The Lords Perfect Timing

Hello my dearest sister friends! I know that I have been a slacker in writing on the blog. I am very sorry. I hope that all of you are doing well and that life is going well. I love each of you so much and think of you often. I know that we had some great days together and I look forward to many other great trips and days together again. 
I have some news to tell you. I have met (online) an amazing man. His name is Danny Ward, 34, lives in Oregon, divorced with two beautiful little girls who are 4 and 7. We began emailing the beginning of June and I went out to Oregon to meet him for the first time in mid July. I was there for about 5 days and each seemed like pure bliss. He is in the process of going back to school to get his Bachelors degree then go on to Physical Therapy school. Long story short, after his ex-wife had their two children she pretty much went crazy and Danny was forced to stay home to take care of his girls and ex-wife. So now he is getting his life back together and getting back to school. 
He is the best man that I have ever met, active in the church, returned missionary, worthy priesthood holder. And, to say the least ladies, we are dating seriously, leaning toward marriage!! There is a lot to figure out still and work through but we both know that we will be able to figure it out in order to proceed. He has recently gone to court to try and get full custody of his girls since their mother has several mental disorders. He will find out the end of the month the result of that. We are very prayerful, hopeful, and faithful knowing that the Lord will provide and things will work out exactly as they should. Then, depending on what happens with custody we will move forward! 
I wanted to share this wonderful news with all of you because you are all so very important to me. I am sorry for the informal way of telling you through the blog. But I couldn’t think of any other way to tell all of you at the same time. I find it interesting how the Lord blesses us, especially how he is aware of the perfect time for everything. The Lord is great! And I am so blessed and lucky to have the gospel in my life.

The first one is Danny and I. This was the day we went to the beach and although you can’t tell, I am wearing our necklace. I don’t know what I was looking at, but that’s ok. You are able to see the two of us together. :)

The second one is Danny and his two girls. The older one is Makyra, 7 and the younger is Abby, 4. They came with us to the beach and had a blast playing in the water and making sand castles. 

I love you all and I can't wait for you to meet Danny. He really is my match. I have never felt this way about anyone before. He is very dear and special to me. 

anyone out there?

 

take a minute to write!  we need to stay connected!!

LOVE LOVE YOUgirls!

mary

Just a little Update...

Hello my dears,

I hope that life is going well for you all. I miss you girls more than words can tell. But I am looking forward to seeing you all again soon, at Mel’s WEDDING!!! J Of which, Mel, words cannot tell you how happy I am for you! This brings my heart so much joy and gladness. Now, I just need sweet Jules to find an amazing man and I would be one happy girl for all of my sweet friends!

I just wanted to give you a little update. My life is crazy right now. Today was definitely one of those pep talk days, telling myself I can do this. But I have to keep going and keep trying. In the end, it’ll all be ok!

Last week was spring break for me, and I was able to go home and spend that with my family and a few friends. I also had the opportunity to go to a Dr. appt with my Mom. She has since finished Radiation and Chemo (just a low dose oral Chemo pill) and all of the Dr’s are extremely pleased with her outcome thus far. The tumor has indeed shrunk and in the direction we needed it. Fortunately, my Mom had very little side effects from the treatments. She would be tired early in the evening and felt nauseated if she didn't eat. But otherwise, most of the time I forgot that she has cancer. So last week I went with my parents to the appt with the surgeon. My Mom still has to have surgery but until the Dr is physically in the OR we will not know the extent of it. Because of the tumor placement we aren't sure if she’ll have a permanent or temporary Colostomy bag. That won’t be until the day of surgery.

Here is where I need your help. I need prayers. Not just for me, but for my Mom, the surgeon, and especially as silly as it sounds the tumor, that it will have shrunk enough for my Mom to just have a temporary Colostomy. My Mom has elected to have her surgery on May 3^rd. Here is where I need the prayers. I have a test on May 10^th then my final on May 15^th. So with the school stress and the surgery stress to top it off, I will need all the help I can get. It stresses me out just thinking about it. I feel guilty that I won’t be able to really be there with my Mom too much because of school. But she just tells me not to worry about her and to just focus on school. Right Mom, like that’ll happen.

 The other part of my stress is that I haven’t done as well as I have wanted to on my exams. This last test I barely passed with a 70%. It’s passing, but barely. Granted the class average was only 72%, so I should be happy with my grade. But I need to be able to do much better on this next test. I have had a hard time staying motivated and focused. I've got to keep it together these next few weeks. But between working (sometimes full time) and studying and life and trying to make friends, it’s hard.

 I know that I can tell you my struggles and that you will still love me and support me. And for that I will be eternally grateful. You are one of the greatest blessings I could ask for. I thank God for blessing me to have you in my life.

I hope that you are all doing well. Know that I think of you often and that I love you!

Love,

Chanel 

All you need is love!!

Hello my lovely ladies! I just wanted to take a minute on this day of love and express to you how much I love you. I know we all share this frequently with each other, but I am so incredibly blessed to have you in my life. You love me unconditionally, are amazing examples to me, lift me up when I am down, you are all there for me, and most importantly you share the light of Christ with me every time we talk. I am so grateful for each one of you. So on this special Valentines day, know that this Idaho girl LOVES you!!

Do Something Fun and Spontaneous

I just passed the necklace off to Mary, but wanted to make one last post reflecting on the core areas of my life and sharing something spontaneous and fun that I did. Before I begin, I am going to put a little disclaimer out there...remember I am in graduate school. :)

SPIRITUAL -- I really wish I had more time to nurture my spirituality. It has been a struggle to find  time to attend the temple, study my scriptures, etc., but things are getting better. I am trying to find  ways to more naturally include things like this into my schedule, like watching general conference talks on my iPad while I get ready in the morning.  

PHYSICAL -- This area of my life is seriously lacking. I signed up for a half marathon on Saturday, March 23rd. Hopefully that will help keep me motivated to exercise. :) My sleeping and eating schedule is improving, so that is good.

MENTAL -- This is an area of my life that I am definitely feeling challenged. 

SOCIAL -- Surprisingly, this has been a little more challenging in school than I thought. Business school is a social experience, but last semester I was so busy that I often wasn't able to make the close connections I was hoping for. This semester is SO much better! I am not as busy and have been able build closer friendships.

Two weeks ago, I went snowshoeing at Doughnut Falls. It was so fun and beautiful!

P.S. Yes, I did go snowshoeing with Dave. We have been spending time together and things are going well. Keep us in your prayers. Love you!

start your week out right...

we will never know or understand all the why's to our lives. but, we know enough...

Do Something to Stretch Yourself

JANUARY is my month to have the necklace. To do something to stretch myself, I decided to wear the necklace to my first day of my second semester of school. I am so grateful to be in the MBA program, but doing graduate 

school has definitely been a stretch. It was especially hard coming back after a three-week break.

I went to the MoTab Christmas Concert...

Spent a week in Arizona visiting my brother and his family...

...went to BYU Basketball games with my family (thanks dad :) and caught-up with old friends.