5 years ago

I will never forget where I was 5 years ago on this eve. I was laying on a futon in the upstairs bedroom of my grandparents home with my best friend Jackie and her brother Clifford. Both of whom I have known since I was 5 years old. They were in town from New Mexico for a very special occasion.  We spent the the night giggling and chatting about times past and most of it with them calming my nerves.

The next morning I was going to wake up so that I could drive to the South Carolina Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints so that I could marry my very best friend John Ewing Pierson IV. What a wonderful day that was! I still think that was the single most amazing day of my life. We were married in the temple of our home state, had a reception to die for, but most of all we married each other. We spent the day making convennants to each other and to the Lord, the afternoon driving and checking in to our hotel, and the night eating, visiting with dear friends and dancing till our feet hurt. We truly had the wedding of our dreams because we were surrounded by the people that mattered the most.

 Tonight I sit here, reflecting on the last 5 years and I can hardly believe that it has been that long. It seems like yesterday that John was on one knee in the Japanese gardens of River Walk proposing to me. Now we sit, with 4 moves under our belts, a 3 year old little girl, miscarriages, a college degree, new friends, old friends, sickness, health, career changes and the adventure of medical school. It has been a whirlwind. I have LOVED every moment of it. I cannot imagine another person that I would rather be on this journey with.

I do not want to get all sappy on you guys, but honestly John is an amazing man. Actually he is incredible. I literally cannot believe that he is mine. We can just leave it at that fact that he restored my faith in men completely. I did not have the most favorable experiences with male figures (aside from Papa and Steve) growing up. Therefor my trust in men was pretty slim. However, John came in and changed all of that. He showed me that men can be supportive, loving, trusting, caring, dependable, trustworthy and so much more. He made me believe that I was worth something. He helped to show me my divine nature and individual worth. My relationship with my Heavenly Father grew because of the insight he was able to help me see. My testimony grew also. John is helping me to become the woman that I am supposed to be. He challenges me every single day to be better than I am. I love him. He is wonderful, he is my husband, and he is all mine!

The past 5 years have been crazy, beautiful, hard, wonderful, whimsical, stressful, but most of all worth every moment. I love you John, and thank you for every second of it!  I look forward to eternity with you.

 5 years ago

Today

{I wish I had better news}

I figured that this is the best way to keep everyone updated since we are not all together during this difficult time. Friday night started like a normal night when the family went to Hopeland Gardens to go see the Christmas lights. We left Papa at home since he said that he did not think that he could do the walking that was involved. When we got home he seemed very confused and was acting very tired. About an hour after Papa fell asleep the doorbell rang. It was the North Augusta Police Department. He had called them while we were gone. He thought that the whole family had gone missing and had called for help.We had no clue that something crazy was going on in his brain while we all slept. When we were all awake on Saturday morning, John noticed that half of Papa's face was drooping and his eye was closed. He was also very confused and mumbling his words when he spoke. Long story short, Nana, Uncle Baxley and John ended up taking him to the hospital on Saturday because we all knew that there was something very wrong. It turns put that Papa suffered a major stroke. He also has a 100% blockage of his middle cerebral artery. He is very confused, cannot walk, and goes in and out of reality. He knows who we are some of the time and then 5 minutes later he is convinced we are dead family members or Santa's elves (no kidding). The doctors are very unsure about what the future is going to hold but have told us that we have a long road ahead to get Papa on the path to recovery. He is not in a life threatening situation right now but he is going to have to go to a rehabilitation center to learn to do most of the basic things again. This is not how we anticipated spending Christmas break but we feel very blessed that we are able to be here during it and to offer my grandmother the support that she needs (she is amazing by the way. My Nana is the strongest woman I know.) Christmas will spent a little bit differently this year but who cares. Please keep Papa in your prayers that he will regain a full recovery. I will try to keep everyone updated via blog, Facebook, texts and phone calls. Thank you to everyone that has offered their support. We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Hopeland Gardens

We went to Hopeland Gardens in Aiken, SC tonight with Nana, Aunt Tonya, and then our little family. It was so much fun. We had hot chocolate, apple cider, lots of cookies, and there were so many beautiful lights. Brinley's highlight of the evening was getting to take a bus from the parking lot to the actual gardens. She is so funny. She really enjoyed the lights also including the yummy snacks. A mental not to self: even though we are in South Carolina I should not have worn flip flops. It was freaking cold and I was miserable. Although I was not miserable enough to have not  had a wonderful time. It was fantastic and absolutley beautiful and I am so happy that we went.

More hot tub times....

My grandparents have a beautiful home on the Savannah River in North Augusta, South Carolina. One of our favorite things to do when we come home is get in their hot tub. It over looks the river and has an amazing view of Georgia. It is breath taking. Brinley loves getting in to the hot tub and so do we. You can count on the fact that we will get in there at least once a day while we are home. People wonder why I come home so much...lol!

A visit with St.Nick

Last year we found a wonderful thing that has become Christmas tradition for this Pierson family. We go to visit Santa at Communigraphics in North Augusta. It is such a wonderful experience. When you first arrive, an elf greets you with cookies and puts your name on a waiting list. When you are finally called you are escorted to a private office where MORE cookies are waiting for you. After filling out an information sheet you are then escorted in to Santa by Mrs.Clause. Santa's office is wonderful. It is decked out and so whimsical. Santa is so authentic and spends a TON of time with each child. We just love going. After finding this place we will NEVER go to the mall to visit Santa again. Oh, and did I mention that it is totally free and you even get to take your own pictures? Oh, how I love North Augusta family run businesses. Plus they are my grandparents neighbors so that it a plus.

 She had some very important questions for the big man

 Brinley was so thrilled to see Santa

A family photo with Santa

Brinley is an Angel

Literally.

Brinley was chosen to be angel in her school Christmas program on Wednesday night. We waited anxiously to see if she would actually go through with performance. John and I waited in the crowd seated next to our closest friends the Sowby's and Terry's to see if she would actually grace us with her presence. We did not have much success with her ballet performance so we were hoping for more with this one. Lo and behold, she did it! She did great also. We were seated pretty far back in the sanctuary so I got as good of pictures as I could have. I also took some of her before the program so that is what some of these are from.

Family Christmas Photos

These are the pictures that we took for our Christmas cards this year. We literally took them yesterday like an hour after John finished his last final. I have been working on them like crazy since I got them printed out last night so that they will be able to get out to our friends and family in time. Did I mention that I love Christmas? I really do. Everything that goes along with it. Including sending out cards to those you love. That is one of my more favorite traditions.
Here is just a preview of some of the pictures we took.

Christmas Fun so far....

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. We have been staying pretty busy with fun things while John has been cramming for finals. The good new is that as of yesterday he is officially ours again! It is so nice to have him around now. The real festivities can begin!

We decorated the tree. Daddy got home just in time to help Brinley put the star on top! She loved decorating the tree. She literally did the bottom half by her self. I think he have another Christmas lover in the family! 

We have been baking up a storm also. We gave all of our friends goody bags with cookies and peppermint bark in them for Christmas this year. My kitchen was a disaster for 2 days! It was a lot of fun though and Brinley got really into it. Don't mind the fact that she is shirtless. I tried and tried to get her to put clothes on but to no prevail. At least we keep a warm house. I also apologize for looking so rough in the pictures also. I was covered in flour and chocolate and had been baking all day. 

Brinley and I bundled up one night and went to the Lincoln Memorial University Annual Tree lighting ceremony. There was caroling, Santa, candles, Christmas lights and warm treats. We ran into several other families from the ward there also which made it twice the fun! John had an exam the following day so he could not join us but Brinley and I had fun...even though it was freezing! 

We have also done our fare share of Christmas crafting. My dear friend Kami invited us to come over and paint homeade ornaments that she made. The girls really enjoyed painting while us older girls caught up. 

We went to the Middlesboro City Christmas parade. Some of our friends that are homeschooled were in it so we wanted to go show our support to them. Not to mention that Santa was there are Brinley was just bursting at the seams at a chance to get to see Santa again. That cute lady in the hat is Taralynn and she is such a doll. I adore her. She is like super woman. Not to mention that she is an incredible mom to two darling kiddos, she is also a 3rd year medical student and her husband is the bishopric. She is quite a woman. 

Brinley has been in ballet for about 3 months now. They had their first performance on Friday for the Wards Christmas Party. They were little sheep and the performance was adorable. However, I have no pictures of it because Brinley would not do it. She got a bad case of stage fright and refused to participate. So this is the only picture I got of her in her leotard. This was before the party started and she was having fun dancing around with her friend Ella.