed I am because of them. I love them SO MUCH!

'nough said

There are a lot of people that I am grateful for but these individuals have been on my mind very much the last few days. I love them each in their own unique and individual way. I hope they know it.