Things I love about my husband.....

Sunday, November 30th is my Sweetheart’s birthday and I want to post this tribute in honor of him because he does so much for me that I am so thankful for. And I want to let the whole world know, what a terrific man he is. I sometimes feel inadequate and undeserving of his love, and I sometimes find it hard to believe that he is truly my husband. I want him to know that I know how blessed I am to have him in my life and that I love him so very much, with all my heart. (These aren’t in any particular order)

Sweetheart, I love you for……

Your Sensitivity. Whether it be my feelings, or a song you are listening too, or a movie you are watching. You can be so sensitive and tender hearted at times, and it really touches me that as a man you are not afraid to show this side of you.

Your Compassion. For always thinking of others and what you can do to help them to make their day better, or something they’re doing a little easier.

For the way you look at me. All I have to do is look into your eyes to know how much you love and adore me. It brings me so much comfort to know that you do and be able to see it in your eyes at all times.

For showing me how much you love me in everything you do and say every single day.

For being a true gentleman. For always holding the doors open for me as well as helping me in and out of the car. There aren’t many gentlemen in this world anymore. I am glad you are one of them as it shows how much you respect and honor me.

Being a fantastic cook. You are truly talented in the kitchen. I love ALL things you make for us.

For being a frugal spender, or as you put it a “cheap bastard”! I like that you are careful about money and always looking for good deals. I need a good lesson in this. I have never been good at it.

For your love of music. I love that we love the same genre of songs. But I really love that you like to listen to the sappy love songs and Delilah at night on 106.5. I also love that there is music playing in the house most of the time.

For your talent in playing the bagpipes. I never knew how much skill it takes to play them. I love listening to the music you play. I love how it makes you feel inside, because it takes you into your Scottish heritage.

For your empathic abilities. Because you feel so deeply when something might be wrong or if something might happen ahead of time. It also means I can’t ever hide my feelings from you…even though I try at times.

For being Mr. Romantic! You always have such good ideas to keep the romance alive in our marriage. I love the fact that you truly love being like that.

I love that you would rather spend personal, intimate, quality time with me than watch TV or do anything else. I love the way we can talk for hours and enjoy doing nothing but just being together.

For being a great Massage Therapist. You have great hands babe! Whenever I have muscle aches and pains… you know just what to do to make me feel better.

I love that you love to be active outdoors, whether it’s Paragliding, Hiking, Snowboarding, Bike Riding, Walking, etc. We have made some good memories doing these activities. I loved the Paragliding ride even though I was so afraid to do it. And I look forward to learning how to snowboard (I think) this winter. I also look forward to all the hikes we are planning to do next summer.

For loving my kids as much as you do your own. I am grateful to you for taking them under your wing and guiding them and caring about them as a father should. I am really glad that we can be a family.

For your wonderful and sometimes distorted sense of humor. You are a great comedian! I love the fact that you can always make me laugh. I love your mischievousness and the way you play around and tease. You like to have as much fun as I do. You bring so much joy and laughter into our household everyday. It makes life so much more enjoyable.

For loving to dance with me. I love that you will, out of the blue, ask me for a dance. I love the dances we have shared and look forward to many more.

For watching the chick flicks with me and liking them.

For standing up for the things you believe in. I love the fact that you are not afraid to speak your mind or stand up to someone, if you feel you are being wronged.

For your love of the Lord, your knowledge of Gospel Principles and the scriptures. I really admire that in you. For being a convert to the church, you have more of a testimony and knowledge in these things than I do, being a member all my life.

For praying with me daily. I love our personal prayers together and our family prayers. I am so glad I have someone who honors this principle and knows of its importance. I am greatly blessed to have a husband who honors his priesthood in our home.

For always holding my hand wherever we go or wherever we are, whether it be in the car or out on a walk. I love that you love this as much as I do.

I love your tenderness, all your Hugs, Kisses, and your touch. For being so loving and caring to me. For the intimacy you share with me.

I love your smile and the sparkle in your eyes. I also like the innocent look you get on your face when you are being mischievous.

You have a wonderful heart of gold. You are thoughtful, tender, kind and loving to everyone. I love how you treat my mom and grandma and the love you show to all my family. That really means a lot to me.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! May you always know how special and dear to me you are. I Love You!

What I am most THANKFUL for this THANKSgiving...

When most people think about Thanksgiving the first thing that comes to mind is the Turkey Dinner with all the fixings – potatoes, gravy, candied yams, fresh baked rolls, cranberry sauce, and pies galore. Is that really what Thanksgiving is all about?

Nope, not in my book anyway! I could do without the dinner. The meal itself is not my favorite…well the pies – Maybe! Thanksgiving is really about “Giving Thanks”.

Because I have so many things to be thankful for this year, I thought I would post them here to share with all of you.

This year I am most grateful for and blessed by my Wonderful Husband. Finding him and having him in my life has completely changed my life for the good. I am truly blessed to be loved by him.

I am also very grateful for our kids and grand kids. Without them my life would be dull. They bring so much joy and enrichment to my life. They are my inspiration and my heroes.

I am thankful for parents who have stood by and supported me through the hard times, who have always been there for me no matter what. Who have picked me up when I have fallen on my face and gave me the encouragement I needed to get back up and keep going.

Thanksgiving, for most people, brings families together in one place, to eat and enjoy each other’s time and company, and of course, Football. For this I am grateful. This is the part of Thanksgiving that I do enjoy. It is the time I get to spend with family.

I am most thankful for my Heavenly Father who does hear and answer prayers. He answered mine by bringing Billy into my life at the exact time that I needed him most.

I am blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to have the knowledge that I have of Heavenly Father’s plan for me.

I am thankful for my brother, Jesus Christ, who died for me on the cross and who was resurrected so that I might live again.

I am thankful to live in America, the land of the Free. Especially for the freedoms that I have, that we sometimes take for granted. For the right to Vote. While I may not always agree on who was voted into our government, at least we have the right to vote and to know that our vote does count. For being able to worship God freely, at church and in our daily lives. Not everyone is free to do that without persecution.

I am thankful for our jobs. For being able to work and make good money, that keeps food on our table and shelter over our heads.

I am thankful for living in this day and age of technology - To have instant communication at our fingertips - For being able to search anything on the Internet with a touch of the keyboard and the click of the mouse.

I am thankful for getting started in the blogging world this year. It has been such a fun way of sharing lives with all my friends and family.

I am especially thankful to all of you who are my dear friends. For your kind words when I needed a listening ear. For your help when I needed help. For always being there supporting me no matter what. I love you all!

And finally, I am very thankful for this Holiday in November. Because it reminds us that we need to be thankful in all things, every day of the Year!

Announcing Mr. & Mrs. Carpenter

Our day finally arrived!

On November 8, 2008, I married my best friend and the love of my life, Billy Carpenter.

I just want to share with you a few photos and also tell you about the wedding. I don't have all the photos back yet from my Aunt who took all the photographs, but Shellise did take these for us and so I will post these now and the others later.

The day was perfect. The wedding was held at my sister, Alicia's, home. It was very nice of her to let us use her beautiful home for this occasion and I thank her so much for suggesting it and allowing us to invade on her. It was the perfect place for the number of people that attended.

In front of immediate family and close friends we exchanged our vows and rings. My Aunt Yvonne then sang "Grow Old Along With Me" by Mary Chapin Carpenter, while we danced. She has a beautiful voice and the words of the song combined brought tears to many eyes. This song is listed on my playlist below if you are not familiar with it and would like to hear it. Thank you Yvonne for singing this song for us.


Us and the kids, Shellise & Jessie.



With my parents, Dwight & Claire Alldredge.


After the ceremony was over, the reception/open house began. We served a light meal of sandwiches, jello salad, relish stick (olive+pickle+cheese on a stick), sherbet & gingerale for the drink, and cake.

We were happy to see so many friends there supporting us. It was nice to see and visit with those that we haven't seen in a very long time. However, we were really missing Bill's parents and his son, Kyle, who could not come due to health related issues as well as the travel distance. We hope we get the chance to see them soon though.

Later in the evening we cut the wedding cake.....






































More photos from our day.......


My bridal bouquet. Unfortunately none of these
pictures have me actually holding the bouquet.


Me and my beautiful kids


Shellise & Jessie


Me with my two favorite men, my Dad & my Sweetheart


Me with my parents
















The sign my niece made for the front door.
Isn't it just darling? I love it! Thanks Megan.

It was a Wonderful Day! It was exactly what we wanted it to be. It was small and simple but very nice at the same time. The best part is we didn't go into any kind of debt to pay for it. Everything was paid for in cash including our rings. It's a good feeling knowing that as we start our married lives together, that we are debt free.

We stayed at home the night of our wedding, and on Sunday morning we traveled to Providence, Utah (near Logan) and stayed at the Providence Inn Bed & Breakfast in the Bridal Suite. http://www.providenceinn.com/ I recommend this place to anyone! It is an Old Rock Church built by pioneers that has been converted into a very large Bed & Breakfast, Wedding & Reception Hall combined. This place has a lot of history behind it and is very interesting. We learned that many Church General Authorities stay there frequently.

Sunday afternoon we went on a Heritage Driving Tour, north on Hwy 91 towards Preston, Idaho. We stopped in all the small towns along the way and learned the history of each town. In Preston, we bought a lottery ticket (yes we were bad - and on a Sunday too - no wonder we didn't win) and then we headed back to Providence and the Bed & Breakfast. Where we spent a fantastic, relaxing evening together. Here are some photos of the room....

Thank you to all of my friends and family who helped us out. Who have supported us and love us unconditionally. You made our day very memorable.

And now I get to begin a new chapter in my life. I am so happy and very blessed to have found the kind of guy I have. He truly loves me. He shows me every single day in the things he does and in the way he looks at me. I am so happy to be able to walk through the rest of our lives together hand in hand.

And so... from this day forward I will be forever known as Mrs. Sherrie Marie Carpenter.

Bad Things that have Happened to Good Kids

This past week two friends of my kids from Cedar City were seriously injured in separate accidents.

Erik Bettridge, 14 years old, was injured on October 25th in a motorcycle accident. He was life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital with serious head injuries. He remains in a drug induced coma to keep him from moving which would cause more injury to his brain. He will be in this comatose state for at least 2 more weeks. It will be several months before they know what kind of recovery he will make.
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Erikspace

While my kids were at the hospital, yesterday, visiting Erik's family, Shellise found out that a friend of hers, Chase Roberts, 14 years old, was also in that hospital. Again, life flighted there this week, because he was accidentally shot in the neck by his little sister. He will be permanently paralyzed from the chest down.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=4651169

This has been traumatizing to my kids. It makes you realize how precious life is and how things can change in the blink of an eye or as Shellise says, "a beat of the heart".

Our hearts go out to these families. We are praying for them. We hope that they will find peace in knowing that there are many people that care about them and wish them the very best during these hard times.

While I am on this subject, I am remembering the tragic events that took place in our family last December 13th. My cousin's son, Dustin Wright, 15 years old, was killed in a rollover accident in Millard County, in a car being recklessly driven by his 16 year old friend. These past 10 months have been full of pain and heartache for all of our family over the loss of this young man. He had so much going for him and his death is a great loss to all.

I hope that we never take for granted the lives we have and remember that it can be gone in a split second. Bad things can happen to good people. Let's all be a little more loving and caring to those around us. Lets remember what is really important... it's not the things we have, but the memories that we share with family and friends that we will take with us.