To have and to hold

So the long awaited updating can begin!!
To start things off, our wedding was a dream come true. I have never been as stressed in my life as the week of the wedding. Planning something for months and months and months, to then hand it over to other people to make happen, is horrible. I'm just gonna say that, it's horrible on a person like me. I like to follow through and make sure each touch is handled and done well. But this tested my trust in my loved ones big time. And I am happy to say, they were incredible. Not only was it taken care of, but everyone worked their butts off and it turned out beautiful. This is my public thank you to everyone, YOU'RE AMAZING!!!!

To start things off, the park had to be decorated, set up and readied for the ceremony. The scramble in the morning was, I must say, quite intense...
While this was going on outside, I was trying to get ready inside the tent.....

Finally it was time! Here we go!!!!

 Mitchell was my perfect little prince that day. He was amazing!

My mother made me cry. Heck, everyone made me cry!!! Even I made me cry!

It was amazing!!!! Everyone was so helpful and supportive, I married the most amazing man in the world and I now get to be the happiest new member of the Esau fam :)

That night, we had a killer reception at Chateau Faire!

The whole Day was perfect!!!

And we finished it all with a Bang!!!

Best. Day. Ever.

Finally!!! An UPDATE!!!

Ok, now that my life is back to some version of normal, I am going to be updating this often and dedicating to it better. Sometimes it will be pictures, sometimes, it will be songs, sometimes it will be thoughts that are on my crazy mind :) But either way, it will be more often.
There is really no good place to begin, simply because there is far too much to cover. As the next few days go on, I am going to add more and more. As of now I will catch you up, up to the wedding.
I ended the school semester in May with grades that have pushed my gpa higher :) That's very happy to me. I busted my butt!! And at least there is a payoff. Owen and I are going to start again in the fall (took some time off for the summer cause life was crazy for a while). Unfortunately, I think we are going to be stuck with doing loans from now on though. We make too much to get grants. Funny, cause it sure doesn't feel like we can afford ketchup, let alone college courses. Kind of ridiculous how that works. I'm just grateful to be that much closer to getting my degree though. I at least want a Bachelor's degree. I am still working on my associate's. But I am closer to the goal than I was before so WAHOO!!!
Jessica and Mitchell did soccer this spring. I have to admit, I was surprised and impressed with Jessica's determination and involvement with it. She is good little sport! Mitchell on the other hand, is cut from the same anti-sportsmanship cloth that Owen was cut from. Some times I think dopplegangers could really be real things, with how similar that boy is to his moody daddy. And you can't train that. So genetic it's scary. Mitchell's version of playing soccer was to run towards the ball......until anyone, ANYONE passed him. Then suddenly he realized he lost. He would toss his head back, wail, and drop his body to the grass where he would pout for the next few minutes until his amazing coach would swing by, pick him up, put him on her hip an keep running back and forth down the field. She was awesome!! even though I felt bad for her most of the time with this 30 lbs kid on her hip. lol so funny. Really, it was cuter than anything. If he got a chance to shine though, you bet he would take it. He definitely got some awesome hits in there!



On a sad family note, two of my grandparents are going through some serious struggles these days. My grandma Beemus had a quintuple bypass. When this did not work well, they then put in a pacemaker. Very intensive and dangerous surgeries. She is now in a rehabilitation center while she recovers. She is in St. George so I don't hear all that is going on, but I do know that she is recovering and hopefully she will be able to return to her house with her daughter. I hope and pray she will be kept protected and heal quickly. My grandpa Hathaway found his clavical broken when he went in feeling an intense pain. With more testing, they found not only was his clavical broken, but he now has bone cancer. He is a survivor of Prostate cancer a few years back, but I guess it is back and has spread to his bones. The doctor has officially given him 2 years to live. Again, I pray for his health and strength. He is the best man I have ever known. I hope he will get through this and show them that 2 years can mean 10 with the right attitude and procedures. I love my grandparents. I hope they are well soon.

Tonight I am going to go home, and update this blog and facebook with pictures from the wedding, and from the honeymoon. Gosh we had fun. I miss the sun and the humidity. It was so nice to feel tropical.









Nerves...rattle rattle

Ok, so there is SOOOO much happening this week it's crazy. To begin, Jessica and Mitchell are in Illinois right now. Their aunt Shawna (on their mom's side) was caught in a fire. Jessica and Mitchell are with their mother and Ryan in Illinois to be with the family at this time. We wish them the best and pray for them in this time of need.
On the Salt Lake City side of life, quite a bit has been evolving. Tomorrow I go back to my new job and continue to stretch my mind to its limits learning my duties and trying to remember everything they explain to me even though much of it still sounds like dutch to me ;) Along with this, I have been working out every day in the company gym on the 4th floor. This job really is amazing. I am very grateful for it. Mostly, I can see exactly why they have been rated the 27th best company to work for in the United States.
Tuesday of this week, Owen interviews for a position that could potentially be the changing factor in our financial situation. I'm nervous for him, but very excited for all that could come from this if it goes well. Keep us in your prayers and good wishes :)
On a wedding note....My dress arrives this week!!!! I'm freaking out. Please please oh please say it is awesome. The moment of truth has approached. If the dress is good, then I am going to be more proud of myself for the deal I found than any other deal I have ever found in my life. If it sucks, then after I bawl my eyes out for at least 4 hours, I will pick myself up and go buy something simple and affordable. So PLEASE say this turns out to be as great as the pictures are. *squeezing eyes shut and crossing fingers and toes*
This coming weekend, we begin cleaning out the rooms in this house that have swallowed the surrounding world around them so I can start moving in. We begin with the garage. I think this title is not grand enough for what it really is. Perhaps the heaping pit of doom...that may be more appropriate. Once this has been cleaned out, organized and made functional, I'll let you know if I find any little people living in communities between the piles of rubbel Sharon calls important memories.
The room after this to be attacked is the storage room. Owen has warned me this room has 30 years of stuff hidden away. So if I find any valuable crap for the antique roadshow...I'm not gonna tell you ;)
So after this week, so much could change. I have my fingers crossed and hopes high!

Love you all!!

Wedding Plans and dizzy days....

So this one won't be as "picturey" as the others, but it's more of an update on the life spectrum for Owen and I.
This last year brought a lot of learning, growing, getting closer, depression (financially), and new beginnings. With all the good bad or indifferent, we have made the best of what we can and just kept going forward. With Owen's job and my new one starting soon, we have finally begun to see the light at the end of this tunnel we call love. ;)
So the date has been set, the locations have been chosen and the places reserved. Now, we just have a list of I don't know, a million more things to decide and plan. ;) I've actually found some fun in planning this wedding on the budget we have. It's been a little challenging, but at the same time, I'm proud of some of the ideas I have come up with. They don't feel like "settling" even though it's affordable, which to me, is very important. I'm sure it will come faster than I can be ready for, but then again, this next week when I start my new job, is going to take forever, I can tell.
I'll be working at American Express in their admin department. I will be setting up new hires, creating user names and passwords, doing equipment inventory, and creating spreadsheets. I'll be working primarily with the Indians here on working visa's. The lady I will work for is extremely insane and very racist so that will be something to experience. heh.
My school is going well. My Interior Design instructor has been out of town for 2 weeks so this will be my first real week of class with her. I'm actually very excited to get going with this class and expand on my knowledge in this field. I love that the text book I bought that was way too expensive for my own good, has been more fun to read through than most magazines I buy for the pictures. I'm excited that I finally found something that doesn't really feel like work when I focus on it. It's more fun.
My other classes are good. I have a Communications class taught by a Nigerian who is one of the funniest guys I have met. I have another communications class, however, taught by a guy that strongly resembles Rocky on Frasier (the sports announcer guy). This class feels more like an AA meeting. I almost wanted to ask for a button at the end of class to prove I came. He's big on sitting us all in a circle while we reflect on sentences and their deeper meanings. He craves personal stories and how they have changed people's lives. I keep telling myself not to judge the forty women in there that take the class time to complain about their husbands that forgot to buy them a flower or the guys that whine about their nagging wives that make them pause their tivo to talk about their day. Think what you want about Owen, but I thank my stars I am with him every time I leave that class. I love being with a guy that talks to me as much as I talk to him, who genuinely cares about how I am doing, and who really is my best friend. Being with someone who loves to hear what you have to say or who likes to buy you a flower cause it occured to him one random day you would want some, is a serious blessing in my life I thought at one time would never be possible.
Owen is doing well, work work and more work mixed in with kids and playing Halo is pretty much his existance. Only, his X-box live account just expired so playing online is no longer in the cards for him as of late. He's sad, I'm trying to be sad about it. ;)
The kids are doing great! We have parent-teacher conferences for Jessica on Wednesday so I guess we will find out more then. Her last one came out with her doing wonderful with her reading skills and being polite in class. Mitchell just turned three and his potty training is proving to be almost complete. We still have a ways for the over-night potty training and what not, but during the day, he is a great little boy and tells us each time he has to go. We're extremely proud of him. Every day his speach gets more and more complex. He really is turning into a great kid.
Well that's all for us right now. Stay tuned and I'll update more soon.

Hearts to all!!!

Ready, Set, GO!!

So Mitchell is now Three. I can't believe he is so big. I met him when he was born and starting getting to know him when he was 1. Now he's freakin walking around telling me how things "really" are and yelling from the back seat of the car when the light is green cause it's time to go! (duh Crissy!!) heh. He has grown such leaps and bounds. For his birthday, we decided a more practical birthday was in order this year. We nailed it for Christmas and were a little stumped at what exactly to get for the birthday. But with some creativity, we came up with some great things he loves to play with and we took the kids to Incredible Pizza. The rides were awesome for the kids. We rode the go-carts. Jess and I smoked Owen and Mitchell's car!! Take that boys! We also played some racing video games and had lots of pizza. Jessica and Daddy battled it out on the airhockey table and then the kids finished up on a play place that I wish I had when I was a kid.
Mitchell really had a nice time when the family came over for cake and ice cream. He ran around playing with everyone and his new dragons. (the new fave).

An Unconventional Life

Alright, so I know it's about time I updated. I have millions of pictures from Christmas, New Years, and events since but I figure I should touch on the highlights since it's a New Year and time marches on.

Christmas was a bit different in my eyes than what one would call "traditional". I think somewhere inside each of us, we have a set of standards for how we wish to parent. Not all of us realize this truth, but it's there and exists for every type of parent out there (nuclear, divorced, step, etc).  Deep down, we all want to give our children everything we loved about our childhood and give them everything we didn't have including missed experiences, chances, or trust.

This year, was the "off year" of Christmas for our side. Each year Owen switches with his ex on who gets the kids over Christmas Eve Night to Christmas Morning. I have to say, it's just not the same. Yes, we get them for hours and they get to open presents and we do all the same traditions, but there is something special about seeing the kids' faces as they run out in the morning. Something exciting about watching them go to sleep the night before trying to hide from you that they are planning to stay up and catch Santa once you leave the room. Not being able to have that is admittedly sad. The kids are not missing anything and they are not deprived in any way as some may think, on the contrary actually. Having two of everything is bordering on the spoiled side of life :) But I have found that for us as the parents, it was a bit hard. Adjustments to the expectations we give life is normal I guess.

As far as Christmas went as a whole, it was very nice. Not traditional, as I said, but it was nice in our own way. The kids loved their gifts and had a great time familiarizing themselves with each new thing. Jessica loved her new keyboard and wouldn't step away from it almost all day. Mitchell tried to hold everything and bring it all with him everywhere he went. Simba (as big as Mitchell) was slung over his shoulder, egg (that hatched a dinosaur) was in one hand, "sharp tooth" that roared was in the other and his dinosaur slippers were on his feet ready to go.

After the week was through of playing with toys, spending time with friends and family, and partying a very happy "noon" year's party at the Natural History Museum, Jessica returned to school this week and life started to look forward for plans of the New Year.

Mitchell is finally to the point where I can say he is potty trained!! Yay! He is still in need of assistance with pants and wiping and such, as normal, but he is finally getting up and saying it's potty time frequently without any accidents. Gosh it's been a long road, but I'm happy he's clicked and is finally crossing over to such a big boy attitude.
On best friend news, Ashley had her baby!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At her request, I am not going to post any pictures of her at the hospital, but I can say that her new little boy is beautiful. They named him Lincoln Peter Jensen. He was 6 pounds and healthy as can be. Will was probably the cutest big brother I have ever seen. He held Lincoln and kept saying he was "so cute" and kissed him on his head. Will is a great big brother and I'm excited to be close and see them grow up together. Jake and Ashley are home now with their new little one and breaking in the new life they have as a family of four.

Owen and I are now feeling the extreme pressures of Wedding planning. We have a spot for the reception, but the location for the ceremony is another story. 1. it's hard to find a place while it's winter death outside and picture it for the summer 2. everything is freaking expensive on a $0.00 budget 3. time is not something that is abundant these days. Hopefully, with prayers and hard work, this will all come together. :)
Recently I have interviewed at a few different places so that should play another factor in a lot happening during these next six months.
School starts this week. I have finally decided to take Interior Design as my major. I almost have my generals done for my associate's degree but I'm trying out Interior Design and seeing where that road takes me. I'm so excited to start it out and embark on this new challenge. Wish me luck!!!

Love you all!