I'm Thankful!

This weekend has been a roller coaster of emotions. Through the viewing, funeral, and conference talks that I've experienced, I have been reminded of things that I am truly thankful for. These are things I've always been thankful for, but haven't given near enough thought. And I would like to publicly make these things known.

1. I am SO thankful for the knowledge that I have of what comes after this life. That there is more to come. That through the amazing sealing power of the priesthood, we are able to be reunited with our loved ones after this life. That when we lose those we love, it's not a final goodbye. And that we are never alone. As we walked into the funeral home where the viewing took place Friday night, there was a beautiful statue that greeted us. I walked in and simply stared at it. It was a representation of what happens when we die. And I pictured my beloved, beautiful Grandmother experiencing the same thing as the woman in the statue.

I am very thankful for that.

2. During the viewing, many people came to see my Grandmother. Even a man who worked at Costco, and had seen my grandparents come in every week and helped them with their items. Many people who had only known her for a few months came to pay their respects because she had touched their lives so deeply in only a short amount of time. Words cannot express what an amazing person she was, and how easy it was to love her. I am so very thankful that I was able to know her for all 26 years of my life.

1988 Family Reunion (I am at the bottom left in the blue dress. My grandma is in the back row, purple dress with glasses on)

3. I am thankful for flowers. For how beautiful they are and what they can represent. There were so many beautiful flowers at the funeral, and they brought such a feeling of respect and love, as well as beauty. I know my grandmother would have just loved to see them, to smell the pleasant aromas. They would have brought a big smile to her face, for she loved flowers and nature.

This is my grandmother in 1948 at Capistrano.

These are the flowers I got to keep from the funeral

4. I am thankful for my voice. For as long as I can remember, I have loved to sing. I have enjoyed singing with my sisters throughout our lives. Before my grandmother died, she asked my dad if Anne, Amy and I would sing at her funeral. She wanted us to sing, 'How Great Thou Art' which was one of her very favorite hymns. Amy found a beautiful arrangement of the song, and I got very nervous. I was so afraid I would lose my composure during the song, and start crying. But before we got up to sing, I reminded myself that this was my final gift to my grandmother. A song, sung from the heart, to the best of my ability. We all made it through the song, and then shortly after, the tears began to flow. But I am so thankful that I was able to give my grandmother that one final gift.

5. I am thankful for modern day technology. The technology that can bring the word of the Lord straight from Him, to his apostles, right to my living room! How amazing is that!? So I took a picture of the TV with Elder Holland giving his talk. Because it's just awesome. I can sit here in my pajamas and listen to the things the Lord would have me hear. It also makes it possible for those around the world to hear these words, when they otherwise wouldn't have been able to.

This just makes me happy.

These are just a few of the things I am thankful for. I am also incredibly thankful for good friends that have shown their love and support during this hard time. Above all, I am SO thankful for my wonderful husband, who was a pillar of strength for me during all of this. He is the most amazing person I know, and I am so lucky to be his wife. I am a very blessed girl!

Below is the link to my Grandmother's obituary, which was written by my father. It is beautifully written, and if you would like to read it, please do so.

http://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=210759&fh_id=10376&s_id=FCCA13AD24B48CCCD72A1F674A2DA601

It's Not Goodbye. It's See You Later.

It's been a hard day today.

I woke up this morning at a little after 6. I was wide awake, and not sure why, considering I haven't slept much this week, and I had only been asleep for 3 hours. Scott woke up shortly after I did. And we weren't the only ones.

At 7:30 I got a phone call from my dad. He too had been awake quite early, for some unknown reason. So had my mom and both my sisters, as well as my aunt and a few of my uncles.

At 6:30 am, my Grandma Boulter passed away. My dad had been there with her, in the hospital, holding her hand and feeling her pulse until the very last one. He had been there to comfort her, and she was peaceful as she took her last mortal breath and softly slipped away to the other side of the veil.



My Grandma's birthday party - 4/24/06

My Grandma Boulter was an AMAZING person. She was so very aware of each of her children, of their spouses, of her MANY grandchildren, and her growing group of great-grandchildren. Some of my very first memories of my grandma take place at Christmas, as we'd all gather together at her house and celebrate, exchange presents, sing, eat, and just have a good time. All my cousins would be there, and we'd all show each other what we'd gotten that year. Grandma would always spoil us.

Grandma took me on my very first cruise when I was 12, and it was then that I realized I'd inherited her love for cruisin'! She took my sisters, a few of my cousins and me along with my Grandpa to San Diego, where we boarded the ship that took us to Ensenada, Mexico. It was SO much fun! I tried Escargot for the first time, as well lobster, eel, and swordfish. It's an experience that I couldn't forget, even if I tried.

The next summer, Grandma decided to take my sisters, parents and me to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where we spent a week in the sun, taking in the culture, parasailing, and having an amazing time.

The year after that, she took us all to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We took glass bottom boat rides, shopped in the farmers markets, snorkeled in the ocean, and again, had an amazing time. That next spring, she took me, my mom and dad and grandpa to Kona, Hawaii, where we stayed for a week. We went to the top of the Kiluea Crater (a huge volcano that erupts once every 80 or so years), walked through a lava tunnel, went to an authentic luau, and then toured the island. We also toured Oahu and spent some time on the black sand beach. We also went to a macadamia nut factory, and a pineapple processing plant where they had the most amazing pineapple ice cream!

When I came back from my mission in 2004, my grandma wasn't quite the same. She had lost close to 100 lbs, and looked years older than I remembered her. She wasn't the same bubbly, energetic grandma that I knew, but she was still my grandma. Full of love and sweetness. She and my grandpa came to meet me at the airport, and then took us to lunch after. She told me that while I was gone, she'd gone through some serious surgeries (which I had read about in letters from my parents, but wasn't totally clued in on the seriousness), and that she just hadn't recovered well. For the past 3 1/2 years, her health has slowly declined. It's been hard to see that.

My first Christmas home after the mission

In January, Scott and I helped them moved from their house they'd lived in for years and years into a small condo a few miles away. It was then that I realized things were changing drastically. She gave me one of her Lladros, which are her prized posessions, and I hold it so dear to my heart.

Last week I went over to her house for a short visit. I asked her how she was, and she told me she wasn't doing well. I could see in her aged face the agony that her mortal body was causing her. I saw in her eyes a desire for some sort of release. I gave her a hug and a kiss and told her I loved her. I didn't know that it would be the last time I'd see her in this life.

My dad took a picture of her last night after the doctors had removed all the wires and tubes. They wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. They knew she didn't have long. In the picture she is smiling. Genuinely happy. She knew the sweet release of death was coming very soon, and she could leave this mortal life behind, having accomplished many things - the most important of those being an incredible family. In the picture she looks so small, so fragile, like a little bird just waiting to learn how to fly.

The thing I am most grateful for is my knowledge of what comes after this life. Although the seperation of death isn't easy, it's bearable because of what I know. I know that it isn't goodbye. It's see you later. I know that because we've all been sealed together, that we will all be together after this short mortal existence. I know my grandma is so much happier, she's with her mother, her dear friends, and she isn't in pain anymore.

Although I am not dealing very well with her death, I still know that I will see her again someday.





So I'll see you later, Grandma. Save a place for me where you are.

Memories...in the corner of my mind...

Scattered PICtures....of the way we were...

So on Easter, my dad had us all get together and sort through a bunch of old pictures and take the ones we wanted. We all left with stacks of them. I thought I would be so kind as to share some old pictures of me. Enjoy!

When I was 4, I got a Koala backpack for Christmas because I was going to Kindergarten that following fall. That koala became a permanent fixture on my back for the next 2 years.

Cookie Monster and hot dogs. My two favorite things as a 4 year old.

That's right. I'll make scary faces at you to get what I want.

My parents used to take us to CA every summer. In this picture I was 10, Amy was 13, and Anne was 16.

My awesome parents took me (and just me) to Hawaii when I was 14. They rock.

One year for Christmas I got feety pajamas! I wish I still had them!

In 9th grade I wanted to be an astronaut. And an artist. Here is my attempt at combining the two. It was short lived.

College day in 8th grade!

My beautiful mother and me. I was 21 here.

A day in the life of a missionary! This was me (on the far right) with my favorite companion (Alyssa Madden Cabrales, front left), one of our favorite member missionaries Brooke Hart, and our favorite less active member Bill. Those were some good times. I really loved being a missionary!

Book Review Time! The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

I am almost done reading all three books in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, so I figured it was time to make my thoughts known on the books and the author.

I can pretty much sum it all up in a few simple words.

The books are AMAZING and Stephenie Meyer is a GENIUS!

Seriously.

It all began with Twilight, which I first read about 3 weeks ago when my sister Amy suggested it to me. It seemed at first to be a simple story about a girl who moves to a new city and meets new, yet somewhat strange people. But it turned out to be so much more than that. It became addicting. Seriously addicting. I finished all 500 something pages in 3 days. (Yeah, I didn't sleep all that much...).

The way that Stephenie writes just keeps you captivated and wanting more. It's almost painful to have to close the book and go be productive! I'm not even exaggerating! So I finished Twilight, and couldn't WAIT to get my hands on New Moon.

Now I had been told by 3 people that New Moon was the slowest moving of all three books. Although they raved about it as much as Twilight, they all seemed to think that it was slow and somewhat uneventful. I didn't find that to be the case. I was just as much captivated by New Moon as I had been by Twilight. I will admit that the beginning of New Moon sort of crawls by uneventfully, but it quickly picks up and things happen that I didn't quite see coming!

This isn't really like me to get so caught up in a trend (I never read any of the Harry Potters or saw the movies, and I never will, and Lord of the Rings is the only movie(s) that can put me to sleep in record time). But there is just something about these books and the way Stephanie Meyer writes that has captured my interest and isn't letting go.

I am now 200 pages away from finishing Eclipse. In a way I don't want to finish it because I don't want it to be over! My sister said that she felt like she'd lost a good friend when she finished Eclipse! That's just how great these books are! Eclipse thus far has been the most eventful, and the most attention grabbing of the three books yet. Although you can't read Eclipse without reading Twilight and New Moon first. You just can't.

I know I'm not telling you much about the books themselves, about the plots or the characters, but I don't want to give it all away! No one had told me anything about the books when I read them, and I was definitely happy about that, because then I was surprised and more enthralled when certain things happen than I would have been if someone gave it all away.

I am VERY excited for the fourth book in the series that comes out in August of this year. It's called Breaking Dawn. And although I have an idea of what might happen in Breaking Dawn, I can't be too sure!

Not only that, but Twilight the movie is coming out December 12 of this year! They've picked an absolutely PERFECT cast for the movie. I couldn't have picked a better cast myself!

So, to sum up, if you're looking for a good series of books to read, and you don't mind being so consumed by something that you are WAY less productive than you're used to being, I ABSOLUTELY recommend the Twilight series to you!!

Now here is Stephenie Meyer's bio. For more information on the books or the movie, you can go to her website http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/ and check it all out!

Because I love to talk about my Scottie!

1. What is his name? Scott Allen Warner

2. How long have you been married? It will be 2 years on June 23!

At the Mt Timp temple June 23, 2006

3. How long did you date? Well we knew each other for a couple years before we dated. We met in Milwaukee in Jan 2004 (his first day in the mission) and we kept in touch after I went home. Then we started dated Feb 2, 2006, about 2 weeks after he got home, and were married 5 months later!

This was the first night we hung out after his mission!

4. How old is he? He'll be 24 in August. I know. I'm a cradle robber

5. Who eats more sweets? Honestly it's about even. I would have to say he does a little more now that I've been trying to lose weight.

6. Who said I love you first? Scottie did. I wasn't expecting it, and it caught me off guard, but I knew I loved him too, so I said it back after a ridiculously long pause!

7. Who is taller? Scottie is. I'm 5'5" and he's just shy of 6'

8. Who can sing better? Well I have had training, but Scottie sings CUTER. It's SO stinking cute when he sings. Sometimes it's a little out of tune, and sometimes he makes up the words, but I love it. And he always asks me if it sounded good. It always does :)

9. Who is smarter? We definitely compliment each other in that area. Scottie is really smart when it comes to figuring things out and fixing things and what not, and I have the upper hand in English and Grammar, and textbook stuff. But we are both terrible at math.

10. Who does the laundry? We have a system. I start the first load, and then when it's done, he'll put it in the dryer and start the next load. Then I do the folding, then we both put it away! It works wonderfully.

11. Who pays the bills? I usually manage the finances, but we work together on financial decisions.

12. Who sleeps on the right side? That doesn't matter. I just have to be on the side closer to the bathroom!

13. Who mows the lawn? The maintenance guy. Gotta love living in a condo. haha

14. Who cooks dinner? We take turns. Scott is a really great cook. I'm not so great but I enjoy it.

15. Who drives? We also take turns there. Depending on what time it is and who is more tired.

I caught him off guard with this pic. Good thing we were at the bank and not driving down the road!

16. Who kissed who first? I LOVE this story. Ok. So it was our first date, Feb 2, and we were sitting on the front porch of my sister's house. We had been talking for a long time and he had his arm around me. He kept saying the funniest things, and I would laugh and kind of lean into him. His plan was to kiss me the next time I laughed and leaned torward him. So he said something to make me laugh and I leaned in but he hesitated. So I started talking and then he kissed me. Right on my TEETH! He was like, Uh, yeah, I didn't mean to do that. We both started laughing, and I told him he could try again if he wanted So he did. It was super cute.

17. Who asked who out first? Scottie asked me to be his first "post-mission" date, so that he could get into the swing of dating with someone he was comfortable with. He never dated anyone else.

18. Who proposed? Scott did. He surprised me by showing up at my apartment at midnight dressed in a suit with flowers and a ring. It was so beautiful!

19. Who has more siblings? Scott - he has two sisters and a brother. I just have two sisters.

L-R Scott's sisters" Becca, Laura, My sisters: Anne, Amy, My mom, My dad, Me, Scott, Scott's dad, Scott's mom, Amy's husband Sean, and Eric (Scott's little brother).

20. Who wears the pants? Well in a way we both do. But Scott is the priesthood holder and I respect that, and usually let him have final say. Unless I have a really strong opinion. Which isn't unlike me!

I hope you've learned a little more about why I love this amazing man! He's incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better husband.

Alison & The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

Yesterday I had a really bad day.

It all started at 4 am. I was slumbering peacefully in my bed, with Jawz on my pillow as usual. I don't know if something just spooked him or what, but all of a sudden I was awakened by a searing pain in my forehead. I reached up to feel what it was, and covered my hand in blood. It freaked me out so Scottie took me into the bathroom. After we cleaned off the blood i saw a HUGE scratch from the top of my hairline down my forehead about an inch. It is SO ugly and awful and painful!

The picture isn't that good, but you get the idea I'm sure.

So along with that, I also got a sliver in my hand while we were moving some furniture, I choked on a cracker and lost my lunch, and then found out from the doctor that apparently I have asthma and have had it for some time, but just never knew. Go figure, eh? I just thought it was normal to not be able to breathe sometimes.

But anyway, Scottie took such good care of me. He bought me neosporin for my cut, helped me get the sliver out, and when I was sick and throwing up, he stood with me and comforted me and rubbed my back. Then he took me to bed and brought me tylenol. It's one of those days where you want to die, but at the same time you are thankful for what you have.

On a lighter note, the other day I saw a beautiful rainbow. I was on my way to the Mayan with my parents for my nephew's birthday, and the rain stopped and the sun came out, and there was this beautiful full rainbow across the sky. I loved it because you could see the whole thing. I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing, but I think this picture is really nice with the mountains in the background.

It's seeing things like this that remind me of just how beautiful this world can be. In spite of all the hate and evil that is found in this world, there can still be beauty if we look for it.

ALISON

I LOVE YOU