2010

For New Years we went up to my parents cabin! The past few years Bruce and I have gone up there and it has been so nice and relaxing so we talked my brother and parents into going up there with us this year! There was snow everywhere and it was freezing cold! We relaxed, played in the snow, shopped, and played LOTS of games! It was a much needed weekend get away and we had so much fun.

Christmas 2009!

This Christmas was amazing! We are so lucky to have family so close, so we can spend the Holidays with them. Every year on Christmas Eve Bruce and I exchange gifts. It is a tradition we started when we first got married, because usually Christmas Day is pretty crazy for us.

We started out the morning bright and early at 6am with Bruce's family, and we all met at IHOP. We ate breakfast with everyone and went over to their house to open presents. I feel so lucky to have such awesome in-laws! I love them to death, and I love spending time with them. They got us some really fun stuff, Bruce got some clothes, and gift cards and I got an AMAZING purse, a cool antique scale, an electric wheat grinder and alot of other fun things. We went back over there later that night and played a fun white elephant game.
My family has a little thing we like to call "The Riggs Schedule" Christmas has never been a relaxing day for my family because we are always going to someones house. After opening gifts with my in laws, we went over to my parents house and we had a wonderful surprise! My little brother Colton surprised us and called us that morning so we all got to talk to him for a minute and we were able to have him on the line as we opened the package he sent us for Christmas (the pictures below) He sent Dakota and Gunnar a Peru jacket, and then wrote us all our own letters! What an amazing Christmas surprise! After that we opened gifts and Bruce and I got a chest freezer which we needed really bad! After opening gifts we went over to my Grandma Sue and Poppy Rays for a Christmas Brunch, then later that afternoon we went over to Grandma Elaine and Poppy Garths for a Christmas Dinner. We had to end it short because Colton called again at 6pm and we all got to ask him as many questions as we wanted! It was the highlight of my Christmas because I miss him soooo much!

We had such a good day, and we are so grateful to our parents for making that possible! They do so much for us, and we love them all so much! I hope everyone had a good Christmas...

December Adventures!

We have had all kinds of fun this month! I seriously can't believe it's over. Christmas was amazing (that is a whole different post) and we have had lots of fun with family and friends. We have had so many birthdays this month... Happy Birthday Grandma Elaine, Dad, Gunnar, Grandma Sue, & Katrina! haha December is insane in the Riggs family... This was Bruce & Kylie at one of the Birthday get togethers, I loved this picture so I had to post it :)

We got together with Bruces family and went to Temple lights and decided to take some pictures... It was wet, and freezing cold outside, but so much fun! We were laughing for hours :)

I had to post this picture because Ashley and I were laughing so hard... We were hanging out with our good friends Ryan and Ashley Stahle... well Bruce & Ryan were talking about hunting and Bruce had to show him something online and they were in this tiny little corner laying on the same pillow, it was funny!

It has been such a good month, and we have had many wonderful memories with family and friends, along with lots of blessings! I love this time of year.

Lucky

I just want to say I love my husband so much... I am so grateful for him, and would honestly be lost without him. He is my very best friend and keeps me laughing all day long. My life would be empty without him. How did I get so lucky???

Gingerbread Houses!

A couple Sundays ago my mom and dad had us all over to make Gingerbread houses! It is a tradition we have had for a few years now and we look forward to it every year. It was different this year because Rocky and Stacey couldn't make it, and Colty is on his mission but it was still alot of fun! Thanks Dad and Mom, we love you guys!!!

Sweet baby of ours...

Last night we lost our sweet baby... Yes, we finally were able to get pregnant and our baby was 5 weeks along. As we knelt in prayer I knew without a doubt this is the plan Heavenly Father had for us, and I know that I will be able to be with my baby again. What comfort it is to know that families really can be together forever. Although this is such a hard time we are so grateful for the chance we had to get pregnant, and we know without a doubt that we will have more children and that we will be able to raise them on this earth. We can't wait for that day!!! I just want to thank our amazing families for the love and support they have shown us in this difficult time, we couldn't have gotten through it without them. We know things happen for a reason and we are just so grateful for this experience!

Thankful

Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday. I love that there is a day that we are able to just reflect on the many wonderful things Heavenly Father has blessed us with. My heart is so full of love and appreciation for my Heavenly Father this Thanksgiving, and I am so grateful that I have him in my life, and that he is there to guide me and help me. There are so many things I am grateful for, and I will list a few...

-1st, I am grateful for Bruce. He is the love of my life, my very best friend, and the best husband in the world. I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world and I have never been happier.

-2nd, I am SO grateful for the priesthood! I have grown up with the priesthood is my home my whole life, and I have no idea what I would do without it. I have always had a testimony of it, but today it grew. My brothers girlfriend suffers from seizures... She has had them since an accident she was in when she was younger. She has headaches constantly and sometimes they get so bad she has a seizure.. The ONLY thing that has ever stopped them is a priesthood blessing. She can sense when they are coming on, so it is nice to be able to prepare for it. Well Chad has told me how it has completely built his testimony to see her is a full seizure, and then once the person giving her a blessing tells her to calm down the seizure completely stops... But I had never witnessed it. Today she wasn't doing good and she told Chad she was going to go in the other room and have it. Chad got my dad and brothers and we went in the game room and she broke out into a full seizure, my brother Justin gave her a blessing and the second he told her to calm down she stopped and she was totally fine. My three brothers that were here, my mom and my dad were in there and by the end of it we were all in tears to witness such an amazing experience. Thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes, and I am so grateful I was able to witness it because my testimony of the priesthood has never been stronger. I am so grateful I married a worthy priesthood holder, and that he honors his priesthood.

-3rd, I am grateful for my family, as well as Bruce's family. I love both of our families so much and they all mean so much to me. I feel blessed to have each and every one of them in my life.

-4th, I am thankful for answered prayers. Sometimes we take for granted all the many wonderful things Heavenly Father blesses us with, and I hope he knows how grateful I am for my answered prayers!

There are so many more things I am grateful for, I could go on and on... But these are the things that have stuck out today. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Wow.

I am pretty sure it has been FOREVER since I have made a real post! Since I have been home I have just had no desire to blog, but hopefully I am getting back into it. We never have anything exciting happen, so I never know what to blog about...

Here is our update.

Well we have been home for almost 2 months... That's exciting! We have just been enjoying our time together, and the time we have been able to spend with our families. Being away from everyone for awhile sure makes you grateful to have them in your life :) Bruce has been hunting alot since we have been home. He went to Colorado for a mule deer hunt at the end of October with his dad, my dad, and my 2 brothers. They had alot of fun and they were all successful and returned home with a buck! Now I just need to can all the meat :) Then this past week I went up with Bruce to Kaibab, AZ for another Mule Deer hunt he got drawn for. I grew up with my dad and brothers hunting, but surprisingly I had never been on a hunt before... I was excited to go with Bruce and we had so much fun! We got back yesterday, and sadly he didn't get one, but he is going up with his dad and brother on Wednesday so hopefully they get one then (I will miss him on Thanksgiving tho) Other than that we have just been fixing up our little house by the temple, and just enjoying our time together before Bruce starts work again.

Bruce hunting = Me baking!

Bruce went hunting in Colorado last week so I decided to make him a bunch of goodies for the trip! I took a whole day and baked my little heart out. Its a good thing I love baking :) I made coconut bread, banana nut bread, pumpkin cookies, pigs in a blanket, and cereal bars! I sure miss him, and I can't wait for him to come at the end of the week!

WOOHOO!

We finally have a picture of my little brother on his mission!!! They have changed some things so it has been hard for him to send pictures and letters home. Someone from Colton's mission contacted my mom on facebook and she posts pictures of him for us!!! I miss him more than words can express, I tell Bruce all the time I can't wait for the next year and a half to go buy so I can just hug him again!! I can't believe it has already been 6 months! I am so grateful for the choice he made the serve the Lord, and I know he is in the right place!

Birthdays!

On the 8th my Father-in-Law had a birthday! We are so grateful for him and all he does for us! He is Bruce's best friend, and has been so good to me ever since I have become a part of the family..

Yesterday was my birthday, and my husband made it so much fun! We drove out to see my brother and his wife {I haven't seen them since we have been back because they live in Glendale} It was so much fun to hang out with them all afternoon! Then we went over to my parents house and had some delicious food and had fun with family!

Thank you to everyone that wished me a happy birthday, and who helped make my day special!

Home at Last

We are finally coming home!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I feel like this summer has dragged on FOREVER! I started packing a little bit and did a bunch of laundry today.. I feel like we can't leave soon enough :) We will be leaving Wednesday early morning. haha and Bruce is making fun of me because I have already started packing.

I am so grateful for this summer, and the fun times and memories we have made. Daphne, Alabama was amazing, and still to this day I miss that place. Even though we have not enjoyed Mcallen, Texas as much we have had so much fun with good friends!!!

What do dreams mean anyway?

Sorry I just need to vent...

Well lately I have had lots of dreams.... What about you might ask??? My future children.

Bruce and I have been trying to get pregnant for 11 months... Deep down I have always known I would have a hard time having kids, so I begged Bruce to start trying sooner... But he needed his time and I respected that. Me on the other hand, I would have gotten pregnant the day we were married if I could. It has always been my dream to be a wife and MOTHER... The beautiful October day that Bruce told me he was ready to be a Daddy I cried. I was SOOOO excited! The first few months of trying I was okay, because like I said deep down I always knew it would take some time... But the past few months I have just ached to hold our baby.

Well the past couple weeks I have had a lot of dreams about being pregnant, or just having a baby. In every dream it has been a little girl, and every dream is different. As I am sleeping these dreams are amazing, but the second I wake up reality kicks in and says, haha Guess what Chanteal... You really aren't pregnant! Tricked ya! These dreams feel so real, it is insane. So then my mind starts wondering and thinking WHY do I keep having these amazing dreams... I love them to death, and and wouldn't trade having them for anything... But, what do they mean? Probably nothing. But I wish they ment something :) haha.

As I sit here I am wondering if I should post this, I don't want people feeling sorry for me... That's not why I wrote this... I have not told anyone about this, except a few people, I guess it just feels good to vent a little bit :)

I know we have not been able to have kids yet for a reason, and even if we never know the reason I am grateful for it. Bruce and I have the best relationship because we haven't had kids yet. We really are best friends, and it has been so much fun with it just being us two. I would not trade the past 2 1/2 years for anything...

M.E.M.O.R.I.E.S

I was looking through so of our old pictures and it brought back so many memories!

This is 3 months after we started dating... at my parents cabin! This was such a fun weekend, because it was the first time we had been away somewhere together... After this weekend we started talking about marriage.

This is right after Bruce proposed! It was at the Temple... the same bench his dad proposed to his mom on... and amazing!

This was the weekend after we got engaged... It was so much fun to go up to the Rim with Bruce's family... We camped, road quads, and had a lot of fun!

Monday.

Can I just say that Monday was amazing.... Well I guess it all started on Saturday. Bruce decided he needed a break since he has been working 4 months straight with no days off... So he came home at 5:00 on Saturday. It was so nice to just hang out together and actually eat dinner at a decent hour. Then Sunday roles around {my favorite day of the week} and we had more time together.... But Bruce decided to take Monday off as well!!!!!!!!!! I had to go in to work for a little bit in the morning, but after we ran some errands and then went to lunch at Olive Garden! After that we came home and hung out for awhile and then we went and looked at cars at the Ford dealership. {looking at cars is Bruce's favorite thing to do} We then went and rented the 4th season of Prison Break, and got some ice cream and then we came home and watched Prison Break! Nothing too exciting happened, but seriously this has been the best day of my summer so far!!!! With Bruce working such long hours it gets really hard to be able to spend some quality time together, and I REALLY needed just a day to myself with my husband.

We only have 1 month left out here and we will be coming home, and I seriously can't wait!!! It has been a fun summer, and I am grateful we came out here, but it will be nice to get back to the real world.