Jan- April 2014

So 2014 didn't start off the greatest in the "blog" area, probably because this year has been so fun filled with 12(Mitch) +9 (Becca) credits, a full time job, relief society president and Sunday school teacher responsibilities, family, cooking dinner, grocery shopping, laundry and trying to keep our little apartment presentable. We have kept ourselves occupied with i-learn, the testing center and late night cramming along with early morning tutoring. I am so proud of Mitch. This semester has definitely been a difficult one. Chemistry 105 and memorizing all the bones and muscles of the body and then of course understanding the physiology of the human body- its not easy. He has also been teaching Sunday school every other Sunday for the past 4 months. Mitch has taught me that when you put your priorities first, like Heavenly Father- everything has a way of working out. At times this semester I tried to stay awake doing homework and working out after a loooonng day of well child checkups, kids coughing in your face and giving 100 shots. I often ended up falling asleep on the couch as Mitch would lay on the floor staring at chemistry equations that I don't even try to understand. Aside from all the hustle and craziness, we have remained in love. Even more in love actually. Our love has grown deeper and we have come to know each other so much better. He listens to my drama at work and I try and console him before and after a very difficult test. We care. We pray for each other on such a personal level- nothing else matters as long as Heavenly Father hears my pleads to help Mitch do well on his test as I am driving to work.

January we celebrated Mitch's 23rd birthday. He is getting older and definitely wiser too! We went to Idaho Falls to eat, came home and had friends over for cake and ice cream. Mitch got clothing, a new razor and some awesome gift cards. We had the single man crew (All of Mitch’s buddies who are not yet married from Madison High School) here with a few of our married friends in our ward as well. It was hard to pick and choose who to invite… So we just invited everyone! The more the merrier! We had so much fun, played the bean bag game, Mafia, laughed and got a great dose of sugar from cake and ice cream. It was a fun and entertaining night. On another exciting note! Quinn and Brittany Got engaged! We are sooo happy for them! The wedding will be in Arizona on May 3rd! They are so fun to be around and such a cute couple! I am so excited to have another sister in law! Looking forward to wedding festivities.
February is the month of love. Everyone seems to be a little bit sweeter and a little bit more sentimental. We got to go to Kirt and Hailey's wedding the day after Valentines day! We are so happy and excited for them, such a beautiful and fun couple. I was spoiled rotten for my birthday. Woke up to a beautiful new dresser with a beautiful mirror for our bedroom. I love furniture.. it’s not a good addiction. We had a delicious brunch at the Merrill's Jerry's Birthday is on the 20th and Wyatt's is on the 15th so we all got together. Then we went and watched Rhett's basketball game- always a good giggle and fun to cheer on those 8 year old boys learning to gain their coordination and skills. Marianne picked out a beautiful clock for me. I love it. Mitch refers to it as Cogsworth of off Beauty and the Beast. But I love it and it looks wonderful hanging on our kitchen wall. I had Mitch rearrange our new furniture and hang it on the wall as soon as we got home! I was so excited! Then we headed to Olive Garden- A favorite. waited too long, but we couldn't resist the bread sticks and salad. It was delicious. Went to a movie- I fell asleep. Monuments of Men- it was good- according to Mitch. :)

These Pix were taken last Summer. Too fun not to share!

 

Sometimes I forget to buy milk for 3 days and Mitch leaves his cereal on the counter because he can't eat it. Haha poor kid.

My Cute In-laws!

March- March Madness. Lots of fun and lots of birthday cake. Lots of fun surprises too! March was really fun and I can't believe it is already over. Mitch filled out my bracket for March Madness this year and his own as well so really he has two chances... We are still in the competition! If only Florida wins we have a chance! March kept us busy with birthday weekends, and school coming to an end. It was a great month. I also got to go with my mom, aunt Liz, Kristin, and Sara to Time out for women. It was such a fun and uplifting weekend. A fun weekend with the girls. Beth and Jared went to California, so she missed out and we missed her. March went by really quick, but I am glad. Because today marks me at 10 weeks and 3 days. Yup. Mitch and I are expecting a baby. Due October 27th 2014. We couldn't be more excited. Miracles do happen. I have learned that so many people can give you advice of when to have a baby and when not to have a baby and accomplish all you want to before you start a family., and so on and so forth. but really it is between you and your spouse and Heavenly Father. I enjoy listening to and hearing that advice because everyone has great advice. But do they know that sometimes your told at 18 years old that you will probably have to take fertility medication and have a very difficult time getting pregnant when that part of your life comes because your ovaries have cysts on them? A lot of people can judge a couple for having a baby too soon. But when your Mitch and I and you find out your pregnant without having to do all the blood work, tears, semen analysis (haha)  fear and anxiety and medical treatment like clomid or In vitro fertilization IVF your start believing in miracles. Because Heavenly Father is sending us a perfect sweet little spirit that we feel  beyond blessed to have. Have I been sick.. yes. Is it worth it- it will be when these 9 months have come and gone and we can hold that baby in our arms. This last week has been a very difficult week. One of my dearest friends, Maddie Stevens- lost her baby @ 20 weeks. Her hurt and pain has made my hurt ache with so much sadness and sympathy for her. I just want to take away her pain. I cherish her and can only image her pain. I have found that Heavenly Father is the only one who knows why and how things happen in this life. But I know he also gave his only son to us for when times like this come- Jesus Christ is our comfort and he knows and understands our fear, pain and trials. I have the opportunity to give a talk on the Atonement of Jesus Christ to our ward on April 27th. I was talking to Maddie about this, since I gave a talk on this subject last year on Easter Sunday and was kind of complaining about it. Maddie just looked at me and said, "Becca, I would love to give a talk on the Atonement. It is my favorite thing." My heart and eyes just swelled. Tears came and I was taught a lesson by Maddie who had just found out her little growing baby was no longer growing- and she wanted to give a talk on our Savior's atonement. She gets it. I hope she heals, I know she will and I know that someday she will raise that little baby in the next life. Life is very precious and I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of the atonement and that there is life after death. How lucky am I to know this. I am so excited to listen to General Conference.  It begins tomorrow morning! I hope the spirit allows me to learn and grow. I love my Relief Society Sisters. I see them as my true sisters now; I love them and care about them. I want them to be happy.  This year has been a learning and growing year- it seems to be hard- but so rewarding.

Love You Mads!

December 2013

December came and it only has 2 days left... 2014is coming quick! This month is special for Mitch and I we were married December 15th in the Rexburg Idaho Temple.
December 2nd we celebrated Grandpa Forbush's 92 birthday! We had a little birthday party at the Homestead for him. I think he really enjoyed that.
We were able to make it to the Temple and participate in Temple sealing. It was a very sweet reminder of the covenants we made just one year before in the same Temple.
To celebrate our anniversary we went to Lava Hotsprings and stayed at a themed cozy hotel called the Lions Gate Manor it was a lot of fun except the power went out in the middle of the night and I got a little freaked out since we were thee only couple staying there that night. I thought we could possibly get murdered... what made it worse was Mitch was fast asleep and I lay there thinking of how we were going to die..but I woke up right next to Mitch the next morning, still alive and happy. The hotsprings were so nice and relaxing. Each pool was a different temperate so it was a perfect wintry night to soak and relax in those giant hot tubs. We got to see the Hobbit 2 on our way back home. That is a long movie, but we both liked it a lot. We ate at Olive Garden.. it was delicious! We were a little weirder out at our waiter.. he kept awkwardly touching Mitch's shoulder.. it was hilarious. To say the least it was a perfect weekend getaway to celebrate our first year of marriage.
The last week of school was the week before Christmas so Mitch was studying very hard for his final. He ended the class with a B and I am beyond proud of him. It was a 5 credit math class and he worked so hard. I finished another semester only 2 left and I will be done forever!!!!
The weekend before Christmas we went with the whole Merrill family to Big Sky Montana to go hit the slopes and stay in a cozy cabin. It was so much fun. Everybody was there including Grandpa Cliff Merrill and Quinn's girlfriend Brittany. We had a lot of fun snowboarding and making memories.
Christmas came!!! We mainly celebrated with the Merrills until Christmas day then we spent time with the Willmores post Christmas. It was so much fun. Just a few favorite gifts.. a new high tech camera, Mitch's first gun a ruger 22, gift cards, a plate of Grandma Patrick's , and a windows surface. We were spoiled. It was fun to see the people we had for Christmas open their gifts. This year I found myself reflecting on how grateful I am for my savior and for his birth. It is such a loving, giving season. My favorite part was the opportunity to doorbell ditch Christmas on the doorstep of a family in our ward that was less fortunate this year. It was so gratifying to know they were going to have something to open and have a ham to eat. My heart is very full with gratitude for my husband, family members, my calling, education, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is to a wonderful year of 2013 and an even better one for 2014!!!

November Turkey Dinner

November was a fun month! We spent the first part of the month busy with school and working. Mitch was helping with Christmas Décor hanging and prepping the lights for the crews. I was still busy just working in peds poking babies and cuddling newborns.. by the way my job does provide sufficient birth control... like when the crazy out of control children come in.. but at the same time I adore those perfect new little packages wrapped in pink or blue..
Anyway I am also working after hours in family medicine which let's me practice up on IVs and XRAYs which I love to do. So that has been a nice change.
Thanksgiving we spent in St. George with Grandma and Grandpa Reeser at their condo. We took the four-wheeler's and razors to play in the sand. It was around 65-70 degrees so that was enjoyable! We also got to see some dinosaur tracks, which were pretty cool. It was a long drive there and back, but we got to enjoy some black Friday shopping, yummy food and family which made it all worth it! Our thoughts were with Beth, she had to have surgery, and wasn't doing so well. I know my parents were concerned and worried about her and Jared. After a long haul she is finally recovering and feeling better. We are all so grateful for that and for the blessing of good health.

October a little Sober

October seemed to come and go. This month went by so quickly. This month also had some heartache and tears. Mitch's sweet Grandma Patrick passed away on October 9th 2013. Helen Patrick the sweetest lady I have yet to meet. She was 88 years old with a beautiful smile and beautiful grey hair. I first met Helen a week or so after Mitch and I got engaged. He took to me to meet his grandma and so was so excited to introduce her to me. Once we got to her sweet and humble home I could instantly tell why Mitch loved his grandma so much. She welcomed us into her cozy home. I also met Uncle Jim for the first time too, who is Marianne's younger brother. Helen was so kind to me. She gave me one of those grandma hugs. She then had has us sit and chat with her. She told us the story of how her and Jack (Grandpa Patrick) first met at the ice cream parlor in Blackfoot. It was a pretty cute story and I could just picture Helen young and sweet taking Jack's order and letting him know that any date she had ever been on the guy asked. :) So I got to know Helen more and more each time we got together with the Merrill's and Helen would come to Rexburg, usually with Grandpa Merrill. She came to my bridal shower and gave me and beautiful pink soft afghan. She was so sweet to come and make an appearance. She braved the freezing cold, snowy, winter wedding day on the 15th of December to be there and support Mitch and I. She even remembered my birthday in February. I quickly realized how lucky I was to have another grandma. Mitch loved his grandma dearly and we both found ourselves crying the day we found out of her passing. At her funeral I learned two thing about Helen Patrick. She loved everyone she came in contact with and she was a loyal woman. She was loyal to her family, her husband, and the gospel. She always said her prayers. She was a faithful woman throughout all of her trials and tribulations. She was quote woman- that is one thing I have in common with her. I love quotes as well. So to read all the quotes on her fridge made me smile and giggle. I believe that you only collect things that make you who you are. Many of the quotes she had were definitions of  how she lived her life. Helen Patrick will definitely be missed, but not forgotten. She is know with Jack, her husband. Mitch and I were able to realize and remember the plan of salvation. We know that we will see her again someday. I think that is why we can go forward with faith, in fact I know that is why we can go forward trying to be better each and every day. Thank you to Helen Patrick for being such a wonderful grandma to my sweet husband. Thank you for loving him and sending him sweet letters while he was on a mission. Thank you for accepting me as another granddaughter. You will always have a special place in our hearts.

The rest of October was slightly a blur and all of the sudden it was Halloween. With school, work, and different responsibilities we have been pretty busy, but also plenty happy too. We still manage to laugh each day. Mitch seriously gets me to laugh no matter what has happened that day. It is secret talent of his. He is my favorite person. I love being married to him. I love him so much. We just keep our heads up and enjoy what is going on in our life. We dressed up as an Indian and a Cowboy this year for Halloween and had some fun with that.

Life is going well. The gospel is true and blesses our lives daily. Mitch helps me be better every single day.. also On the 15th of October Mitch surprised me with some beautiful flowers at work. I was surprised and tickled that he had them delivered. He is pretty romantic. I am pretty darn lucky.
He is working so hard with his Pre-calculus class. I hope and pray the Lord will bless him for his efforts.

Our ward's theme is "Come Unto Christ" So I personally and striving for this. What am I doing to come closer to my Savior?
Today I was reading in the Book of Mormon and came across this scripture in Omni chapter 1:
" 26. And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should ^acome unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and ^boffer your whole souls as an ^coffering unto him, and continue in ^dfasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

The week will be a wonderful week. :) Bring on Monday and probably snow.. it was a whole 35 degrees today with freezing cold North wind! Here come the Holidays! :)

September 2013

September was an eventful month! Filled with lots of fun things and school.
Mitch and I are only taking 5 credits each this semester. I am taking 2 online classes and Mitch has a 7:45am pre-calculus class every day... so with work and school we both stay pretty busy, but school and work are blessings in our lives. So we have nothing to complain about. We still have plenty of time for flag football, football games on TV.. and Mitch reading about football... and spending time with friends and family!

Disneyland with the Merrill clan was a September highlight! It was a blast. We had a great time everybody was able to come. Heath and Trish and of course there crazy fun kids Rhett, Breelee, and little Wyatt. Quinn came from Arizona and he brought a lovely lady, Brittany. Chase and Jenna and there little cute ones Charlotte and Buddha Belly Charlie came along to. Jerry and Marianne treated us to two days in Disneyland and to the warm weather of California. We had a blast watching all the kids just indulge all that Disneyland offers. It was so fun to see their faces light up as we walked in and they saw the castle. Mitch and I had so much getting fast passes and riding as many possible rides as we could. Mitch talked me into the California SCREAMIN' and good heck I was screaming that entire ride.. every time we went on it. It was so much fun. We made some great memories with  everyone. We spent some time at the beach playing in the sand and water. It was just so relaxing and fun to be with everyone. We ate some delicious food. We walked up and down and all around California Adventure and Disneyland. It was a great family trip. Thanks to Marianne for making the arrangements and putting such a fun family trip together.

NEW YORK CITY 2013

This adventure was not in the plans for a few years, but with the exciting circumstances and awesome in-laws we were able to make it back to NYC to spend 4 day where Mitch served and loved his mission for 2 years.  We took a red-eye flight and arrived at JFK airport at 6am and the Velligeas (Members in the inwood ward- aka- awesome family) picked us up from the airport and took us to their apartment. They let us sleep there our entire stay... Squishy living quarters- we slept in bunk-beds :) but it was definitely fun to live like a New Yorker for a weekend. Kirt Davis came along with us, which made it even more fun!

New York life is FAST pace. My first time in the subway (underground transportation) was a larger black homeless man sprawled on the cement... I had to step by him to go through the gates. I was a little taken off guard, and maybe held my breath a little bit because he was kind of stinky. Mitch just watched my reaction to the typical Subway everyday scene and started to laugh and with a smirk he said, " Welcome to New York Becca!"

 so...Day 1- We hadn't slept for 48 hours but we didn't care we were off to sight see! Our first destination was 9/11 memorial. This was a very special place. I was in the 4th grade when the 9/11 attack happened. So to be in the very place where such a devastating event occurred in our nation's history was very humbling. There was two large water falls in the place of the 2 towers foundations. The  names of the individuals lost in the tragedy were written on the side of monument. The mood was quiet  and sober. There was only one tree that survived the attack and is still standing today.
After 9/11 we headed down the famous Wall Street and Financial District area. We  were able to see where George Washington our first President was inaugurated- then I got to tell Mitch I shared the same birthday as that great man. I've always been pretty happy about that interesting fact. We got to take a picture with the famous Bull... pictures to follow. All during this great tour we also got drenched by the pouring rain. Just warm enough to not be miserable. So we got wet. But we liked it and still continued our tour. We headed to the Statue of Liberty. This was such an awesome tour around this huge Statue- which was actually a gift from France. I learned a bunch of cool facts as we toured the " big lady" - in Mitch's words. We took a ferry to Ellis Island to where the Statue is mounted. It was fun to see the city from the Hudson River. Lady Liberty was pretty awesome. After Lady Liberty we went to eat some food at a famous hamburger joint Shake Shack- it was pretty delicious! Then we kept on bookin' it we then went to CHINATOWN- This place was literally China. Asian people were everywhere- it was like we had taken a flight to china. We  did some shopping/bargaining with the Asian population. It was a hoot trying to get them to lower their price from $48 dollars to $20bucks. We had fun! Then after chinatown we headed to Times Square- yes if you are curious my feet were hurting about this point. We entered the most WORLDLY place I have yet been. As we walked around times square there was so many many people and so many many stores. It was a crowed happenin' place to be and things to see. It was fun to see all the people and see all the big billboards, like big movie screens. Everything was giant. It was quite a day. I think we got to bed around 3am. exhausted.

Day 2 Woke up at 10am... we hadn't slept for 48 hours so it was well justified. We woke up feeling much better and ready to get-up and go have some more fun. Friday was filled with Central Park. Mitch and I rented bikes for a total of 4 hours.. got lost.. fought about which direction to go.. found our way.. and had a blast all in the mean time. Mitch even managed to sit on some gross red gum some child had left behind.. behind.. Mitch got the gum on his behind. Central Park was so much fun. Everything in Central Park is on a grand scale. nothing is little.. Big play grounds, big Fountain of Love. It's the coolest park in the world. There is so much to do and see. We witnessed a few lesbian and gay couples gettting married. Such a weird, sad and confused sight to see. We explored all around. We were also entertained by a black rap/acrobats/wewantyoumoney group. They were very entertaining and got a $1 from us. By the time we hoped off the bikes and our legs felt like jelly we headed to Times Square once again. We headed to the TOP OF THE ROCK. The Rockefeller building is very tall- so tall we could see all of Central Park and the entire city. WE could even see the Empire State Building. It was a very breath-taking view. It was so neat to see so many sky-scrapers with this giant park in the middle of all of them. Everything smaller then a building looked like tiny dots and ants from our view point..We grabbed some dinner close to where we had been exploring. While eating some delicious food, we noticed Kirt- My cousin, Mitch's former Mission companion had some how managed to sit on some gum as well. Mitch and Kirt both had gum bums... No wonder they got along so well... :)
We met up with Trish and Health (Mitch's Oldest Sister and Brother in-law, Who were also in New York celebrating their 10 year anniversary)
How fun right?! Well we all went to NEWSIES a spectacular Broadway play. Mitch's family grew up watching that show and I had seen it 4 or 5 times. It is definitely a classic. We loved that play! I kept waiting for just a little mistake and there never was one. Broadway Performers are so talented and so dedicated to what they do. It was incredible and so fun to enjoy the songs we loved and the dance scenes they performed so well. It was great. We then continued to explore Time's Square laughing and giggling  because people watching is sooo entertaining in New York City.
... For example a few things we witnessed... Excuse me for the vulgar scenes..
1. A couple kissing for 10 minutes consecutively right next to a homeless man snoring in the subway- hilarious.
2. A woman breast feeding her 3 year-old child with a sign that read- "help feed us"
3. A homeless and obvious roughed up woman going #2 on the steps on the Public Library in Times Square..
Extreme examples... but I found that everything in New York City is extreme that is what makes it so unique such a popular and crowded famous place.
Back to Friday night.. We headed to the Cake Boss shop- The famous TV show with Buddy who makes extravagant cakes or deserts for any possible occasion you can have a cake. We all indulged and ate 1,000 calories, but it was sure delicious. I felt like I had walked 10,000 miles that day anyways so I was justified.
Time for bed.. 2am..

Day 3 We spent this day in a place called Washington Heights. Mitch and Kirt served here and absolutely love this place. It is mainly populated with Dominican Republicans and they live the New York life style. We ate some yummy New York Pizza at a place called Pizza Heroes. It was delicious and the slices are the size of a medium size pizza you would order from the Rexburg Domino's. We did some shopping with street vendors and just enjoyed walking around and sight seeing. Mitch had plenty of memories flood into his mind and he told me stories of walking down the streets of Washington Heights.
4:30pm came and it was the time we had truly been waiting for and main reason we came to New York, to go to the temple and participate in a session with 5 recent converts... all of which Mitch knew very well while serving as a Missionary.
It was a special day. Milagros and Jose were a very special couple that Mitch and Kirt grew to know and love. So to see these two people who had completely had a change of heart, except the gospel and now enter into the Lord's house was a major missionary pay-day! It was so neat to  meet so many people in the temple that Mitch had served. I found it very humbling that the majority of them were telling me how great of a missionary Mitch was. I loved hearing stories and seeing them so excited to see Mitch and Kirt. They loved the people of New York and the People of New York loved them.
That particular temple session was very special also because Mitch and I were able to take through family names. Marianne had found through family research on the Patrick side- which is very rare and has taken a lot of time. My heart was just so full and filled with loved. The spirit was so strong and everyone in attendance could  feel the sweetness of being at the temple that evening. This made the trip completely worth no sleeping. I hope I can always remember the way I felt in the Temple that day. I was so overcome with love for Mitch and for all those surrounding us. I can only image what it will be like when we someday can be all together in a beautiful place after this mortal life.
After the temple we went and spent time at the home of Milagros and Jose. We had Pizza and spent a fun evening with each others company. Milagros showed me her 1.5 bedroom apt. which houses 5 people. It is a small place, but largely filled with love. We had fun spending time with Milargros, Jose, Stephanie and Jason. Mitch and Kirt spent some quality time playing the Xbox with Jason since they finally could play. No more missionary rules.
We went to bed late, but very happy.

Day 4- Sunday, We went to church at 10:30 at the Inwood Ward. Everybody was so thrilled and happy to see the return of these two great missionaries and I might add it was super fun being the wife of Mitch. Everyone was so excited and happy we were married. There were plenty of "Next time we see you, you'll have 3 kids Elder Merrill" type of jokes. But we loved it.
The church is true all over the world. As I was sitting in Relief Society and missing my ladies in our 32nd married student ward at BYU-Idaho I still felt the spirit and  I could see the power that relief society offers to sisters whether in NYC or Rexburg.
After the meetings- there was a Linger- Longer. Everyone brought some yummy food and we spent some time getting to know the members. Mitch introduced me to everyone in the Inwood ward and the Spanish ward.. haha a lot of people, but awesome people. Milagros made some delicious ribs- her cooking is very good.
We said our Good Byes- and we were off. Back to Idaho around 7:30pm our flight took off.

We had a fabulous trip.
Someday we will go again.
NYC 2013

Bear Lake-Paris 2013

Papa on the ski's

In the Caves!

Mitch Killin' it

Family Picture

Bear Lake-

Hannah Banana playing in the sand!

The Willmore's had another successful time in Paris and this year was even better because Mitch came along :)

In the Caves!

Besides the fact that Mitch slaughtered his first deer as we drove to Paris, that was a little frightening and shocking. The first people to pull over were the missionaries. It was kind of funny we weren't expecting them at 9:45 at night. After we made sure there wasn't too much damage to Mitch's truck and boat we checked out the damage of the deer- to say the least their wasn't to much left to check out... Gross.. yucky.. and sad.

Grandpa and Mason

Once we got there we had such a fun time boating on the beautiful blue Bear Lake. The water is always so clear a little chilly, but just a nice and refreshing to be cooled off! Everyone enjoyed the activities the boat offered, like wake boarding, water skiing, knee boarding and of course tubing. It as an absolute blast. Dad even got up on ski's so that was pretty impressive. The niece's and nephews loved playing on the beach in the sand. Bear Lake is such a kid friendly place. They were entertained for hours just building sand castles. We even got Sara who was 9 months pregnant to swim in the middle of bear lake. It was fun for everyone.

Becca

Beach Time

We hiked into Minnatonka Caves- Mom successfully hiked each one of those stairs with a bright and happy attitude with her new hip! It was so great for her to be pain free and enjoy that little exploration.
We went to Paris Springs and Mitch was able to see how pretty that country of Paris really is :) The Idaho Paris anyways.
Everyone had a great time. Memories were made and it was such a fun time playing in the sun, but more importantly just spending time as a family.