New Blog

Alright People, it has finally been done. The NEW BLOG.

Why So Serious?

With the last few days of "singleness" ticking away, the

thought of "This is a big deal" keep popping up in my head and sending test fires down my nerves. Before each big decision in my life, I go through this thought pattern. At first, all i can see are the glittery things and all the possibilities for stories. With college, It was thoughts of dance parties, meeting boys, and pulling pranks. Then as it got closer to college I kept thinking of all the what ifs. What if I can't hack it? What if I get an apartment of girly girls and I don't even speak girl? I suddenly see no possibility for fun and seriousness at the same time.
I remember right before I went to BYU Hawaii, I confided in my dad that I was nervous about how far I was going to be away from home. I was worried that I couldn't just hop into my truck and drive home if life became too much. My dad taught me a great lesson that day:
"If you need to Mikael, I will fly you home."
You were probably hoping for something a little more profound than that....
but that's when I realized I could always count on my family to help me out even, when I didn't know how to help myself. (I know pretty simple solution, but my thoughts were getting in my own way, a common occurance).
My other Mother, Kathy Kempton was always a great example to me of always having fun in the seriousness of it all. She would wake Emma and me up in the morning with a flying squirl dive ontop of us. She somehow would always turn giggles into talk about our hopes, dreams, and the gospel, and then back into giggles.
I am excited to start my new adventure with Ronnie and that we have the support of both of our families to help us along the way.
Stay tuned for some Serious Fun, because life shouldn't be anything less!

I Love to see the Temple...

...I'm going there someday (as in tomorrow). To feel the Holy Spirit, to listen and get away...

Not the exact words of the primary song, but what I am thinking at the moment. I have quickly gained a testimony of how important the temple is, simply from the opposition I am feeling in my life right now. I swear to you, the moment I got that temple recommend in my hands, the ground beneath my feet has crumbled with each step I take to even get to the temple doors.
Isn't it funny? Usually if one bad event after another was happening, a sane person would think, "Wow, I'll take a hint, I shouldn't be doing this." For a very good reason, I am thinking the opposite.
Doesn't it seem like right before something great is supposed to happen, there are lots of hiccups, bumps, and even dynamite blasts in the road? Well, I have been driving through a mine field and am ready to get myself to the "no fire zone" of the temple.
There have been times in my life when I haven't been making a wrong choice, but I also wasn't about to make THE right choice and so life just sailed along smoothly. If there was ever any question as to if I am doing the right thing, all I have to think about is all the trouble Satan is stirring up, realize why, and move forward.
So here is to hopefully having a good pair of all terrain tires to help me along the bumpy, road I am calling The Right Way.

30

Thirty days = One Month = time until I get married. Hip Hip Hooray! It is coming quick (but still not quick enough for me). As it gets closer I am suddenly much more motivated to do wedding stuff. I think it is the procrastinator in me. Does much better under pressure. And I am just excited to be getting so close to "I Do" day.
I feel like I have so much to talk to you about but am afraid my thoughts aren't going to make it all into this post.
Speaking of thoughts....and feelings....and emotions....and hormones: Mine have been adjusting. I thought I felt insane before, but birth control has proven me wrong. For some reason I want to cry all day long on Sundays. I become ultra paranoid/jumpy at night. Some of that I can blame on living alone, but it has gotten worse since I started popping pills. And then there is the anger. I apologize if you have been apart of my angry days.
New subject. The new blog. I have chosen a name. Thank you Brittani and Steph for your suggestions. Stay tuned for the new blog's grand opening. And no, I am not going to tell you the name just quite yet. And just to make it a little more interesting, I will force Ronnie to do a post every once in a while. He is a natural with words. And humor. And making things interesting. And if he were typing this, he would have to add muscles. (he just said "it is kind of true I guess")
I recently started my own eBay account. Oh boy. I now see why Ronnie is such an avid eBay-er. I have been obsessing over vintage swimsuits. Yes, actual swimsuits form the 40's, 50's, and 60's. They are oh so cute and oh so perfect for the honeymoon in Hawaii!
My girls at work recently spoiled me with a little get away to Park City for a day and a night out in the country. Dream come true? Yes. It was SO nice to have a little get away. They are so sweet (and some of the only girl friends I have here in Utah).
You know who is my best friend though? R himself. We like to go on dates together and do fun things. We recently went to a car show. It was a blast! We got a little crisp in the sun and I found my dream truck. A '59 Chevy Apache. It is beautiful. Ronnie said I am allowed to buy one someday. I will.
You know what else I will do soon...as in June 4th? Go through the temple for the first time. I just found out that it takes about 3 hours your first time. Please tell me they serve snacks somewhere in that 3 hour span. Is there like a Relief Society portion with home baked goods? Will they let me take a tour of the kitchen half way through? All of this unknown is kind of killing me. I am a control freak when it comes to change, so I am sure God is having a good laugh at this one. Oh, and don't worry. The temple I was looking forward to going though because I have had siblings get married there, and it is beautiful (Mt. Timpanogos)is closed until June 7th! Is it bad that I don't want to go to the Provo temple because it is hideous? *que lightening bolt*
Well there is my ramble of thoughts. Let the count down continue!

Thoughts on Love...capital L

I never thought of myself as a girl who likes to get flowers.  I always said I would rather have some chocolate or sour patch watermelons over flowers. I was wrong.
R: "You used to not like flowers much did you?"
M: "Not until you came along. Now I love getting them."
R: "I guess it's not the flowers, but who brings them."

Wise man, that Ronnie. And he is right. He could bring me roses spray painted turquoise and I'd love them (ok, he did. And I did love them, after I giggled for a minute).

Speaking of spray painting...I have been busy sprucing up old picture frames I bought at estate sales and painting a plain old white cabinet sea foam green/blue with the help of my brothers sander and my sister in law's great taste in paint. I want mine and Ronnies first place to be US. That mean antique-ifying and unique-ifying. It is coming along nicely. The only thing missing is Ronnie (to be added in June) and visitors. Please come!

Now about Love. The Beatles were right. It is all you need. I never realized how different my future would look once I nabbed me some Love. I was perfectly happy with the future I had in mind PreRonnie. Now I am realizing how many more possibilities I have. Like, I don't know, having kids! (Don't take that as a baby hunger pains. I will be taking my little pill faithfully for quite some time). But, really, I am having fun thinking forward.

Now for your input. I have been racking my brain for a new blog title once the plunge has happened. All I have come up with is...eh hmmm...ready?

The Squire and I

I need more ideas! I will be scoring all ideas on a very complex grading system so I cant exactly explain it, even to myself. But titles using "cane" or references to Ronnies overall sauveness get double points.

The Gimp and his Pimp would get rhyming points, but demerits for overall tackiness. Get the idea? Can't wait to hear them!  

Alabama

One of my good friends moved to Alabama and I have loved looking at her blog and keeping up on that Southern State I used to call home. Her little apartment was recently hit by a tornado and she and her husband miraculously survived. Rachael has one of the funnest, most free spirited personalities, which instantly drew me to her when we were in Jerusalem together. Watch this clip of her on CNN. She is amazing.

Give Away!

Go check out my friend Aubrey's craft blog. There is a special Earth Day give away. She carries these little cuties around the office, and believe me, they are cute!

Pressing onward

My view these past few days...

Driving from place to place with my mom and Ronnie's mom. The wedding plans are well on their way. Let me be the first to say, it is going to be amazingly beautiful.

I don't know if you knew...

I am marrying my best friend. He is a pretty amazing man and when I am not with him, I miss like crazy. Our friend Karly recently did a story about him on BYUtv. Want to see?
http://www.byutv.org/watch/173-542
Fast forward to 18 minutes.

p.s.

Just look how cute our babies will be (and isn't his mom a babe!)



And I had to add my favorite picture of him.

Meet Cole

Isn't he adorable? When I "inherited" him onto my caseload after I started working at Kids On The Move, I couldn't have been happier. I have always been a sucker for brown eyes...and look at those big brown eyes! Don't you just want to melt!
Cole was a typically developing baby until 10 months old. He started having seizures and he became a different little boy. After many failed attempts with seizure medications and special diets, Cole's parents got him into the Cleveland Clinic where the Dr.s discovered his brain is malformed. They may have to do surgery and remove parts of his brain and hope that since he is young, it will rewire and his seizures will be gone.
I know with my job that I could probably lead you to hundreds of families with tender stories, but I couldn't resist sharing a link to this brown eyed boy's blog. Hop over and take a peek!

My Last Minute

It looks as if in a short 113 days, I will finally have a middle name. I will add Squire to the end of the name my parents gave me 24+ years ago. Mr. Ronald Gary Squire Jr. (or Handsome, as I like to call him) slipped a ring on my finger on February 26th and asked me to be his.

Let me take you back a little bit in time. I remember the day in Seminary, towards the end of those wonderful high school days, when my teacher told me I would be the fist to get hitched when I went to college. I was thoroughly offended. Then I went to work down at the dealership and found out they were taking bets as to how long I would last at college before I got married. My dad gave me 3 semesters. "I hope he has money riding on that, and that he loses big time" was my thought pattern at the time.

Around the same time, back in our old house on Foutz Road, I picked up the phone and it was my mom's friend Kit Cook on the other line. I remember exactly where I was standing and what that old white phone looked like: with the caller I.D. faded from an overzealous Lysol spray from me and it's stretched out cord wrapped around my fingers. I remember so vividly because the advice Kit gave me hit me like a bolt of lightening. She asked how life was and what my plans were. I spoke of adventures, orphanages in far away lands, and college. She shared her mutual love for adventure and then said,"You go for it girl! Don't worry about love.
Fall in love at the last minute possible."

With trips around the world, a college education, and stories exaggerated enough to make my mom giggle, all tucked under my belt, it looks as if my last minute has come.

Ronnie and I met in late September of last year. From the night we met at a ward pizza party, he pursued me. On our first date, he slathered on the charm and made me laugh like no other boy ever had. 5 months later, Ronnie asked me to be his wife. Exactly 67 years after my grandparents were married, I became engaged.

Do I feel like my adventures are over? No way. I am adding an adventure buddy, a very handsome one if I might say so myself, and a new last name. So stay tuned for the tales of engagement and MARRAIGE!

The day of Love

Oh glorious day. This valentines day was great.  It was my first with Ronnie.  I set a 10 dollar limit this year so se would have to get creative. I decorated Ronnies room and made a banner I made, hearts with messages, and streamers (thank you JD for helping me). We exchanged gifts before we went to dinner at Macaroni grill. I made Ronnie a book out of a deck of cards with 52 things I love about him. He also got a big bag of swedish fish-  his favorite and a little something I had from Egypt. Ronnie gave me flowers and a beautiful and thoughtful gift he worked very hard on.
My roommate Ashlee is taking a letterpress class so she helped him take a page and drawing from our favorite book and turned it into a letterpress to display. Ronnie etched it and set the type himself and they spent many long hours figuring it out. I just loved how close Ashlee and him got and how much fun they had together.
I loved my gift and will keep it forever.  We then had a blast together at dinner. My dad gave me a beautiful silver bracelet. He always pull through on that.
I hope your day was as fabulous as mine!

Childhood

As I drove home from work today, I let my thoughts wander from place to place as I took the usual streets back to my apartment. I got done with work a little earlier than usual, so as I drove past the school just up the street from my place, I got to see all the elementary children just getting out of school. Just that quick drive past the school reminded my why I love children and childhood so much.
I saw one little girl with her backpack twisted every which way around her body but except on her back, singing a tune to herself and dancing along as she waited on the corner for her mom.
A little bunch of kids jumped at the chance to high-five the police officer working as a crossing guard as they crossed the street to the mini-van awaiting their arrival.
As I approached the four-way stop just before my turn, a scraggly, little blonde head in the car in front of me turned around and gave me a big toothless grin as she waved at me.
I hope I never have to venture far from childhood.

That Boy

Yes, this boy.
He drives me nuts. In the best way possible.
He likes the same music I do. And if he doesn't he puts up with it. (He even agreed to go see Yanni with me!)
He always knows how to make me laugh. Even when I try and be grumpy and not laugh at his ridiculousness.
He accompanies me on my hair brained adventures. Including the one where we wasted a perfectly good Saturday in pursuit of Catholic relics at an estate sale of a closing convent. Turns out what was advertised as a convent was more of a nursing home...oops!
The purpose of this post almost got away from me! Last night Ronnie planned a surprise date for me. He held to his word and no matter how much I pestered for a clue, he didn't give in. When date time arrived he told me he was running late and asked if I could meet him at his place to save some time. I traveled the hop, skip, and jump between our apartments to find a beautiful surprise indeed! I found Ronnie waiting in his suit with a rose in hand and his kitchen lit up with tea candles. He had worked hard preparing a beautiful dinner for me. He made it all on his own! I could tell he had worked extra hard from the beads of sweat I spied on the corner of brow when I leaned in to give him a hug. I am sure juggling cooking, decorating, and switching his attention between preparing different dishes was a difficult task to maneuver around the kitchen, but he did it for me.
The Menu:
Herbed chicken over sticky rice with a lemon curd sauce
(don't forget the won-tons he fried up to crunch on top of the chicken)
Homemade cream cheese stuffed won-tons
Yummy salad with poppy seed dressing
and last but not least
Dr. Pepper

We shared a beautiful dinner with our favorite tunes in the background, just me and him. So what's the occasion? I couldn't figure it out but he reminded me. Our 4 month anniversary from our first date! Has it already/only been 4 months!

Jealous? You should be. But back off ladies (and the occasional gay man I have to fight off as well).
HE IS MINE.

No longer a Gemini

I am sure you have heard the buzz. Our zodiac signs have changed. This came as very sad news to me as I just accomplished number 9 on my "25 Things To Do Before I Turn 25" list.
9. Have my palm read
I am pretty sure my zodiac probably had something important to do with my palm reading, so now that it has changed, I probably need to go have it read again. That, along with the fact that my reading was quite disappointing. It was in China Town in San Francisco over New Years ( don't worry, this will receive its own post with pictures). We saw a palm reader and on a whim, my boys and me stopped in for a VERY quick palm reading.


Do you want to hear what she has to tell me? Let's see what I can remember:
I love to serve people and spend most of my time serving, but receive very little in return- Ok lady, that was pretty good. Yeah, I work in a helping profession, but I feel like I receive SO much more than I give
I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth and have never struggled to have the things I wanted- Was it my Guess coat or Ugg boots that gave that away?
I have a long life line and much love in my life- I truly hope every person in this world has that same fate
Here is where it gets interesting. I have stepped in a bad way and need to get out of it. It is a very dark way and is causing me a lot of trouble. I am not as happy as I once was and need to meditate to get back to my peace.......
Can being on my period on vacation be considered a "dark way"? I wished it would go away and I was back to "peace".
Don't worry, she offered to burn 90 candle and meditate for me at midnight for 3 months. All for the low cost of 300 dollars!
I passed. Instead, me and the boys pondered on her generous offer over the most delicious Chinese food I've ever had.

A few days with Ronnie

Ronnie came home to New Mexico with me for a few days before Christmas. It was so much fun to have him here and for him to get time to know some of my sibling a little more. I think I kicked him out in time to secure my spot as favorite with the grand kids still. He was starting to monopolize and I wasn't liking it. We had fun doing, uh, nothing much really! I snapped a few pictures of him with some of the kids, "teaching" them to play guitar.
We had so much fun going to a different sibling's house every night to watch movies, play guitar hero (I have been informed I play the drums like The Animal from the muppets), or catch up on some sports center.
After taking him to the airport in Albuquerque yesterday, My little brother Johnathon and I ran some errands and picked up A LOT of Sees candy for my Papa. The Sees lady loaded us up with a bunch of samples and sent us on our way. I feel like a blimp as I have way overindulged this Christmas break. I plan on having a repeat overindulge session on tonight's Christmas Eve dinner. Merry Christmas everyone! Now check out the pictures of my hott boy and admire his bulging biceps.

Person First Language

Here in the special needs world, we have something we call "person first language". I try to abide by it because I think it really does say a lot. Instead of saying I know a Down Syndrome boy, I would say, "I know a boy with Down Syndrome". He is a person first, and then, by the way, he has Down Syndrome. Make sense? Here is what I am trying to get at. Lately I have been having a shift in what I call my coworkers.
They are my friends at work, not my work friends.
There. I said it. I LOVE my job. I love the families I work with and I love the other people who work at Kids On The Move. I love that we swap recipes, text each other when funny things happen, know about each others work and personal lives, and even go to Zumba together after work (me being the worst at attendance to that function). Today is the last day until the Christmas break and I am stuck alone at the office, listening to the silence as I wait for my last appointment. I miss my friends at work. They listen to my dumb stories and make me feel entertaining. They always have great insights when I am struggling with ideas of what to do with a kid, or need a good brownie recipe. I love going to conferences with them and sharing my embarrassing stories with them in the hot tub. It is great to have friends to look forward to seeing at work... now I just wish work would end already so I could go home and pack...

Dog 4 Deeds

I was given permission from the mom of a little boy I teach in playgroup to share this link with all of you on my blog. JD "Deeds" attends the structured playgroup I help teach and stole my heart right away, along with all the other little ones in the class. JD has had a rough year: autism diagnosis, the beginning of seizures and another diagnosis of Periventricular Leukomalatia and mild Cerebral Palsy. His parents are trying to get him a specially trained service dog but it costs A LOT. feel free to hop on over and take a look at the blog his mom set up for him and even donate a few dollars if you can.

http://dog4deeds.wordpress.com/about_deeds/
I have been impressed with how well children with Autism respond to animals. I recently attended a panel of adults that are on the Autism spectrum. A member of the audience asked them their thoughts and feeling on animals. Each member of the panel beamed as they explained why they love animals and what is about animals that helps them. Autism is a neurological disorder that effects social and emotional development, especially the interpretation nonverbal communication that we rely on so heavily when communicating. One person who was on the panel explained it so well why she loved animals when she said,"If a dog doesn't like you he will bark and growl at you. People are different. I have a hard time telling if they really mean what they say. A dog doesn't expect anything from me, he just lets me love him."
Since then I have become a believer of service dogs and animal therapy. What a great way to learn affection and expression of emotions than with an animals known as "mans best friend". Hop on over to JD's blog and take a look!

Update

I realize I have not blogged in a while and I am going to play a little catch up today.
The question is where do I start? Life has been a whirlwind the past few months and I haven't really documented any of it on my blog so I will just hit some highlights.
** At the beginning of November I took Ronnie, Ashlee, and Ty home with me for a weekend so I could go see my grandmother (Nanny) in the hospital. I felt so much better after being able to see Nanny, give her kisses, and tell her how much I loved her. Even though she wasn't at full physical or speaking capacity, it was great to see her personality shine through. My friends and Ronnie had a blast in Farmington and spending some quality time with the Webb fam. I wish I had some pictures to share but I didn't take a single one.
**At work I was asked to get trained to teach a children's group for an agency called Grandfamilies. It is a support group/workshop for grandparents, aunts, uncles, or relatives that are fostering a relitive's child/children. The "parents" attend their group and I will help run the children's group where the children learn about personal boundaries, drug and alcohol awareness, safety, and ect. Although it may be tough to see some of these kids coming from hard situations, I am so excited to be able to be involved with this program as it is starting up in Utah County, and even more excited to step back into my love for teaching and brush up on my teaching skills.
**Thanksgiving. I spent four days in Temecula, CA with Ronnie at his house for Thanksgiving. I had met his family briefly at a wedding reception and was excited to go to their house and spend a few days in sunny California. Although I was still struggling to get rid of a nasty cold I had been fighting for 3+ weeks, I had a blast! I got to see family videos, play the most hilarious/painfully slow game of catch phrase, do a little antique shopping (which by the way- I found some turquoise rings from the 1920's for $15...those Californians could have cared less about all the turquoise treasures they had) sleep in every morning, and laugh until it hurt all week long. Our drive back to Utah took a little longer than expected because of snow, but I was in the company of friends and a handsome man so I didn't mind. Below are some picture from a little trip Ronnie and I took down to San Diego with his sisters. They made sure I got to see the temple:



These next few weeks are going to be crazy but I am looking forward to getting home and spending some time with my siblings and having Johnathon home from Israel. I can't wait to look through all of his pictures and pester him with a million questions.

India

I have been obsessing over India. For those of you who know me best, you know I get a travel itch and there isn't much to do about scratching it except picking up and going. I have been wanting to go to India for a few years now but have not been doing much but wanting. Lately it seems that India is calling my name and telling me to quit waiting for a way to get there to fall in my lap (like most of my other expeditions) and to start working towards it. I have a few friends who have also expressed interest in going and so the plans are beginning. And to make sure I don't forget, the fates remind me each day that I am supposed to end up in India one way or another. I am starting a daily reminder journal to show how India comes up EVERYDAY, one way or another, without me seeking it out. It can be something as simple as seeing a "made in India" tag on my shirt, to getting a family from India on my caseload. not huge things, but daily reminders that someday, I will see this with my own eyes: