yes. you should be jealous that my hubby is amazing!

so, lately i've been a real beast to poor little tj {according to him anyway.....} so i was quite surprised when i came home from work the other night and saw what i did when i walked in the door. first of all, you people need to understand our chaos. tj works up on base as an F-16 crew chief, which means he fixes the jets when those oh so awesome pilots break them. i work at the hospital and go to school full time. needless to say, we both have busy schedules. i'm not making excuses [ok, really i am. shhhh don't tell] but that's just the truth. we're definitely not dirty, filthy people. however, we do live in a constant state of "on the go" which i am pretty sure most of you can relate to. while our house is not covered in grime, doesn't smell of dead bodies, and your shoes don't stick when you walk around our place, it is a cluttered mess! we have shoes all over by the entryway, dishes in the sink sometimes, blankets and jackets on the couches, bogey's toys all over, and don't even go in our room. that's the one area i trash with clothes when i can't figure out what to wear. {i know, you're in shock that I would have that problem!} anyway, the other night was a horrible day at work. i had to get the stupid flu shot which gave me a rotten headache, i was stuck working with miserable people, and our floor was completely full. not one empty bed. no room in the inn. so when i came home to see everything picked up and put away i was ecstatic. i thought to myself that God had definitely blessed me with the most patient and incredible man out there! happily, i went to throw something away, only to find all of the laundry done AND folded! woah! big deal :) then, i went to get some water to take some tylenol for my headache, and saw that ALL the dishes had been run through the dishwasher and put away! for those of you who know me or tj, you are aware that he is allergic to the dishwasher. so this is a very big deal :) then i turned around to find the red boots i had been wanting for a week! holy macaroni you guys! who is this amazing guy! :) i am a very happy girlie and just wanted to tell you all how lucky i am! thank you tj! you rock :)

here is what they look like. mine are actually red :) and cuter ;)

let's catch up :)

well... i have had so many things going on... sorry to be so lame. after monday (the awesome day that it was!) we went about our normal and not so exciting week... then on the weekend we went to draper for a snowmobile show. tj and i met his friend Bob there and we had a good time. it was really fun we got to see different sleds and all kinds of crazy things they try to sell to snowmobilers... tj got a "flip jack" i don't know exactly what that means but i guess it makes it easier because he doesn't have to kick off the ice or something. of course tj saw a few sleds he wanted to buy ;)

on sunday, we went to dinner with Job and his foster family. we had a really good time. it is always so neat to see how he's growing and changing, especially in the way he interacts with us :) we had an interesting time choosing new names for Job. he doesn't like his name because people say it wrong. they are also wanting to change his name because it would be a kind of new start.... so for now they are thinking Joseph Owen B. he would go by joe and his initials would still be job.

yesterday was a really exciting day! my friend megan found out that she was pregnant so she was going to decorate her husbands car to tell him. after i got out of class, we went up on base and put ducks all along his dashboard, rattles hanging from ribbons in his windows, baby stuff from the rearview window, and baby booties in the windows :) anyway, we had a really good time surprising him :)

so that's where we are now... this weekend we don't have much exciting going on. i work on saturday and tj has his uta from saturday until next saturday. all i can say is it's gonna be a super long week... keep us in your prayers! :)

God's timing is the best timing!

wow! what a glorious day! i am so so so thankful for everything God is! for those of you who don't know, today was the final court date to establish permanency for Job... basically, it came down to two options. number one, my mom could relinquish her rights of her own free will and there would be no charges from the state based on her previous "discretions" or she could choose to fight the state to get her parental rights back and also get Job back. however, if she chose to go this route, the state would bring up all of her previous mistakes and would open them up to the judge. fortunately for little Job, she chose to do what was best for him, even though i'm sure it was hard for her. she terminated her parental rights. honestly, i am so excited and grateful that God is who he is and that He answers prayers. at first, when all of this was going down, i was so concerned that it was going to take too long and that Job would end up going right back to my mom. i was so worried. fortunately, God in His wisdom knew the perfect family for Job and what he needs. his foster family is THE most amazing family that could possibly be there for Job. anyway, thank you everyone for your constant prayers and for supporting me because that really means a lot to me and really helps Job too :) so thanks! :)

 anyway, if you could continue to keep Job and his foster family in your prayers that would be awesome! we still have to go through the waiting process and through the adoption process. although really that hopefully won't take too long....

Mr. and Mrs. Ridl

well ladies and gents, it's official! we are MARRIED!!!! :) i must say it's a long time coming... but i guess God does work everything out at just the right time!

our wedding was absolutely everything i could have possibly wanted it to be! i wouldn't have changed a thing! the day started out with a facial and massage followed by set up at my parents' house. after that, i started getting ready and the rest of the day just flew by! my uncle paul performed the ceremony which i absolutely adored :) after that, we had a little reception line followed by a delicious dinner and visiting! then, we had dessert, all homemade by michelle :) after that we did the cake cutting and flower and garter toss and then we left with everyone wishing us well through sparklers! :) overall it was absolutely perfect! i am definitely a very blessed girl! my entire family was there to help make sure that everything went smoothly! so thank you so much to all of you! especially my dad and cathy for letting us use your house :) it was perfect :) anyway, enough about that, here are some pictures :)

steph powell is the best! :)

i freaking LOVE my sisters :)

and this is why i love him.....

i was so nervous he was gonna give everyone a show!!!!!