looking back...

2013 was a good year for me. as i think back on all of my memories from this year, i realize that the best ones include the people i'm closest to and love the most. i'm grateful for the good people in my life. for the memories i've made, and the relationships i've built! here's a look back at 2013.

january

.baby parker came to the world! i love my nephews so much!

february

.3rd row jazz game with my good friend geoff

.superbowl party with the best fam a girl could ask for

march

.lots of jazz games with friends!

.roommate bonding over sushi. sarah did not enjoy it :)

april

.trip to zions with some friends from the ward!

.last month with my awesome roomies. i miss them!

may

.moved to holladay

.celebrated my best friends birthday! 

june

.baby nora was born!

.josh turner concert!

.wasatch back-ragnar relay

.idahomers win the championship! 

july

.lots of rsl games

.family get together!

.mer got hitched, and i spent a lot of time with theses lovelies.

august

.quality time with uncle phil and the rest of the fam (granny!)

.hiked wasatch crest....beautiful!

.grand teton relay

.purchased a new road bike!

.girl talk with shaline after one of my first dates with justin....

  

september

.colorado ragnar

.learning how to put the moves on justin

.justin's first rsl game!

october

.justin's first trip to idaho

.lots of time with mike, dash and cubby!

.we got ENGAGED!

.pumpkin carving/family time

novemeber

.said goodbye to uncle phil

.rsl games!

.thanksgiving with my love.

december

.quality family time

.my granny is rad

.skiing!

.christmas morning!

it's been a good year. lots of memorable experiences. i'm so looking forward to 2014 and all it has to bring! oh, and we're getting married in 17 days! so i have a feeling 2014 will be amazing.

xoxo-meg

i'm getting married.

if you were to ask me last year if i ever thought i'd get married again, the answer would have been no. even this summer i made bets with co-workers. i was sure that it would never happen again. 

the decision i made to move to holladay was very prayerful and personal. i knew i needed a change, and i know without a doubt that i was led to where i am now. one of the first weeks i was here, i bore my testimony in church. i remember a lady (becky) coming up to mama mcphie (the lady i rent from) and talking to her afterwards. they were conspiring. they wanted to set me up with becky's son. over the next few weeks, becky and mama mcphie kept trying to introduce me to justin. finally, one sunday, becky dragged me into the hall to introduce me to him. he didn't speak. he barely looked at me. i mean, it was a little awkward because his parents were both right there going on and on about "megan does this" "justin does this"...you know the drill. it was sufficiently awkward. for some reason, even though he didn't speak to me, i still wanted to get to know him. weeks went by, he never asked me out. so i decided to take matters into my own hands. i asked him to go hiking, and we had fun, but it was pretty quiet. three weeks went by before i heard from him again. i was 100% certain that he was not interested in me. he asked me if i wanted to go rock climbing with him. i had only been once, but thought it would be fun. i donned my stretchy pants and waited for him to pick me up. as soon as we got in the car he said "how would you feel about bowling instead"? i bowled in stretchy pants. the date was short. a few more weeks went by before we went out again. slowly we started going out more regularly, and eventually decided to date exclusively. things went fast. really fast. and a few months later we were engaged. justin proposed at rio tinto stadium. we had gone on a few dates there, so it was pretty special. 

i think the whole dating/getting engaged thing works differently for everyone. i know people who would never dream of getting engaged without dating someone for at least a year. i kind of thought that i would be more like that this time around. but things with justin are different. and when you know, you know. no sense in slowing it down just for the sake of slowing it down.

justin's family is incredible. his parents are the type of inlaws you pray for. his sister and brother in law have quickly become my friends, and i get along with them as if they were my own. trent is like the brother i never had. i own him in ping pong. i adore his nephews and niece. 

justin is amazing. i feel so lucky to be with him. i've never felt more secure in a relationship. he makes me feel calm. he understands that i'm a sensitive soul, that i cry when i see old people, and that i can't handle the thought of people being lonely. he is caring, and giving, and loving. everyone likes justin. he treats me better than i've ever been treated. i feel adored. every girl wants to feel that way. he's easy going, has a strong testimony and desire to be a father. he treats people with respect. he gets along with my crazy family, and he loves them. he has a big heart. he's hard working and determined. i smile when i think about my life with him. the thing i love most about justin is that i can 100% be myself around him, and he still (for some reason...) loves me. when i'm with him, it feels natural, it feels right, and it feels good.

i realize now more than ever that heavenly father is way more in charge of our lives than we know. justin has been a huge blessing to me. i  feel so lucky that he chose me to be his eternal companion. there is no one i'd rather spend eternity with. i've reached a level of happiness that i never knew existed, and i know that he plays a huge part in that.

yesterday i received a letter from the first presidency of church, notifying me that my petition to have my first sealing canceled had been reviewed and accepted. we were worried that it wouldn't go through in time, and planned on getting married civilly if it didn't. i sobbed when i opened that letter. knowing that justin and i can be sealed for time and all eternity makes me the happiest girl in the world. 

i am truly blessed to be with justin. i can't wait to be his wife. 

our lives are hectic and crazy, and sometimes we experience sadness and sorrow, but there is a higher being who knows what is best for us. i'm grateful for that knowledge.

xoxo-meg

i'm still alive!

this poor blog is so neglected. i've had a lot going on the past few months! it seems like this year is flying by. i kind of love it! so...an update on my life...

this summer i decided to register for some classes and go back to school. i cut back to part time hours (thankfully i work for a company that allowed me to do so), and started my new journey. it lasted all of 5 weeks. i hate school. i was not happy doing it. and then my uncle phil got really sick, and i started spending a lot of time down in st. george (like-every weekend). so i dropped my classes. and started working full time again. and i'm happy that i did it. something that i decided when i got divorced (and that i've mentioned on this blog before) is that i don't want to have any regrets. i'm glad i tried to go back to school. now i won't look back in ten years and wonder "what if?" sometimes you just have to try things to see if they're right for you or not. 

my sweet uncle phil. cancer is the worst.

i ran three relay races this summer! i did the wasatch back ragnar relay, the grand teton relay, and the colorado ragnar relay. each of them were amazing for different reasons. i love running relays, and i love building relationships with people that i otherwise wouldn't normally spend a lot of time with. 

the wasatch back ragnar crew. i only knew one person when we started.

teton relay was amazingly beautiful

colorado ragnar will always be special. i love my coworkers.

when i moved to SLC i bought season tickets to RSL. best decision ever. i've made some great memories at those games, and found my love for soccer again. i have become friends with the people that sit in front of me, and will for sure be purchasing season tickets again next year. 

one of my favorite scenes

a few weeks after i moved into my new ward i got called to be the primary chorister. it was terrifying. i hated it for the first few weeks and stressed about it non-stop. after i got my feet wet i started to really enjoy it, and came up with some really fun ideas. the kids were liking me and i was loving it! then, i got called into the bishop's office. they don't have enough piano players in our ward, so they had to release me and make me the primary pianist instead. i'm glad i'm still in primary, but it's hard to watch someone else do the job i loved so much! 

i've been on some interesting dates this summer. mostly blind dates. mostly not good. but there have definitely been some good ones sprinkled in there. nothing too serious yet, but stay tuned...we could be getting somewhere.

work is good. busy, but good. i like the people i work with very much. they're like family. it's refreshing to work for a company full of people that have your back. i mean, you should see these guys giving me dating advice. please keep in mind that i work with a bunch of nerdy programmers and developers. we have the most hilarious conversations, and sometimes even role playing (when deemed appropriate, obviously). it's the best.

practicing some of that dating advice on the edward cutout.

i've been able to spend good, quality time with friends this summer. i'm blessed to have so many good people in my life. i thank my heavenly father every night for the good people in my life. people that help shape me, that love me, and that want what is best for me. i probably spend at least 3-4 nights a week hanging out with mike and dasha. they are probably sick of me, but they don't show it.

friends and fans. idahomers4life.

the one and only sare bear

hello. duh. cubby. the cutest.

the family i rent from is amazing. i call her mama. i spend time with their family, and they've basically adopted me as one of their own. yet another thing i thank my heavenly father for every night. marianne and i have a special kind of bond. i think getting divorced at the same time really brought us together, and i seriously think of her as a sister. and that feeling has grown for her entire family as well. they're the greatest. well, second to my real family of course.

mama mcphie. and my adoptive sisters

hiking the wasatch crest. love this group.

mer

my mom and dad were both here for july 4th! it's the first time my dad has been around for my birthday in years. it was so good to spend time with them. i love my parents. they are my rock. they get excited about my silly dating life, and they get sad with me when i'm sad. they are the best. so are my sisters. and my brother in law. and those adorable nephews of mine that i just can't get enough of. my cousins are also amazing. i wish we lived in a convent so we could see each other every day. 

early mornign run with my pa.

the fam, minus molly. and parker...where is he?

the whole awesome clan! (most of them)

sister cousins. my favorites people.

there have definitely been down days over the past little while, but the good outweighs the bad by about a million times. so, i'm content. i'm happy. and i feel good about my life right now. i feel like i'm where i need to be, and spending time with the people i should be spending time with. i feel blessed. 

xoxo-meg