Sunday, July 31, 2011

good life.

I was sitting here staring at the ceiling when it hit me.
                                       I have an amazing life.
I have been blessed with the most amazing group of friends & a close knit family.

Im happy.
Im protected.
Im loved.
 Im cared for.
Im appreciated.
Im truly so blessed.


Life happens.
Embrace it.




Life is to short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't. Believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it'd be easy, they just promised it'd be worth it.

I've learned that you make your happiness. No matter what life throws at you the ability to bounce back from disater is a skill i have yet to master but im working on it. You can make today, tomorrow, & the rest of your life great if you want to. It's something you have to work out it doesn't come easy but its worth. I love my life & can't wait to continue living it. Appreciating each moment, each friendship, each day. Every life has a story & every story has an ending. You've been given the beginning of your story & now it's up to you to determine what goes on in the middle, & how your story will end. I can't pin point an exact reason why im so content & happy with life right now but i hope the feeling lingers & returns back to me often. So far life has potential to be a good one.

What there is to complain about? When you're happy like a fool  let it take you over. When everything is out, you gotta take it in. Oh this has gotta be the good life. This has gotta be the good life. This could really be a good life, good life. Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight. Like this city is on fire tonight.
 This could really be a good life A good, good life.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

PROUD.

I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.



Every time i see a flag ceremony being done by any branch of our armed forces it just brings me to tears and such an overwhelming feeling of pride comes over me. That simple red, white, and blue flag means so much to me. I'm so proud to be apart of this great country and have the freedoms that i have today. I am so grateful to those over seas and those on own soil fighting for our freedom. I know that freedom doesn't come free but I know its worth the fight & I'm so grateful for those willing to lay down their lives to protect it. I know a few people who are serving and who have served in the armed forces and I'll admit because of a certain friend i stand a little taller, and clap a little harder for Marines:] But I'm so grateful for everyone in the armed forces. The sacrifices that you are making will never be forgotten. I can't even begin to understand what it must feel to leave your family and never know if you will ever see them again. If you were in a room of people and you asked if anyone knew someone who is or had been in the armed forces most everyone would raise their hand. We have all been affected by loved ones being in the armed forces. What we need to do here at home is stand up and support our troops. Even if we don't support the war you can still support that they're fighting not only for our freedoms but for the freedoms of others. I don't care if you support the war or not. The reason you even have the option of voicing your opinion is because of those selfless troops fighting for your rights. The least you could do is show them the respect they deserve. Keep a special prayer in your heart that they will return home to their loved ones. I can't say enough how thankful i am. I will stand up and support you no matter what. Because of you brave troops I'm proud to be an American.




 American Solider


I'm just trying to be a father
Raise a daughter and a son
Be a lover to their mother
Everything to everyone
Up and at 'em, bright and early
I'm all business in my suit
Yeah, I'm dressed up for success
From my head down to my boots


I don't do it for the money
There's bills that I can't pay
I don't do it for the glory
I just do it anyway

Providing for our future's my responsibility
Yeah I'm real good under pressure
Being all that I can be
 And I can't call in sick on Mondays

When the weekends been too strong
I just work straight through the holidays
And sometimes all night long
You can bet that I stand ready when the
wolf growls at the door


Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey, I'm true
down to the core And I will always do my
duty no matter what the price I've counted
up the cost, I know the sacrifice
Oh, and I don't want to die for you
But if dyin's asked of me


I'll bear that cross with honor
'Cause freedom don't come free
I'm an American soldier, an American
Beside my brothers and my sisters I
will proudly take a stand
When Liberty's in jeopardy,


I will always do what's right
I'm out here on the front line
Sleep in peace tonight
American soldier, I'm an American

 soldier Yeah, an American soldier,
an American                                       



Beside my brothers and my sisters
 I will proudly take a stand
When Liberty's in jeopardy I will always

do what's right
I'm out here on the front line
So Sleep in peace tonight


American soldier, I'm an American
An American, an  American soldier


 

God Bless the troops may you return home safely to your families:] Thank you for all that you do! 
 


Friday, July 1, 2011

addicted.

hi my name is brittney and I'm a wedding addict. hi brittney. welcome to weddings anonymous.
I have come to terms with my weddings addiction. I love everything about them.


i love the engagement story.
I love the rings.
I love the invitations.
I love the promises that are made.
I love how happy they are.
I love the countless hours of planning that went into this one day.
I love the dresses:].
I love the celebration of love.
I love the pictures.
I love the support that is shown from friends and family.
I love the joining of two families.
I love being apart of one of the happiest moments in someones life.
I love the anticipation of the night being over so they can begin their life together.
the beginning of happily ever after.


Its like i get a high from the feeling that surrounds weddings. I'm addicted to it. The allure that the happiness has on me is captivating. I love the thought of what if these two people had never met? How different would their lives have been. Is it just a coincidence or was it fate? But that fact was they did meet whether by coincidence or fate they were brought together & now their lives are intertwined. I've never really believed in soul mates i feel that someone could be happy with a number of people but i do believe that god places people in our lives for a reason & i do believe everything happens for a reason. So while I'm not living the married life i will live vicariously through all of you at your weddings. I find myself facebook stalking all you married people for your weddings pictures. So keep the weddings coming and let your photos be posted as soon as your get home from your honeymoon!!:] At least i still have say yes to the dress & David tuterra to keep the wedding bliss high strong in my head.



"Love is composed of a single soul
 inhabiting two bodies."
Aristotle




one day i'll have my happily ever after too:]

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

If heaven wasn't so far away.....grandpa shepherd:]

Dear Grandpa,

I've written this letter over & over a million different ways in my head. How do you possibly put in words how much you miss your best friend? If i put it simple and sweet i miss you. I never thought it'd get easier visiting grandma at home. Every time i sit in the front room i see it..... The last time i saw you, laying in that hospital bed. You were conscious but i was still wondering if you knew who i was standing by your side cautiously holding your hand, holding back the sea of tears forming in my eyes almost broke my heart in two. I always told you i loved you & i know the same goes for you. I just wished i could have had one more time to tell you that i loved you & hear you say it back. I'm sorry i didn't visit very often in the hospital. I honestly wasn't strong enough to see you so weak. I was so scared that the pictures of you laying motionless in that bed would scar my memory of you forever but over time those pictures have faded. I thought you were superman. Nothing could bring you down. I was foolish enough to think you'd last forever till i turned old and gray. I've asked God so many times why he took you away from me but accepting gods will is the hardest part. He must have something huge going on in heaven to have to call you back to help.

 
You are my hero. You are the most gentle, kind hearted man I've ever known. You would literally give someone the shirt off your back if they asked you for it. If there is one thing that I've learned from knowing you is integrity. You never spoke badly about anyone, instead you always gave a helping hand. Sometimes i wish i had been born sooner so that you could have been here in my life longer than 17 years. I missed you at my graduation & i will miss you at my wedding. I know in spirit you will be there but it doest mean i wont miss seeing you. I know your great grandchildren are up there with you right now. Your teaching them lessons they're going to need to know when its their time to be born down here:] I cant wait to share with them the memories i had with you. I have your orange hunting jacket hanging up in my room on Brennan's old weight machine. Your hanky is tucked half way inside one of the side pockets. It smells like you because mom bought your old spice cologne to spray on them so we will always remember how good you always smelt. For the first year that you had passed i had to sleep with your hanky under my pillow or up by my face and I'd just lay there and smell your Cologne. It was my minds way of pretending that you were laying right next to me.
There's so many things i wished i would have done, so many things i wanted to ask.
Wished i would have taken more pictures of us together & went on more rides with you in your truck. I miss your laugh and you coming up behind me and tickling my neck while making that sound. Every grandchild of yours remembers that exact sound you made when you did that.:] I miss the ear to ear smile you'd get when you asked me to roll my eyes at you! I apologize for not coming to visit your grave lately. Life had been overwhelming to say the least but i know there is no excuse. It's just bitter sweet seeing that stone with your name on it. Realization that you really are gone.

I went and visited you today. Your grave looked beautiful. You had so many people come and bring you flowers:] Your such a loved man do you know that?
I hung out with grandma for like three hours after too. I
watched a Memorial Day Veterans Concert with her & just sat around chatting. I feel you in that house but not that way i did before. Before it made me sad but now its inviting. Seeing your truck parked in the driveway gets me excited and i catch myself waiting for you to walk in that door. I love all the reminders of you in that house. Sometimes life is so busy you forget about it but at your house you can't not forget about it. But that's a good thing. I love visiting Grandma. Every time I'm over there i feel like a get another piece of you to take home from all the stories she tells me. I can't get enough of them. I think i might get my short fused temper from you. The only thing that could make them even better was hearing your side of the stories:]


I love & miss you so much grandpa. But it's gotten easier to accept that your still gone. Knowing that i will see you again puts the silver lining on a bad day. I love you so much & i will never forget all the lessons you've taught me or the memories that we have made. Most of the family went to fish lake a few weeks ago, it was so fun. I loved it:] Greg took everyone fishing on his boat. Austin caught his first fish but of course you didn't help me out with my fishing luck haha. Didn't catch a thing. My dad didn't worm my hook so i no fishies for me. But all together for the two days we had twenty nine fish to fry grandpa shepherd style:] Funny thing is we always cook it the same as you but its NEVER the same. There's just something that isn't the same. Yours always tasted better:] It was nice being there though. I always feel closer to you when im there. Grandma came up with roxy and we loved having her there!! I got to know little gregs kids a little better that i ever have. They are adorable and so accident prone! I'd never really met brylee but oh my gosh she's adorable. Me and her were best friends the whole trip. You sure have had a hand in making such and awesome, close knit family. We are very blessed to have such and loving family who loves to do stuff together. Something about those shepherds:] Thank you for the way you taught your children especially my mom. She's teaching us the same lessons she learned from you. So blessed to be apart of that family. I could go on forever its taken me weeks to write this. I just can't ever get it right. But i love you so much i miss you more and more everyday. I know your with me always watching over me. Your the greatest man i've ever know and i can't wait until i see you again. 

love your granddaughter,
 brittney jo wall:]




I'll be seeing you in all of
the familiar places
I'll find you
In the morning sun
And when the night is new.
I'll be looking at the moon,
But I'll be seeing you.



May I go now?
Do you think the time is right?
May I say goodbye to pain filled days
and endless lonely nights?
I lived my life and done my best,
an example I've tried to be.
So can I take that step beyond the light
and set my spirit free?

I didn't want to go at first,
I fought with all my might.
But something seems to draw me now
to that warm and loving light.

I want to go, I really do,
it's difficult to stay.
But I will try as best I can
to live just one more day.

To give you time to care for me
and share your love and fears.
I know you're sad and are afraid,
because I see your tears.

I'll not be far, I promise that,
and I hope you'll always know.
That my spirit will be close to you
Where ever you may go.

Thank you so for loving me
and know that i love you too
That's why it's hard to say goodbye
and end this life with you.

So hold me now just one more time
and let me hear you say,
"Because you care so much for me,
you'll let me go today
.
<3

until we meet again. I love you grandpa shepherd. watch over me:]

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

elder gregory chance bird:]



Dear Elder Bird:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Michigan Lansing Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

You should report to the Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. You will prepare to teach the gospel in the English language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of your mission president.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.


Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.


The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have even yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place on you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.


You will be set apart as a missionary by your stake president. Please send your written acceptance promptly, endorsed by your bishop.


                                  Sincerely,
           
                                                  Thomas S. Monson
                                                           President

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________________________________________________


I've never loved/hated a piece of paper more than that mission call i watched him carefully hold in his hands. I tried to hold back the sea of tears forming in my eyes. I didn't want to look like a big bawl baby in front of his entire family. When i finally contained my self i got up to give him a hug. I felt the excitement and nervousness flowing through him. This little eighteen year old boy was about to be thrown out of his comfort zone and rushed into reality. No idea where he was going to live, who he would be living with, who he was going to teach. At the moment he knew nothing of what would be in store for him in the next two years and neither did I.

March 2, 2010 he was ordained as an elder. We also fought that night believe it or not. He took so long to get ready and i was sitting by the kitchen table freaking out because i still needed to go home and change. He didn't understand apparently and kept taking his time. If i would have known he would have taken so long i would have drove his truck and gotten dressed. Time was up and there i was still in jeans. He told me it'd be okay i could wear what i had on. How embarrassing. So we drove to the church and i watched him leave and i took his truck and went home unable to see him be ordained. The whole drive home i cried uncontrollably because i knew it was finally real. That call he had received four months prior was finally coming true. He was leaving tomorrow.

There was a knock on the door. It was chance and Taylor coming to pick up the truck. I couldn't even get my self up to answer the door. When we walked in i couldn't help but stare. He was different I'm not sure what was different but he was. I couldn't explain it. I got up to hug him and that's when i lost it. I've never cried so hard in my life. As Oprah calls it the "ugly cry" that's what i did. Good thing i buried my face in his suit so that he couldn't see. I couldn't stop hysterically crying for about ten minutes i felt horrible i had tried so hard to not let him see me cry, i didn't want to make anything harder for him than it already was but as hard as i tried they kept bursting out.

We took a few pictures with my family and then he was gone.



There is nothing like the feeling of something being ripped away from you. i felt as if my heart was literally going to explode. I couldn't hardly sleep i had a million thoughts flowing in my head. How on earth am i going to do this? He's not even gone and I'm a wreck. Everything i had know for the past two years was going to change. I hated when he went to Sunshine or St. Louis for a baseball trip i thought i had it bad then. I could still text him and he would still call me every night but now......everything is different. Chance and Taylor ended up coming back to my house in the morning so that i could give Taylor his baseball hair cut. He came over and i savored every second i had left with him. For a little while i was actually able to enjoy the company of him and his brother. I wasn't worried about the next two years in that moment.

time to go.
as much as i tried to fight the inevitable i watched him drive away. To my shock i didn't cry my mom did but i held my own. Probably because i cried it all out the night before. Sure i would cry again that night but somehow it was going to be okay.

Elder Bird is now two days away from only having nine more months left to serve:] Its incredible how having someone so far away from you brings you closer. Long distance relations don't work. High school sweethearts never work. Waiting for your missionary never works. But like he's told me all along we are the exception.
I've never been so proud of another person all my life. It's funny how you can see the growth of someone just by a few words on a page. I've learned more about love in the last year & three months than the whole two years that we were dating. The fact that i get butterflies opening the mailbox is enough to know what i haven't forgotten that shy, tall, blue eyed boy. I love that boy. I can't even explain how excited i am to have him come home. He's still the same Chance that i fell in love with a few years ago but somehow its different. He's him but he's a man. I love the subtle changes i notice in his letters. The love that he has for strangers that he's just met is memorizing. Who would have ever thought this is where we'd end up.
i am the luckiest girl in the world.









only 9 months & 279 days left:] but who's counting?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

its a thin line between life and death

The line between life and death is so thin its sometimes unimaginable what happens. People are taken long before their time and there really isn't anything we could have done to prevent it. i believe that one of the best heart healers is music. No matter what genre you listen to there will always  be those songs that catch you when you have no strength to stand. music heals our souls. It gives us something to believe in again after the world has gone dark. Losing a loved one is never easy & in my family I've experienced so much heartache with the loss of loved ones over & over again. Sometimes the pain stops you right in your tracks but against all odds you have to live your life. Don't stop living just because someone has taken their last breathe. Keep them in your heart & live your life in remembrance of loved ones lost. The only way to celebrate the gift of life is to live it.

Most times we will have no warning at all when someoneslife is taken away. Never let friendships drift away keep them close. When you have something hidden inside that you want to tell someone try to let them know because you never know if it'll be too late to do so. Life is all too short for some but if we try to always let the ones we love know that we do love them you'll never regret not telling them. But i believe that after death there is more & we will be together again. Until we meet again. :] 




I believe that everything happens for a reason.
We’re not just tossed by the wind,
or left in the hands of fate.
But sometimes life sends a storm that’s unexpected.
And we’re forced to face our deepest pain.
When I feel the heartache begin to pull me under...
I dig my heels in deep,
and I fight to keep my ground.
Still, at times the hurt inside grows stronger.
And there’s nothing I can do but let out...

Just let me cry.
I know it’s hard to see.
But the pain I feel isn’t going away today.
Just let me cry.
Till every tear has fallen.
Don’t ask when...
and don’t ask why.
Just let me cry.

When I agreed that God could put this heart inside me.
I understood that there would be a chance that it would break.
But I know He knows exactly how I’m feeling...
And I know in time He’ll take the pain away.
But for now...
Just let me cry.
I know it’s hard to see.But the pain I feel isn’t going away today.
Just let me cry.

Till every tear has fallen.
Don’t ask when...
and don’t ask why.
Just let me cry.
I have felt joy,
the kind that makes my heart want to sing.
And so my tears are not a surrender,
I’ll feel that way again.
But for now...
For this moment...
Just let me cry.
I know it’s hard to see.
But the pain I feel.
Isn’t going away today.
Just let me cry.
Till every tear has fallen.
Don’t ask when...
and don’t ask why.
Just let me cry.




Friday, March 11, 2011

Realization of growing old.

 I turned a few pages in my life no matter how bitter-sweet it might have been i said adios too being a teenager!!! On the last day in February i turned twenty years old & man do i feel so freaking old. I came to the conclusion that Im not sixteen anymore....explanation. Staying up till four in the morning three nights straight is simply suicidal. I need a set bedtime that i must stick too or i will never be able to function. Also going along with this energy drinks don't seem to work as well as they did when i was sixteen or maybe that just comes with being that young lots of energy running on zero sleep. I need my sleep and LOTS of it. I honestly do not know how we did that.

As i grow older life gets busier. Its just the way of life post high school life. I have friends that i may not see for months but as soon as we hang out we don't seem to skip a beat. These friendships mean the absolute most to me! I miss the days when i couldn't see past Friday nights football game with my friends. Not that i miss high school everyday but the simplicity of high school life. Every little thing seemed epic and any disaster was catastrophic. I look back at what i thought was going to ruin my life and really it wasn't that bad compared to some of the things i have to deal with today. Maybe i was just a big baby or that's how everyone is in high school. Sometimes i want so badly to go back to when baseball games & hills marathons at Maddi's house consumed my  life i absolutely loved it. But you cant stop time in it's tracks. Whether your moving forward or not time flies by you & life goes on. Growing up is a natural part of life but whats important is to make every minute of life count.

When people ask me if i could go back to high school would i go back? Honestly, probably not. I do miss getting all dressed up for school dances though:] I'd much rather go back to my Jr high school days. When i think of Jr. high three things come to mind. Maddi.Teesha.Joanna. They were always there through thick and thin. We jumped out of school portables to ditch class, we walked to reams everyday after school & getting Jones, collecting Jones bottles, we had sleepovers in Maddi's trailer, played at parks, dressing up in teeshs tutu's, playing with teeshs litte sisters horses in her room....Maddi: i eat crackers like you for dinner....me: well i eat niggas like you breakfast haha (Maddi=a black horse me=a white horse) you had to be there...., ALL OF OUR "YOU HAD TO BE THERE" MOMENTS, getting ready in teeshs bathroom....coolest bathroom ever always had to have music blasting, squirt gun fights, msn chatting at Maddi's house, loved loved loved the Andy milonakis show, our punkish stage in life, getting ready for Jr high dances together listening too the song milkshakes on repeat the whole time, all four of us sharing one locker at school....not our greatest idea the wrong notebooks were always taken to class, bangs in the face, band t shirts, converses, Maddi & teesh impersonating Mexicans to scare Spencer & kyle, learning the napoleon dynamite dance at Joanna's house at three in the morning, getting the s.e.x. talk from Joanna's brother (he'd never just say the word sex he had to spell it out haha), we always went swinging when we were frustrated (it really was the best stress therapy),  played spies in Maddi's backyard with the sprinklers on, maddi & teesha hiding my softball stuff in maddis house, also trying to prank me by making food and putting ten pounds of salt on it, jumped on the tramp in the rain, our school lagoon days (maddis being terrified of the chair lift thing),danced in the middle of the road in the rain, jumped off Maddi's roof on to the tramp, sleepovers on the tramp, teesh & maddis workout videos, & the list goes on and on. We laughed together, we fought together, we cried together, we loved together, not matter what happened we did it together. Those days were truly the best days even more carefree than high school life. Back then we were just little babies! But i truly do miss it:]:]

Now look at us. Teesha is living in Wyoming with a beautiful, two year old daughter Elliotte Jane. Its been such a long time since i have seen them both but being a full time mom & working is a busy job. Maybe her living in Wyoming makes it hard haha. Joanna is the always on the move. She's working as a bank teller, living in provo & is going to work for Del Sol in the summer. Sadly she has to move in order to do that:[! But she'll be back at the end of the summer thank goodness. Maddi is the one i probably keep most in contact with though sadly its not a lot. She's a busy woman working full time and attending UVU! Then there's me Graduated Cosmetology working for my dad & mapleton city but waiting to get started on the salon job hunt in the spring to start saving away to help pay for a new car or maybe a wedding in the near future:] Our paths which once looked so far away are now right in front of us. Sadly it has led us in different ways, taking us different places in life but there is still nothing i wouldn't do to go back to the days where the four of us were inseparable.





Don't get me wrong getting older has its perks too:] Your parents pretty much trust you to make your own decisions  & learn from your mistakes. When you fall they offer a helping hand but try to let you figure it out on your own while still staying near to lend another hand if needed. I like not feeling like a naive child everywhere i go. Most adults will actually listen to what it is you have to say. Who knew being labeled as a high school student unknowingly meant your opinions meant little to nothing. I've noticed getting stronger with every hurdle that comes my way. No I'm not the highest jumper in the bunch dodging hurdles was never my forte but i have figured out how to lower them so that i can soar over them successfully. Just gotta take it one day at a time.


But its true... i get by with a little help from my friends. Sometimes even a memory will do:]


"Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days. Days to come. The thing is, we didn't have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves... for growing up"
-The Wonder Years